Do Boxsters rust....
 

I wonder if you have ever seen a rusty Boxster? If rust starts, where is it likely to form? I will check my drainholes this spring. Any special treatment to prevent rust? I have a 2001 Boxster base and wash it frequently.

I"ve never noticed rust on any Boxster, and I have no rust on my '02. I also have no spots that look like they will form rust anytime soon. But, it's a good question and I'd be curious to know where the weak spots are.



By comparison, my wife's '02 Honda has some minor rust spots. So in my garage (somewhat limited sample size): Porsche > Honda

They bubble right under the air intake for some crazy reason

Not as bad as my '03 F150!

Not fair to the Ford, my Escape has to eat specially designed adhering salts which NY drops like they are flying over Dresden. I know one Spyder that is going to have to be for sitting in only for at least two more months.

You have not seen rust until you look at British mild steel from the 70s and 80s. Most all examples of this era fell apart faster than British Leyland. I think there might be a relic or two in a special hyperbaric chamber in the British Museum in London but that is about it.

Very good question, something I wonder about too. I have a very early 1997 example in the UK that has very probably spent a good deal of its life living in our ghastly, rust-tastic conditions. And as far as I am aware, there's no rust at all. Moreover, I have never seen a rusty Boxster.

There are plenty of much younger cars that are getting very rusty now. Say what you want about the quality of the water-cooled generation, but it would appear the steel quality and rust proofing of 986s is absolutely top notch.

That said, as the poster mentioned above, I have heard of a few reports of them rusting through just below the side air intake. Never seen this, but like I said, have heard of it.

You got that right! My 1971 Triumph TR-6 used to rust while sitting in a warm dry garage in LA. Can't imagine that those cars ever lasted more than three years in the UK.

The materials, their applied rust treatments, This information is classified above TOP SECRET and on the need to know basis only, and aren't even known to any GOV bodies nor you, Mr, will ever find out. There are little things that porsche cars have all in common, being 'special' is one of them ;)

Does rusty brake rotors counts?!

The key to Boxster (Porsche) longevity is that they hot dip galvanize all modern Porsche chassis in the manufacturing process. It makes a huge difference in the life of a car.

That's it, Landrovered.... the "P" SWAT Team are going to knock your door in exactly 30min. How did you find out... they will take both your PC and your car away mate :/

The screws on the clamps holding the intake tube in my engine bay have rusted. Does that count?

No. But the damn porsche rusting lug bolts does

The nut behind the steering wheel in my car is a little rusty...

Too bad Porsche cannot hold up to the legendary standards of rust inhibiting properties discovered by the Italians and used here..http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01/19711330107824.jpg

My '98 Box does not have one spot of rust on it. However, my '06 Silverado that has never spent a night outdoors has rust on the rear bumper and on the wheels. Today I saw an '02 Buick with the rocker panels totally rusted away. Maybe GM will get it right one of these days.

No rust on any of my pcars. They all have the galvinized coating and all are subjected to rust. On the British side of it my 75 tr6 was driven in the winter every year for ten years and no rust either! Here it is and has never been restored.

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...l/P1000350.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ell/vitar1.jpg

and my other Brit does has very little rust but it does have problems where the aluminum is reacting with the steel. The key is to keep them clean. http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...erymudhill.jpg

Yes the beauty of aluminum is it just disappears.

My 93 RRC, the drivers side floor rusted out, the bulkhead on my 72 series III 109 turned to swiss cheese, the undercarriage on my 03 HSE is pitted and the powder coat is flaking off, my 93 NAS 110 had rust issues if I was not constantly vigilant.

Land Rover stole the secret formula for rust from Alfa Romeo

I have ten bucks at Vegas that TR was not driven in winters where road salt is used ubiquitously.

Bad bet! I live in Cincinnati and the city turns our roads into the Salar de Uyuni every time their is a threat of a dusting. If you look at the pic I still have my ugly brown winter hard top on. There are two sneaky reasons that this car has lasted, it was always washed when returned home and when it was new it was Ziebarted. My Father that gave me the car was a Leyland enthusiast and always had his MGs and TRs ziebarted when he bought them.

Rovers do rust I am just lucky with my Disco1. I feel ya on the bulkhead problem, here is my Series II that I am changing the bulkhead and welding in two new outriggers below the front seats. It is amazing how crapping British steel and a seal do not get along together
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...l/0c258639.jpg

It sure as hell wasn't the Ziebart, especially the way they applied it in those days, many times drilling and placing plugs. I suspect the "salt city" drops more ordnance. It's an off year but last year won the golden snowball with 192" let's see Cincy come close in it's entire history to that..

PS Car looks superb for shizzle.

Amschnell,

You have a nice toy box!

Its not just the breakdown of the anti corrosion paints / rubberising / galvanising etc etc that causes terminal rust, but also the questionable quality of the sheet steel that is used by the manufacturer in the initial build. You also see it in a lot of cheap knockoff body panels out of Eastern Europe and China.

One of the main reasons that Italian cars built in the 1960's thro the 1980's were more rust prone than earlier models is that the Italian government (+ the British and French) were trading with Communist Russia but didn't want paying in untradeable Roubles.
So the deal was that the Russians part paid in goods(?) - some of which was the poorest quality steel ever produced. The steel was used by all the Italian car manufacturers (Alfa, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati and even Ferrari) with disasterous results. The steel was low in quality and then shipped by sea so it was already dissolving when it was on the ships. Coupled with the Italian's famous disregard of anti corrosion coatings, the results was soon evident.
From 1969 thro 1990 I owned 6 Alfa's, 2 Fiats and a Lancia, and they didn't differ in rusting out, even when living in clement weather climes in South Africa and Australia.
They made the Brits rustproofing look quite good.....

By no way do we get the white death that you do but my city does act like it. My Tr does have the pugs in the bottom of the doors along with other various places.

Thanks, I have been addicted to cars and motorcycles since my first word was "boltswagon" . It sounds like you have a similar taste to mine and a good selection yourself. A long time ago I swore that I would never own another Land Rover again, since then I have had four.
here are a couple more of my interests besides the Motorcycles and scooters, I have an odd taste
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b.../amgbenz-1.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...amgmotor-2.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...l/928trade.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...l/0b1a3519.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...l/6897ae97.jpg

I was down to just one Land Rover then someone gave me a D1 and for some perverse reason I am thinking of turning it into a truggy.