Editing Rust (section)

==Rust==

The Australian R31 Skyline has reasonable rust protection applied to the steel, and some of the body is very well protected by some kind of soft wax product. Other seams in the body are sealed with some kind of sealant that reacts very badly to water. Over time this sealant becomes spongy and holds water against the seams, becoming a rust accelerant, rather than an inhibitor. The Japanese R31 Skylines seem to have been more fortunate in this regard. I suppose many R31s have made it to the age of 15-20 years without falling apart, so Nissan's obviously learned something since the 120Y. Here is the classic R31 Skyline rust under the front quarter panels: (photo courtesy FSTR31)

[[image:rust01.jpg]]

And again, on a GTS2: (photo courtesy GTS145)

[[image:rust02.jpg]]

And again: (photo courtesy Sick R31)

[[image:rust04.jpg]]

The above after some cutting:

[[image:rust03.jpg]]

However rust can appear anywhere if you're unlucky. Other common places include around the bottom of the windscreen, the A pillars, sedan tail lights, wagon tailgate struts, roof skin, etc. etc. The drain problem with the Australian Skylines may be related to extra steel in the area. According to Wheels Magazine in 1986 &quot;...as a result of the arduous [Nissan Australia] test cycles, the new body/chassis structure was modified and beefed up with some thicker panels and reinforcements.&quot; There's a bit of bracing in there which seems to be the main water trap for the area, and I would be interested to find out if the Japanese Skylines have the same panels. 

You can check for the drain rust under the quarter panels by taking out the side indicators and peering up inside the guard. Scary stuff. It looks like this:

[[image:rust06.jpg]]

That is probably a good check to do when buying an R31, as you're not going to be able to remove the guards. I would think that if you could see the firewall lining and loom peering back at you, you should possibly find another car. However you're going to find something on most Australian cars. Here's the same car with the guard off.

[[image:rust07.jpg]]

If you love the car and want to drive it for a long time to come, you should do something about it, as it's only going to get worse. To state the obvious, you need to remove as much of the rust as you can, stop any further rust occurring, and replace any steel you removed (preferably not with bog). In terms of the age and value of the car, I question whether it would be economic to pay anyone else to repair this, but if you removed all the panels and did the surface preparation yourself, you could probably get away with giving the panel beater only your forearm up to the elbow instead of the whole arm and a leg.