As you can all tell by my post count and registration date, I'm brand spanking new here. I don't own a 240... yet. I'm the proud papa of an '03 Civic SiR, and although I love the car very much, I'm too much of a wrenching greenhorn to risk my car trying to mod it up too much (though I have done interior work, and some basic bolt-on/suspension crap myself).

Anyhow, long story short, I have the opportunity to pick up a '91 240 fastback for under 1000 dollars. I realize this car will probably need a LOT of work, but that's what I want. I want a chance to take a car apart and put things back together without fear of fawking it up (only way to learn!). The prospect of building a 300+rwhp monster is tantalizing, too.


Of course I know those goals are all very long term. I'm realistic about my goals... need to crawl before I can walk. I plan on having help along the way, but at least I'll be able to really improve my skills if I have this project car to mess with. The only remaining concern I have is the frame itself. I hear a lot of things about rusting framerails, so that concerns me.

What I want to know is, how much rust is acceptable in terms of the car's structural integrity, and since I was eventually budgeting on having the frame and body repainted anyway, should this concern me at all?

Thanks!

 

Ummm...IMO if there are wholes in the frame, then thats too much Seriously I wouldnt want ANY rust cause that crap spreads...if there is a LITTLE, then maybe I would consider it...

 

Don't get a car with any frame rust at all. It's not safe or worth it. Everything else can be replaced but a straight and clean frame is essential to any project car. If the body had some surface rust I wouldn't mind but frame rust is a definite no-no.

 

Thanks for the tip.. this is exactly what I needed.

Oh, and Fast1One... in case you didn't know, I'm in Canada, up in the northeast. Rust on a 10+ year old car is simply a fact of life.

 

haha very true, but lots of rust can end your life... PS 240's are unibodies

 

yep, i live in New England ... on an island, in the Atlantic Ocean (Cape Cod).
Rust is EVERYWHERE. The ocean vapors just chew everything up.
and snow likes to get up into places, then melt, then make rust.

 

Rust is always a bad sign if you find a car with it. There's more than one 240sx for sale somewhere... I'd keep looking until you find one that is worth spending time and money rebuilding

BTW I was ready to bring out the flamethower when I saw "SiR" until I realized you're in Canada