All,

as you may know, I am looking to buy my first cutlass. I have a wanted ad up and a fellow just replied with his car. He claims it is straight and rust free for the most part except for the passenger side roof line where it seems like an old repair using lead. He sent me a picture which I have attached. the car otherwise seems to be in good condition. What are your guys thoughts on this rust issue? Is this common/easily repairable? I would repaint this car as it is, but I want to avoid major costly rust repairs. I would rather pay more for a cleaner car if this is a big issue.

 

First, that out of focus, extreme close up isn't really helpful. Where, exactly is that taken?
Second, unless it spent it's entire life in Arizona, EVERY SINGLE ONE of these cars has or had pinchweld rust at the windshield and back window. Repaints pretty much always mean that there has been rust repair. This requires a thorough inspection by someone who knows what to look for.
Third, while I can't be sure, it appears that the first photo is showing the roof above the side drip rail. If that's true, then the roof seam to the drip rail is spot welded from the factory with seam sealer in the drip rail cavity. The bubbles don't bode well, but they could be poor prep prior to paint. No way to tell from that photo.

 

I will try to get more pictures. The owner is older and not very tech savvy. His message along with that picture was as follows:

​​​​​​"in one picture it shows the passenger side roof line that looks like paint over rust what it is an old lead repair must be old the way it used to be done"

So I believe the picture may be of the area above the passenger drip rail.

 

OK. There is no lead there from the factory and it is highly unlikely that any was used for a "repair", but without in-person inspection there is no way to know for sure.

 

it looks to me like it is above the back window, you can see the bubble in the second pic as well

 

I think you are right. It is near the back window. Is it a common rust area? Maybe it had a vinyl top previously? I am not a body guy by any means and it would be hard to take anyone knowledgeable with me. Should I consider this car?

 

it could be lead repair from the factory, I found some on my 65 cutlass. just above the drip edge where the spot weld gun hit the roof panel. I worked repair line at fisher from 76 on,we were still using lead for repair,as did my dad and his dad. you would be surprised how much lead we used

 

Speculation from a couple of poorly lit, out-of-focus photos is just mental masturbation. When the OP has real info, we can make assessments.

 

so true