mods for LONG LIFE (ie a rustfree chassis for decades??)

[ulm4lyf]

Move to the South or a Southwestern state.

 

[mxer147]

Seems like a lot of efforts, the thought process by itself even. Not sure it’s practical or cost effective when you consider all of your labor and the price rise in materials. GMy plan is to have a fleet of vehicles, Duramax truck, beater bonneville and newer impala which I shouldn’t have to purchase another vehicle for the rest of my life. Although, lately, I have been considering an electric vehicle (new Silverado) and solar panels on my roof as another option to my daily driver Bonneville.

 

[Ricko1966]

Lol,sorry I have no idea how I ended up on this.

 

[bucket]

Lol,sorry I have no idea how I ended up on this.

But I'm curious now, what were you getting at with the stainless brake lines?

 

[Catbox]

Lol,sorry I have no idea how I ended up on this.

The search function doesn't care how old the thread is.
It will take you there and before you know it, you raise a zombie thread.

Still good information to behold here though.
My thought was, for the rust belt people on here, buy used vehicles from other states.
Ones that do not have the same issues of furious rusting that yours does.

My 1979 truck still has some of the OG paint on the chassis.
It has lived on the salty coast for part of its life, but I could show a guy from Ohio what I consider a nasty rust spot and said guy would laugh at me.

Our 1995 Suburban has zero rust on the body and chassis.
Just road dirt that can be washed off and you will see factory colors on the under side...

 

[Ricko1966]

But I'm curious now, what were you getting at with the stainless brake lines?

Stainless lines are nylon or teflon,covered by a stainless cover. You can't inspect them,and the ends have a much higher incidence of coming off. Since can't inspect them your only option os periodic replacement,or wait till they fail completely.As the stainless covering flexes it opens up allowing sand,dirt,etc through the opens where it's trapped and sands holes in the inner tubing. They make stainless lines with an additional covering to keep foreign matter out,but that's not what most people buy and that still doesn't address the ends coming off.They do that because they are a stiffer line so instead of flexing like a rubber hoses dies they wobble at the fitting like wiggling a fence post until its loose. In my opinion a factory hose is a much better choice. The increase in pedal feel is so minimal that it's irrelevant in daily use. Do some research,make up your own mind.

 

[rusted nuts]

I posted my introductory post if you want to read it http://www.gmsquarebody.com/forum/showthread.php?p=236154#post236154 but the super-brief version is that I hope to rebuild a truck or/and Suburban to literally last for decades/the rest of my natural life. Maybe I just don't like change, or maybe it's because I really miss the vehicles I grew up with, or maybe I just feel no need to change something that ain't broke... and if i'm able to be driving the same vehicle in 2060 which I custom designed for my needs now I won't be complainin'.


I'm aware people have made classic vehicles last that long with extremely careful maintenance and being gentle on it, but i'm looking at a vehicle that needs to do good hard work and i'm hoping to design something to minimize future maintenance both in lifetime cost and work.


Even if I had a car accident i'd just rebuild what I already designed swapping over all the parts. Might even be crazy to the point of salting away a primered second frame and bodypanels before theyre collector items and much more expensive to get in case of accident... i'm pretty serious about not wanting to change platforms because I don't see my life changing course that much anymore.



So i'd like to ask for a little brainstorming on the topic on the best way to achieve that while sharing what I already know.


The obvious stuff:
- Yes it would usually be garaged, i'm amazed at how long my otherwise totally neglected 1987 dodge caravan has lasted just by being garaged since new when they were rustbuckets that tended to rot out really bad...
- Yes it would be regularily washed especially here in minnesota to get off salt grime and stuff, hopefully even after every drive if I can install a heated pressure washer in the garage and have grates to drive on that drain, but still trying to see how feasible that is and figure out where to drain it in that winter so it's not guaranteed. Ideal is a design where I don't have to.
- Not abusing it as a given too, but it still has to do work.

Also to clarify the vehicle will not be babied. I need it to do legit hard work though more weekend work than daily stuff, and yearly travel (if the suburban) with some longer range towing thrown in to boot. Budget isn't unlimited and i'm not made of money - I just think i'll spend less in the long run making one truck do 20 years of work instead of upgrading every few years. Especially with a new SUV costing up to $70k by itself.


