Technical Anyone been on the salt with chrome suspension parts?

I’m thinking about chroming the banjo in my 32 and am planning on going driving out to bonneville this year. Just curious is anyone has first hand experience of being on the salt with chrome suspension parts?

Any experience is appreciated.

 

Sure...CLEAN WELL...on the way home..!
DON'T wait until you get...home, clean as soon as possible after leaving the salt.
You do know that salt increases rust formation...right ? No real need to ask this question.

Mike

 

Lanolin spray or WD-40 Specialist Corrosion Inhibitor prior to going on the salt. Spray everything.
Clean well (pressure cleaner while on hoist) ASAP or when you get home. Re-apply spray.

Do you guys have 'Mr. Sheen' furniture polish spray in the US?

EDIT: pressure cleaner may not be a good idea, as pointed out by more knowledgable people later in this thread...

 

Coat everything underneath with a good polish ,mr sheen or whatever comes in a spray can after you have washed it down at home BEFORE YOU GO ,then when you leave the salt go to the top end of Wendover (up where the big cowboy is)with a load of 25 cent bits ( im Scottish sorry) to the garage round the road to the left hand side and power wash the heck out of your car/bike /trike in there-then spray the heck out of it with whatever rust preventative you use .....go home and do the same ! believe me depending on the atmosphere where you live it will rust for a few years after you get home......ask me how I know lol

 

I'm not Scottish, but am from Scottish heritage and I must say, that is the very first time I have ever heard someone apologise for it. It's usually off the other end of the scale..............loud and proud...............

 

Old salt dogs do not recommend a pressure washer. It will drive the salt into the cracks and small spaces. Lots of water - low pressure, for hours - like a water sprinkler under the car all day.

 

Old salt dogs use someone else's vehicle to go on the salt, i.e. rental or buy a cheap old truck and sell it or wreck it after the trip. The salt will get INSIDE mechanical components, like brakes, starters , alternators, and pack itself away on top of fuel tanks chassis rails and any other crevices where you cannot reach unless you dismantle.
Last time I was there (2008)the local scouts or similar were offering a warm water wash, just off the salt, at the end of the road , the line was long and the wash not too successful, . I pressure washed it on a lift afterwards(at the other end of the road), AND there was still salt in the chassis etc when I went back to Vancouver BC three weeks later, we picked it up by the towbar with a crane and washed it again AND the truck sat and rusted away for two years, until my friend who had it stored for me, told me it was beyond redemption and he had junked it. I was going back for it but has never eventuated...life got in the way!

 

You will find traces of salt months later, no matter how much you clean it.

 

Come on man, with all due respect. Of course Delton knows all about the salt/rust issue. He is asking for first hand experiences of having done it. And he is starting to get it.

 

I do not have any first hand salt experience but I have seen these for washing underneath your car. Looks like it would work much better than laying on your back w a pressure washer wand. Good luck on your trip [emoji106]

 

I see the comments about pressure washers and would agree it may drive the salt into cracks etc but I think the whole spraying polish up and inside everything is to help stop it getting into these areas - I think most readers missed this bit of my comment.I wasn`t apologising for being Scottish ,it was for not knowing what the 25 cent bit is called

 

As much as I want to go to Bonneville and drive my car, this thread, as well as several other threads and discussions in years past have convinced me to fly and subject a rental car to the ravages of the salt.

 

Speaking from experience,Don,t do it,you will regret it.

 

We have all spoken of suspension related cleaning, but another consideration is electronics, and wiring. Many modern cars have electrical components, and wiring related to the transmission under the car. Your copper wiring will turn green, and your electricals will fail. Don't ask me how I know this....

 

Quarters, us Americans (being our infinitely imaginative selves) call them quarters. 25 cents out of the 100 cents in the dollar.

 

Ah jeez guys! I have taken 6 different cars to Bonneville over the last 11 years and all are still intact and just fine. A couple of them have been there twice. I like to take something different each time but not because of being afraid they will disappear. All got washed well at the car wash in Wendover and again on my lift at home. None had any prep before hand. Worst that happened on the 1st trip was a box of parts I had in the trunk on my roadster got pitted because I didn't take it out and clean those parts.

Do things get nasty? Yes indeed! Would I take my nicest cars there? No. Will they rust if you take the same car on the salt year after year? Yes.

Take your hot rod. It is worth the risk.

Here are 3 of them. Also took my '31 roadster pickup and my avatar '29 AV8 sedan.

Dave

 

I can tell you that I had over 25 years experience with this issue and that once the salt is turned to liquid and leeches into all the cracks and crevices it is pretty much there forever, especially in areas where there are lapped over panels. All of our tow/support vehicles were considered expendable....and they were. All have been parted and scrapped. My advice, for what it is worth is: NEVER drive anything you care greatly about or want to keep long term out onto the salt! Especially your Hot Rod!

