bpanders

I once heard from someone down south that the best corvettes are those that have spent their entire life in the cold, snowy north since they are garaged winters. Southern cars are driven more and get beat up, but won't have rust.

How true would you say this statement is? Should I be avoiding southern cars if I want a good driver, as it may be pretty worn out, or should I ignore this silly advice and not consider where the car has been?

Just curious-
Brian

SuprJames

but west is the best.

sabre1981

I think both sides have logic, but really, it would boil down to how the car itself was treated.

parkerracing

Best preserved examples tend to be from the southwest, if only a little sandblasted

BigBlockTank

Look at this logically, the military decided to put the military aircraft storage....................in Tucson, AZ. Why? Climate is the reason, so, south west in the best area to buy from. Well, as far as rust goes anyway, that is what we're talking about, right?

clintwilson

Pa vehiclels are rust buckets.

Mike Ward

The best cars are those from here that were stored every winter from the day they new.

Low mileage, no wear and tear and no rust. Unfortunately extremely rare.

joewill

Rust is the high dollar repair.. anyplace rust can get started and spread rapidly, is bad. the southwest, where dry and hot is what you want.
Frame, birdcage, Windshield Frame, Radiator Support, all are highest dollar repairs, you can fix mileage wear items alot cheaper and easier than you can rust..

just getting the body off a rusty frame, you will break almost all the bolts..

rfn026

Corvettes move around the country. I guess you could call my car a Florida car. It spent the first six years in New Jersey though. The next ten were in Pennsylvania. Then the car came to Florida.

Is this a southern car or a northern car?

Richard Newton
How to Restore and Modify Your Corvette, 1968-1982

Derrick Reynolds

There is little doubt that driving any car on salty roads exacerbates rusting problems, so I accept that as fact. What I am not sure I accept as fact is the idea that back in the day, say the late 60s and early 70s, Corvette owners in Northern locations tended to put these cars away for the winter as most or all of us here in the North do today. Since the whole "Northern cars are better" idea rests on the idea that the Northern cars were not driven on salty roads, I think that whole argument is tenuous at best.

With nothing to back this up, I THINK that the overwhelming majority of these cars were bought as daily drivers in those days and that percentage-wise, only a tiny fraction of the Northern cars were spared the exposure to salt. If I had my choice, I would take a car from the SW first, and the South second. Cars that have lived their lives in the North would be last.

...Roger...

rydoc

I have to agree with you on the rust issue and these cars were daily drivers in any weather conditions. Ontario Canada, the salt capital of the world, back in the day,these cars didn`t stand a chance. I have looked at a fair amount of vettes for sale...and yes a lot of rust buckets out there. I did come across a 1 owner who, garaged his vette every winter, and tried to keep it out of the rain, when ever possible.

So in conclusion: SW best, and a good Northern car Rare

Rod
Love the Vette

Easy Mike

TEXASDESERTVETTE

The Southern, South-Western, and Western Sunbelt 'Vettes can be "Rust-Free"... But can have up to a " Third Degree Sunburn " on the paint and interior. Freeze damage to the paint and interior, usually begins to show up in the summer months and can appear to be sun damage. Acid based "Touch-Free" car washes can damage the paint finish quickly also. So, I would have to agree that each 'Vette should stand on its own merits, and what type of person has owned it. And what your intentions are. ,

RagTop69

A simple answer to the dilemma. CALFORNIA. No snow, no salt, no blistering sun, and, through the bulk of the 60s, 70s and 80s, first class road surfaces so they didn't get beat up.

7T1vette

Northern cars that got driven a lot are rust buckets! I agree with the poster who indicated that southwest cars are the "cherries". As long as they have been there since "birth".

76vette454

People who bought and owned vettes in the 60's and 70's bought them to drive. I owned three new ones in those days and they were my only means of transportion. They were not considered collector cars. Check my avatar. ski rack with ski's on the way snow skiing. Weather was never a consideration. I would say go south and west for best condition cars.

Jay-Dog

In Wisconsin, I would guess that 6 or 7 out of 10 Vettes have been treated as collector cars since early in life and are still in great shape. (No rust) My good friend in Dallas says he can't find 1 in 10 Vettes that are in good shape.(Not rusty though) People just drive them all year and are also exposed to the sun. I would not make this same argument for Mustangs and Camaros.

Jay

MN-Brent

My 82 was a Cali car- Anahiem north LA area.

The interior was BEAT and in general was not a clean car under the hod when I bought it. I pulled all the interior out anyways and started over. The dash was in good shape (not cracked) though which I thought was noteworthy. Car must have been garaged or under a carport.

HOWEVER, Ill take a little bit of dirt-grime anyday of over rust.

Great example, I just rebuilt my front suspension and the large bolts that held my front control arm mounting shafts to the frame still had the gold anodize coating on the threads as I pulled them out of the frame.

Simply AMAZING....

forgot to add: SOUTHWEST IS BEST !!!

DJ Dep

Geez....if you believe that there should be a lot of rust-free Vettes floating around.
I've seen plenty of Vettes driven all Winter in the Midwest. My Vette had plenty of rust on the underneath.
And Vettes that are located along coastal areas (East or West coast) get salt air to help them rust.
I now live in the southwest (New Mexico). All cars out here are pretty much rust-free. But the sun does a job on paint on cars from the West.

Bottom line is it all depends on how well the owner takes care of the car. You can find minty Vettes in just about every part of the country.

Dep