Did Chrysler have rust problems with the 76' Darts, Dusters, Scamps?

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I don't think so, BUT. The Auto industry was using some really crap sheet metal back then. I remember working on a Chevy rear quarter at my dads weld shop. It was a favor for one of his friends. The quarter had rust holes in odd spots, not where you would have a moisture problem. I cleaned the area to bare metal and I swear they had slag rolled into the sheet metal. It would rust around the slag "plug" and leave a hole. Saw a Jeep Wagoneer the same way. I don't remember seeing any Chrysler products doing that, but look for the usual spots. Check the unibody rails, floors and rear quarters. It seems to me 75 was the last really good steel for Chrysler.
 
Did Chrysler have rust problems with the 76' Darts, Dusters, Scamps?


No, they rusted out... No problem...
 
I guess it depends on your definition of "rust." LOL

I can still remember one early morning I got out of the barracks on my day off at NAS MIramar. This was when I had the 70 440-6 car, and this was 72 or so

Against the sun just above the horizon, I see a 70 across the lot, but something looked "strange," LOL, almost like a "religious experience." Was I seeing a vision? LOL

NO!!!! The car was a guy from the wrong coast, and I was seeing the SUN SHINE CLEAR THROUGH THE TRUNK from one quarter panel to the other!!!!

Thing had GIGANTIC rust holes in the lower quarters and into the trunk!!!


On a side note, there was a cutie who worked on base, and I guess was a dependent, as she had base privileges. One day I had here 70? 71? Vega on the tune up scope and asked here "are we ready to close the hood?"

"Wait" she says, "I need my tools." So she digs in the trunk and comes up with 4 of those huge gigantic cheap screwdrivers you could buy in the big bins. You had to start the hood shut, and jam the screwdrivers down between the hood and fenders because the front end was "falling together!!!"
 
greymouser7 said:
-...like they did on the Aspen's and Volare's?

Was it just 76 f bodies with rust issues or 76 & 77's?

-thanks
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FYI

All the automobile manufacturers had issues with rust prior to 1980/81. Some more than others for whatever reason. Luck mostly if they lasted more than 3 years in the rust belt.

Lacquer based spray primers were very poor rust inhibitors to say the least. The application process was lacking as well. You just couldn't get into those hidden areas with air.

There were poor sealing products used such as a foam rope used to seal the quarter panel around the wheel openings (GM idea). The liquid (flexible) based sealants broke down after a short period of time which allowed moisture to penetrate and the rust cycle to begin. Poor body-shop assembly processes helped with the rust issue as well.

Mopar had the poorest window seals of any of the true domestics and we all can attest to this.

It wasn't until the government got involved and mandated a set period of time that a vehicle was supposed to be "rust free". And that set the development in motion for better rust prevention technologies. The top 3 paint suppliers and top 2 sealant suppliers put every effort into coming up with the right products.


PPG, Dupont and BASF came up with better pre-treatment products and E-coats were developed , Koch, Dupont and 3M came up with better sealers and sealing processes.

Topcoats got more durable and better UV resistant as a result of the extensive R&D.

Fast forward to today and you will see the difference in rust prevention as the vehicles last longer and look better.

Of course there is always the human element in automobile assembly. The product is only as good as the application will allow. If you see a 3-4 year old vehicle and it's rusted out chances are the vehicle was damaged during assembly and replacement panels were put on in "final finish". The final finish panels don't receive the same attention to detail as the original panels. So if you buy a new vehicle always ask to see the build sheet or travel sheet. It will state whether that vehicle was held in final finish for whatever reason.


Example - True story: I was at a Korean car assembly plant not that long ago. I went to final finish to check on an issue I was working on for a paint supplier. I walked by a body tech slinging bondo all over the left quarter panel of a newly built vehicle. I asked the tech what happened and he said a driver wrecked the car while attempting to load the car on a carrier. The tech was attempting to fix the quarter panel, they were going to paint it in final finish, and pass it off as a new vehicle. The lucky new owner of that vehicle just bought himself or herself a major rust problem, among other things.

