Hidden secrets of a $15k offered Corvair

[davemotohead]

My comments were not directed at anyone,if its advertised as rust free it should be rust free, its hard to tell from the picture exactly where this is or how big? maybe the pic is miss leading,but its still rust.

[Bobby65]

I was just saying i feel like the seller could have easily not know about that rust, the car is absolutely beautiful other than that spot. That's the risk you take when you buy something sight unseen

[rowin4]

In the original post the buyer stated the owner of the car said it was pretty much rust free and all the rust was cut out and professionally repaired. From the looks of the picture shown that is not the typical almost rust free car. That's a major rust hole. I don't know how that was missed in the repair process but it was. I hate to think what was repaired or covered up and what are the remaining Hidden Secrets to be found. The car looks beautiful but as we have seen in other post pictures can be deceiving.

[terribleted]

Hard to tell by the photos but I think it is the bottom of the fuel pocket that is gone?

[flat6_musik]

I'd be angry as hell.

[azdave]

...the owner of the car said it was pretty much rust free and all the rust was cut out and professionally repaired.

Just the rust statement above would have told me to look for another car or be very cautious to have it inspected fully by someone not loyal to the seller.

Buying a nearly 50-year old car is always a "buyer beware" situation and if it was not fully inspected, either by the buyer or a trusted third party person, then you can never really be sure what you are getting until it delivers.

"Pretty much rust free" tells me they knew there was still rust in some places. "All the old rust was cut out and repaired" tells me this car probably had more than minor rust issues at some point in life. Myself, I would have walked away from it if they were asking over $8000 or so.

[robertto]

In the original post the buyer stated the owner of the car said it was pretty much rust free and all the rust was cut out and professionally repaired. From the looks of the picture shown that is not the typical almost rust free car. That's a major rust hole. I don't know how that was missed in the repair process but it was. I hate to think what was repaired or covered up and what are the remaining Hidden Secrets to be found. The car looks beautiful but as we have seen in other post pictures can be deceiving.

That was exactly my feeling when the car shipped to me to Germany.

[robertto]

Insted of welding you could gring out the rust and use the new metal bonding glues used now in bodyshops everywhere and the stuff works VERY WELL, better than weld in a lot of places and just as strong. One of them is called "SEM Door Skin and Panel Adhesive" works real good. Just my Jimbo

Thanks for the clue. I will show it my boda maker. But the work is almost done.

[MonzaDave]

This thread got me thinking about "rust free" and what it really means. Based on the comments from the various posters, my conclusion is that the meaning is "it depends". I have three low-mileage, LM Corvairs that could be described as "rust free" or "virtually rust free".

One is a 1965 Monza with 80K miles that I would have described as "virtually rust free" before beginning a full nuts-and-bolts restoration. The only visible rust was a bit around the left rear wheel well, the front floor pans, and the bottom of the trunk. Otherwise, the car seemed quite solid including the panel below the windshield. However, the paint and body work 9 months at a professional shop and cost over $20K. There was rust hiding under the factory lead in a number of places, including below the windshield. The body man took out all the factory lead, removed all hidden rust, and replaced it with modern filler. The car was also media blasted down to bare metal -- both topside and bottom side. I can now say the car is totally rust free -- and I have over 3,000 pictures to support that statement. It wasn't cheap, though.

The second car is a 1969 Corvair with 24K miles that I bought new. I drove it through three winters, then put it in dry storage. Like the '65 described above, I would describe this car as "virtually rust free". There is a bit of rust visible in the trunk where the inner fender meets the trunk seam. There is also some bubbling of the lead at the top of the right rear quarter where the factory screwed up the weld (and left it partially open, but covered it with lead). Based on my experience with the '65, the rest of the car may or may not be rust free. However, I plan to have the car painted one of these days and will assume that the remainder of the car is rust free. (I plan to keep the car.)

The third car is a 1966 convertible that I bought in 1988 with 28K miles (now 48K). When I bought the car, I thoroughly inspected the car and as far as I could tell, it was rust free. Now, in 2014, the car still appears to be rust free, but is it? The lead in the seams around the lower windshield panel seems to be moving around at bit. Is there rust underneath? Maybe. Is it really rust free? Maybe or maybe not.

Based on my collective experience with these three cars, I wouldn't pay a substantial amount of money for a Corvair without a thorough inspection -- mechanical and body. There is simply too much variation on the definition of "rust free" or "virtually rust free".

[davemotohead]

There is a lot in a description? should a rusty car that has been repaired with new panels be considered "Rust Free?" Or should it be called "Rust Repaired?" IMO a rust free car is a car that is truly rust free in the fact that it NEVER had any rust and has not had any rust repair done period,to me that is a truly rust free car,,not a rust repaired car, repairing rust is a sketchy thing,Who did the work? How well was it done? was it done properly or will rust bubble up 6 months after you bought the "rust free car" I think a Truly rust free never repaired car is very rare these days and should be worth more than Any rust repaired car, But maybe I feel that way because I have some true "Rust Free Cars"

[MonzaDave]

My point, exactly, Mr Motohead. "Rust free" is a meaningless description in the Corvair community.

[davemotohead]

Unless,,it truly never had any rust at all rust free! the pic of the red car is the best one I have ever pulled out of the desert,it has not 1 speck of rust and not one dent,I am sanding it down and painting it,no bodywork required,the orange one has a few parking lot door dings.

[MonzaDave]

Unless,,it truly never had any rust at all rust free! the pic of the red car is the best one I have ever pulled out of the desert,it has not 1 speck of rust and not one dent,I am sanding it down and painting it,no bodywork required,the orange one has a few parking lot door dings.

That's your assessment. Others on the this thread have a different definition of "rust free". If I'm considering paying 5 figures for a Corvair, I'm going to perform my own evaluation of rust. Are you absolutely sure there is no corrosion under the factory lead? OTOH, if I'm paying low 4 figures, I can afford to take a chance and find out later what's under the factory lead and filler.

[mart]

My point, exactly, Mr Motohead. "Rust free" is a meaningless description in the Corvair community.

Aint that the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mart]

Insted of welding you could gring out the rust and use the new metal bonding glues used now in bodyshops everywhere and the stuff works VERY WELL, better than weld in a lot of places and just as strong. One of them is called "SEM Door Skin and Panel Adhesive" works real good. Just my Jimbo

Youre kidding right? try gluing a new suspension mount on and see how far down the road you get

[Jimbo]

mart, better than weld "in a lot of places" not for suspension but in the right place it is the way to go. Jimbo