Is this rust bad?

[AnthonyA1234]

Got some pics from a foxbody seller of some common rust spots. How does this look to you guys

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[FreePenguin]

structurally, no.
aesthetically, I wouldnt be too happy- I thought

definitely a salt car though, by the coast I assume?

edit. its a fox body so its old as heck, thats not bad imo. could be worst. depends on what you want to do with it

 

[AnthonyA1234]

Yea I just found out from the car fax that it’s a NY car so I made sure to get some pics of common rust areas. It’s good to know it’s nothing bad structurally. Thanks for the input

 

[FreePenguin]

to me, surface rust isnt a big deal. rust through the metal is catastrophic. I am in ohio, most cars here are eaten out completely, frame rails etc completely gone.

surface rust is just surface rust. we have vehicles here so bad, you can poke your fingers into them and it'll poke through the rails. I saw a van's engine fall out of its vehicle in a parking lot a few years back, it was just stuck in parking lot between rows, engine under the car. rusted out.

strangely though, my 10 year old scion, with almost 200k miles, doesnt have a spec of rust on it. and its a beater, but I do wash it, and I use undercoating. so maybe the rust is simply covered up and waiting to fall apart, but it doesnt feel that way.

the brine is one bad culprit. it dissolves everything, including your paint and wax I swear. its something like beet juice? I cant imagine beets being this corrosive.

 

[Cobra Jet]

First off - if there's that much rust on the BBK CAI... it has rust elsewhere that can't be seen.

Second, the owner is sending you bad photos, because none depict the actual severity of the rust.

3rd, you must get pics of the front frame rail to lower strut tower areas. The only way to do that is from looking up from under the car with a strong light, looking through the front fender to the frame (past the front wheels or with wheels off) and removing the plastic wheel liner, and/or by getting a strong light down past the CAI/header on passenger side and past the wiring harness/header/brake booster on driver side of the engine looking at strut tower bases to frame rails. Driver side damage is usually worse and directly under the main harness that lays on top of the frame rail - especially internal rot from the inside out.

At the rear, torque boxes to rear floor/seat pan are common areas of cracks/damages from 5.0 beatings. Once the torque box is torn, you either need a repair kit OR it has to be welded up, because it will continue to tear. Upper control arm perches are another common area of possible damages.

That rust in the A-pillars with doors open - that can certainly be problematic and isn't always just "surface". It's rusting from the inside out (back side). If that area is soft or is rusted badly on back side, eventually it will collapse, which isn't good because the door hinges rely solely on that metal for support.

Brake lines (the steel ones) that run front to back can also rot or rust - and not just the straight lines seen in the images, it would be the sections that go up to the rear chassis and those that snake into the front booster. Same is true for the steel fuel line running from front to rear and where the fuel filter is located (above front of fuel tank at top of trunk pan).

I wouldn't buy that car based on pics alone. That is a car that you need to go see it in person, on a lift and be able to literally poke around being that there is visible rust (cancer) and knowing it's a "rust belt" vehicle. I'd be willing to bet it has front frame rail to strut tower rust if it has that much corrosion in the forward A-pillar door jambs.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Some of that will be much deeper then in appears. Basically some will not be just surface rust. The pics of the jams may need attention.

 

[FreePenguin]

First off - if there's that much rust on the BBK CAI... it has rust elsewhere that can't be seen.

Second, the owner is sending you bad photos, because none depict the actual severity of the rust.

3rd, you must get pics of the front frame rail to lower strut tower areas. The only way to do that is from looking up from under the car with a strong light, looking through the front fender to the frame (past the front wheels or with wheels off) and removing the plastic wheel liner, and/or by getting a strong light down past the CAI/header on passenger side and past the wiring harness/header/brake booster on driver side of the engine looking at strut tower bases to frame rails. Driver side damage is usually worse and directly under the main harness that lays on top of the frame rail - especially internal rot from the inside out.

At the rear, torque boxes to rear floor/seat pan are common areas of cracks/damages from 5.0 beatings. Once the torque box is torn, you either need a repair kit OR it has to be welded up, because it will continue to tear. Upper control arm perches are another common area of possible damages.

