73 ta flood car
 

Future rustbucket.

With the bad metal that was used in 73 GM cars, all that salt in all the bare pinch welds is going to rot that car from the inside out. I don't care how well they wash it with fresh water, the rust is already started.

My 73 rusted out on the floor pans, and rear frame rails without any salt water getting in there only 20,000 miles, never been driven in the winter, stored inside most of the time I owned it. The floor rusted in weird places like the driveshaft tunnel had pin holes in it right through the red oxide primer and paint, rusted from the inside through the paint and primer. The firewall had pin holes in it too.

Back in the 70s the 73, and 74 GM cars, and trucks would rust under the paint, even when the paint was intact big blisters would appear. I was told it was like the mid 60s Fords that the frames rotted from the inside, bad quality recycled imported metal. Early 70s ford trucks also rusted so badly they had a recall to replace panels at fords cost due to bad steel being used in the body stampings. Then later Toyota recalled their trucks to replace frames that rusted from poor quality steel. They also would trade those trucks on newer trucks for a good credit.

When I worked in the GE plant in Erie PA I worked in the shop that burned parts from steel plate. We had some steel that I was told came from Japan that was so rusty we couldn't even burn parts from it. You'd lose the cut from the torch because rust would screw up the cut, they ended up scrapping the unused steel plates. Huge rust blisters would just erupt as the plates sat waiting to be used. I was told the affected steel was bought because it was much cheaper than steel made here in the states. I believe GM also got some of the cheap steel as it was in the early 70s too.

I would imagine it would be OK as far as the body is concerned if the entire car was stripped and have the body dipped. Basically starting over. I don't see the point in going to that extreme on a car that will always have a branded title. Plus, then you have the rest of the car to deal with.

I was working Naples Fl. and traveling back and forth on Alligator Alley and saw that car on the side of the road hooked backwards on the claw a flat bed with the flat tire they describe...

They probably should have immersed it in fresh water for a few days before starting :)

LOL, you good for a one liner every now and again.

It wouldn't have made it any worse. They should also have removed the exhaust system and drained it, or at least drilled some small holes to drain it before trying to start it.

Funniest quote in that video, ever: "Saltwater doesn't get moldy"

The only way to thoroughly neutralize the salt water would be to immerse the body in an alkaline bath with multiple fresh water rinses. Even then, you are going to have to passivate the base metal to have a chance of not having rust.

GM cars were so bad under the best conditions, it would be hard to be optimistic about that one. A real shame. The 70 TA I had was purchased in 1977. In 7 years of normal use before I bought it, the only usable sheet metal on the car was the roof and surprisingly the rocker panels. Hood, deck lid, quarter panels, fillers, valance panels, fenders, door skins all had rust holes through them. Metal was replaced, original metal was treated with the best materials of the time. Within 10 years of careful use, it began rusting again. Whoever they flip the car to better try and enjoy it quickly.

Not sure where some of you guys live or what your cars have been subjected too. I understand salty roads and poor storage can destroy a car... But it sounds like some of your cars were not subjected to that. ..

My '73.. and 75 are both 100% rust free. Neither car has never been rusted or ever had rust repair.

Mine were in Erie PA, and I didn't buy the car until 1977, so it was driven in the snow before I owned it, more than likely. Actually I bought it after it was wrecked, supposedly during the winter, 4 years old, it needed 2 fenders, heels were rusted, 2 full quarters rear body member and drop off and rear valance. All those panels had holes through them in 4 years.

The floors and top were good at that time I quit driving it after all the body work was done and the new panels were installed 1979. The car sat until I sold it in 2019 by that time the floor, firewall, and rear frame rails were getting pin holes in the metal. all the panels that were new GM metal in 1977 and they were all solid, but the OEM panels that didn't get replace in 77, the metal was rusting.

