winter driving!

salt sucks.

even traces will tend to get washed down into pinch welds, and if you plan on keeping it more that 5 years, you may start seeing the effects. I *hope* mine arrives without being salt sprayed- unlikely though unless we get a good rain a few days before it ships or it arrives in a covered trailer(yeah...right).

what I hope to do is to POR-15 paint inside the doors(bottom crimp is always one of the first places to get salt into), and inside the rockers- I like the way POR15 tank sealer flows out, will likely use that in the rockers, jack car fore/aft to coat in the bottom pinchweld areas. if the car sees salt before I get it home though, might need to see best way to neutralize any salt/dry it for a few days before sealing. The quarter lip on the new stang is crimped much like a doorskin, which worries me a bit too, I plan on tank sealer in there too, but will require pulling rear seats/side panels to get in there. figure drilling access holes under sill plates least invasive way to seal rockers(havent looked closely enough to even know if possible). biggest worry would be getting paint where its not supposed to be...lots of masking, that is the messiest paint on earth and will not come off once it sets up.
shy of going to such extremes, the only other way to keep it nice is chassis bath carwash at least a couple times a week- salts not biggest problem- any dirt tends to cake in the seams and hold moisture(and salt) and eventually will get thru the galvanized/whatever they have for corrosion protection. would suggest heavy undercoating/por-15 or roll on bedliner for rear wheelwell crimp area- any stone chips at the seam will invite water in and it will not be possible to clean that out ever. keep that seam closed up tight from the outside, wash it underneath often, hope for the best. I've had quite a few cars driven year round, usually get about 10 years before it starts showing any rust- just gotta keep it washed underneath. set of floormats that hold water would be good too- carpet wet with salted water from shoes combined with abrasion constantly is another surefire rust area.
I have other cars to drive in the salt, but eventually this gt will have to get some salt on it(if not before delivery) and I do hope to protect this one from rot more than any other car I've ever owned.
Also- look underneath- lots of bare metal there- wash with metalprep, rinse, rinse, rinse, and por15 all this and it will look new just about indefinitely. Axles, misc brackets...coat of paint can only help- metalprep first converts any iron oxide to iron phosphate and stops any existing rust from ever blistering up under the paint. POR15 if youve never used it really aint a paint- its a 'moisture cured urethane' that humidity cures, no solvents will remove the plastic film it dries to. properly applied you need a grinder to remove it. good stuff. metalprep is mild acid- wear goggles!

wether or not I drive mine in the salt- man Ive waited too long to sit back and look at it till spring...if it arrives in time might just take it to florida as-is ! etch/paint later. POR15 actually sticks better to treated/prior rusted areas anyway...rockers to me (if they have vertical pinchweld like 99% of other cars) will be mandatory step1, maybe later for everything else. My markVII rockers started to blister last year, and upon going in found entire length of both side rotted from pinchwelds out(its a 1989). sealing this vee shaped water collecting seam would be #1 priority for any new vehicle I ever buy. the 'drain' holes just invite saltspray from the front to flow thru and collect at the bottom, and as inside a sealed part of the chassis, you cannot EVER clean it out. if sealed and ths crud builds up a bit, who cares.

I'm not too sure where you live, but some areas in extreme cold conditions...the salt is not very effective. They may use more sand. So it may not corrode as much but the sand blasting may occur.

One of the biggest areas that I see getting affected is the undercarrage. The frame and all other unpainted parts. These areas are basically bare metal. And even salt residue with water can be a problem.
I am not too certain about the liquid sprayed de-icer's that are being used more often. I will have to look into that....
With that said, I do DRIVE my car. Believe it or not...but I've has already seen '05 Mustangs that are trailer babies. I don't know what fun the car is if you don't really drive it or are afraid to drive it. I can understanding storing it in the Winter, but C'mon.....let that horse free in the Spring, Summer, & Fall !!!!!!
Even with knowing it is risky.....I know I will be going through withdrawl in the winter months and will probably sneak it out like you a few times if I know for a fact the salt is BYE BYE. :laughlitt