So, do Rodders actually LIKE rust?

I've been watching, enjoying, driving, buying and selling old cars for 35 years. One thing that always amazed me is what I and others will pay for a rusted out shell of a car, if it's a cool car. Notice, I put myself into that group too? What I'm talking about is say a Model A five window coupe. There appears to be a ton of them with nice driver quality paint and interior that run and drive that sell for under $10,000, some of them a lot lower than that. Yet, you see bare body shells on a frame with weeds growing up around them and the doors off to the side bringing really strong money in comparison. Yeah, I understand that rodders don't want to pay for paint and so-so interiors that they are just going to rip out anyway. But there seems to be more to it than that.

I hate to admit it, but I LIKE a car that LOOKS like it's been sitting somewhere for 40 years. Rust and dust get my blood pumping more than shine and sparkle. I know I can't be the only one that feels this way. Here are some examples

Rusty for $4,780

http://i16.ebayimg.com/04/i/001/28/4b/59bc_3.JPG

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars...id=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65:2|39:1|240:1318

Super nice for just $2,500 more

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9df26b3127ccec65a2fe5bc4d00000040O00AZOWrZszaNGIPbz4e/cC[img]

[SIZE=2][URL]http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___Green-and-Black-Salesmans-Coupe-excellent-condition_W0QQitemZ320330693335QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item320330693335&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318[/URL][/SIZE]

[SIZE=2][img][URL]http://i7.ebayimg.com/01/i/001/27/f8/cc09_1.JPG[/URL] Or how about this Roadster basket case for almost $6,000?[/SIZE]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1929-Model-A-Roadster_W0QQitemZ320329221246QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item320329221246&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Rusty for $8,099
[URL="http://i8.ebayimg.com/08/i/001/27/82/2bb2_3.JPG"][SIZE=2]http://i8.ebayimg.com/08/i/001/27/82/2bb2_3.JPG[/SIZE][/URL][/mg]

[URL="http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___Ford-Model-A-1929-Original_W0QQitemZ140291986803QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item140291986803&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318"][SIZE=2]http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___Ford-Model-A-1929-Original_W0QQitemZ140291986803QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item140291986803&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318[/SIZE][/URL]

[SIZE=2]Fresh resto for $7,100[/SIZE]

[img][URL="http://i15.ebayimg.com/06/i/001/27/b6/dc34_1.JPG"][SIZE=2]http://i15.ebayimg.com/06/i/001/27/b6/dc34_1.JPG[/SIZE][/URL][SIZE=2][/SIZE]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1930-Model-A-Tudor-Sedan_W0QQitemZ230317106067QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item230317106067&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

 

I like a little rust I am NOT a Boyd style car fan..........

 

Rust sucks.

 

Guys buy rusty cars because working with virgin steel is the best way to go, no nasty surprises under 20 layers of paint and 2 inches of filler. To a true Hot Rodder rust is the eternal enemy to be fought and banished at all levels. You dont need a shiny pant job, satin and flat are OK, rust is BAD.
Simple really.
Doc.

 

Rust you can see is better than finding some seriously cobbled together shit hiding under nicely shaped bondo.

I have a rusty truck that I kept rusty, because it wasn't worth fixing otherwise. I think it is neat/cheap/fun.

.........but the next couple of projects are gonna be nicer. Starting out with better bodies and will be painted and detailed.

 

I hate rust. I don't know why some people like the rusty tack welded look.

 

On a "hamb friendly" car, rust is bad, with the exception of original patina. The idea here is to save them.

On the other hand, a couple years ago I wanted to buy a 77 buick that was rusted all to hell!!! Just because I thought it was cool that it had sooooo much rust in it and it still ran down the road
I guess maybe you could say I had a rat-rod moment or something

 

the idea of taking what has been abandoned to the elements, fighting natures overwhelming power, and returning that thing to a beauty defined by you; that's what motivates me, but then again, I am a little weird...

 

I'll share my two step process once again..................

 

rust holes, and rot suck, hate it. a perfect protective layer of surface rust rubbed smoothe by hand is priceless.

 

i hate rust..alot.

