I am from Maryland, and while spending a few day in San Diego I find it strange to pull up next to older vehicles and and not seeing them rusted out. While Maryland is not part of the "rust belt" we still have cars ruined by rust. So I just find it strange to see a 720 pick up that looks well used but not rusty. Or a Bronco with a good tailgate and 1/4 panels. San Diego is... Different than I am used to.
Southern California's official work truck is still a dually Tacoma from the '80's with a huge, overloaded flatbed.
Welcome to the west.
I can't even begin to imagine it. I was shocked to see a clean 20 year old cavalier last time I was is Virginia.
It's not just Cali. My mom lives in the Spokane Washington area. Things rust on a glacial time table up there too. When I go to visit I routinely see '70's Jap tin running around as daily drivers. Also '60's American cars, unrestored and drivable are an every day sight.
Some time ago, someone posted a time laps video of a VW transporter being dug out of a hole on a farm in northern Idaho, not far from where my mom lives. The VW was buried up to the doors, and had to be dug out with an excavator. Back east that thing would been a pile of red and black dirt underneath, up there it was intact and completely restorable.
As a Native San Diegan I apologize for the weather. Its going to be 71 today and not 73. Plus the humidity is a little higher then we would like to see by about 10%.
Also nothing rusts here. not even stuff that is supposed to rust.
Bought my 30 yr old Celica in Portland Oregon two years ago, cream puff with 190k on the clock. Oh, did I mention it was only 1200$. (And that seemed high to me)
The PNW, Americas best kept secret. You folks just stay where you are, I'm enjoying the rare cars out here. Lol.
Someday I will buy a Datsun 510 from the West coast, fly out there with my son, and have an epic road trip back here to VA, just me and my boy...
sethmeister4 wrote: Someday I will buy a Datsun 510 from the West coast, fly out there with my son, and have an epic road trip back here to VA, just me and my boy...
I've been watching Datsun prices the past 25 years - they are getting crazy.
Fiats do not even rust in the PNW.. that should say something
In reply to Datsun310Guy:
Two years ago, I travelled from Massachusetts to San Diego with the intention of filling a car hauler with rust-free old cars to sell back home. It did not turn out to be the gold mine I expected it to be. The trouble, I found, is that although the cars are rust-free, they really aren't much cheaper in California. I surmised that the values were stronger there because there were more people who appreciate old cars out in the southwest than back home in Massachusetts. Maybe I was mistaken, but with the exception of 1980s cars, the cars were better preserved but also commensurately more expensive than back home.
wearymicrobe wrote: As a Native San Diegan I apologize for the weather. Its going to be 71 today and not 73. Plus the humidity is a little higher then we would like to see by about 10%. Also nothing rusts here. not even stuff that is supposed to rust.
Unless you live within a 1/2 mile of the beach... that changes everything for the worse. I suspect that's the difference, road salt, not the water itself or the daily temperatures.
M030 wrote: In reply to Datsun310Guy: Two years ago, I travelled from Massachusetts to San Diego with the intention of filling a car hauler with rust-free old cars to sell back home. It did not turn out to be the gold mine I expected it to be. The trouble, I found, is that although the cars are rust-free, they really aren't much cheaper in California. I surmised that the values were stronger there because there were more people who appreciate old cars out in the southwest than back home in Massachusetts. Maybe I was mistaken, but with the exception of 1980s cars, the cars were better preserved but also commensurately more expensive than back home.
Which is where you might have done better heading to Portland
We I leave California, I'm taking like 5 cars with me.
I was freaking out when I visited BC for Christmas and saw dented cars without rust in the dents.
How does that even happen?
Even more crazy is that Portland and Seattle receive a ton of rain and lots of mold and moss grow on cars, but the lack of salt on the roads and no salty air really do a great job.
In reply to yupididit:
I have to ask; what are the five cars you'll take with you?
M030 wrote: In reply to yupididit: I have to ask; what are the five cars you'll take with you?
I have no eye deer.
HappyAndy wrote: Some time ago, someone posted a time laps video of a VW transporter being dug out of a hole on a farm in northern Idaho, not far from where my mom lives. The VW was buried up to the doors, and had to be dug out with an excavator. Back east that thing would been a pile of red and black dirt underneath, up there it was intact and completely restorable.
Years back I helped a friend weld a new floor into his Omni GLH project car. People online were questioning the value of repairing an Omni, saying things like "I just took two of 'em to the junkyard because they were dented and had bad paint, why not just get a new shell?"
Then later this friend found himself in Idaho. He told me that he saw a rust free IH Scout with the Nissan diesel engine for sale and was thinking of buying it.
No. That's just flat out impossible.
(I remember when I was very very very young riding in a Scout. Timeframe was 1980 or so. I had to be careful because the wheelwells and much of the floor were gone)
From San Diego, I brought back a 1974 Super Beetle, 1956 Chrysler New Yorker, 1980 MGB, 1984 Porsche 944 and a really nice 1987 Honda CRX. I lost money on every car except the New Yorker (whose profit was healthy enough to let me break-even on the other ones). Cars I looked at and wish I had bought include a 1967 Chevy C10 longbed 2WD pickup for $900, a rust-free 1973 Porsche 914 rolling shell for $700 and a 1977 ElCamino for $600. There was also a 1972 Mercedes 450SL for $1200, but I strongly dislike Mercedes. I paid $800/car to send them home by truck. Anybody else considering this should know that the faded-paint,"patina look" that's popular in car magzines and on "reality" car TV shows (like Fast N Loud) does NOT sell here in the northeast. I learned that shiny sells here, no matter what's under the paint.
Those dull Mercedes paint comes back pretty easily with a little bit of work. You should've picked up some rust free w108 , fintails, and ponton's. I don't even think ponton's exist on the east coast lol
In reply to yupididit:
The problem with that is that I hate Mercedes with a passion, so I don't follow the market for them = I'm the wrong guy to invest in one. I loves me some old VW & Porsche, though, so that's primarily what I was looking for.
That said, you're probably right!
In reply to M030:
Just gotta love money more than you hate Mercedes 
That said, old Porsche's that are worth anything are expensive country wide.
Old VW's is a huge thing here in California, so the price here are avg to high so is the demand. So you're kind of buying where the demand is.
Either way you gotta sell either where there is a demand for them but not much of a supply.
If i look on CL for VA, NC, MD and look for Mercedes or BMW's from 1979 or earlier the picking would be slim and probably almost non-existent for anything before 73'. If you find them they'll be rusty or collector immaculate (priced as such). Then you show up with a rust free, driving, original for a decent price....Yeah, people who are looking will find you.
One issue living in San Diego, at least near the coast... The salt air will corrode any kind of bright finish in no time. You need to get a can of Gibbs oil for sure.
wearymicrobe wrote: As a Native San Diegan I apologize for the weather. Its going to be 71 today and not 73. Plus the humidity is a little higher then we would like to see by about 10%.
We still have a newspaper that we kept as a souvenir of our vacation in San Diego. All 5 panels of the week's forecast were literally identical - sunny with a high of 75.
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