Assessing the car.
(2000)
Well, as mentioned previously, the car was acquired with a bad exhaust manifold leak at
the driver's side of the engine, and once the previous owner dropped off the car at my
house it became obvious there was some sort of radiator leak as well. This leak was
most likely a direct result of the 2 hour long highway ride necessary to bring the
car down to Montreal and into my possession, but it was not something I was happy to
discover. Nonetheless, an initial budget for emergency repairs before the end-of-season
storage was cobbled up and the repairs were tackled. At the same time it was discovered
that the fuel pump was leaking internally, so this was addressed at the same time. Old
fuel lines complicated things, even resulting in the eventual rupture of the return line
one evening on the way home from the garage where the repairs were undertaken.
(2000)
Eventually the car found its way back to my driveway, quieter and smoother than ever! I took
advantage of this successful repair session to take a combination of still photos from my
digital camcorder (crappy quality) as well as some 35mm shots. I was still unclear as to
what I was going to do with this car, the initial idea being that I would 'play' with it
for a few months to satisfy my decades-long obsession with this model, and eventually get
rid of it once family commitments increased (we were hoping to start a family soon).
So I contented myself with a few leisurely drives on empty roads looking for photo
opportunities.
(2000)
(2000)
At this point I had not even attempted any sort of aesthetic detailing such as a polish or
a wax... just a simple initial wash and nothing more.
(2000)
(2000)
At this point some snow had fallen and the risk of the road crews spreading yet more
salt on the roads had me worried about preserving the car's chassis, so the car was
hastily stored for the winter. Out of sight, but certainly not out of mind as I could not
stop thinking about this car. And during that winter of 2000-2001 came the news that I would
be a first-time father before 2001 was through! Things were getting complicated...
(2000)