Rust is taking a lot of these old Mercedes out

[chasinthesun]

My own fleet has been hit by the dreaded rust issues , mostly in the trunk quarters . I’ve located a panel dealer that sells the aftermarket panels and will try the replacements myself when Time comes . It’s when I’ve been searching the yards for parts that it’s most evident of the cars entry into disassembly for parts decision, on the other hand I scratch my head at others when all that may have been needed was a bit of wrenching or replacing .

[Junkman]

Be sure to examine the doors where the lip that holds the door seal resides. Two doors out of 4 cars total had rusty lips. Fortunately, the car I'm keeping is sufficiently good that simply sanding and treating the rust should suffice.

[tjts1]

We send completely rust free examples to the JY on a regular basis.

I never understood why people take on massive rust repair projects when shipping a car from a rust free part of the world is far cheaper.

[sloride]

Originally Posted by tjts1

We send completely rust free examples to the JY on a regular basis.

I never understood why people take on massive rust repair projects when shipping a car from a rust free part of the world is far cheaper.

Sun baked interiors are much easier to deal with.

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by sloride

Sun baked interiors are much easier to deal with.

It is true that the sun - UV, heat - exact their own toll. Oh well. No one gets out of here alive.

[tjts1]

Originally Posted by cmac2012

It is true that the sun - UV, heat - exact their own toll. Oh well. No one gets out of here alive.

Or you put your pristine rust belt interior into a rust free south west shell. Still easier than fixing rust.

[martureo]

Originally Posted by tjts1

We send completely rust free examples to the JY on a regular basis.

I never understood why people take on massive rust repair projects when shipping a car from a rust free part of the world is far cheaper.

Well, mine has been a daily driver for eleven years, took two of three of my children home from the hospital when the more modern car failed, and has been the most reliable car I've ever owned.


I like this one. That's really the reason.

Plus, I've already addressed the other issues one usually gets with any car. If I got another one from a drier region I'd have to start over and address all those other little repairs and quirks.

[BillGrissom]

Almost no rust on any of my 7 vehicles. The 300D's do build up water in the trunk side wells when it rains (17 in/yr avg in CA Central Valley). Any debris clogs the rubber drain grommets. I have had to wire-brush and repaint the sheet-metal there. I cringe when I see photos of Eastern cars w/ the area around the jack holes rusted out. When I bought my 1965 Chrysler in 1991, I was amazed that there wasn't a spot of rust behind the rear bumpers. It looked new underneath. It had lived life on the CA Central Coast and some time in the Mojave Desert (evil sun), mostly parked outside. Even after 6 years in GA parked outside, it is still fairly rust-free underneath. Ditto for my 1996 Plymouth bought new and spent 6 years in GA, often outside. But, my 1969 Dart suffered from 2 winters of salt in northern IN. Newish cars up there looked horrid after just 5 winters.

[Felching]

Rust will take mine by ~5 years. The floor pans are already peeling.

[Phil_F_NM]

The motor in my 220D is going to leave me behind in the rusted chassis one of these days!
Phil Forrest

[vwnate1]

Yes, it's a seriously sad thing that no one wants rust free bodies with current tags & titles for classic cars ~ not even for FREE .

I was born & raised Down East back when the average 4 year old car / truck was unsafe to drive due to salt induced rust .

When I moved to California in 1970 I was shocked and amazed to see so many 1930's, 1940's and 1950's cars junked because they needed new tires and brakes...

Yesterday I replaced the dented left front fender on my '82 240D, Rich sold me a decent one with close to matching paint .

When I had it off I was shocked to discover Mercedes designed in sediment traps and they were full of leaves, road munge and grit and oil mist too .

With the fender off it was a simple thing to clean it all out/off, I was amazed to discover NO RUST .

If anyone needs it, I now have a nice rust free (shiny white paint) left front W123 fender that's dented ~ if no one claims it quickly I'll leave it out for the neighborhood scrap metal guy next week .

I'm still pissed off about the many RUST FREE vehicles I purchased at $crap price to salvage mechanical and trim / interior bits out of then ad to give to the crushers because others who usually had complete but rusted to junk cars they were "going to fix up some day" ~ I always transfer titles and bring license tags up to date and into my name so it's wasteful for no one to take the hulks .

[Rogviler]

My wagon has zero rust but the alignment is bad and with just shy of 300k on the clock it's race between the engine and the transmission to see which will pop first. There's really no interest in them where I live, so I'm not sure what to do with it after that. Too bad, if it was covered in rust bubbles I could get $40k easy on BAT.