California Cars - Why? Why? WHY?

I live in Chicago. I fly into Los Angeles on Monday and fly out of San Diego on Friday. 2,100 miles in between.

Why are all rust free cheap cars on the West coast?

Why can't I live in Long Beach?

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/2920981809.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/2931705553.html

I know, it sucks living in the rust belt, but I was actually very surprised that there are still rusty cars in Cali if they spent their life along the coast in all that salt air. Desert cars in Cali are the most rust free.

Buy the green one, drive it home, charge your employer $.55/mile federal rate. =$950 car?

Example of a budget Datsun in Pennsylvania.

http://poconos.craigslist.org/cto/2872302952.html

California is where they make old cars. The old cars 'round here are all old. But out there, they have new ones. That's why I went to LA to get Tom Celica. They sure did a bad job painting him, though, and it's weird that they put an old engine in it.

fast_eddie_72 wrote: California is where they make old cars.

Lots of rust free cheap stuff down here in Tejas, too.

Pete240Z wrote: I live in Chicago. I fly into Los Angeles on Monday and fly out of San Diego on Friday. 2,100 miles in between. Why are all rust free cheap cars on the West coast? Why can't I live in Long Beach? http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/2920981809.html http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/2931705553.html

Logistics fail.

Fly into LA on Monday, find a rust free car, drive home starting on Friday, have rust free car and epic story.

$2500 42 year old Z cars tend to pop head gaskets in Wyoming when I am a long way from home.

The wife would hate that phone call. 25 years of marriage has taught me some things.

So don't call her!! Call one of us enablers er friends to help you out. Aussie will drive anywhere.

Well, only twice, but I've driven my wrecks from CA back to Colorado. Made it each time. So, who knows? But my back up plan was AAA and a credit card to rent a U Haul and trailer.

DAMNIT! Made the mistake of searching "datsun" on ATL CL just to show you what a REAL rust free 240 looks like. Now I need this!!! Damnit!!!

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/2931271957.html

I'm 15 minutes away from that Z. Saw 4 of them today just cruising around.

I gotta say... I grew up in PA, then lived in LA for 6 years and Austin TX for 3+ years. Now I moved back to PA.

It hurts me to think that the rust-free cars I picked up down south will now be driven up here. I refuse to build customs that don't get driven, so now I'm going to have to go nuts with rustproofing and meticulously clean them all in the spring.

... and they'll still rust.

In reply to Pete, In 1975 I flew into LA, bought a Honda S600, drove up to Monterey for the Historic races and Pebble Beach. Then I drove back to LA and after replacing a water pump, drove back to NJ in 3 days. GO for it!!

I have not seen a z car of any kind in the NE in at least 15 years

I've shipped vehicles twice. Believe me, the $400 - $800 you spend is more than offset by the lack of bondo and frustration.

Dan

curtis73 wrote: I gotta say... I grew up in PA, then lived in LA for 6 years and Austin TX for 3+ years. Now I moved back to PA. It hurts me to think that the rust-free cars I picked up down south will now be driven up here. I refuse to build customs that don't get driven, so now I'm going to have to go nuts with rustproofing and meticulously clean them all in the spring. ... and they'll still rust.

My 68' Ford was 99% rust free when it was driven from Washington to Pennsylvania. Without indoor storage I just park her for the winter and hope for the best. But once summer comes around and the salt is all gone I use it as much as possible.

If you live in Chicago and want to find a rust-free car, it's not necessary to fly all the way to Ca. Try looking in states like Tn. and Ga. If you find the car or truck you want in Ga. EVERY airlines has non-stops from Chicago to Atlanta and the trip home is shorter...plus, fewer long stretches of interstate with almost no "services".

I used to live in (grew up in) Pa. I never realized what the ravages of rust were doing to the cars in Pa. (as far as cutting down the numbers of "interesting" driveable classics) until I was transferred to the San Francsico (sp?) area. Of course, once there, I saw a lot of nice older cars that had been lowered, bagged, and / or flamed...so it sometimes seemed as bad as Pa.

Up here in Oregon things aren't so bad either. Here are a couple from my local Craigslist

http://eastoregon.craigslist.org/cto/2929965774.html

http://eastoregon.craigslist.org/cto/2932902439.html

http://eastoregon.craigslist.org/cto/2923444368.html

http://eastoregon.craigslist.org/cto/2931508778.html

http://eastoregon.craigslist.org/cto/2917936154.html

http://eastoregon.craigslist.org/cto/2915882563.html

These are a few of the more interesting ones from the last couple days.

I know, I grew up in Michigan. Now that I live in California my ten year old pickup truck still looks like it did when it rolled off of the lot. Except for the coffee stains in the interior. There are a gazillion pre-'71 Mustangs in San Jose. People still DD them. I think it's because they made them in Milpitas.

The sun takes it's own toll. So cal and desert cars owned people who use their garages to put running cars in (odd, in know) live a pretty easy life. The ones left out every day have baked everything that is not metal and that is another set of headaches .

Yeah, sun does bake things, and I guess that is it's own set of headaches, but it's a set I'll take 100 times over a rust bucket.

But the sweet cars are further up the coast. Nor Cal doesn't have the sun baking So Cal does. Oregon preserves cars well too. All, of course, assuming they don't live right on the coast. I've seen amazing rust from sea salt in the air. But it always seemed to be cars that lived like less than half a mile from the ocean.

I just got back from San Diego. I bought some old cars out there, but I want to debunk a myth. Southern Cal is not a mecca of clean old cars for dirt cheap.

I looked at about thirty cars to buy five. The really desirable stuff seems to cost more there than it does here in MA. I attribute this to "car culture" being more prevalent in southern Cal.

The other thing that I saw a lot of was lowriders. Otherwise decent old cars with cut springs and either tiny little chrome & gold wire wheels or huge 20"+ chromies.

All that being said, I scored a 55 Chrysler, a couple of old Beetles, an MGB and a 72 Chevy pickup. (I do this for a living.)

• Brian