[WillieNillie]

Im 99% sure that no 916 ever made is rust free, because today i just finished 2 weeks of rust repair on the underside of my car and i found something that if every 916 has this, they all have rust. my car has been daily`ed for probably 15 years and has never had any protection under it, it had about 50% of the entire underside exterior rusted.

These are under the very last exhaust shields that use 10mm nuts towards the cat/middle of the car.
These are sharp exposed metal, pointy bits tacked on and they protrude from the undercoating, completely exposed on the underside and when grinded away, dimples appear, i have looked around for more of these but these are the only ones that exist of this kind.
i can now for certain say that you all have rust, right here, if you have these protruding metal bits. Hopefully ph2 does not. no idea why they exist, i thought that they where drain holes but i dont think so, they are sealed and the pointy bits where tacked on and exposed.

 

[spankdanny]

Fair play to you for persevering and saving it. Twinnie s are 2 a penny in the UK so we probably wouldn't have bothered. Strangely the 2 GTV I broke were very good with the phase 1 virtually rust free. It was a real shame to break it really, but it had panel damage and a big end gone.

 

[GTA_Russ]

Mine is - although it has spent its first 17 years in Japan.

UK roads are not good to Alfas, or any cars.

 

[Andrew1961]

Fair play to you for persevering and saving it. Twinnie s are 2 a penny in the UK so we probably wouldn't have bothered. Strangely the 2 GTV I broke were very good with the phase 1 virtually rust free. It was a real shame to break it really, but it had panel damage and a big end gone.

Check out "How many left" GTV's of all types are becoming an endangered species

 

[konrad96]

I did a quick add-up of all the twinspark spiders on How many left, and there's only 1200 still roadregistered in the UK. Quite a few more on SORN. But remarkably few spiders, I thought.

 

[spankdanny]

Considering there's not many left and even fewer for sale it's surprising they are so ridiculously cheap. Supply and demand I suppose. No one wants them at the moment but that's bound to change.

 

[Andrew1961]

Considering there's not many left and even fewer for sale it's surprising they are so ridiculously cheap. Supply and demand I suppose. No one wants them at the moment but that's bound to change.

Just like MK1 Escorts 25 years ago......I paid £100 for my last Mexico(1983) and turned down a Mk 1 Lotus Cortina because it was to expensive...£400!! They will not stay cheap..

 

[WillieNillie]

Fair play to you for persevering and saving it. Twinnie s are 2 a penny in the UK so we probably wouldn't have bothered. Strangely the 2 GTV I broke were very good with the phase 1 virtually rust free. It was a real shame to break it really, but it had panel damage and a big end gone.

i was already too deep, the rust was the very last thing on the list, i should have done it 2 years a go when i first started.

 

[Bambi_]

WillieNillie. Rust on these cars scares the bejesus out of me.
Mechanical repairs and fixes are relatively painless, but once the rot sets in it is sleepless nights.
Suddenly sitting up during sleep. "The GTV"!
Talking in one's sleep. "The GTV"!
Night sweats and murmuring, "The GTV".
Worry. Day dreaming about rust eating the GTV.
More worry.
Insomnia, anxiety and the like.
RUST. It needs to be stopped.

 

[yellowspyder]

Just like MK1 Escorts 25 years ago......I paid £100 for my last Mexico(1983) and turned down a Mk 1 Lotus Cortina because it was to expensive...£400!! They will not stay cheap..

yes my spider is also totally rust free,must be all the sunshine,yes lets go back,give me my lotus Cortina,mk 1 escort,stag range rover,mk 1 Cortina g.t.the list goes on.....if only:thumbup:

 

[Ian Lusso]

mine is absolutely and completely rust free.

 

[duemila]

It really ****es me off Alfa coudn't galvanize the chassis, why Galvanize the top of the car and let the bottom suffer

 

[WillieNillie]

what ****es me more off is the rubberized coating they put on, once cracked it holds water and makes it even worse. the rubber coating wont break from the body until the rust is so bad it just falls off, try cleaning all the rust thats been getting up inside the pockets where the rear brake lines come out of the body. all the nooks and crannies where the liner is still stuck.

Once you find the rust, you have to trace it until it stops.. then you go around the area to find where there is still clean metal now you have isolated the rust and can begin to attack it.

 

[Factory Osaru]

Mine is - although it has spent its first 17 years in Japan.

UK roads are not good to Alfas, or any cars.

Really?
You've got an used one from Japan?
I suppose it had been used in warm district which has rare snowfall,
but I live in coldest northern area in Japan and my cars are prone to be with rust.:irked:

 

[GTA_Russ]

It is absolutely rust free. My JTS Selespeed 156 is the same.

 

[spankdanny]

A rust free 156. I don't believe it. My 157 jtd was the rustyist car I have ever owned. And I used to have a spitfire!:biglaugh:

 

[GTA_Russ]

Will this do for you?!

Helps that it also only has 20k on it.

 

[Markalfa15]

10 year old german cars are no better mercs in perticular. My pug 308 puts a lot of german cars to shame in the rust stakes

 

[Pud237]

Will this do for you?!

Helps that it also only has 20k on it.

Compare those drain flaps to the ones on your GTV - has your GTV had them smoothed over with seam-sealer? Last few GTVs I've had in have all had their drain flaps seam-sealer'd over, definitely a factory job too. I should have checked to see if they were Alfa built or Pininfarina built ones. GTVs definitely don't rust as bad as 156s, 147s & GTs. I've welded up 2006, 2007 models already but very rarely get GTVs in where the rot is bad enough they need welding. GTVs are generally crusty where the rust has started from below, 156s & 147s are typically holey rather than crusty as the rust has started from within and not noticed until its come all the way through.

 

[Matt GTV]

GTVs are generally crusty where the rust has started from below, 156s & 147s are typically holey rather than crusty as the rust has started from within and not noticed until its come all the way through.

Those pockets of rust that lie beneath the underseal, I call them 'scabs'. I've had more than my fair share of rust issues; I've just finished stripping, converting, priming, painting, undersealing (pretty much in that order) my whole project GTV; complete stripdown was required. PSA a pic of my old GTV that didn't make it due to rust issues, particularly bad in the sills; it was just a 'normal' UK car, like most - it looked great from the street, but it was rotting away in the places that are hard to see, even when having a prod about when it was on a ramp. Like I have been saying for a while; we all need to get those sill covers & wheel arch liners off to check properly.

The first photo's rust was hidden by underseal, the rust shown is after I started stripping the 'scabs' off.
The 2nd photo is from inside the sill looking forward, the foam is just the B Pillar soundproofing dropped into the sill.