75 Dart - as thin bodied as they say?

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Gigantor

Gigantor

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I've been looking at buying a 75 Dart that appears solid as a rock and free of body filler. Weird, huh? Guy says he got it out of a barn 5 years ago, cleaned it up and shot it with new paint, drove it, sold it to a friend and now that friend is selling it again.

A buddy of mine heard I was looking at a 75 and adamantly warned me that the mid-70's Mopars were paper thin and liable to rust prematurely. This one apparently didn't rust out because it was stored indoors for many years. If I were to expose it to the wet marine air we have here in Maine it is apt to rust through everywhere in short order.

My initial thought is this sounds like a load of bull. But then again, I have a late 80's Chevy van that has metal on it thin enough to use for toilet paper, so I know car companies are not above shaving a few pennies where they can.

So tell me... is my friend full of sh@t? Or is he right?

These answers might very well make the difference of me buying this wicked cute little Dart.
 
well yea the metal on them is thin if ya compare em to a battleship....all cars have their rot spots so check over the car with a magnet in the front of the lower rear 1/4's close to the rear of the tire...in front of the tire...lower front fenders behind the tire and along the bottoms of the doors 3/4" up and along the rear window bottom trim...crawl up underneath the car and give it a good looking over maybe touch a screwdriver to it in spots that dont look like a battleship...your eyes are your best tool and a magnet so use em you'll be surprised at how well the old mopars are made Mine is 45 years old and I daily drive it like I stole it :happy6: :love3:
Gigantor said:
I've been looking at buying a 75 Dart that appears solid as a rock and free of body filler. Weird, huh? Guy says he got it out of a barn 5 years ago, cleaned it up and shot it with new paint, drove it, sold it to a friend and now that friend is selling it again.

A buddy of mine heard I was looking at a 75 and adamantly warned me that the mid-70's Mopars were paper thin and liable to rust prematurely. This one apparently didn't rust out because it was stored indoors for many years. If I were to expose it to the wet marine air we have here in Maine it is apt to rust through everywhere in short order.

My initial thought is this sounds like a load of bull. But then again, I have a late 80's Chevy van that has metal on it thin enough to use for toilet paper, so I know car companies are not above shaving a few pennies where they can.

So tell me... is my friend full of sh@t? Or is he right?

These answers might very well make the difference of me buying this wicked cute little Dart.
Click to expand...
 
the big problem with cars and truck over the years is not the thickness of the metal, but rather the overall design of the body, and coatings and paint that are used--or "not" used.

A good example is some of the mid 70's GM/Chev pickups. The design of the inner fenders trapped mud and water, and the fenders literally rusted out from the inside.

Lack of any aluminizing, undercoating, less/ thinner paint, etc, may have contributed.

This 67 Dart I have has undercoating. I don't know it's "weather" history, but evidently it spent it's life in the Pacific NW. It is virtually rust-free.
 
Thanks for that guys - I was hoping this was the case... I'm definitely familiar with GM cutting corners and having design flaws that cause rust. Unfortunately, my daily driver Ram has a similar design flaw that allows mud and water to get trapped under the rear fender lip... both sides started rusting this spring.

However... the Dart I'm looking at appears solid in all the telltale spots I can see - I haven't had a chance to crawl underneath her yet.
 
I remember back in the days when you parked your new Mopar in the driveway, sat on the front porch and watched the car rust!!

Body engineering has come a long way now. Design, choice of metals and weatherproofing have improved so much.

My brother's 97 Dodge van.....

Rear.jpg


Tranny.jpg
 
if its rust free, then its rust free its a 36 plus year old car so it will never be NEW again so if it looks good BUY it my 1974 was found here in Michgan but came from CALI so it to is a near rust free car
 
Yeah, I got a better look at it today and it is not rust-free... just cleverly covered up with pretty paint. :-(

Do you guys know if patch panels are made for a 75? Also was there supposed to be some trim around the windshield and rear window?

Thanks for chiming in.
 
yes they make just about any patch pannel you need and parts interchange from 1967-1976
 
I grew up in Detroit and back there "rust-free" meant there were no holes rusted through the metal. Cancer on the metal didn't count and neither did rust on the underside. I now live in Northern California (as opposed to that other state of California") and now "rust-free" means no rust anywhere, at all, nota, zilch unless otherwise stated.
 
I'm in Maine, dude... if I can't stick my hand through it it 's rust free. I miss living on the west coast.
 
I am finding more and more replacement panels available for our A-Bodies, and am glad for it. You can pick up an entire floor pan for $400-$500 plus shipping. Frame rails, quarter and rocker patch panels. The only thing I haven't found is complete front fenders. Who know's, those may be coming soon. If it looks like a good start, I say go for it, and have fun fixing it up.

j
 
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