I know that's the case of mine. So count at least one.

 

Okay guys, I was able to find one spot of bubbled paint, rust or corrosion is no doubt underneath it. When I bought the car it was missing the passenger side mirror. It appears the paint has bubbled in a 1"x1" area around it for the time that mirror was missing and water was able to get inside there. It may not spread too fast given that its aluminum skin on the door.

 

Thanks to all who responded. I guess the 928 isnt as rustproof as an airplane but it fairs pretty well against many other cars. You wont see mine on the road anytime theres salt or snow.

 

Warren,

I live in Edmonton, Alberta. My car was originally bought in Calgary (180 miles south of here; still very cold in winter) and driven in snow for the first six years at least of tis life. It has no rust anywhere and even the undercarriage is clean. Salt is used here but sparingly compared to Michigan or Toronto (where I previously lived). Although we get snow here it melts and disappears quickly when the temperature rises so we don't have lingering humidity to encourage the salt's corrosive effect.

I also have a 1987 944 which was originally sold in Michigan and spent six years there. It too is rust free. The 928 has about 85,000 miles, the 944 has 108,000. Neither are garage queens but both have been well taken care of.

 

When I was prepping my 81' for paint I found a spot that would probably have rusted if I had not found it. The paint was gone and bare metal exposed under the rear window trim. I am talking about the hatch window. There is no drain there and the entire width of the bottom of the window under the trim is where water collects when wet. I make it a point to try to blow out this area with air when I wash my car.

 

Mine spent it's entire life in Chicago and came with a set of snow tires. I haven't found any body or frame corrosion, but every fastener under the car was heavily corroded. I replaced pretty much every bolt that I removed.

-Gary

 

But what are the current thoughts on treating the rust on these so-called "galvanized" steel body panels? I've got a couple spots, but I don't really feel good about touching them if someone's going to come along later and say "oooh, that's the worst thing you could have done!" I mean, these aren't MGB's.

 

I live in Edmonton. I have driven my car through the winter season for 2 years. That's 110km city/highway . Everyday on my way home from work I washed top2bottom and underneath as well..My car is originally from Toronto. I have one paint blister 1"forward of the side mirror. Underneath all is clear except all muffler bolts were seized.

 

A friend of mine has successfully rustproofed his car by using gravity feed undercoating pneumatic sprayer gun and using SAE 90 gear oil in it to spray the bottom of the car, thereby eliminating salt to penetrate or corrode the metals underneath. His cars have 300k on them and the underneath looks NEW, unbeleivable amd not any rust anywhere. He also drilled and plugged the doors and hatches so he can spray the inside of them too and then just pop a plug back in. He sprays twice a year and it takes about 20 minutes with the right setup.
I am doing this on my cars this year, Im tired of seeing cancer eat them away and turn them into sh*t.

 

The poll doesn't offer the option of "no rust, never driven in winter" so I can't vote. I paid a premium of $1-2K on my '85 to get that condition and I pay the price every winter of not driving it. There are of course a lot more in this category. It is a decision between you and your maker, sort of like when the Pope let catholics eat fish on Friday. What about all those souls in pergatory for doing it before?

 

Um, just curious, what is this "winter" thing you guys are talking about? And snow? Ice?

I guess I gotta travel more.

Cheers from Peter in San Diego!

P.S. No rust at all, nope, nope.

 

None anywhere on mine. I've crawled all around it and had panels off. Spent winters indoors in Dayton, Cincinnatti, and Indianapolis.

 

Here is where I found rust and or corrosion on the 78.

1. Lower front fender bolts directly behind front wheels (repaired)
2. Corner/tip of left rear fender at exhaust outlet (repaired)
3. Bottom edges of both doors (corrosion being repaired now)
4. Almost every exposed plated nut and bolt on the car (all being replaced slowly)
5. The paint around the plugs on the underside of the rear hatch is rust stained. Not sure how I'm going to fix this one!
6. The sharp edge around the rear left side marker (very minor - repaired)
7. The sharp edge around the rear left side fender lip (very minor - repaired)

This car has 1,400 original miles and was stored in a climate controlled garage until 2000 in New Hampshire then in another owners garage until I bought it. The rust on the rear fender occurred because a PO would let the car run instead of driving it thus trapping all the moist hot air from the exhaust up under the rear fender. Even the bolts that hole the rear bumper cover to the rear fender were rusted and are now on backorder to be replaced. None of the issues are serious but needed attention to prevent future problems.

The 95 GTS has no issues that I am aware of except a few corroded nuts and bolts. It spent the first 6 years of its life in the Miami and Orlando area.

Anywhere water sits or is trapped after being rained on or washed is a potential problem area like in the trim around the windows or on any hidden flat part of the car where water can sit. Ever wonder why rust develops around the trim of the rear quarter windows? I blow as much water from cracks and crevasses as posslble whenever I wash the car.

Can this cancer ever be totally stopped? Have a feeling if you looked long and hard enough you'll find the start of rust somewhere.

 

Mine has rust on the driver door sill and a few bubbles around the driver door. I plan on repainting and repairing the body fully next year.

 

This is the 'parts' car. Driven through every winter since 86.

Cheers
Dave