Some sanding and priming

As I have learned, doing something is better than doing nothing, so I decided to sand and prime the roof since it is one piece that will need no body work.  I bought a new air buffer with a sanding attachment and used 40 grit to get to the metal than went over it with 80, 120, and 220 using my (also new) DA (?) sander before cleaning and spraying on the primer.

Checking the rust

Well, all the rusty areas seem to be fixable without replacing the quarter panel and I'm glad about that.  This stuff is NOT easy.  I don't know what I would do if these fantastic people were not letting me use this garage.  No, that's not exactly true, I do know what I would do - I would have junked the car because that is what I was going to do anyway.

Unexpected Rust

I removed my rear windows and trim today and found some surprise rust.  It's seems odd how the passenger side is rusted badly and the drivers side is not rusted at all. I guess it must have been the way I had the car parked when it sat outside for so long.

Floor Pan (2)

OK, I am about finished cutting out this floor pan, just need to do some cleanup and kill the small amounts of remaining rust, and bondo the remaining holes (or at least cover them in some way).  Now I will cut a much bigger piece out of the donor car and trim it to fit.

Floor pan (1)

Started work on the floor pan today.  I realize it's not the best looking job and I don't quite know exactly how I'm going to fix it, but I did make some progress!  Just bear in mind that I have never done anything like this before!

Out with the old

I got those 2 mangled inner fender pieces removed and was glad to see very little damage or rust underneath.

A peek in the cowl area.

Inner Fender Damage

I took off the door and fender today to survey the damage to the A-Pillar and the inner fender.  I'm glad I found replacement parts.

Parts Car Update

I am definitely going to get my money's worth out of this :).  I have already removed a good front valance.  I am also for sure going to use: both headlight buckets and all fixin's (unfortunately, I just bought a couple on eBay... so I have spares if anybody needs some), the fender and quarter panel from the driver's side, the front inner fender (mine is smashed from an accident in 1985), I can also use the fender from the other side if I decide I need it, the front grille (which is in perfect condition), the radiator support, the driver's side floor pan, and the glove box lock.  Those items are well worth the money I spent for this car.

Parts Car

I found a parts car on CraigsList today for $450. I taken a good front valance off of it and expect to also get a driver's side quarter panel, radiator grille, front fenders, inner fender, and maybe even a driver's side floor pan!  It also has good GT style door panels if I want to paint them.  That was well worth the money spent.  It also has a good grille, headlight buckets (with all innards), etc.

Removing Parts

After removing the hood and front grille parts I can see a little more rust and other damage that I had forgotten about.

I don't know what you call this front flat piece where the headlight goes, but you can see it is damaged from a pretty serious accident in December 1985.

Found some unexpected rust along the front edge of the hood.

The good news is that the entire floor pan - with the exception of the driver area - looks great.

Still Going

Will remove the hood and all the front pieces (don't know the technical terms :)) today.  I am also taking the wheels to be sand-blasted and the front passenger seat to be re-upholstered.

Removed the glove box and got the dash pad off.

Little by Little

Radiator, etc.

I have been spending some time removing miscellaneous parts - front bumper, seats, front carpet, glove box, and misc trim.  The rear sets are in great shape except for the very top of the seat back where the sun has faded it.  I'm going to see if I can get that one piece replaced as well as re-upholstering both front seats.
The next step will be to replace the radiator (just bought one on eBay) and get the engine running perfectly before moving on to the body work.  The car starts very easily and initially ran pretty good but is now not taking gas very well and the choke never seems to shut off.  The mechanic says that the timing belt is a little loose and should be tightened so that the water pump can pump properly and heat the water enough to turn the choke off...  Or something like that.

Surprise!

Found quite a surprise when I removed my transmission boot cover.  It was full of dog food!  I'm sure this happened while we lived in GA.  I knew the squirrels were getting under the hood, although they did not eat any wiring.

Floor Pan

This happened while the car sat outside in GA.  I had a small leak around the door/windshield area due to the last accident.  The remainder of the floor is in excellent condition.  As you can see, the passenger side still has the factory covering.

The Inside

The Engine

The Underside