Journal: Finn John's Journal
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There are 19 entries in this Journal. Status: Member Location:  Albany/Corvallis, Oregon, USA |
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Taking Stock
Created on 2008-06-24 23:25:35
OK, so I've got the car home now. When I got there Jon had the thing running and he drove it up onto the tow-dolly ramps and I dragged it home 30 miles behind the ol' F250 diesel work truck ... when I got there, the battery wouldn't turn the car over and I couldn't freakin' find it to jump-start! So I pushed it off the ramps and back into the big auto shelter where I'll be working on it.
I got the parts all out of the inside. They're all there -- chrome strips and all -- although somebody seems to have gotten rid of the British Leyland badges at some point.
It's better and worse than I thought. First, this car is very, very rusty. I think it comes from a rusted-roads state. The sills are stiff and solid; the floorboards, well, they're not. That's OK.
This bodyshell is just not worth saving. There are too many little crannies where rustbugs can hide and I'd be spending a fortune on patch panels and grinding weld lines for weeks. My plan to do a "good-enough" body job with fiberglas cloth and filler putty looks better all the time. I figure I can stretch it, if I keep it under cover at night, and get 8 or 10 years out of it.
First, though, I have to strip it. For real. Like, fenders off and glass out. That's my next job. Also ordered a new water pump for it, along with a 180-degree T-stat and gasket, from rockauto.com.
I got the parts all out of the inside. They're all there -- chrome strips and all -- although somebody seems to have gotten rid of the British Leyland badges at some point.
It's better and worse than I thought. First, this car is very, very rusty. I think it comes from a rusted-roads state. The sills are stiff and solid; the floorboards, well, they're not. That's OK.
This bodyshell is just not worth saving. There are too many little crannies where rustbugs can hide and I'd be spending a fortune on patch panels and grinding weld lines for weeks. My plan to do a "good-enough" body job with fiberglas cloth and filler putty looks better all the time. I figure I can stretch it, if I keep it under cover at night, and get 8 or 10 years out of it.
First, though, I have to strip it. For real. Like, fenders off and glass out. That's my next job. Also ordered a new water pump for it, along with a 180-degree T-stat and gasket, from rockauto.com.
Click the thumbnail to view image:
Rust holes in rear quarter panel
Rust holes in rear quarter panel
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Summary of Previous Journal Entries
Showing previous 1 journal entries:
| Title | Date | #Pic | #Cmt | Excerpt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Purchase, Or Most Of It Anyway | 2008-06-18 | So I was looking for a thrifty gas-saving commuter that had some Jethro Tull style to it. My Jaguar, a Series III XJ6, gets pretty decent mileage for a four thousand pound car -- 2... |
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This page last modified December 01 2007 20:50:32 pm
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