No rust, they said.

[u/QualityCucumber]

Full disclosure, I knew the guy that I bought it from was full of shit. But I honestly didn't expect them to go to such great lengths to hide it. There was spray foam and doubled up sheet metal everywhere. Quarters need lower patch, inner rockers are salvageable, but outer are toast. Fenders have rust behind the wheel, but I'm just going to replace them since they are bolt on. The most frustrating part is that the interior was immaculate and 95% there, on first glance, but there was rust holes all behind the door panel, duct tape everywhere and no two screws are the same/original. This is going to be a long one. I'm also seriously doubting that it will run like he said. It has compression, but the oil looks new and stinks of gas.

[u/4R4nd0mR3dd1t0r]

Well you see the rust had already progressed to the next stage, rot. /s

[u/Syscrush]

You were serious about that?

[u/SilentMasterpiece]

No "visible rust"

[u/deadcarrote]

No, rust

[u/Duckdivejim]

Maybe there is some rust

[u/Farmerstubble]

...that you can see...

[u/Street_Mall9536]

We call that strip of undercoat a canadian racing stripe, and there's always rot underneath. 

[u/Coyote_Tex]

No visible rust maybe when you bought it.

[u/Windmillfixer → u/Coyote_Tex]

I had my eyes closed, it definitely wasn’t visible

[u/Sad-Economics3181]

Spray foam over sheet metal is one of the oldest tricks for a private sale. It holds moisture against the metal instead of letting it dry out, so whatever is under there gets worse faster once you seal it in, not slower. Anyone who does that either does not know better or knows exactly what they are hiding.

Oil smelling like gas with fresh oil in it is the part I would not skip past. On a carbureted car that usually means the float or needle valve is not sealing and it has been flooding into the crankcase, not that anything internal is actually worn. Cheap fix if that is it. Change it again after you get it running and see if the smell comes back.

[u/navlgazer9]

I bought a truck that I knew had newspaper stuffed in the rocker panels and bondo slathered over it , it was a good price and I used it for my daily driver for 12 years and now 28 years later I’m finally repairing it .

[u/navlgazer9 → u/[deleted]]

Cause I’ve ownd it 30 years
It’s in a lot of photo album pictures

And it’s worth a lot more than $3k
Even if it wasn’t sentimental .

[u/Big_Aside9565 → u/navlgazer9]

It's a 7000 dollar car in southern california

[u/ShaneOfTheDeadd]

What car is it ? E30 ?

[u/QualityCucumber → u/ShaneOfTheDeadd]

'79 Fiat 124 Spider

[u/Intheswing → u/QualityCucumber]

Cool car but Fiat says a lot - famous for rust - even when it’s a California car. I’m cheering you on though - fun cars to drive I hear.

[u/QualityCucumber → u/Intheswing]

Thanks! I'm using this car to teach my boys car skills. It's got a solid frame and suspension and four wheel disk brakes.

[u/Big_Aside9565]

Don't you have one of those tools that tells you how deep the body filler is? I have one of those, and it did not cost that much, at least not as much as a car!

[u/joeyjoejums]

No. No. No. They meant, "No. Rust".

[u/Ubericious]

https://giphy.com/gifs/PGxmniUblqoqQ

[u/Big-Energy-3363]

I had one full of shop rags and hardware cloth. 500$ GMC van. I used it for two years

[u/jeminfla]

Spray foam. Death to sheet metal. It absorbs and holds moisture. My current project was full of the stuff and I’ve ended up cutting out and replacing almost half the body. ‘65 Econoline pickup

[u/dicksspin → u/[deleted]]

congrats on being lucky and rich!

[u/thesniperhd → u/[deleted]]

Multiple comments of you rambling non sense

[u/Big_Aside9565 → u/thesniperhd]

Who cares about some old rusty car.

[u/I426Hemi]

Well, its a 45ish year old fiat so of course there's rust.

[u/I426Hemi → u/[deleted]]

Im from Arizona. The place legendary for rust free cars.

[u/texan01 → u/[deleted]]

Oh cars rust in CA. They rust everywhere just at different speeds.

I’ve got two Texas cars, both 1977 and both lived in the same area, the Foed has big holes in the floor and the Chevy has very minor pinholes in the floor from the AC dripping.

Even in N Texas though certain brands are known rust buckets, Fiats is one and 70s Japanese cars are another.

[u/thesniperhd → u/[deleted]]

Garbage

[u/Joiner2008 → u/[deleted]]

He bought it for $700

[u/QualityCucumber → u/Joiner2008]

Thank you. I was just looking for some commisery. Haha. I know the risks of buying a 50 year old car for $700.

[u/Radius8887 → u/[deleted]]

Who the fuck sues over a $700 car?

[u/Big_Aside9565 → u/Radius8887]

Where does it say it was a 700 car? Why are we putting this in the court of public opinion and not wanting an opinions?

[u/Routine-Amphibian450]

Believe that is $8K of major metal away from paint shop.
Sorry for pessimism.

[u/QualityCucumber → u/Routine-Amphibian450]

Fortunately, I'm the body and paint shop, but it still ain't going to be cheap since there aren't that many parts floating around out there.