I'm also hoping to minimize future maintenance - i'm aware I can just plan maintenance items of replacing X every 10 years or something, but although I turn my own wrenches (too expensive to pay someone) I actually hate it due to physical injuries that make it painful to do (it took me a month once to put in a clutch while in a back brace), so i'd like to do as many things "just once" that I can leaving only routine easier maintenance left. Actually that's part of why I don't just want a beater I replace periodically, I don't have the time to fight with it constantly and need to run longer trips, I want to build it right once and forget about it.


Biggest concern of course is rust - i'd rather not have to restore the vehicle again if I can help it, I may not be up to the work at 65 nor able to pay for someone else to do it then. But maybe modern primer or some kind of treatment is alot more rust resistant? Do these trucks have weak points that rust real bad? (I had one but everything we had always had rust so I didn't notice patterns)


Do you think changing to fiberglass body parts would be a must? Everywhere or just weak points known for rusting? Are there any downsides? I assume it was cheaper for the factory to make steel bodies but maybe also truck abuse issues are a problem...


Any suggestions to really rustproof the frame very well? Maybe even chroming the whole thing or some kind of powder coating, something that wont rub off and then rust in place... no idea on cost/i'm not looking to spend thousands but if spending hundreds meant I don't have to fight a rusting frame in 2055 that's totally worth it.


Stainless bolts and screws everywhere is an upgrade probably worth it - having struggled to work on vehicles with 30 years of rust on them i'm willing to pay more now to not have that hassle in the future. Unless there's an equally good alternative that's cheaper but I doubt it - seen too much rusted solid zinc coated stuff.



Cryogenic treatment is something i've read about usually in performance circles - used on wear and strain parts (like brakes and clutch discs making them last 2x longer, but also on engine parts and transmission gears to take more load) and doesn't sound all that expensive. I'm hoping to try it on my existing car for a few key parts and if it works i'm probably going to throw it at everything that can benefit from it for this build. Even if each part costs more, if they last twice as long it costs less in the long run.

Barrier coatings of all kinds - again yay for modern technology. Willing to spend money for things that don't improve power or MPG directly but instead improve reliability, durability, lifespan, and reduce risk of problems to just plain haev a better made engine, transmission, or whatever.


Superior lubrication is something i'm still researching and i'm open to suggestions. Elsewhere everyone says I should go to 'bobistheoilguy' where people talk about 25,000 miles between oil changes, or no oil changes using additives and special bypass filtration and other things. I'm all for that - but haven't learned about what the options all are. One thing i'd love to see is some kind of prelubrication pump that before I even start the engine forces pressurized oil through... since most wear happens then by what i've heard.

Lubrication upgrades of anything similar for transmission, transfer case, axles i'm all game for also. Any suggestions/ever hear of anything?



That's basically the best of what i've learned from reading so far. Maybe you learned something new for your own projects too, but i'm hoping you know something I don't even if it's just rumors or leads that I need to research into because it's not yet known for sure.

Any suggestions for longer life or rustfree suspension and brake stuff for instance? Composite springs/or do they break? Any kind of long life shock absorber? Do urethane bushings outlast rubber? Stainless lines for the brakes I assume? I don't mind changing oil and brake pads but things beyond that can be really difficult for me/minimizing any work in the future is a plus.

 

[Snoots]

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[Matt69olds]

I know this thread is almost 10 years old, but I’ll share my thoughts.

Without a doubt, live in a dry climate!! I have taken apart Arizona cars and decided right then my next project car will be a dry climate project. Break a bolt loose, unscrew it with your fingers. No need to PB Blaster, torches are for cutting things instead of heating them to get rusty bolts apart, dirt in your eyes instead of rust flakes, definitely the way to go.

Since I live in central indiana, road salt it an unfortunate reality. Anytime I remove something from my truck, the bolts get a coating of anti seize. When I bought my Ram new, I sprayed several cans worth of 3M internal panel coating inside the rockers, bedside, floor braces, etc.