Getting ready to go look at an 87 gt soon. Been sitting for a couple of years outside covered but in the ground not on a driveway.. What are the common bad areas that I should look at? I have not been under a fiero in many years.
Peel back the trunk carpet and look at the corners. Also reach up the rear suspension and feel the frame rails the best you can. I'm sure someone will be along to post horrible pictures of rusty Fieros.
------------------ Past: 1988 base coupe sold 1984 base coupe rust Present: 1986 SE 2m6
Under the battery, near the brake lines, and under the trunk carpet, are generally good indicators.
If the battery tray is rusted out, it's probably not a good sign, for example, as the acid will drip down on the frame/cradle and eat at the paint and steel there too.
The first place to look is like stated in the trunk on the sides. This is where they first go at the spot weld.
If it is bad there it may be worse else where.
Also many forget the space frame space over the rear axles. It is a boxed section that will rot totally away even with the rest of the car in good condition.
If it is rusty walk away. Too many other good cars left to deal with rust.
The engine cradle would be best place to start to indicate. It should give an indication how much paint is still on it if no paint on cradle then no paint left anywhere.
So maybe this is more of a question about etiquette than about rust....
When I go to look at a car, I gather that I need to pull back the trunk carpet and look for rust. (Thanks, forum users, for this tip.) But I would be pretty ticked off if I got my car prepped to show for sale and then some jerk came along and upset the trunk trim. I guess if I go and pull someone's trunk trim off, I'd like to be able to put it back the way I found it. How do I do that? Does it tuck under that rubber weather seal? Is it a difficult job?
Just remember if you find any rust you need to examine the entire car. Only exception may be the battery tray area. In other words, sometime acid from the battery can cause the rust. If you can't find rust in the trunk corners under the carpet or along the spot welds in that same area, then there is a good chance your good. I've found rust behind the heat cloth used on the firewall between the engine and seat area but again it was always associated with spot welds or the edges of the sheet metal. I've seen rusted rear cradles on cars with no other rust and you also want to look at the condition of the nuts and bolts. I've seen some very rusted bolts on rear suspension and front chassis parts. Not that rusted nuts/bolts would be a deal breaker but it may be an indication of how long its been since any maintenance has been done.
