Fantastic engines,crap bodywork,why???

[rumpelstiltskin]

Why did Ford go to the bother of putting such a fantastic motor into such a poor,rust prone body?The last Transit i had was a 92 LWB 2.5di,3 months of welding to get it right.So,i thought,buying a newer one it will obviously be better chassis-wise,well yes,and no!When i went to buy it i obviously knew all the bits to look for as i've done them all lol.Obvious parts i noticed were the rear cross member,the front cross member was great with no rust which i think lulled me into a false sense of security in regards to probing the rest of the van(had my good bike gear on too so didn't fancy crawling round too much)So,i was under the van the other day,just finished the cross member.Spun round under the van to start other weld on footstep and glanced at the sill which 'visually',and a with a quick knock with my knuckles before seemed sound,little tap with a rubber mallet though and things started to give,2 foot gaping hole in sill,gutted!The floor too which was great in my last one was really badly rotted and looks a pig to get into weld.I just ended up feeling demoralised and a bit angry for some reason?Even three of the side to side floor supports are rotted!!Buying a 9 year newer version seems to have got me nowhere.I have to say that the 1999 LDV LWB 400 i had between my two Trannies seemed to have a better equipped cabin and the chassis underneath was spotless!The LDV i got for £365 and it sailed through the MOT without even touching anything to prepare it in anyway.I ended up selling it to get something smaller.So the moral of this winge is don't just do a quick check of the body,have a 'thorough' check before buying one of these,take a small plastic headed,rubber hammer with you if possible.I knew what to look for and still got caught.

[Simon-L]

Why did Ford go to the bother of putting such a fantastic motor into such a poor,rust prone body?

I dont get the impression that anything on a Transit gets galvanised

Galvanising is the main reason why you still see 30 year old Polos and Audis tottering around, but you dont tend to see 30 year old Nissans and Toyotas because they weren't galvanised at the time.

[Vee4]

My first two dissolved into brown puddles - I was ready for that after experience with my father's 1959 Anglia 105E! I did a full Waxoyl job on the third, so it was engine failure (the old OHC petrol) that did for that one. I thought that having the Mk5 from new and taking care of it, I would be OK but the inevitable rust has appeared on the wheel arches and rear doors. It's sound enough underneath, so the principle was valid to some extent. If it wasn't for the rust, I would try to keep it going for ever.

Ford could build them to last longer, but no doubt they would say, amongst other things: it would cost more; you need to upgrade to newer technology from time to time; they need to keep their business turning over. Personally, I would pay more, possibly GBP500 or even GBP1000 on the current model to have it guaranteed totally rust free (not the rather useless 'perforation' warranty) for 10 years or more. On the other hand, if my '69 V4 had been galvanised (or even gold-plated), I'm not sure I'd still want to be using it every day (18mpg on 4-star).

Another option would be to move to southern California, or somewhere else dry and sunny ...