Rust repair (1 Viewer)

[Ashton0512]

Hey all, I’m new to this site so let me know if I’ve posted incorrectly.

I’m in the process of getting a 94 80 series,
275,000 kms. 1hz.

I want to know whether or not this rust repair is worth it or not getting the car is the better option. I would be doing the rust repair myself unless it’s cheap to get done by a professional.

Additionally, what would you all recommend u do about the 2 dents, are they easily repairable or?

Thank you for the help!

 

[Feistl]

Depends on price and what you intend to do with the vehicle. The issue is the rust you CAN see isn't too bad, but its very likely there is significantly more rust hidden behind the trim around the window. It becomes a bit of a pandoras box...

If its cheap and you just want a beater to take offroad, then no big deal. However its very easy to find a completely rust free 80 here in Australia so I would personally avoid.... Just not worth the hassle unless you plan on respraying the vehicle anyway (which itself is a pretty expensive and time consuming process).

 

[Ashton0512]

Depends on price and what you intend to do with the vehicle. The issue is the rust you CAN see isn't too bad, but its very likely there is significantly more rust hidden behind the trim around the window. It becomes a bit of a pandoras box...

If its cheap and you just want a beater to take offroad, then no big deal. However its very easy to find a completely rust free 80 here in Australia so I would personally avoid.... Just not worth the hassle unless you plan on respraying the vehicle anyway (which itself is a pretty expensive and time consuming process).

80 prices are through the roof atm. It’s 15k but a 1hz with low kms. I cant find any others with low kms around this price that are diesel (cannot afford to run 20L/100kms). What do you think of the price compared to others?. I’m not looking to have a beater, it’s going to be my daily. I’ve added more photos so you can see the rest of its condition

 

[leonard_nemoy]

If you think the price is fair and you don't care about the visuals of a little rust than go for it.

But that rust is probably not worth fixing.

In my opinion the biggest concern for a rig that will be daily driven is rust on the undercarriage.

If the undercarriage is rusty than maintenance like brakes and suspension will be a nightmare.

Body rust only hurts the eyes and collectibility. Undercarriage rust is much worse to deal with.

 

[Ashton0512]

If you think the price is fair and you don't care about the visuals of a little rust than go for it.

But that rust is probably not worth fixing.

In my opinion the biggest concern for a rig that will be daily driven is rust on the undercarriage.

If the undercarriage is rusty than maintenance like brakes and suspension will be a nightmare.

Body rust only hurts the eyes and collectibility. Undercarriage rust is much worse to deal with.

Thank you for the quick reply!

From what I’ve seen the price is pretty good but do you have an opinion on it?, I’ve only been looking for about 2 weeks so I don’t know if this is particularly low compared to others or I’m just not searching well enough.

What makes you say it’s not worth fixing? Just the money to benefit? As in the money it costs to what it does isn’t worth it?

How do I check the undercarriage properly when inspecting the vehicle to ensure it’s not rusted?

Thank you!!

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Thank you for the quick reply!

From what I’ve seen the price is pretty good but do you have an opinion on it?, I’ve only been looking for about 2 weeks so I don’t know if this is particularly low compared to others or I’m just not searching well enough.

What makes you say it’s not worth fixing? Just the money to benefit? As in the money it costs to what it does isn’t worth it?

How do I check the undercarriage properly when inspecting the vehicle to ensure it’s not rusted?

Thank you!!

It's not worth it to fix it because it costs thousands and you will probably total the rig or blow up the engine in 5 years if your daily driving it. The rust in the body doesn't hurt anything or affect driveability so why waste money fixing it.

Unless you want a collectors rig, than you should find one in better shape.

As far as checking the undercarriage you need to crawl under the rig and look for rust underneath.

 

[DivByZero]

As mentioned, what's going on underneath is more important, but nothing you've shown so far would worry me too much. The one on the door is a sign there could be a bad outer rubber on the window letting in water. It's a door though, worst case scenario you watch on gumtree and pick up a replacement from a rig at a wrecker or being parted out. What's going on there doesn't affect the rest of the vehicle.

If you care about the dents, a bit of septone body filler, a sand, prime and paint will take care of them. Or keep them and don't bother. If you're going to take this rig offroad, I wouldn't fuss over every ding, they don't seem too bad.

 

[Ashton0512]

As mentioned, what's going on underneath is more important, but nothing you've shown so far would worry me too much. The one on the door is a sign there could be a bad outer rubber on the window letting in water. It's a door though, worst case scenario you watch on gumtree and pick up a replacement from a rig at a wrecker or being parted out. What's going on there doesn't affect the rest of the vehicle.

If you care about the dents, a bit of septone body filler, a sand, prime and paint will take care of them. Or keep them and don't bother. If you're going to take this rig offroad, I wouldn't fuss over every ding, they don't seem too bad.

thank you for your response,

I’m not too fussed on it just want to see what I’m in for in the long run. The things I would want to fix is above the windshield and the window seal rust.

Do you think 15k is reasonable?

 

[Feistl]

Possibly the bigger concern is it looks like its had a respray done at some point, and perhaps the prep work was relatively poor and now the rust is reappearing...

I mean it looks straight enough and isn't a horrible buy, but how urgently do you need a vehicle? If you've only been looking at 80 series for a couple of weeks you may want to spend more time looking and possibly extend your search radius. I haven't been keeping a super close eye on prices, but $15k for a 1HZ does seem on the expensive end of the scale.

 

[DivByZero]

It's pretty regional right now. Much easier to get a better deal in SA or WA than it is on the easy coast these days.

 

[Ashton0512]

It's pretty regional right now. Much easier to get a better deal in SA or WA than it is on the easy coast these days.

Only issue with this is it’s a big trip to even inspect the vehicle. Driving to another state especially finding someone to drag along with me so I can drive the new car back

 

[Ashton0512]

Possibly the bigger concern is it looks like its had a respray done at some point, and perhaps the prep work was relatively poor and now the rust is reappearing...

I mean it looks straight enough and isn't a horrible buy, but how urgently do you need a vehicle? If you've only been looking at 80 series for a couple of weeks you may want to spend more time looking and possibly extend your search radius. I haven't been keeping a super close eye on prices, but $15k for a 1HZ does seem on the expensive end of the scale.

What makes you think a respray has been done? Just how good the paint looks or.

I haven’t seen a 1hz with lowish kms for under 20k. Maybe I’m searching for them wrong or? Do you have any recommendations on where to look?

Thank you all