<VV> Rust stopping-humor

[Alan and Clare Wesson]

How do you think I learned to fix it? My Dad bought an 11 month old Fiat in 
1971 (when I was 13). It already had minor rust, and the deal was basically 
that he would keep the car if I could keep it in good condition.

I liked the car (he had promised it to me when I was old enough to drive, 
which is 17 here), and so I taught myself how to do it, and over the 
intervening 38 years I have been improving the techniques.

And in fact I have discovered that, yes, Fiats and Lancias rusted - but 
there's not much that didn't. What in fact happened (it's well documented) 
was that Fiats and Lancias were as well-protected as any other car (better 
than many - my 51 Chev included) until 1965. In 1965 the Russians bought the 
Lada factory equipment off them, and they paid Fiat (and Lancia) with steel 
which turned out to have a very high scrap content.

The outcome was that they rusted very badly until 1984, after which they 
were fully galvanised.

So I just take great care not to buy a Fiat or a Lancia from between 1969 
and 1984. But as I don't like cars from that period anyway, this is no 
hardship.

Cheers

Alan

P.S. The exception was the one that we had when I was 13, but unfortunately 
I drove it head-on through a caravan (travel trailer) when I was 19.

P.S. Sorry to answer a humorous email with a not humorous one.

P.P.S. Vair content is that the 'flushable rocker panels' and inside of the 
A post and rear lower part of the front fenders on a late model Vair are at 
least as bad a rust trap, and at least as badly protected (i.e. not at all, 
inside) as any Fiat or Lancia that I have ever worked on! And the 
windshields are almost identical to the Lancia ones that I use as an example 
in my rust booklet (and as badly designed and protected - early bonded glass 
was just a disaster waiting to happen).




----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Richard.Gaffney at gulfstream.com>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 12:26 PM
Subject: Re: <VV> Rust stopping-humor


>I worked on Fiats and Lancias just after graduating college in upstate NY,
> and if memory serves me correctly they came with "factory  installed 
> rust"
> as standard equipment...............Other cars had to go thru a New York
> winter to get it...........
>
>
>
> Rick Gaffney
> 65 Corsa 140/4
>
>
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