General Information
Mostly done with the restoration now, still a few things to go. Been a 20 year project (off and on). Bought this car in Texas when I left the military in '83. Was rust free then. Made the mistake of driving it in college (univ of Iowa). The salt nearly destroyed her. But after years of looking I found a donor body and did a total resto in my garage. Actually wound up stripping everything off (except the chrome clips) and tearing it down to to a shell. Sanded it down to metal and patched the rust holes with a welder. Learned how to use body solder in the process. Did the painting myself except for the hood and drivers side fender. Had the rear seat and the bucket seats recovered with leather, not a fan of vinyl. Installed a center console I found on ebay around that time. Found an upholstery supply store her in Minneapolis and created a headliner. The interior panels were in really sad shape and are unobtainable anywhere so I made a set using the originals as a template and source of several parts. A couple months ago I bought these rims and tires, they're 275/45R18 in back and 255/45R18 in front. Had to measure carefully to find rims that would fit, 6mm offset is what worked. Was really nervous when lowering it back on the ground after installation but had no issues. Really gives the car an awesome look. When finances allow I plan on doing a few more upgrades. Was going to post a photo of the engine compartment but it's over 4MB. will have to take a lower resolution photo later.
