I have a Uno brochure for the mk2 range (from 45 to Turbo) and at the back there's a disclaimer with "235.M.DEC.90" at the end, which I assume means the brochure is from December 1990.
On the opening page it gives the usual Uno blurb "Voted European car of the year" etc. then in around paragraph four it says:
"Galvanisation of front and rear body panels to guard against corrosion and protect your investment".
Now one look at Duncs old Uno might make you think otherwise! I've also seen some early mk2's that have absolutely rotted to bits though the later models seem to hold up better.
In my experience early mk1's (1983 to 1986 - "Y" to "C reg") will virtually disolve around you. When was the last time you saw one that old?!!! Later mk1's (1986 to 1989 - "C" to "G" reg) seem to hold out much better EXCEPT the Turbo models. Just ask Jai how well a 1989 UT resists rust! My Uno is a 1986 Uno 45S (if you hadn't gathered by now
) and will be hitting 100K miles today. It's had ONE tiny piece of welding done to it ever, and the floor pan and strut towers are nigh on perfect. Even the sun roof is totally rot free eek! The bottom of the doors rotted and there's the odd spot of rust here and there but that's it. Not bad for any 21 year old car let alone an Italian one!I've seen similar aged mk1 Unos that have resisted rust very well but all being lesser models. The odd turbo survives without much welding but they are normally very well cared for hence lasting better.
I noticed that a lot of early mk2's rusted badly, but possibly as Ant! pointed out post 1992 had some galvanised body panels thus the later mk2's seem to resist rust much better.
So I'd sum up like this:
Early mk1's (excluding turbos) = high risk of being a rot bucket.
Late mk1's (excluding turbos) = better chance of resisting rust
Mk1 Turbos = high risk of a rusty shell!
Early mk2's = high risk of a rusty shell
Late mk2's (post 1992) = better chance of resisting rust
Mk2 Turbos = same risk as the other mk2 models.
However, being Fiat it seems that quality and consistency can vary from one day to the next. The main thing when looking for any Uno is to find a clean shell. With the age they're all at now, if it's resisted rust this long it's probably going to be a good 'un!
Gotta love the Unos!
Edit:
That's probably the biggest factor to whether a Uno will rust or not. In the 1970's Fiat used cheap steel imported from Russia (along with other Italian and French car makers). The steel was such poor quality it had loads of impurities in it that made it rust from the inside out. Therefore no matter how well you protected/ galvanised it rust would soon appear and eat it away.
I suspect that steel quality varied throughout the Unos production, which explains why some resist rust and some don't.
I have a scrape on my Uno rear quarter with a little bit of rust showing that was there when I bought it 4.5 years ago. The same scrape is still there, with the same little bit of rust and it hasn't got any worse since 2003! Very strange indeed, especially as mk1's weren't supposed to be galvanised. Maybe I was just lucky!
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