'83 GTS: How much rust is "normal/average"?

I would be concerned with the rust under the bottom of the doors. This seems to be a prone area and if not taken care of it will eventually affect the door skin. A bubble usually means rust from the inside out.

 

Rust is like cancer , the visable rust isn't the real issue, it's what else is lurking that could be the concern. I agree with the Steve king rust at the bottom of the door is a concern. Are you planning on redoing the car ? If you keep it, might not be a bad idea to think about it.

 

Older Ferraris rust and its a constant vigil to keep repairing faults - it may be 5-10 years between issues - it may be less - but rest assured they are coming

The areas described seem completely normal and if you don't want the car I'd be tempted to bring it to England

As Steve says the door is a 'prone area' so quite why that should make it 'a concern' is unclear - just fix it

 

If it is a blister, it can still be fixed usually.
If you wait too long, it can get worse.

These are old italian cars, they can rust. Just don't wait too long to get it fixed and it is not a big problem.

 

Show me a 1980s car without rust. It isn't a matter of being a Ferrari or of being Italian. It's chemistry and time. Just fix it.

 

I agree. This is common on 308s, but not "normal".

The description of the car suggests it may have lived in a wet environment. I would look it over carefully.

Rustproofing started in January 1984, which isn't a guarantee of anything but in my experience seems to improve the odds of finding a car with clean doors.

 

It can be fixed, just takes time and money here is my 1982 GTS project that I've been working on when I'm home.
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You can buy a car without these issues for a bit more money. That's what I would do...LOL.

M.

 

With my project car, I knew going into it what needed to be done, ( yes, mine also has lower door issues that I will be addressing shortly).I wanted a car that I could tinker with as my QV does not have any of these issues. Just Understand that you will probably spend $5000 addressing these issues. Like others have said it's an old Ferrari, kind of comes with the territory.

 

No matter the preparation- primer, galvanizing, whatever- steel can eventually rust, depending on the conditions. California cars have a reputation for not rusting but it's not an entirely deserved one. Cars can rust here, too; just takes longer, mostly. We do not use salt on our roads (including the mountains (as so many winter-prone areas do, here & abroad). So: rust appearing anywhere on a car is a sign that either there wasn't enough rust protection to begin with, or too much exposure to weather (especially salt) or both. As they say, "rust never sleeps". Personally I'd look around for a later car, one with the galvanizing Ferrari eventually used....right around '83 or so, yes? But is the one you're looking at pre- or post- galvanizing? As a previous poster said, most often rust comes from the inside out! That alone makes getting rid of rust in a welded body a difficult proposition...and an expensive one! Too bad the earlier fiberglass body cars are now so expensive...!

Buying a car with known areas with rust is really buying a pig in a poke. Even a normal repaint is pretty expensive, done right (stripping everything including rubber & glass,etc.) but taking a car down to metal- inside & out, or else you're wasting your time- is REALLY expensive. Maybe not for a $500,000 car but for sure for a $50.000 car!

Or as the ancient knight in the Indiana Jones flick said, "choose wisely..."

Cheers,
Rich

 

What is the VIN, i recently looked at an 83 for a client that had major rust issues hidden behind moderate rust issues. I have done lots of cars with rust and what is on the surface is typically followed by lots more inside, just remember this once you start cutting it out there is no turning back.

Wade

 

my 83 hasn't visible rust anywhere. An 85 QV i wanted to buy had a lot of rust. Rust on the lower part of the doors is quite common. Rust on the lower rear panels, rockers and around the windshield base is frequent, but not so common: means the car did a lof of miles or wasn't well cared. In any case you can fix it. Often the lower part of the doors is cut away and replaced with zync plated iron sheet.

Rust not only on the lower part of the doors means a USD 6-12 K work to do on the car body.

Pay attention: with rust I mean many small paint bubbles. If you directly see the brown rust, maybe it's better looking for another car

ciao

 

They got a zincrox treatment (from buildyear 1984) that was a bit better than no treatment, but still not up to modern standards. So later 308's and 328's can have rust also.

 

My 84 has been in UK all her life, so wet wet wet. The rear valance near the bumper was rusted through and had to be cut out and replaced, all the wheel arches, and bottom of doors had been replaced but need doing again. Round the front lip over the grill needed repair and at the side window. But hey 30 year old car and daily use and she still drives beautifully

 

Most definitely! What you see is just the tip of the iceberg.

 

Rust along the bottom of the doors is normal. Rain or water from washing runs down the windows into the doors and stays in the bottom of the doors. Although there are drain holes they are pretty useless as they are above the lower part of the door, where the outer skin folds around the door frame. There is a V shaped channel formed by the skin and frame which holds water and this soaks into the joint between these two parts and simply stays there doing its evil work.