Hello,
Just wanted to see what people think about how I should approach my disco:
its a June 1994 with 89K miles that I picked up for $2,000 a couple of months ago. Interior is in great shape. I've done lots of maintanance with fluids, plugs etc. Problem is this: I'm in Chicago and its a chicago car so the roads are basically salt water for like 5 months every year. There is rust under the car, the two front door panels are peeling about 3 inches from rust, and the "trunk" door sill on the bottom is rusted through for a good 6inch lenght. I've got por-15 which I'm gonna coat the bottom with. The wheel wells have rust too which I"m gonna coat then epoxy to hell. Luckily major things like drive shafts aren't rusted.
And it runs really smoothly. Gas milage is like 13 but I do all city driving.
Now the IDEA part: with all this rust, is it worth it for me to start adding new discs, shocks, off road stuff. I'm not a hard core off road person, but I appreciate a good drive and I see myself keeping this car as a hobby and basically running it for a couple hundred thousand miles and more. Should I start adding things and then buy new doors or panels when I can afford it? I'm not in a position to buy another car or anything so either way I have to drive this car for a few years.

Thanks for the input,

RM

 

I used to live in Pennsylvania so I know the rust thing REALLY well ;-) My advice is to fix the body first because rust progresses much faster than you might think- especially when it's already taken a foot hold like you describe. I drove Toyotas when I lived in the east and a car could easily go from a few rust spots to big holes in a single season.

The right way to fix rust is to either replace the panels or cut out the bad spots and weld in new pieces. Extend and other rust treatments can slow the progress but not stop it. I used to spend a weekend every fall with a sander, Extend, Bondo and spray paint getting rid of all of the surface rust I could, and address the holes and any structural issues with a cutting torch and a welder in a friend's garage.

I used to spray the used motor oil on the frame and suspension components, and inside the rocker panels, then drive the thing down a dusty road for a few miles. On cars with box frames, I would spray it liberally inside the frame rails as well. Seemed to really help over the years. I could run a finger over anything under the car and there was clean black paint underneath. Made it a dirty job to work on stuff, but the cars lasted a long time.

Dave

 

no need to spray used oil under it, it is a Rover. It has a continual undercarriage lubrication system.It sprays oil by its self...

 

Good point!

 

LOL!

 

Yeah I've lived in a place with salty roads for 3-4 months of the year too. When ever you take anything apart, re-assemble with grease/anti seize compoundon all the threads etc. We used to slather vaseline on the chrome parts on our motorcycles for the winter to protect it. You're about ~800 miles from OKC, you could try a road trip down there and pick up some doors out of a southern vehicle from rover cannibal?

 

We get the same problem in the UK - can you get Waxoyl in the US? It's pretty much regarded as the solution for rustproofing, or at least as close to it you can get without a rebuild and galvanising the chassis.

http://www.waxoyl.com/en/ was the first link I could find to the manufacturer.

Cheers,

 

We use a similar product on aircraft called CorrosionX. http://www.corrosionx.com/aviation.html

Should work superbly for cars as well. Looks like a similar idea- a durable oily film.

Dave