Classic Alfa Forums

Apart from the fact that they haven't made a decent car in over 20, possibly a lot more, years, I've always found myself defending all the Italian brands for their "reputation" for rust and rot when supposed domestic car brand fans, (ford, vauxhall etc) were claret tintedly perfect of course.

I blame the motoring press for a lot of it, and a largely gullable public, but here's just a little ammunition i came across today for those who find themselves in a similar state of def'con 2!


Unbelievably this little perisher has been purchased by a bodyshop i know, claiming it is already a sought after classic, i fell about the rust covered floor as i let rip my own opinion on what i can only say is a right rotten shed!


A Ford Escort RS 2000 no less, but not the vintage you may think of at first. Instead, this is a 1995 M reg, and yet possibly more thoroughly rotten than a Sud twice that age (on occasion!) i gently explained!


And try not to laugh too much




Giggles on a postcard please....

always makes me laugh when folks slag off anything Italian whilst driving the latest rust bucket.
I can remember sierras needing new arches at 5 years old, and holes in the roof too.
anything and everything rusts, take a look at merc around the turn of the century, right old rust sheds!

amazes me that the mk5 escort could ever be considered for classic status, even the badge engineered RS2000 which was awful even when new.

Think we all share the same views boys.
Ford, Vauxhall even VW have all had the rot issues but people are quick to forget that, yet still say "Alfas rot away" even now.
Trouble is that rust bucket the body shop have bought will live off the classic name of the Mk1 & 2 (think they also did a Mexico) and people know original ones prices are going up and up and the likes of Mike Brewer styled shows on tv fuel the hype. You can also probably still get panels and bits for them, so you can't blame them to strike while they can as there probably is limited numbers left. I bet there are even "ghost" cars being sat on as we speak.
Rant over it will never change, just hope they do a though job.

I went to Essex the other to help a friend strip a fiat coupe of all the bits that we need to fit into his Alfa 155......but after I cut the rot out and weld the 155 up which I found out he bought the car new in 97

He is renting a space in a workshop from a bloke that builds roll cages, race cars, hires race cars with motorbike engines in them and does full setting up race cars for people.

They had a Sierra xr4i that they had fitted a roll cage in which had been welded in all the same areas that we repair our alfas

Hi Guys,

I think there are lots of classic cars that have a reputation for corroding very badly. The Alfasud really took the trophy though (excuse the pun). Rust was coming through when they were delivered to the UK dealers. I think this might have been matched by the Lancia Beta?

Anyway, is there another section of classic car owners that get as stressed when it rains on a day out with their pride and joy. I reckon that my Sud fizzes when the rain hits it.

I am glad you all love the Sud so much as otherwise there wouldn't be any left. I cannot believe what Keith did with his Sud - truly amazing. You have to see the before pictures.

Most other manufacturers cars from the 70s lasted a couple of years before the rust came through. I think that I remember that Japanese cars from the 70s suffered badly from corrosion.

Here is my example of a car that corrodes badly: Ferrari Dino.

Brgds,
Simon

That escort is scrap.

My mate who constantly derides my still on the road Sud has gone through 3 Focus estates in 6 years. Engines all died. Discuss.
My other half is a Puma nut, she had to get rid of hers when number one child was born for practicality reasons, she hid under the bedclothes and cried when the guy came to pick it up! As kids are older ive toyed with picking one up for her and had a look at some examples .... THE ROT! THE WHEEL ARCHES!! Having had X19s , 127 s and Suds (and many welders!) I'm not scared of a bit of the brown stuff, but these were horrendous.
She can stick to her FIAT.

Chris

Fiatchris wrote:She can stick to her FIAT.

Chris

Good man Chris!



as for the suicidal focus engines, well, in the short period (5 weeks) i helped a fellow friend and garage owner out earlier this year, i did 3 engine changes for him, all ford zetec derived units, one in a focus, one mondeo, and a mazda 6 which is pretty much the same beast.

2 were top end, head issues, and one was just a complete rod out epic failure! and not one of them was beyond 100k

Until then i was under the impression that the zetec motor was ok, its certainly used an awful lot and some of it rather interestingly by none ford marques, but i guess they haven't learnt as much as i thought they had since the pitiful CVH and Duratorque crud!

I often used to ask folks why they liked fords etc......"because you can get spares easily from the scrap yards" they proudly announced..


"the idea is that they don't break down in the first place" is what I used to say

when I ran lancias with the twin cam 1.6's (had quite a few when I think about it in various deltas' and prisma's) I never, ever had engine issues, carb'ed or injection.
ok, I had the odd rust issue and a memorable trip to mablethorpe trying to impress some girl resulted in the gearlever falling through the floor....but the engines were mega

i'll never ever though defend the recent 156/147 range of twin-spark engines, the belt driven ones.

I used to have a Vauxhall HA Viva, which a work colleague gave to me as scrap. It wasn't far off, but I managed to get 4 years of motoring out of it. My point is, late 1950's Vauxhalls (the PA Cresta and FA Victors in particular) had such a poor reputation for rust that Vauxhall pulled out all the stops for the Viva - aluminium and stainless brightwork, little plastic caps on every exposed screw thread. The results speak for themselves - anyone of a "certain age" remembers the HA, but out of the thousands produced less than 50 remain today.

As for the HC models... front wings, wheelarches, sills, windscreen pillars - sound familiar?

My friends Mk1 Escort wasn't any better. The whole Lancia Beta thing was blown out of all proportion - probably by BL, to make their offerings more appealing. Now lets see... where did my Austin Maxi rust? Oh yes, front wings, sills, rear wheel arches, windscreen pillars, subframe...

Lauren

Here you go Lauren.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjgHSqdY5nQ

Where is zummerzet?

Brgds,
Simon

Ha ha! Thats funny!

The big point that wasnt mentioned in the report is that it wasn't ever a lancia recall because if i remember correctly it was done this terrible way due to pressure from our government to do it at all.

All part of a continuous effort which successfully eliminated lancia from the uk market altogether, sparked by the domestic brands jealousy and a biased press campaign, that didnt leave Fiat and Alfa untouched either.

Funny how the buyers new what they were buying and generally loved their higher spec italian performing stylish cars, compared to the mostly lack lustre domestic offerings, so i dont think its a coincidence at all that Ford never had to recall or buy back mk1 escorts for total strut top failures, Minis for subframe rot, or any late Morris or Austin for that matter!


I met a chap who was a branch sales manager for Vauxhall at a spanned time of Victors, Ventoras, Vivas, Chevettes etc, and he remembers sending many brand new delivered cars back through the bodyshop to have rust areas addressed on sills, arches, and many panel edges prior to being able to display them for sale, and of course, he knew it wouldn't be long before seeing them again!

Vauxhall knew their bodies were no better made or prepared than anyone elses, and would simply pay his bodyshop costs as a warranty claim, no questions asked he informed me.


I guess we all know tales like that, but what was plainly obvious is that lancia were drummed out of the uk by a smear campaign brought about by rival manufacturers and acted out by the government and the motoring press.

Disgusting really, but how ironic that General Motors then become owners of the Lancia brand once they've managed to reduce their market share and value substantially? Pretty odd that!


Wow, what a rant!

That should set me up for the day that! Lol!


One final word on the matter, a short little word that stands for "atrocious in all manner of thinking". A modern top selling car that has no redeeming factors whatsoever, and can also rot from the nearside rear arch upwards over the roof to offside arch in 5 years flat!

This wonderment of modern motoring is?

Ka!