And so it begins. I've finally bought a 5th gen and now i get the joy of fixing this beast up.

Long day of busting open holes and just overwhelming amounts of rust. It didn't look so bad on the surface but once you got in there, Wow. PA is hard on metal, Especially most foreign cars. I've seen countless civics and tiburons with this same rust in the same spot.

Both rear wheel well lips are just gone. Rocker panels are completely destroyed from the front doors, back. Rear bumper paint can all be taken off by hand, It just comes off in chips. Front bumper is doing the same, just isn't as bad yet. Rear Rotors and pads are shot, Probably the calipers are too.

Front of the car is pretty OK, where the front fenders meet the bumper they are rusted out, But I'm just going to completely replace them as they have some guardrail? damage from the PO. I haven't looked at the Front rotors/pads yet. The car brakes well still, So I can't imagine they're TOO bad. Brake lines & fuel lines are in good shape surprisingly, They may have been replaced in the past 4 years.

The car is going to have to be completely repainted... And It's probably going to be an easy color, Black or white. I love the sagemist green, But color matching the new areas and bumpers to 13 year old paint is going to be a huge headache.

I've uploaded a few to an album as to not overwhelm the post. I completely forgot to get some before shots... I might have a few of the car when I had first bought it last year, but I doubt i focused on the rust too much then

http://imgur.com/a/P2SFh#0sy7d

 

congrats on the purchase. keep posting pics, i look forward to seeing this beast rust-free

 

I had a Datsun 720 4x4 and two Nissan D21 4x4s and all three trucks had the frame crack from excessive rust. It's an understatement to say the Japanese didn't have sufficient corrosion protection to deal with America's rust belt. My A32 was kept surprisingly clean and only had one spot of rust on the right side quarter panel directly above where the chip guard mounts. I welded a new piece of metal in to take car of that. The best thing to do is get your butt (not you specifically, I know you just bought this car) out there in the middle of winter and squirt the salt off. It was hard last year though because the roads were always wet. You pretty much are at the mercy of the weather. I just accept the use of salt because I'd rather drive though a inch of brine than over an inch of ice.

Where in western PA are you at?