 

Rodders like rust, like chefs like spoiled food.

 

I don't think most are buying it because of the rust. They buy it so they can build it back up themselves and save another hotrod or custom from being crushed.

 

Rust is the MORTAL ENAMY of the hot rodder. Rust does not protect metal, It destroys it!

 

I'm not talking rotted out structure with frame rails crumbling. I'm talking that light coat of brown that I liken to the blue finish on a gun. Add to that some thick dust, a few spider webs and left over newspapers from the 60's and there you have my pefect barn find.

 

I couldn't sell this pile of rust..........

 

you are obviosly not from the north east where those cars would not be considered rusty. some of them would be great finds!

 

Of course you can liken rust to gun blueing. But, you'd be incorrect.

 

I like to see an old beast with surface rust, hiding behind someone's pole barn, but once I get my mitts on it, I'll want to get rid of all rust. Some guys here do have a point; at least with a bare metal car, there are no surprises hiding under the paint.

 

I'll buy surface rusted cars all day long before I buy a finished car. I'm going to do them again anyway and take it down to bare metal... with surface rust I know it hasn't been touched, and I can see exactly whats going on. With paint I know no matter what, the job underneath isn't up to my standards... so why bother, hap hazardly "finished cars" are for the people that don't know how to do the work. For us that do give us unmolested surface rusty cars! ... my two pennies, Oh and rot is a whole nother animal all together!

 

My turd wagon is a rolling pile of rust. It's got dents, mismatched paint, chipping paint, all around BAD paint. Someone screwed the trim on with self-tapping screws.

I have fun with it.

I'm also using my money and time to make a NICE car. Is there something wrong with enjoying the beater?

"What's wrong with rusty old cars?" - 'Mater

 

It's all about character. A perfectly beautiful woman without visible flaws is cold and bland, but add a few laughter lines and signs of experience and she's hot.

For me it's bringing these survivor cars back from the dead. It is about having the ability to visualize where others only see a train wreck. The best rust of all is the baked in the sun for years type from the desert South West. You cannot properly fake it - it's a process that takes time. And if only rust could speak, it would have some interesting stories to tell.

 

Nope. I like it about as much as easter egg cars.

Do you like dry rotted tires?

Do you like cracked old wiring?

How about a rotten old interior? It's got "patina"

Maybe an engine that leaks and smokes. Sweet!

I'f thats what you've got, no problem, they all start somewhere. But doesn't everyone want to make there car better? If you want to shock them, do it to the best of your ability, to design and fabricate. Rust is to be fixed.

 

Not unless they're getting paid by the hour to fix it. Even then,I don't think it's much fun.

 

i like rust but not on my cars

 

Say what? Were you dropped on your head as a child? There is no such thing as a protective layer of surface rust. That's about the dumbest thing I ever heard.... There is an old saying, "Rust never sleeps", that so called protective layer is eating the metal as we speak...

 

I too despise rust, and will not have it on a vehicle of mine, "original patina" be damned.

Rust is destructive, essentially digesting my hard work day and night. Rust never sleeps you know.

That all said, a shiny new paint job over the top of body work I didn't do is a frightening thing as well, 'cause just like all of you I have seen the horrendous body work that may lie beneath.

At best, the surface rust tells you that there's no filler on it, and at worst, even with a rotten car you can see what you're up against before you buy it.

EDIT: BWAHAHA!!!! ZMan beat me to the "Rust Never Sleeps" comment. Damn my fat fingers!!!

 

I would much prefer to buy a car with little or not rust on it. But I can't necessarily afford them. Lets say there's a 2 door sedan whatever for sale for $1500 that needs floors and rockers and other misc. welding work, and there's a cherry garage kept one with perfect floors and body but still needing resto for $5K.

Sure, I'd much rather have the clean one, but the $1500 one is so much more affordable. So I end up with the rougher one because the asking price is much easier to come up with all at once.

 

rust sucks

 

My '50 Buick's rusty, I drive it almost every day, and, being here in dry southern California, it's going to look the same long after I'm gone. That "baked on Southwestern rust" DOES sleep & it looks killer!