Rust on Oregon Coast (Coos Bay, Astoria: live in, floor, deposits)

[northerncalif]

I am wondering if anyone knows how far from the ocean you have to be to avoid the "rust" factor? I have a couple old collector cars and am thinking of relocating to Oregon coast area. I don't know if it varies from area to area or not. Thanks

[tiffela74]

we live in Coos Bay, bout a mile inland....my husband has a corvette....he washes it fairly frequently, and keeps a car cover on it in the garage.
I dont know much about cars, so I dont know the comparison between his corvette and your older collectable cars, but he's done this for the whole time he's had his car, and it doesnt have any rust issues.
Helpful or clueless?? Just trying to help.

[Steve97415]

I would say if you are on the windward side of the coast range you're going to be in the Rust Belt.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I looked at an Olds Toronado a few weeks ago in the Astoria/Warrenton area.
It was not a local car, and had been stored in a carport (under a roof) for three years.
Towards the end of last winter a storm tore off the roof.
In less than a year, rust had started on the body, and the chrome had started to pit. You could see the salt deposits in the dried rainwater.
The worst was the trunk, (Toronados had a wierd way of draining the water through the trunk).
Rainwater had pooled on the trunk floor and there was some serious rusting going on there.

If I had classic car on the coast, I would make dang sure it was garaged and only driven on sunny days, and then washed (especially the undercarriage) before being stored away.

I remember reading an old Boeing environmental spec which explained that the worst of the atmospheric salt fallout occurs between one to two miles inland, away from the coastline.

[northerncalif]

Thanks everyone. This is helpful knowing that perhaps a few miles inland would work. Perhaps a small valley or up one of the rivers.