That rust in the A-pillars with doors open - that can certainly be problematic and isn't always just "surface". It's rusting from the inside out (back side). If that area is soft or is rusted badly on back side, eventually it will collapse, which isn't good because the door hinges rely solely on that metal for support.

Brake lines (the steel ones) that run front to back can also rot or rust - and not just the straight lines seen in the images, it would be the sections that go up to the rear chassis and those that snake into the front booster. Same is true for the steel fuel line running from front to rear and where the fuel filter is located (above front of fuel tank at top of trunk pan).

I wouldn't buy that car based on pics alone. That is a car that you need to go see it in person, on a lift and be able to literally poke around being that there is visible rust (cancer) and knowing it's a "rust belt" vehicle. I'd be willing to bet it has front frame rail to strut tower rust if it has that much corrosion in the forward A-pillar door jambs.

Definitely have to see in person. I tend to buy a vehicle away from salt belt if I bought used. It’s that bad here.
Summer cars no issue, winter driven cars. Rip

 

[AnthonyA1234]

Definitely have to see in person. I tend to buy a vehicle away from salt belt if I bought used. It’s that bad here.
Summer cars no issue, winter driven cars. Rip

Are there any methods I can use to determine how bad the rust is? I’m guessing if it’s really deep when I touch that door jamb rust it would feel soft

 

[FreePenguin]

Are there any methods I can use to determine how bad the rust is? I’m guessing if it’s really deep when I touch that door jamb rust it would feel soft

I don’t think that’s a good guage. Metal rusted or not is still hard. It doesn’t get spongy, even spots we push through is hard, it just crumbles flakes apart.

Really just gotta dig in and inspect further. It’s like an infestation, surface rust raises eyebrows, then you gotta get into the nooks crannies to really inspect

 

[Cobra Jet]

Hey @AnthonyA1234

Didn’t realize it was you as OP initially when I responded here to this thread. Is this the same Fox as being discussed in your other thread?

Also to check porosity of rust - bring an old school ice pick, dentist pick or a small Phillips head screwdriver.

Ask the owner if it is ok that you prod/poke at the rust areas to determine how bad (thinned out) the sheet metal has become due to the surface rust. If the “poker” goes into the metal, even slightly, then the metal is breached to the point that it is weak and should be replaced.

The thing with rust is, it still accelerates even while sitting, even if brought into dry storage. You would have to use a product like POR15 (or similar) to coat and encapsulate the rust. This can be done to stop exterior surface rust HOWEVER, it will not stop rust from the inside out…. The only way to stop rust is to cut it out. Even if you could coat the inside or backside, it has already proliferated the metal internally and the chemical cycle continues to degrade the metal.

The one image of the passenger side door open with the cancer bubble and rust stain above the white sticker, that’s rusting from inside out…. The drive side, that’s quite a bit of rusting, granted it appears to be surface, but it could be worse on the opposite side that is not seen.

Anything can be fixed, but it’s the amount of time & money you want to invest.

Does it stop that car from being enjoyed or drivable? No, but if the rust continues and more so IF the front frame rails below the strut towers are affected, then yes, because those areas become a safety issue.

Pull the black exterior cowling grate off that is below the windshield and see how much debris is trapped in there. That collection of debris is what causes the rusting at the A-pillars.

Is $7k fair? IMO, just seeing the rust in your supplied pictures, and if this is the same Fox in your other thread that is also non-running, then I’d shoot for $6k or at bare minimum, even $5000…

 

[Deleted member 35644]

Be aware that these cars like to hide rot under the cowl, which spreads up the windshield frame. That rusted hardware in the door jambs gives me pause, only because of what may be going on in the cowl. Big bucks to fix. There's a guy on the fox forums that posted his odyssey with that issue on a seemingly perfect Fox he bought. It maybe a good idea to have it professionally inspected if you don't know how to look for it yourself.

 

[Hack]

Just based on the photos I would stay away. Even though they are bad photos that car looks like it bathed in salt. I've seen MN cars that looked better.

Once the rust is started, a few years in a warm, humid climate like Florida can really accelerate it.

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