Why do 60s Mopars seem to have so much more rust than GM?

[69SportSatellite]

Well...maybe because there were fewer Mopars made in in the desirable/collectible models than the high volume Ford and GM cars such that even rusty Mopars have stuck around while the herd of Mustangs, Camaros, and Firebirds etc. has been culled of the rust buckets over time. Much easier to find a 60s Mustang than almost anything else; easier entry price too...

I am a big fan of the mid-60s Mustangs, especially the 1967 models, but I think Ford made those in the 500K - 600K volume from 1966 - 1970 whereas I doubt there are anywhere near that number of b-bodies...no?

Just a thought...

 

[BarrsRestoration]

Because I've worked on these for 40 years, this is what I blame it on. First though, original Mopar vs. GM vs. Ford sheet metal rusting away has nothing to do with parts availability. It is about build quality, or lack of build quality.
If you don't want rain water getting past a molding into the trunk, you spend 3 cents and use a clip with a stud and sealed nut, not a 2 cent bent wire with a piece of foam jammed over it.
If you don't want rust:
You don't punch holes in window channels and screw the clips in any random spot (with a couple of extras tossed in), you weld evenly spaced studs to hold the clip.
You put primer and paint in places that people don't look. Seam sealer too.
You don't design a front frame rail to capture dirt on top where the upper control arm is mounted.
You use rubber seals around the tail light housings, not a 1/16" thick piece of foam.
You design a cowl to let the water run out, even when a piece of pine straw gets in there.
You don't locate a silver dollar sized drain plug directly behind the back tire.

 

[Funship32]

Well I'm of the opinion that yes, Mopars from that era seem to have more rust problems. And I'm not talking about the rust that comes from salt on the roads but more from the rust that comes from the inside out. Not so much in the doors or the doglegs of the front fenders but from what I've just taken to calling "typical mopar trunk rot". I have yet to see a mopar car (up to my old man's '86 Chry 5th ave) that didn't have a trunk leak of some sort. All the mopars I've owed have had wet trunks '68 Fury, 69 Chry convert, 72 Dart, 77 LeBaron...all had trunk leaks. Perhaps it was my luck but from what I've seen, I just don't think Chrysler built the best of bodies back then. I know, I know...call me what you will but it is what I've seen over the years of dealing with Mopes. But that isn't to say other brands don't have their 'known' issues either. 1st Gen mustangs are known for rotting out their cowls and some GM's are known for rotting out the doglegs of the front fenders. Mopars just seem to have trunk rot.

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I am a big fan of the mid-60s Mustangs, especially the 1967 models, but I think Ford made those in the 500K - 600K volume from 1966 - 1970 whereas I doubt there are anywhere near that number of b-bodies...no?.

Just for trivia: Ford produced over 600K 'stangs for the '66 model year alone. 1st year was about 550K!! Talk about a hit.

 

[WileE]

Different factors may alter the rust perception today, but back in the day when we fixed these cars when they were just used cars, to me, Fords were the worst rust buckets by far. Even Rustangs.

 

[Cranky]

I have an original 66 Belvedere with very and I mean very little rust. It's a Texas car too

 

[69SportSatellite]

My current 69 Sport Satellite is completely rust free, but to be fair, it was an Southern Arizona car from Day one until 2013 when I acquired it. My previous 69 Sport Satellite was a California car and it suffered the rust through beneath the rear window which led to the bottom of the trunk pan having some small rust through; that was about it though - the rest of the car appeared to be rust free.

 

[67GTX440]

What is even more amazing is that so many cars from the 60's era (Mopar, Ford and Chevy) were parked as costing too much to make repair of the latest mechanical problem a viable option with well under 100K miles.

 

[iraqivet01]

Every car or truck has it's weak spots when it comes to rust back then. The GM trucks in the 60's and 70's were bad at cab corners and kick panels.

Bondo not abused like it used to be for sure. My GMC had so much in the bed behind the wheel that it was like a brick fell out.

 

[Chase383]

I'm probably younger than most members (I'm 31),

So I wasn't around "back in the day", but I can tell you by the time I was old enough to be into cars... everything was rusty. Fords, GMs and Mopars... none were spared by the orange demon. When I was 19 and going to school for autobody, our little class had a fair collection of vintage cars of all makes for being a bunch of kids in 2002. Chevelles, Mustangs, Torinos, Fairlanes, Tri-5 Chevies, and then me and my old '70 Challenger.

All of them were rust buckets, the only difference was that they were buying patch panels and I was making them.

Flash forward to today, and my two current projects are the most solid I have ever had. My '71 Satellite really only "needs" a roof skin and Rt lower fender patch, and my '68 Coronet only really "needs" a trunk floor and Lt lower qtr patch. Anybody with halfway decent skills could fab the small patches needed for small holes elsewhere. Will I replace more... yes, but only the access hidden areas for further rustproofing and because I'm picky and want to do the best job possible.

 

[kb67mopar]

My coronet definitely rotted from poor design. The majority of the rust is in places that hold water and let water in due to the way they built and sealed the panels. I think every manufacturer did the same thing and still does. Dodge Ram's are notorious for rust above the wheel wells in the bed. Chevy's are notorious for cab corner rot and similar wheel well issues in the bed. Ford...well pretty much the whole truck. It very much has to do with design and nobody builds a vehicle with more than a 10 year design life. That very well could have been a projected 5 year life back in the 60's. Steel, seam sealer, welding and corrosion protection have improved huge in the last 40 years but in the interest of cost almost nobody really really takes the time to make sure its done right.

My father works for a company building chassis...seams are spot welded together and no paint seals the spot welds. He has told me before that there is quite often rust in the seams before the car ever leaves the line.....welcome to advanced technology.

 

[451Mopar]

As mentioned, the aftermarket has been selling replacement parts for those since the 1980's, and there age also a larger number of GM and Fords so the costs is lower too. The Mopars actually seemed to fair pretty well if you compared cars that were used the same in the same environment. The aftermarket is finally starting to produce good replacement parts. They are usually more expensive than GM & Ford because the Mopars are a smaller market, but there are still a lot of parts not being reproduced for Mopars, and the cost of those parts is getting crazy.