I found this beautiful GY4 Honeydew NYB with a gold top and black buckets on
CL in Westtown, NY in mid-June and I managed to buy her before any sandbaggers got to it. Thanks to several members, in particular
@coco ,
@Marv ,
@AussieFellaWithaCbody ,
@71Polara383 , and
@saforwardlook for their help in this process!
This car was a 60th birthday gift to the seller by his son. The father, who just turned 90, stopped driving the car last year. He and/or his son used to drive the car
every week, on "
cruises" in NY/NJ/PA. That explains the 109k miles on the odometer, which is fine by me. There are some dings in the body panels because of what happened to the owner's ability to drive her in close spaces as he aged -- I guess that explains the bent front valence. Nothing major though.
The car was stored in a carport after the son helped the father sell his place last year, and you can see the result on the roof -- the son told me that the tears in the vinyl were not there before, and that's when they decided to sell the car so that it would not deteriorate further. Mechanically, the seller's son said that there is an exhaust leak. The incorrect exhaust and road wheel caps were there when he bought the car for his dads in 1991, so I have no plans to change them in the short term.
Later this afternoon, Buttercup will be on her way from New York to Illinois for some work by (mostly) Wyatt and myself. Here is the plan for restoration, based on what I have seen (pictures in the ad and the ones the seller sent to me, video inspection):
I. Mechanical:
1. Fuel tank replacing or patching;
2. tune-up (plugs, plug wires, oil change, air filter, hoses, engine and trans mounts, trans service);
3. brake service, including replacement of all brake lines/hoses and a power booster rebuild;
4. carb rebuild by
@Dana;
5. LHS exhaust leak, could be as cheap as a gasket, hopefully it does not need a manifold repair;
6. get the slow rear windows to move faster, grease tracks and/or replace motors;
7. A/C repair (heater works);
II. Cosmetics:
1. Top -- surface rust repair (bottom of the rear window, by Wyatt) & new V1G vinyl installation (with a shop recommended by
@david hill );
2. LHS front fender bubbles, patch metal / paint & blend (Wyatt);
3. Driver's seat -- foam and vinyl replacement (hopefully the springs do not need replacing);
Of course there may be more expenses if the tires and shocks need replacing, the water pump and/or radiator need work, or the springs and exhaust pipes are close to end-of-life. I am hopeful, however, that these won't be issues as the car has been very well maintained.
Attached below are photos that the son's wife took this morning -- ain't she beautiful?
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