You know it's rusty when...

In reply to classicJackets and Duke:

It was hilarious when it happened. And as I was recalling it to post it here, I thought the same thing you guys did, YIKES!

Another, I tried to jump a 4 foot snow bank in my gyms parking lot in my '87 K5 Blazer and when I "landed", the rear section on the tub was bouncing on and off the frame.

(And the steering wheel was now residing 45 degrees right of center)

This is more geared toward the CONFESSIONS thread but I drove that Blazer for over a year afterward.

I hit a set of railroad tracks in my first CRX. The RR hadn't put in the steel spacer between the two rails. The front hit with a really nasty thump, but the rear was more a "scritch".

Both rear LCAs pulled their mounts off and the car broke up at that crossmember, still doing 40 mph. It disintegrated further as the car came to a stop. This was before cell phones, so I just waited. A policeman showed up. "Should I call a tow truck or two for you?"

When you do a half cut due to rust not an accident...

I bought another one (pickups rust worse here) that had the strut tops bolted to chains that were bolted to the bottom of the strut tower.

3 years ago I was taking my grandpa's 88 Chevy 1/2-ton(that he'd bought new and I'd owned for 8 years) with a trailer to pick up a car about 60-miles from home. 2 miles from the sellers house, as I turned off the highway onto his road, the rear brake line busted. berkeley it, I can drive 20mph all the way home on the backroads... So I get there, get the car loaded, and start heading back. A MILE from his house, as I'm slowly crossing an intersection, the 2 rear bolts of the hitch pull through the frame, dragging me to a halt on the other side. Fortunately I was able to get off the road, get the trailer unhitched and strap up the receiver so it wouldn't drag on the ground. Then I babied the truck all the way home(and went back with a friend & his truck to rescue the trailer/car). Soon after I bought my 1-ton van & traded the truck for a proper car trailer.

Ha, here is the hitch from my 91 dodge:

Are you kidding? That's not rusty, that's normal in our parts.

One of the first cars I bought was a rusty '72 Ford Gran Torino wagon.

One day as I'm driving, I hear a thump, and all of a sudden one of my tires was rolling past me. Nothing felt odd, so I slowed to a stop and looked.

All four wheels/tires were in the proper place. WTF?

Oh. It was the FIFTH wheel/tire that passed me. The spare, that is. Fell out a rust hole.

I tried to use my floor jack on my parts car last night. It went right through the rocker panel!