 

Has anyone used this stuff and if so was it any help?

https://www.theruststore.com/Salt-Away-32-oz-Plus-6-oz-Mixing-Unit-P207.aspx

 

It is no different than us up North driving in Mag water all winter. I took my OT Ranger to 300K over 14 years and several trips to the Salt. Looked almost new the day I traded it in. As mentioned you DO NOT want to pressure wash it! I have a small sunflower style water sprinkler that I move around under the truck over the course of a day.
Looks like this
Your best friend tho is Mother Nature. 80 mph down I80 in a thunderstorm helps a ton.
As for the OPs question, it is up to you if you want your chrome in those conditions

 

Hello,

Does driving in a foot deep salt water flooded road count? On our King Tides, several So Cal roads near the beaches get flooded with the tides and surf rolling up/over the beach sand berms. Many So Cal residents have experienced the deep salt water flooding near the coast. Even those that launch their weekend boats from harbor ramps get total immersion in the deep salt water. So, salt is all around us, not just approximately 740 miles inland.

Just about everything everyone else has said about salt getting on hot rod parts is supported by thousands that have gone there in the past. We are just people that have ordinary electricals, some chrome stuff on the motors plus other places. They are all metal that can/will rust without anything else to get that salt spray, chunks or total immersion in the deep salt water floods near us.

The three cars from 58-70s, we have had owned and used in salt conditions were totally sprayed black undercoating. (professionally sprayed, not from a can) that helped. But, nothing is going to keep the salt air and contact away from any metal parts if one lives by the ocean. So, the power spray booths are a "gift from the gods" to get that whole area underneath sprayed and clean.

Jnaki
Go there, have fun and water spray clean the whole car and bottom immediately afterwards. Don't let is sit for days. Luckily in So Cal, there were a ton of power spray booths in every neighborhood along the coast. The salt never had a chance if the power spray is used. YRMV

 

I’ve run my roadster with a chrome tube front axle, which hair pins, tie rod, drag link, etc on the salt since 1985. The only thing I didn’t protect was the threaded hair pin mount with a plastic plug. I usually washed the car every day on the salt with a pump sprayer when racing. I’ve never had any problems with those parts.
My race car body always came off after Bonneville.

If your just cruising around and the salt is not wet a good spinning style water sprinkler is what I’ve found to be the best under my truck and trailer along with protective mud flaps but that’s not what you want to know. My suggestion for under your car and rear end is water flow to clean it not water pressure. I have not and would never use a pressure washer. If your driving to N.C. your going to run into rain. If you get enough you will never know you’ve ever been to the salt. When you get home take each wheel off and take the brakes apart or at least the drums and calipers off and do a thorough cleaning with flowing water and a bottle brush if you have vented rotors. I have not taken a pickup to the salt since 2012 and never will again..

 

In Scotland we don`t have a quarter portion of out first note- we have one thats a fifth ........called a 20 pence , we call it a 20 pence lol -so imaginative

 

If you do this buy tape and black bags -tape the black bags to the floor and seats to keep the salt out as it saves on the cleaning before handing it back ,the salt gets ground into the carpet .....ask me how I know !!!

 

This. Talked to a guy who went out in a full fender32 roadster. Said he came home and put it on jack stands and ran a sprinkler under it for 2 weeks.This guy was one of the owners of Racing head service in Memphis. Told me even at the end of 2 weeks he would still find "Puddle" of salt.

 

There is a car was close to you are referring to that is connected to gas station.. good for getting snacks and drinks while you wash . Most likely the sane one .

 

Had a reveal one time in salt lake . Found a dumpster with some card board boxes. We lined the floors with boxes even before we left salt lake . I heard there are big cleaning fees from the rental car companies

 

I didn't think chrome was allowed on the salt? LOL

 

I haven’t personally been. I have cleaned cars after returning.
I removed every suspension part and cleaned.
Basically, we took most of the car apart and cleaned then put back together.
Even after that, tube rails and tight spaces shown signs of corrosion.

 

I guess it depends on your perspective.....my avatar coupe has been to speed week a dozen times since '89. I built the car to drive and enjoy, not polish. So it has chips ,cracks and yes a few rust bubbles here and there...
Do I lose sleep over it? Nope. I am having fun driving the shit out of it!

 

I agree with those commenting to avoid the salt with chrome parts.
I drove my '62 Ford Galaxie with chrome steel wheels on the salt in 2008 and 2009.
They all ended up rusting and it ruined the chrome plating. The next owner of the car ended up buying a new set of chrome wheels to replace them.