I hope this answers your question in a round about way.
 
Did Chrysler have rust issues... did a bear **** in the woods?
C
 
Yes, about all 70's cars became rust buckets because of the salt they use on the road here.
My uncle bought a new 70 duster, drove it for 40,000 miles, which made the car 4 years old.
The rear springs came thru the trunk floor and he was easy on cars, barely drove the speed limit and kept them washed and clean.
Funny thing is my dad had a 70 d-100 pickup that he also bought new but in 8 years the cab floor was about extinct.
Dad also had a 66 fury that he bought new, every time he changed the oil he would pop the door panels off and dump the used oil in the doors and 1/4 panels, that car never did rust, he got rid of it 18 years later and 180.000 miles.
 
Lets see...my '76 Dart Sport in 1986 had the following issues:
Rusted inner fenders on both sides to the point they were came within 3-5 inches of the firewall.
No floor boards in the back, they were rusted out.
Two big holes in the driver's floor, one by the brights, the other next to the transmission hump
Both rear quarters were beginning to fall apart.
The spare tire wheel was filled with 3-4 half dollar size holes

Yes, it was in the "rust belt"...
 
all the 70's cars had rust issues but nothing compares to new cars as far as rust goes, I've recently seen a 2011 dodge ram with holes in the quarters so big you could put your fist through
 
You wanna see rust.sweep up whats left of a Lancia,lol...
 
They all rust out just some faster than others.

1000938n.jpg
 
This is a 76 Dart, pic was taken in 81 of me and my family. Yes rust was an issue for some people, but not for us. We always wanted a convertible.
 

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Yep,
Just proves you cant kill a Willys frame, I dont know what the engine is.
 
Yup. Hoard those babies 'till there's nothin' left, then expect people to buy 'em with the -you-know-the-threat- "or going to the crusher."

1974-Graveyard-Challenger.jpg
 
All I know is, the years that Chrysler claimed to have some sort of rust preventative applied were the years they rusted the worst. Hands down.
 
Abodywantedinmi said:
Lets see...my '76 Dart Sport in 1986 had the following issues:
Rusted inner fenders on both sides to the point they were came within 3-5 inches of the firewall.
No floor boards in the back, they were rusted out.
Two big holes in the driver's floor, one by the brights, the other next to the transmission hump
Both rear quarters were beginning to fall apart.
The spare tire wheel was filled with 3-4 half dollar size holes
Yes, it was in the "rust belt"...
Click to expand...

You forgot the Torsion Bar Anchors rusting to the point where the front end would go BANG! while driving and one side of the car would drop down in the front because the metal was rusted paper-thin. I think a lot of times it would even take out the fuel line that passed through the cross member.

A LOT of A-bodies got carted off to the boneyard because of this.

[quote all the 70's cars had rust issues but nothing compares to new cars as far as rust goes, I've recently seen a 2011 dodge ram with holes in the quarters so big you could put your fist through [/quote]

Things have not changed. In my experience, modern Mopars have not improved very much. Door bottoms, hood edges, underside components like brake lines, etc. I like the fact that the exhaust is stainless, why can't they spend a few more bucks and use stainless brake lines? The rockers on our Stratus rusted completely away after 6-7 years and I rolled some nice replacement metal and welded them into both sides. And this is not a fluke, the Rams and Minivans are bad too.

It's gotten to the point where I think I'd have to be crazy to buy any more modern Mopar iron. That's my number one objection.
 
My Neon's a lot better at staving off rust than any of my older cars have been. But - the brake lines rusted out and popped (that was fun) and the brackets that hang the muffler just rusted away - the exhaust is al lfactory original - it outlasted the body brackets...lol.
IMO - we've always had sand and salt in CT - now we've got liquid calcium and that stuff is eating everything up a lot faster.
 
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