Fastest Time to Rust

[87 V20 Scottsdale]

For the people on here that have bought these trucks when they were new, how fast would it take for the 70's models to rust through? I had a couple of people tell me the other day that at the time a new truck would have rust holes in the bedside in two or three years. I know the 70's models were pretty crappy as far as corrosion prevention at the factory is concerned, and all of the original 70's model trucks that I know of are pretty rotten. Did they really rust out that fast?

[N2TRUX]

That depends on where they lived. In Texas the 67-72 are much more rusted than 73-87's. Did any of them rust through in 2-3 years? I think your sources are exaggerating quite a bit.

[87 V20 Scottsdale]

I didn't say I believed them. Around here with newer trucks, it takes about ten to twelve years for the cab corners and rockers to start getting rough. I do remember my dad having a '75 C10 in the late 80's, and it was in really bad shape then. I guess at the time the truck would've been thirteen years old or so.

[chevymotocross]

As n2trux stated, really depends on the region.

Being in New England, I know all about the wonderful effects of rust. My father bought an 86 c10 back in 1995 with no previous body work done. The rusted areas were the cab corners, rockers, and floor boards.

Fast forward to 2007. I bought my 87 r10 which had rusted bed cross rails, cab corners, rockers, fenders, pretty much everything!

I've been stationed in TX for awhile now at an Air Force base. You Texas citizens are BLESSED!

Corrosion protection I guess has gotten better, or maybe the metals? I don't see any rusted out 01' trucks here. Are 01' trucks really already 10 years old?! I'm getting old

[donut]

Depends on location and the year. IIRC later models had better rust protection, aftermarket rustproofing was also popular (Ziebart, Rusty Jones for a couple). I didn't buy one new, but in Maine it was a running joke whether it would rust through before it was paid for.

[ont_guy_38]

My Dad bought a new 73 cheyene, it didn't last anytime at all . He got it ziebarted and myself I think that was the problem because once the salt gets behind that stuff it doesn't come out

[Dalaigh]

As stated before it depends on area, but it also depends on the owner and wheather they take care of the truck. If the truck was undercoated from new it will still rust if you don't take care of the truck, ie. wash it, touch up the undercoating (it will fall off as it ages), wheather its garage kept. Every truck it different. There are a few 99-01 chevys runnin around here with holes in the cab corner, hell theres a 99 F150 that is missing the lower front of its bed (about 2 square feet of it) dew to rust, yet both my 84 Sierra and 95 Sonoma are solid (well the Sonoma is starting to show).

[Tx Firefighter]

I work with a very smart guy but he's a Ford man. He bought a 73 Chevy new and by 77 it had multiple holes rusted through in the wheelwells and hood front lip. This was Houston Texas, so that contributed to the issue for sure.

[DetroitDan]

Born and raised in NH so I've watched a lot of good trucks die early due to rust, but nothing I've seen compares to upstate NY. Lived up in the Adirondacks for a while, and couldn't get over the body rot caused by the over use of salt. I swear to God, they put salt down so thick you could plow it off. I've seen it 2 inches deep before. It was a shock to me back in the late 80s early 90s to suddenly start seeing five year old trucks with wooden flatbeds everywhere. Me and my dad started calling flatbeds New York beds", because they were necessary due to the rapid rate the truck beds rotted off. 5 year old trucks without wooden beds were rotted half away, so you knew the flatbeds were not just a regionally popular item, they were a solution to a common problem. I'm sure it's gotten a little better now that trucks sheetmetal is galvanized, but I bet they still rust out faster than they do elsewhere.
Never seen salt over-usage like that anywhere else. And I'm sure it's just the way it's always been there. They don't know there's anything wrong with the way they do it. Around here the state uses salt on the highways, not exactly sparingly, but not like it's free either. Town roads are usually done with 4-1 (or so) mix sand to salt.
Remember the old International Scouts and Scout IIs? They were so poorly designed they were rumored to rust on the showroom floor. Shame because they had phenomenal drivetrains. I had a couple, forced to retire them when there was nothing left to weld patches to. The underside of them was built in such a way that they captured and held water and salt, with no provision for drainage.

[motornut]

from like nov-dec they pound the salt to the roads up here
till April May depending on the storms
i think it stops working below -17 ....0 is freezing
For sure the older trucks lasted a lot longer then newer ones without a "oil spray"
Oil spray i feel only slows the rust,if you actually drive it in the salt somethings gona chip
the salt spray will freeze all around the wheel,and build up/down to touch the ground
sometimes hitting the wheel on the salt around it, the wheel will knock a chunk loose
driveing over that it's like a big rock,banging it's way out the to the back

I'd say up here no rust = not winter drivin
southern car/truck
or redone

[Hulk Will Smash]

I grew up in Western NY between Rochester and Buffalo. I had a 77 C20 in college (1989ish) that was toast. The front and rear wheel openings were gone and the bottom of the doors and rockers were on their way.

I had an 82 Trans Am that the doors were completely gone on as well right around the same time frame.
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