In 1987 I owned an 302 XC GXL sedan in which there were already serious corrosion issues in a 10 year old car. Both front guards were rusted out around the 4.9 badge - wierd, but there was no paint (or minimal) behind the guard in that area, just below the rear window and around the boot rubber were all shagged and as a consequence the lower rear guards also. The 5.8 XD and the injected XF (both Fairmont Ghias) I owned after that ended-up having the worst body rust I'd ever seen in the C pillars behind those plastic covers and around the front door frames where there was a body join in the door apeture. They all just seemed to have cronic areas they all went in.
Any Ford of that era that is still around today has obviously had a serious amount of TLC at some stage or another. For this XC to survive this long in that nick it has more than likely spent most of its life in a shed. I was really lucky with my HJ for the same reason that it has spent its entire life in a shed, the only rust was a 5 cent sized hole in the outer skin of the RH lower rear guard and some minor pitting on the inner skin which we cut out. The rest of it has been closely inspected and cleaned and re-rustproofed including the internal cavity area above and behind the top door hinges. Should last another 38 years if I've done it properly.
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