what do you consider a "clean car"as far as rust goes?

[Bee383]

my 69 bee has some rust in the lower trunk pan that was worse that i thought and it got me looking underneath a lot harder worried that i would find more.the underside has been coated at some point.i see some of what i would call surface rust,but nothing is soft or flaking anywhere.anything that i should look for in particular?thanks for help.david

 

[Coledavis01]

I'd say it depends on what part of the country you're in. Cracks me up in the TV shows where the guys out in the West are complaining about surface rust where a lot of the Rust Belt people are fine with just about anything but rusty frame rails for project cars. If the trunk is shot I'd check the very back of the frame rails near where the bumper mounts are & trunk extensions for rust. Rear window corner rot is pretty common for where the water got into the trunk in the first place.

Nice ride by the way, have any more pics? I'm up in NE Kansas with a 383 Y2 Bee.

 

[Bee383]

thank you for the compliment Cole.the water does get into the trunk from the window corners so i'm going to have to address that as well as the trunk.luckily that's all the rust i can find.looks like the water has come in and sat in the lower part of pan.hoping i can find someone to help me just replace the lower part.i have a few pics on my photo gallery.need to put some more on.thanks again

 

[RustyRatRod]

My 65 Coronet needs a portion of the upper cowl replaced, the left front floorpan and the very bottom of the right rear quarter. I consider that very clean for a car its age. I have already cut the upper cowl section out and have a patch panel made. It will be fixed soon.

 

[bigredbird]

If someone says a car is "clean," I'd expect it to have very minor surface rust in hard-to-reach areas and none anywhere else.

 

[Meep-Meep]

I'll agree with the above post that says it depends on what part of the country you're from. Here in CA we junk cars that have more than a dime sized hole in the quarter. OK, not really, but one guy from KC MO who came by my shop took one look at my green Belvedere with rusted out lower quarters, a wheel lip and some minor holes in the pass floor said "that car is rust free as far as I'm concerned".

 

[Propwash]

If someone says a car is "clean," I'd expect it to have very minor surface rust in hard-to-reach areas and none anywhere else.

I agree...good description

 

[satman72]

I look at it this way; if it's just surface rust, it's clean. If the rust has eaten through & there are holes, it isn't clean.

 

[YY1]

My 73 Sat has very small "fixes" where the quarters meet the rockers. Less than 1/4 cup of filler each side (maybe less than 1/4 cup total).
It has light surface rust in the door jambs, under the chrome on the cowl, and on the trunk lip.
Aside from the usual surface rust on the frame, that's it.

I consider that pretty dang clean.

My 66 Coronet has a nickel sized hole on one quarter, some weak metal in the same place on the other side, but not through, and quarter sized holes in the dog legs of both fenders. Has surface rust with a few pitted areas on front floor boards.

I'm callin' that one clean, too, but it has quite a few dents that need attention.

I once had a guy trying to sell me a 66 Charger that had foot sized holes in the floor boards, and half dollar sized holes in the cowl.
I'll always remember him banging on the cowl, next to a big hole, saying "now THAT's SOLID".

 

[99ss]

If someone says a car is "clean," I'd expect it to have very minor surface rust in hard-to-reach areas and none anywhere else.

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