Rust: It’s All Relative
Forum member’s sporty, newly purchased ’07 Chevy van has one big problem — but it’s nothing the forum can’t handle.
When was the last time you watched Smokey and the Bandit? It’s a perennial classic for car enthusiasts, and in addition to great music and great car chases, there’s some great dialogue, too.
When Burt Reynolds and runaway bride Sally Field discuss their interests and influences, they quickly realize that they don’t have much in common. Bandit’s not much for Elton John, and Frog’s never heard of Richard Petty. To this, Bandit quips, “When you tell somebody something, it depends on what part of the country you’re standing in as to just how dumb you are.”
Rust works kind of the same way. Folks from the south and way out west would be outright terrified if they saw the sort of stuff northeasterners put up with on their trucks. In the same vein, northerners are often surprised and disgusted to see the kind of “terminal rot” that sends cars to the scrapyard in places like California and Arizona.
That’s precisely what happened here. One of our Phoenix-based members, lovevans, bought a gorgeous 2007 Chevy Express 1500 Majestic conversion van out of Illinois. When he crawled underneath, he was horrified by what he saw — and took to Chevrolet Forum to ask for advice.
Not as Bad as it Seems
He posted some photos of his gorgeous van, as well as some detail photos showing off the rust on the undercarriage. As it turns out, the rust he was seeing is pretty normal — just some very minor surface rust. It’s the kind of thing most northerners wouldn’t bat an eye at — minor surface rust like this can happen after just a winter or two after exposure to road salt and moisture.
As mountainmanjoe points out, it’s hardly anything to be concerned about — especially in Arizona. In a dry, desert climate like that, it’ll probably never get any worse.
Other members echo the sentiment and chime in to compliment the van. We can’t imagine a better way to travel on land than a nice, cushy conversion van like this. The owner says it rides like a Cadillac, but we’ve never been in a Caddy with so much room to stretch out.
Rust is just about the evilest thing in the universe, but you shouldn’t live in fear. You can protect your truck’s frame and undercarriage, and keep up with maintenance to keep the evil tin worm at bay.
Photos: Chevrolet Forum members
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