I've had some time off over the past few days, so I had a good poke-around the car.
There is a bit of rust in the front suspension box. Here's the pan from inside - looks solid. I found a toothbrush in there, which was lucky as my current one is worn out.
The battery box is a disgrace:
... and this is kind of interesting. Perhaps the overrider was shunted through this panel in an accident? The rest of the car looks really straight. Weird.
Door sills after I attacked them with a screwdriver:
One rear seat pan had a nasty patch siliconed over it:
... the other revealed one rust hole after going stabby on it with the stabbing tool:
Rear parcel shelf is good and solid:
The previous owner told me the car was left standing outside for three years, during which time water collected on the inside. It seems to ring true - any vertical surface where water can collect is rusty. Everywhere else is solid. This is shiny metal inside the passenger-side door shut after I scraped away some of the flaking underseal!
The suspension feels a bit soggy. Could be this...
R-Gruppe co-founder Chris Huergas came over this evening to look over the disaster. Facing the camera is John Gray, another R-Grupper, our host for the past two weeks, and the car's current landlord:
We went out for a pizza. I paid, and Chris made me an honorary member of R-Gruppe. Awesome. Feed the guy, and you're in the gang - it's that easy. For the initiation ceremony, I had down three quarts of oil poured through an SSI, then huff on a megaphone till I puked.
On a serious note: I've photographed so many awesome R-Gruppe cars over the past few years and have met some really great people, many of whom I now consider good friends. To be included in the club is huge compliment.
Now back to the usual self-deprecation...
Patina that only lack of money can buy:
And this. I put the car on its deep-sixes and left the centre-caps off. Cool. JGlynn and I literally tore the US regulation indicators out of the front and rear quarters.
To my eye, it wants lowering about an inch and a half. We all decided the paint was pretty much cardboard box coloured - there's a nickname in there somewhere...
Also, sugar-scoop headlights out (be gone, forever), Aamco bar and overriders off, crappy foglights off, tank half out (don't ask...)
I guess I should probably take this to the project thread section now.