Posted by MoparNorm on Sunday, May 04, 2003 at 9:52AM :
In Reply to: Re: Maybe there's a reason. posted by Chris In Idaho on Sunday, May 04, 2003 at 0:05AM :
Chris,
I'm not sure that the nippers were even exporting steel during the Sweptline era, but irrespective of that, the reason Sweptlines rust so badly is because of the design. Even though they were given more rust proofing than any other vehicle in their day, the design had many structural improvements that unfortunately held water. The floor mats had felt backing that trapped water under the cab mount recesses and into the rockers. The firewall cowl drains were too small for the area and also held leaves which blocked the drainage flow. Not only did this rust out the cowls but also let water get into the "A" pillars and down into the rockers. Lastly the windshield and door rubber was not ozone resistant and becomes old and brittle allowing water into the cowl and doors. This wasn't too much of a concern in the West, hence many fine SoCal Swpetlines still exist, but in states where killer salt is used, it was a death sentence for these otherwise tough 'ol trucks.
MN