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| Joined: | 09-10-2012 |
| Location: | Little Chute, Wisconsin USA |
| Posts: | 435 |
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As I thought about it, I realized that the only thing keeping her from being "drivable" was that her battery and fuel tank were removed (and in the storage unit with the other bits removed from her).
So, went over there (it's only about a block from the house) and grabbed both those bits, brought them back, and charged the battery for about a half hour while my son and I put the fuel tank back in, at least temporarily. Was more than pleased that she started more or less right up (she's never been what I would start an easy starter), so the only thing keeping me from driving her over to the storage unit was the "legality" of it.
Was that going to stop me? No, of course not. So, with Mrs. Answerman tailgating me with her 4-ways on, I drove her over in the condition you see above. No doors, fenders, bonnet, or boot lid. Got a few funny looks but it went pretty uneventfully.
Then, I spent the rest of the night doing the Bondo work I needed to do on the bonnet, as well as one of the fenders (unearthed a repair when I was stripping her paint off, and of course I wrecked the existing Bondo in that process). That went fine and they are ready to prime and paint. I think I am going to strip and prep the boot lid and the doors beforehand though, so that I can paint everything needing to be painted at once.
One thing came up during all of this, which initially was an "oh crap" moment but actually turned out ok, was that it was easy to see where my fuel leak in the boot is (with everything being removed and cleaned up}... it's definitely a leak in the bottom of the tank. Well, at least now I know what it is. So, I called on a local radiator shop on Saturday morning and it turns out they can do a complete recondition on the tank (chemically clean, weld/solder anything needing to be repaired, and then coating the inside) for somewhere between $100 and $150, depending on how much repair needs to be done. Not a bad price considering the alternative of sending Jorge $400 for a tank that may not even go in right. I can live with it. So, the tank will go off to the shop tomorrow and be reconditioned while I'm doing the rest of the painting.
About a month ahead of schedule at this point. Getting excited for spring to get here!