Like that Doc -I can see that name sticking
Hagar, it was said though firmly gritted teeth I assure you.
We knew from the start this wasn't going to be a cheap project, but we couldn't afford to buy a decent car so buying a cr*p one & spreading the re-build costs a bit was the better option. Selling Taz's beloved BMW covered about half the costs & the rest has come from a mix of our joint wages & my meagre savings. It's cost a lot more than we'd hoped but no more than we'd expected, if you see what I mean. Would've been nice to have put it together & ended up with a car worth more than we'd spent, but I reckon by the time it's done we'd probably break even now. However, unless there's a drastic change in the market, like we finally run out of oil for example, this will actually go up in value, unlike a modern car which depreciates the moment you fit the number plates on. In 5 years time, we wouldn't be able to afford to buy it or buy the parts to rebuild it.
So the teeth remain gritted & we press on. We've drawn up a final shopping list of panels to order from the States & while they're being shipped, the resto guys can start on the front end, fitting all the new metal. Blasting off the heavy coat of red oxide on the roof has revealed a patchwork of ...patches. Lots of little fill-in pieces, plus the two ends, above the front & rear screens, have been rebuilt with lightweight angle iron strips & lots of filler. The bodyshop chaps keep saying it must take a lot more work to re-form rotten areas in tin, lead & filler than to just buy a new panel. An entire new roof skin costs about a week's wages for me. Slice the old 'un off, stitch the new one on -job done. Still undecided about a new bonnet. The one we've got has a dirty great hole in the middle, cut by a previous owner to clear his oversized carb & aircleaner. We can either engage Madron's services to mold us a subtle sweeping cowl induction scoop to hide it, or buy a new bonnet. They're about a week & a half's wages though. We also need the 2 B pillars, (the bits the doors latch against), a rear light panel, a rear cross member, (a pressed steel panel under the boot floor), plus a couple of small braces.
We know what's come back from the blasters looks worse than what we started with, but the skeleton that remains is all good, clean metal -no lurking hidden rust, ready to creep back next year & undo all the work that's been done. By the time the body leaves John's workshops it'll be like new, but we'll only be able to afford to put the rest together from the boxes of parts we have at home, rebuilt & refurbished. Taz is happy to drive around in just an empty bodyshell though. Upholstery & trim can be added later if she wants it.
