With the major rust issues under control once and for all, it was time for the finishing touches on the body work. That means the front and rear bumpers as well as the hood.
Tail panel rust? What tail panel rust??? :-)
The upper portions of the car were fairly healthy, with no rust issues. However, the WHOLE car was literally pockmarked with zillions of dents and dings! All I could do was look at them and see dollar signs gushing out of my wallet. *sigh*
Thankfully (and what probably saved my rear!) was how the areas around the doors and glass were fairly solid. This meant the interior could remain intact, and we could just try to protect it from dust and dirt as best as possible. This probably saved me a ton of money over having to yank everything out (and likely replace it all!).
The door edges were impeccable, right down to the factory seams. A real relief!!
The same went for the rocker panels on both sides, often a very weak link on these cars. I don't know if Dan said it to make me feel better about the whole money hemorrhaging thing but he seemed to be pretty excited over their condition. Considering our harsh and road-salt-laden road environment, I'd have to agree with him that they are pretty fresh-looking!
I'm hoping that, if the original owners ever drop by this site, they'll get a good appreciation for the amount of work this car needed to be able to get back to any sort of former glory. I imagine it must have been quite the looker when new (at least before the weirdo repairs over time) but nothing comparing to what it will look like when this is all done!!!
