thoughts about rust (underbody protection)

[lofly'a]

i have been reading posts and observing pics about rust-thru, and wonder how big a deal it is in your part of the country. i have bought 3 new trucks in the last 13 years and most of the frames are unpainted. why......, they don't need paint in this part of the country. gm put some gooky stuff on some parts of the frame in 92 when i bought an x-cab gmc. in the heat of the summer it would drip off on the ground and was all gone after about 2 years. they don't put it on the new hydroformed frames sold on trucks around here. they don't put "anything" on them, not something you can see anyway. the only times i have seen a frame rust thru here is at the body mounting points (rare). my current project, a 68 swb fleet has almost no paint left on the body, and the frame has never had paint, yet i can take the surface rust off with a wire brush. what kind of horror storys do you have.

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keep fly'in lo
66 gto ragtop 389/400
72 blazer (wuza4by)
68 swb fleet 350/700
98 tahoe 2dr (daily ride)

[bobs409]

The dealers and manufacturers could care less if their trucks last any longer than the warranty. They want you to buy another new truck. I don't buy newer vechicles and never will but if you do and intend on keeping it, I'd spend some time protecting the underside. Anything past the mid 70's will never really be worth anything on a collectable level IMO but if it's something you like, it's good insurance.

I don't know where you live but here in Pa, rust is a common thing. On my vehicles, I paint the frames and just undercoat the floors on any that I drive daily. I don't recommend undercoating show cars/trucks. Most just paint the floors since they don't see bad weather.



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63 Impala*66 Chevelle SS*69 Chevelle*69 C10 Stepside*71 Cheyenne 20*72 Chevelle

Parts for sale:
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/mr409/items4sale.html