[3tas4me]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

In 1973 and 1974 GM used some recycled metal in the sheet metal used for body stampings, likely bought from overseas. It rusted anytime there was moisture present in the air. The paint didn't need to even be scratched as it actually rusted from the inside out. I've seen many examples living right on the lakeshore in Erie PA that rusted even when not ever driven in the winter.

I recently sold a 1973 T/A that had the same affliction, and body panels were rusted through that car in 1977 with only 17,000 miles on it. I bought new GM replacement fenders quarters and rear body member, and they were put on the car in 1979 that never rusted in 40 years. Parts that weren't replaced in 1979 continued to rust, such as the floors and frame rails. If I hadn't replaced the other parts in 1979 that car would have looked as bad if not worse than the car in the video, My car had 19,000 miles on it, and had been stored since 1980, until I sold it in 2019. There were pinholes in the floor of the car even though there was no surface rust, even though the paint and primer was still attached, it literally rusts from the inside out.

I spun a rod bearing in the engine in 1980 and never fixed the engine, so the car sat inside for the most part, with an original 1973 T/A hood that also rusted even on the underside of the hood bracing. When I sold the car the hood was junk from inside to outside, top to bottom. That hood was completely stripped in 1979, primed and repainted before it was reinstalled on the car, it was rusted everywhere. The new GM panels installed and painted also in 1979, were still not rusted after 40 years. There was definitely different types of metal used used in the stampings I bought in 1979.

Some GM cars were much worse than others, but almost every 73 or74 GM car I owned, or worked on for customers, suffered from this bad metal problem. Exposure to road salt compounded it, and expedited the problem.

GM is't the only car maker to have run into this problem, Ford had frames in 1965-67 that rusted just as bad. In their F series trucks from around 1971-72 they had a recall that they replaced defective body parts at no charge because of this defective metal. I had a few customers that owned these ford trucks that got about every bolt on body part replaced under that recall.

Toyota also used some of this bad metal on their 1995-2000 Tacoma frames that came under recall when the frames just literally fell apart under the trucks, and were a safety recall.

GM was aware that the metal used in GM bodies in 73 and 74 was subject to this rust problem, however they ducked their responsibility, and never recalled any of this stuff.

Do you know if this sheet metal was used in all 1973/1974 Firebirds for the entire year? My '74 was built in January of 1974. Was driven a couple of winters and then parked also in the 1980's with 49k miles on it. Had only minor rust in the lips of the quarters. No big patches of rust and the floor pans/frame rails were absolutely perfect, not a pinhole. Being a Wisconsin car, I would have expected this car to rust like this SD as It sat in a garage for years until I bought it in 1997.