As a general rule you should look out for 2 main elements. Provenance and rust.
The provenance of a car is the documentation and description of how your potential new purchase came to be. When looking into the provenance of a classic cars for sale in London it is vital to know whether this piece of information is a primary source or a secondary source.
A primary source has been created by someone that had first-hand experience with the classic car and the items the provenance refers to. The secondary source is often created by a 3rd party that gather the data on the car from multiple sources and concluding within the documents.
When it comes to rust with classic cars everyone is searching for the perfect specimen with zero rust. Classic car buyers will be hard pressed to find a genuine classic car that ticks all of the boxes without any current rust, or rust that has been. professionally treated. Our team here at Redline have restored many classic cars through the ages from Jaguar E Types to Aston Martins. We’ve seen an upward trend in demand for restoring AC Cobras in London and also AC Cobras in Surrey.
There are different types of rust you want to be looking out for:
Surface Rust
Surface rust is rust that is only on the surface of the metal and doesn’t go too deep. This type of corrosion typically happens where the paint has become so thin that the metal has become exposed and moisture from the air has turned into rust.
Generally, if you see a small amount of surface rust, it will likely be an issue you can overcome with some bodywork – but it’s important to have classic car specialists on the case. It is certainly the least destructive type of rust in terms of ease of repair and the damage it causes.
If treated in good time, it can easily be sanded away until you reach base metal. The metal can then be primed and painted which will protect it from surface rust reappearing.
Pitted rust
This type of rust has penetrated the metal and eaten it away leaving pits in the surface of the metal. The corrosion has not quite eaten all the way through but has certainly left scars. While this isn’t a great discovery, it can be corrected.
Cars that are rusted through are generally worth avoiding, this is the worst types of condition for the bodywork on classic cars. If your beloved classic has any form of rust issues, do get in touch with our bodywork and restoration team.