Enough with the 1974 Challengers!

[restoman]

That's a rarity. Generally speaking the wagons fare better than the sedans out back, but that's not the major problem area on most F-bodies. Most often, the front frame rails rust from the inside out, usually on the sides facing the transmission. It's easier to feel the damage than actually see it. The last time I saw my '80--about eight years after I sold it--it was getting pretty bad in that area.

Strangely, that problem doesn't seem nearly as significant on the J- and M-bodies, even in overlap years. My '81 LeBaron was solid as a rock in that area despite its living up here its whole life and documentation to the tune of over 350,000 miles on it. Obviously, it wasn't stored winters.

My '78 LeBaron was full of body rust, including the rockers, when I got it for free, but the floors and frame were pretty much spotless. The rear wheel wells were a mix of good and bad. Some Arizona sheetmetal and some quarter panel work and I drove it for three years before someone else decided they needed to buy it.
It was a nice car, all things considered.

 

[Dr.Jass]

It was a nice car, all things considered.

The F/M/J-bodies are nice cars on the whole. As long as you don't mistake them for a corner burner, they're great drivers. A big-block swap isn't even difficult, since they've got more underhood room than an A-body, and the factory torsion bars are more than up to the task.

It's when you try to play Laguna Seca or need radical emergency steering inputs at speed that you realize those torsion bars have big teeth and will bite you hard on the ass. Since they're also the strut rods, the steering geometry changes through the suspension travel are things unholy. Those cars go from plowing like a Farmall to ignoring countersteer inputs like a vintage Porsche 911 in about 5° of steering-wheel input above 30MPH or so. I've driven dozens of 'em, and even being well versed in their idiosyncratic behavior, they still make me nervous in the twisties.

 

[restoman]

The F/M/J-bodies are nice cars on the whole. As long as you don't mistake them for a corner burner, they're great drivers. A big-block swap isn't even difficult, since they've got more underhood room than an A-body, and the factory torsion bars are more than up to the task.

It's when you try to play Laguna Seca or need radical emergency steering inputs at speed that you realize those torsion bars have big teeth and will bite you hard on the ass. Since they're also the strut rods, the steering geometry changes through the suspension travel are things unholy. Those cars go from plowing like a Farmall to ignoring countersteer inputs like a vintage Porsche 911 in about 5° of steering-wheel input above 30MPH or so. I've driven dozens of 'em, and even being well versed in their idiosyncratic behavior, they still make me nervous in the twisties.

The 318 I culled from a '78 Aspen wasn't up to the corner-carver job at the best of times, but it did stall at every corner till it was fully warmed up.