OT (very) Woooooooohooooooo!!

SteveH said...

I take it the smiley denotes that you accept the above is bullshit.

 

No - it's absolutely right. Early '80s Japanese cars rusted quicker than
_anything_ to come from Italy. And we won't mention the rotor tips.

 

Erm, Alfasud! Nuff said.

It would have to be very early 80's though, they got their steel sorted
in about 1982.

Yes, the rotor tips are an issue. Indeed Mazda got bailed out by the
Japanese government as they nearly went bust trying to fix them.

 

My dad had an early Honda Accord MkI - ISTR it was a V-plate. These were
the days before decent anti-corrosion warranties, too. At 3 years old,
it's was an absolute rustbucket - both front wings holed, front edge of
the bonnet, rear edge of the boot lid.

This sort of thing was as bad, if not worse, than the 'Sud and Beta.

 

SteveH said...

Lancia Beta. I don't know of one that exists in the UK any more, and
they sold quite a few over here.

 

Right, I'm taking bets now.

Mine says two months.

 

It was meant as a complement.
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

Yes, those one's were bad. However, they were made with Australian
steel, which was of very inferior quality. Around a982 the Japs made
their own steel and the quality improved.

And of course, the Japs only keep their cars three years anyway.

Hmmmmm. Mind you, I think the worst car I ever came across was the old
Rover SD1, we had a customer that had had two new bonnets while it was
still under warranty.

 

So was that ;-)

 

Two weeks!

 

It's a shame, really, as other than the rust problems, it was a pretty
good car, from what I remember. Certainly my dad still raves on about
how it was a significant improvement over his Hillman Avenger (GLS -
twin carb.... lovely) and MkIII Cortina.

So why is it that the Italians had such a bad reputation? - I wouldn't
have said they were any worse than anything else available at the time.

 

Previously on ukrm, SteveH said...

Alfa Sud, anything with a Lancia badge, Fiat 127, Fiat 128, Fiat 131,
Fiat 132 etc etc.

Are you seeing a pattern here?

 

Nice and shiny. Wanny sell the enjun?

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19

 

Only in so much as you can say: Allegro, Maxi, Marina, Dolomite, SD1,
anything from the PSA group, Renault, or even VW (how many MkI Golfs
have survived?).

Like I said - it was much of a muchness back then. Everything rusted -
it was just that Watchdog picked up on the Lancia Beta Hatchback as
something to rant about, and that's all people remember.

 

Previously on ukrm, SteveH said...

But the ones you mentioned kept going until the bodies fell off through
rust. The Italian ones rusted away in dealer's workshops while waiting
for warranty parts.

 

You believe whatever you want. I've had more problems with the Fords
we've previously owned than the Italian cars.

 

I liked the Avenger, much better than the Cortina IMHO.

Perhaps it was because they were unreliable as well as rusty. Most
others cars were at least fairly reliable. I have to say that an old
Allegro [1] was actually a pretty sturdy old motor.

[1] we had one of those [2], done about 80k and just worked.
[2] yes, the one with the square steering wheel.

 

I have to agree actually. As much as we may try to single out a
particular brand, none of them were actually any good in the 70's and
early 80's.

I think the differences in rust were only measured in months.

 

Now Fords are a different matter altogether......

 

As you say, everything rusted back then; factory underbody sealing was
only catching on in response to customer dissatisfaction, and most
manufacturers (but especially Leyland) tended to produce things with
delightful mud and rust traps under the wings/floor/sills/etc.

The situation was so bad in the 60s/70s that any trip round a breakers
would show you 6 and 7 year old cars which had been scrapped because of
terminal rust.

But having said that; the Lancia was an exception to all that. It was
even worse. You could stand and look at it and see it crumble away
before your eyes.

Pity really - I quite liked them.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19