We managed to get the car on the trailer even though the rear wheels are almost completely bound up. Once I got it down off the trailer, the first order of business was to assess what we have to work with and start to develop a way ahead. This car was parked under some pine trees for quite a while after it was moved from the barn. As a consequence, there are pine needles and straw everywhere. Fortunately, it doesn’t appear to have been inhabited by rodents.
I think most of the car has been repainted at least once. It is remarkably straight, with only one door ding above the refueling flap. There is rust forming above the fender flairs on the right rear, and there’s a large chunk of paint separating next to the trim on the passenger side of the hood. One of the previous owners worked at a body shop and he painted the textured black fender flairs and rocker panels. One f the previous owners must have really not liked chrome. All of the bright work has been either painted over or blacked out.
Except for some general grime and lots of straw, the interior is fairly clean and odor free. The driver’s seat has quite a bit of wear on the side bolsters. Given the perforated leather, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to fix that. The antenna is missing and the base needs a new seal. I might be able to fix that with some RTV. I think I have an antenna someplace. On the front, there’s some damage to the front bumper cover and the grille isn’t attached on the left side. The hood scoop is cracked down the middle. The front badge is completely faded and the rear one has been hand painted.
The engine bay gave the first signs of the rust issues under the car. The car must have sat somewhere in a wet environment. Many of the nuts and fasteners under the hood were very rusty. The undercarriage was worse. The rear subframe had completely rusted through on the right side. That’s going to add a bit to the cost and complexity of getting the car back on the road.
The next step is to get it clean and start sorting it out.