I also owned a 73 Grand Am (bought in 1975), and a 73 GTO, (bought in 1979) by the time both cars were only 6 years old, the quarters, and wheel lips were completely rusted away, and had new metal welded in both cars. They didn't get driven in the winter while I owned them. I had a 73 T/A hood that I bought used in 77 for my 73 T/A, by 2019 the whole underside bracing was rotted away along with huge rust scabs on the upper surface. The whole car was painted in 1979, changed color from Buccaneer red, to black lacquer.

I leased a Pennzoil gas station, and garage from 1977 through 1982, so I saw how those cars rotted away under the worst conditions, 73 and 74 were much worse than pre 73, or post 74 and later. I also owed a 73 Jeep truck that was driven every winter in the salt, wrecker and plow truck, the body didn't start rusting through until the mid 90s, so there is a difference in the metal used.

F bodies rust badly in the rust belt, just the way they were built, but 73 and 74s rusted quicker than other years because of the crappy metal used. The metal I replaced on my 73 was made around 77-78, it lasted 40 years and looked about the same way it looked when the car was painted in 1979. The OEM metal continued to deteriorate during those 40 years not being driven.

If you own a 73 that is rust free, it had to be in a very dry, low humidity climate. Erie is just the opposite, high humidity and big temperature swings that of course produces condensation. In Erie if you owned a pole barn and the temperature swung a bunch over the day, you'd get so much condensation on the metal roof, that it looked like it was raining inside of the building. Living next to that lake keeps everything moist, all the time.

[QUOTE=mgarblik;6386221]GM cars were so bad under the best conditions, it would be hard to be optimistic about that one. A real shame. The 70 TA I had was purchased in 1977. In 7 years of normal use before I bought it, the only usable sheet metal on the car was the roof and surprisingly the rocker panels. Hood, deck lid, quarter panels, fillers, valance panels, fenders, door skins all had rust holes through them. Metal was replaced, original metal was treated with the best materials of the time. Within 10 years of careful use, it began rusting again. Whoever they flip the car to better try and enjoy it quickly.[/QUOT

Mike, I agree but it is the ONLY way I can think of to save this vehicle.

Where I work a guy has a 73 firebird that's not rusted out and actually has the original gold paint on it. I actually had a opportunity to buy it back in the early- mid 80's from the original owner but I passed. Been a maine car its whole life but the original owner did take care of it..you could tell the car was special to him. I cringed watching the 73 ta...without being completely taken apart and preserved you know that salt water is already doing its thing and the restoration looked like a nice one prior. Too bad.

My 70 TA was purchased and lived it's life in Ohio. If you have ever watched any of the underwater video of the Titanic wreck site, that's what 70's GM cars looked like after 10 years on Ohio roads. I see your from CA and I understand how you can't imagine how rusty midwest cars get after just a few years. Same way I can't believe how FANTASTIC AZ, CA and other western cars are after 40-50 years. Even current vehicles and trucks used as snow plows and such rust terribly still. When I service them, you don't even bother trying to remove fasteners under the truck. You start with a 3/4" drive impact and just try to break all the fasteners off. If that doesn't work, out comes the torch. Socket sets and wrenches are just a cute novelty.

The '73 has been in CA all of its life and garaged or carported most of the time. The '75 is originally from southern Alberta Canada up until I bought it 2 years ago. Its cold but a very dry climate. Its a low mile car that was always garaged.. but appears to have seen a few dirt roads in its life.

Fog it with corrosion X

Yikes. Sounds like a mess.

Wasn't there a specific model year in the 2nd gen run where they started to finally use galvanized metal? I've heard from time to time that 78+ or 79+ cars don't rust as bad as the earlier 2nd gens, or something.

I know for sure that 77 still had painted sheet metal, I had a customer with a 77 SE T/A with T tops that leaked, all 4 footwells were rusted beyond repair. I found a 79 base firebird with good floor pans in it, and welded the 79 pans into his car, 79 wasn't galvanized either, just painted sheet metal.

Someone gave me an plain jane 75, I was going to strip the shell out for any usable parts. I used a reach boom forklift to lift the car up, and it broke just behind the front seats, the roof was the only thing holding the halves together.