Introducing my 1974 2002 recently purchased from BAT!

[Caffeine_Gasoline]

Hello Squad,

 

I’ve recently purchased this beauty from BAT, and I’m slowly getting acquainted with her and starting the tedious process of bringing her back to life!  I’m still deciding whether I want to do a restomod or vintage race car but the first step is getting it running and safe to drive.

She does run and I’ve learned that she was a California car that had around 107k miles in 1985.  The current tach is stuck at 93k miles so the cluster must have been changed out at some point.  I’ve also come to learn that one of the previous owners deleted a lot of the emissions equip so I have many plugged vacuum lines and electrical sensors in the engine bay.

Additionally a IE gas pedal and shifter was installed and the original solex carb was replaced with what I believe is a Weber sitting below the factory cold air box.

 

I have also found that the e brake bracket is broken and was poorly welded so I’ll need to get that fixed.  
 

Im glad to be a part of the community and i’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty!

 

 

[Son of Marty]

Welcome aboard the board, the parking brake problem is pretty common, search here and you can get some ideas from things others have tried.

[Caffeine_Gasoline]

What is everyone opinion of the condition of the trunk?  It appears to be sprayed with some type of thick black coating which I assume was a rust inhibitor.  There is some surface rust present.  How do I go about fixing this?

[jgerock]

Someone already replaced the spare tire well.  That’s good!  The inner side panels have delaminated. Common issue with the square light cars.

[bergie33]

Looks like the trunk is in better shape than it used to be.  Spare tire well, gas tank and the tank surround have all been replaced.

 

[landon]

Car looks nice! Take a good look at the welded patch on the drivers side shock tower. it's a common rust area but it is structural....

[Caffeine_Gasoline]

Thanks for the feedback guys!  I’ve now stripped out the interior and I’m finding what looks like previous patch work done to fix prior rust issues.I’m a total newbie when it comes to body work.  What are you guys seeing here?  Should I be happy or concerned?  What’s my approach from here-  Do I grind the entire interior down to bare metal?  I do plan to eventually have the entire car repainted.

[Son of Marty]

Yes it's been patched, the rust maybe from a leaky front window gasket or a leaky heater box. So far the rust on the patches looks to be just surface rust that can be wire wheeled off and a good rust inhibiting paint like por 15 should take care of it as long as you address the leak.

[Tommy]

7 hours ago, Caffeine_Gasoline said:

 What are you guys seeing here?  Should I be happy or concerned?  What’s my approach from here-  Do I grind the entire interior down to bare metal?  I do plan to eventually have the entire car repainted.

Well, it's better than having holes on the floors but the quality of repairs is not the best. Not the worst either.

I would suggest taking some time and driving it. Get some feeling and experience about the mechanical condition. If issues arise get them fixed. Go to meetings and see other cars, discuss with owners. Then set your targets what level of restoration you'd like and how you can resource it. That will then tell if the repairs are good with some tidying or if they should be made again along full bare metal restoration. Now just dry floors, brush them and slap some paint on so you'll feel better before putting the carpets back.

Rushing into it you may end up with a dismantled project with your skills run out and you don't know what to do but sell it for a fraction of the money put in.

Welcome aboard!

[TobyB]

Quote

I would suggest taking some time and driving it. Get some feeling and experience about the mechanical condition. If issues arise get them fixed. Go to meetings and see other cars, discuss with owners

Tommy beat me to it.

 

Drive The Thing.

 

Put the carpet back in, as is, and go use it this summer.

 

If you like it, you'll go one way.

And figure out how far you WANT to to.

If you don't, you'll sell it.

 

Because what you have there is why I don't buy cars off auction sites.

 

t

DOES buy ePay saxes, and pays the prices...

[Caffeine_Gasoline]

12 minutes ago, TobyB said:

Tommy beat me to it.

 

Drive The Thing.

 

Put the carpet back in, as is, and go use it this summer.

 

If you like it, you'll go one way.

And figure out how far you WANT to to.

If you don't, you'll sell it.

 

Because what you have there is why I don't buy cars off auction sites.

 

t

DOES buy ePay saxes, and pays the prices...

 

I understand the sentiment and appreciate the feedback.  I have two other summer toys to play with and I purchased this as a “project” so don’t mind having it out of commission.  Here’s my 1965 Backdraft Shelby Cobra Replica and my BMW RNineT cafe racer which I built.

 

 

 

[Mike Self]

8 hours ago, Tommy said:

I would suggest taking some time and driving it. Get some feeling and experience about the mechanical condition. If issues arise get them fixed.

 

8 hours ago, Tommy said:

Rushing into it you may end up with a dismantled project with your skills run out and you don't know what to do but sell it for a fraction of the money put in.

+1 on Tommy's suggestions and Toby's foot-stomping. 

 

Stick the driver's seat back in and put some miles on it.  That'll help you determine what if any mechanical work is necessary.  With the rest of the interior out, you can easily tell if there are still some leaks through the windshield, backlight, quarter windows etc.  Much easier to find that way.  

 

I've learned (the hard way) that you'll be much more motivated to do the cosmetic stuff after you have a running, fun-to-drive car rather than the other way around.  My '69 was in various patches of primer for almost 5 years while I painstakingly (and painfully!) welded up 30 years of Ohio winters--but it was drivable the whole time.  That was my motivation.

 

mike

[TobyB]

I guess what I'm saying is that's not a great 'restoration' candidate,

as you may pretty easily run into another $20k+ of 'paying someone

else to fix the structure' sheet metal work.

But you're not really going to know the extent of

that until you cut into it, at which point you're pretty committed.

So if you LIKE the car, and like THAT car, bond with it, and see

where it takes you.  It looks like it's a good 'drive it' candidate, 

but a poor 'bare metal' candidate.  If the repairs are workmanlike,

then KEEP driving it, and do some cleanup around the edges

(seam- seal the tire well, clean up the floorboards, etc, etc, etc.)

 

If that weld on the handbrake bracket bothers you, I fear what you find

as you pull off the patches will terrify you.  Maybe best not to look, then?

 

BEST case is that the floor rust is mostly cosmetic,

the rear shock tower/ spring perches are 

the worst of the structural damage, and that

the rockers and rear subframe mounts are salvageable with cosmetic

panels and rust- stopping grinding and treatments.

And that the exterior panels are done well.

WORST case is that you're rebuilding the bottom of the car,

doing a bunch of bodywork,

and stripping and repainting the whole thing.  (add $40k+)

And if you're doing that,

may as well start with a basket case anyway, and let someone else

drive that particular car for another 10- 15 years more or less as- is.

(as long as it's not truly and thoroughly rotten)

 

t

when you poke at it, be prepared for the screwdriver to go all the way through.

 

 

[OriginalOwner]

+1 above.  Just drive it and enjoy it ...... then fill up the gas tank and drive it some more ..... repeat ..... repeat ..... 

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

 

[Caffeine_Gasoline]

I’ve decided to start documenting my “build” here.

 

6/3/22:

I hate anything wood grain in cars so I removed the gauges and made a carbon fiber cover over the fake wood one.  While in there I also painted the gauge needles red by hand.  Pretty happy with the result!