I'm a big fan of MartinSR's "Basics" posts. They've helped me a lot.

Most of what I see here is how to fix it, or how to paint it... not a lot of how to keep it. Some of us drive these cars every day, even in the winter, and could use some help keeping them in good condition.

In the spirit of MartinSR's posts, here's what I've learned so far. Would love to have other contributions added to this!

1) Water is the enemy. Check all of your weatherstripping -- especially doors and trunk -- carefully for leaks. Replace or reseal any leaks, to keep the water out.

2) Pull the windshield trim and rear window trim, and look for rust. Fix it before it gets out of hand.

3) Spot sand and repaint chips, dings, and surface rust before it has a chance to become real rust.

4) Check all drain holes to make sure they aren't blocked by dirt, leaves, or Bondo left by the PO. (On my '71, it meant opening access holes in the front kick panels, and scooping out gobs of leaves and muck. Didn't know the cowl drained through there, until I noticed my fenders dripping for four days after every good rain. Yes, I now need new fenders.)

5) DO NOT use spray on rubberized undercoating on the undercarriage -- it holds water. Use a good primer (not rattle can); and keep it clean.

6) Read the archives about vinyl tops, and if you decide you need the originality, do not neglect the maintenance.


That's all that springs to mind right now.
Looking forward to other things to keep an eye on.

Cheers,
mark.
'71 Fodor
"Soon to be... 383"

Would rockerguard be considered a rubberized undercoating?

The stuff I used is Premium Rubberized Rockerguard sold by Canadian Tire. Has anyone else used it here? The can says it
"forms to a hard, textured finish that helps prevent chipping and abrasions caused by stones and debris while inhibiting the development of rust." "Paintable when dry"
I gave mine a rattle can coat of Tremclad. My car is not on the road yet and it is sitting in a concrete unheated garage, but
puddles have formed from time to time under it from various sources and no problems yet. Does this mean though the rockerguard coating is trapping the water right now?

Not familiar with Rockerguard.
But as a general rule, what you buy in a spray can is water based -- meaning it won't keep water away from your steel.

mark.
'71 Fodor
"383"

Monteman..
If you want to be certain that water won't be a problem why don't you go over to Krown and have them oil the bottom? This will at the very least keep "new" water (from driving in the rain, washing the car, etc...) from causing problems down the road.
Steve

I am comsidering Rhino liner for undercoat. Any thoughts.

When I lived in the rust belt, Southwest Pennsylvania, I leared a secret about keeping rust off of a car. An an old guy down the street with a clean car (1970 Impala) year after year peaked my interest.
I finally asked him what he did as all of the other cars that old were showing signs of rot & rust. He poured and sprayed oil down the insides of the 1/4 panels and fenders! He said he only washed the outside of the car two or three times during the winter. He also removed the outer wheel well trim pieces during the winter. A good coat of wax that never got buffed out was done along the lower 1/4's and fenders as well.
I remember almost buying that car around 1980 for $1,000. It was clean! No rust and the original paint looked good.

I was thinking of just spraying it with the Rust Check Gel but I prefer not having the gel coating because I like a clean undercarriage. Maybe when the car is done I will spray it because I won't be under the car as much. Looking back I should have just PORed it but I don't like scraping that stuff off my skin. Plus when I scraped away all the old tar I had what I assume was the original black primer that the used from the factory. I thought that this could act as a rust inhibitor. Maybe one day when I have the resources I will do a frame off and put the body on a rossitare. It is a lot harder trying to do all this stuff on a creeper when all the road tar\dirt is falling on you. Sometimes when scraping the underside I was so covered in black dirt it looked like I was working in a coal mine.
That wheelwell trim for sure really holds water.