My buddy Ben in New Jersey has bought his last few cars from down here in Texas and had me bring them north to him. Cars are really no cheaper down here, and in some cases are more expensive, but since most are rust-free it's worth it on a car of interest....or if I come across a deal. I love a road trip myself so don't mind running them up. A few years ago I came across a clean black 91 Camaro RS T-top, not a spec of rust, but just a 3.1 V6 and automatic. Ben bought it and paid me to do some minor stuff to it, and then had me bring it to him and bought me a $100 plane ticket home. He only used it as a sunny day toy to keep it nice. THAT was one of the best trips I ever took, delivering that car to him. Went in the fall, late September. Got 30mpg, cruise control on, radio up, and had the T-tops off the entire trip from Texas to New Jersey. Left Texas in the low 90's and arrived in New Jersey in the upper 60's. Got to watch the grass turn from green to tan and leaves change colors as I drove from south to north, gorgeous drive. He loved that RS, gutless or not, it made a great toy, and being rust-free, when he sold it a few years later he made a good profit. ANYWAY Ben had me bring him a 2001 Ford Explorer Limited from down here in Austin about two years ago. He's not a Ford guy, but the truck belonged to one of my co-workers, who sold it for what the dealer was going to give him on a trade-in, in other words, we got it for next to nothing. It had under 100K miles on it, was 4WD, and was one if the most loaded Explorers I ever saw, from leather to sunroof to trip computer. It had been garaged and lady driven. It was NICE. Ben wanted it for a daily driver, especially for the winter months. Same deal, I drive it up and he buys me a plane ticket home. Before I left he had me put new tires on it and do a tune-up. Being me, I detailed it to the hilt too, and even re-painted the slightly sun-faded roof rack. Truck looked new when I was done, it was pretty much perfect. I sent him the title and he FedEx'd me some Jersey plates and the registration. See pics below from the day before I headed north with it: Now here is the point of my long-winded story. He was really happy with the truck when he got it, and drove it from late summer through fall with zero issues. BUT Ben said the first time he drove it in the snow he came out the next day and was AMAZED to see the tail pipe covered with rust. What had been shiny metal was now brown. About a month later he got under the truck to change the oil and was shocked to see a lot surface rust under the truck. When it went up there, the underside was spotless, the truck had been in Central Texas since new. He came to find out that vehicles shipped south do not get the same undercoating vehicles destined for points north get. I really didn't believe when building a vehicle the destination was even known, but he was told that either at the factory or at the dealer most cars shipped to salty climates get additional and different undercoating. He'd taken the Exploder to a local Ford dealer and was told this. Still sounds far-fetched to me, but the underside of his truck and even under the hood has a lot of surface rust on it now, and it's only been up there through two winters. Kinda scary... Something to think about! -Mike
Destination building is an interesting term. Back in the late 40s throught the early 50s Plymouth cars had different passenger side front springs depending on destination. Cars slated for the northeast had a stronger right spring in the front as opposed to cars slated for the southwest. The theory being that the roads in the northeast US had a higher road crown. The roads out west were flatter. Thus the differing front springs.
Flat Roadz Yup Mike That's why it doesn't take much more then bird droppingz to hydro plane on Mopak and get 'um shiney side down when it rainz
Don't know if the manufacturer's do that or not, but, I will say that it only takes ONE TIME driving in the salt for it to settle in. I have lived in Wisconsin most of my life and have had nice cars that were summer cars only. I got one out too early in the Spring, the salt was still dusting the roads apparently, and the underside of that car started to rust almost immediately. If you drive a car all winter in the rust belt it will eat through parts in no time. I look at old cars from the west and am amazed at the shape they are in with zero rust. In the rust belt (they don't call it that for nothing) a car MIGHT last one sixth the time that a western car will last. Now days it's a LOT better. They are using better metal and rust preventative measures than 20 years ago and the rust belt cars are lasting much longer....but still rust eventually.
Salt! Salt! You guys know nothing about Salt! Let me tell you about salt. I live in Jamestown, NY, about an hour and a half South of Buffalo. Almost EVERY time it snows here, say 3+ inches (at least twice per week) they salt the roads several times per day. They won't even plow sometimes. They just salt. It's disgusting. In the winter when it snow starts to melt, the roads will actually be white with dry salt. The entire road! The water evaporates away and the salt is left behind. The wheels kick up the road debris and it gets stored in quarter panels, frame holes, etc. It just kills cars here. It's hard to find a good 10-15 year old car without issues. I always buy my "fun" stuff outta state now. We really don't have a choice. There is a lot of money to be made in my area from Western/ Southern state vehicles. Who cares if we have to replace suspension bushings, faded interior parts, or replace a tranny. Bodywork adds up to thousands of dollars quickly...
Fast- I agree with you about the salt. I came from Michigan, and they do the same thing with salting. I had a 7 year old car with rust holes in it!! X11- Sounds like you had fun that last trip. See if you can find me a good 4-cyl car I can use as a driver.
How about an I-6? This looks right up your alley. http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/2281103051.html But I like this better: http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/2295867433.html
