Clarence had very little rust before I went to Bonneville several times and drove out on the salt. When I got home to Missouri each time I very carefully washed the underside. Or at least I thought I did a good job. The pic below is the floor that Ryno recently cut out and replaced with new. Obviously not all of this damage can be blamed on Bonneville, but most can. So this is just a warning to do a better job of cleaning than I did.
Several years ago I read that at Bonnieville the media was given new Audi's to drive while they covered the event. Sometime after the event it was reported the floors rotted out of the Audi's.
I always find it interesting that the places where the events that are as traditional as the movement we celebrate here are so unforgiving and harsh to the vehicles. Bonneville, El Mirage, Trog, Pendine, Daytona, and on and on. The other interesting thing is that in the extreme nature of the Landscapes are incredible breathtaking beauty...So yes wash the Toys. Good advice @atch with Pics to boot...
I went there about 10 years ago. The day before I left I put my truck up in the air and sprayed the whole underneath with WD-40 . I got a gallon can of it and a spray bottle. Anything and anywhere underneath it including up inside the bedside, frame, engine compartment, floor, backside of the wheels, etc . I just hosed it on. When we got out to the street we walked around it and banged on the sides and hardly anything had stuck on it. When I got home it went up on tall jack stands in the driveway and I put a sprinkler underneath and kept moving it around for several hours.Again hardly anything on the ground. Still driving it daily and I haven’t seen anything rust wise on it . That was a 2000 mile trip and about 65,000 miles ago. I’ve seen more rust damage on my Ford super duty from one 5100 mile cross country trip in December 2 years ago. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Great advice. We build great cars, but I never hear of anyone rust proofing them. Maybe something to consider depending on where you intend to use it.
Being from Canada, rust proofing is second nature. My dad and I had a very long conversation debating wether he should have his thunderbird rust proofed, in the end he did and even though it will never see winter or salt, it can’t do any harm. I take my cars to a place called Krown, Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We travel to Fraser Island (Largest sand island in world) every year in OT SUVs for 1-2wks. The only way to get around is on the sand and salt water beaches as there are NO roads of any kind. When back on the big island (Australian mainland) we always wash under the SUVs with high pressure water blasters and then a sprinkler tractor under them when home. No issues whatsoever and we've been doing it for 30yrs. The salt and sand get in everywhere so it needs to be done thoroughly. I've seen many SUVs that were not cleaned properly and they soon turn into worthless rust buckets.
was it 2007 when we had to drive through a foot of water to get on and off the salt? i kept thinking that it had to be the same as driving through ten chicago winters. lot of the guys hope for rain on the way home from bonneville to start the cleaning process. the sprinkler is a good idea. we used to do that with our off-road vehicles. some will tell you that high pressure sprays will push the salt deeper into crevices. people have used all sorts of sprays...wd40 and pam non-stick cooking spray. i even heard of a dedicated product, is it called salt-away? another thing to think about are wheel bearings. i seem to recall a higher failure rate after the deep water crossings of 2007.
I remember an image in an older R&C or Hot Rod of (if I recall correctly) a '54 Ford up on 4 jackstands with a sprinkler running underneath. This after a trip to Bonneville. If anyone can find that image please post it up.
"On a quiet summer night, the only sound you hear is the Chevrolets rusty away." I suppose Fords and Mopars are doing the same. Great advice. Don Richardson, current owner and restorer of Doug Rice's 1939 Ford "Bonneville Boomer" said he had to replace the entire lower portion of the body because it was rusted by lake salt.
Almost 50 yrs. of living in way Upstate N.Y., undercoating/rustproofing is a fact of life. In Vermont, they advertised a method with used motor oil (recycling), but I doubt that's allowed in this day and age. My neighbor even went so far as to take the interior panels off and used thin oil inside the doors and quarters, it would seep thru the seam sealer. Those are some nifty tricks for ridding the salt, some car washes actually have an undercarriage wash. Rust Never Sleeps!
if you fly in to salt lake city and rent a car ....DO NOT...tell them you are going to the salt flats.....
I have to put a plug in for KBS products they have a product for protection that they claim is the real deal,Under seal or some such thing,I didn't find the link for it.plus they have a spray can of cavity coater. https://www.kbs-coatings.com/Cavity-Wax.html I haven't talked to my saleman about it lately but he says a lot of shops in the east have been using it.
I was told from when I was young that undercoating could cause more rust problems that it can help. Living down South, it is not as big a problem as other places so I never went for undercoating, I just always washed out from under my cars. But I recently bought a 48 Ford coupe that was undercoated a long time back and I must say, for 70 years old, I have only found 2 places at the corner of the trunk floor and a weak spot near the master cylinder access panel that has rust. So, I think it helps. I can knock off a piece of dried undercoat and there is nice shiny black paint under it. Old car is really solid.
good thing to remind people about - have known guys that have serious problems with tow/push vehicles that just get parked especially if go through rain on the way home - salt will "get where the Sun don't shine"
My avatar coupe has been on the salt 7-8 times since '89, no problems so far. Being open wheeled helps I think. Last year I took my F-1 pickup, but before I went I sealed up any cracks and undercoated any likely areas. Also used the "under car wash" at roads end when leaving. When I got home and jacked it up, I found very little salt residue. Pressure washer took care of that.
There is a DIY car wash down the road before the SMITHS. Get quarters at the casinos. I used it last year. Coin operated car wash in West Wendover at the intersection of Butte and Pueblo. Nick
A few hours after my avatar photo was taken in 1998 came the gully washer meet ending storm that dumped about six inches of water right before roads end before we could get off the salt. I had been hitting the car wash in west Wendover each day but the High school drill or cheer leader team was holding a car wash by the casinos that day and they did a pretty good job of washing up under the fenders an under it. I jacked it up and pressure washed it when I got home and it still doesn't show much suffering from that trip. If a guy is too worried about taking the "good car" out to Bonneville it might be time to build a simple but reliable Bonneville beater that can be driven there without worries. I'm sure that a number of the rides we often see in photos are just that. Not as cool as being able to photograph our favorite ride out on the salt with the not found anywhere else background nor be able to brag about the trip in that ride but the nerves might be a lot happier.
The Jalopy Journal
