Hi gang,
For the past year or so, I've been trying to hunt down a clean, rot-free and
affordable Alpine. Despite having visited a slew of cars, and calling about
many others, I haven't been able to track down/snap-up, the right vehicle.
Four cars that I would have bought, had I been faster on the draw, have
slipped away.
I keep having this gnawing feeling about my current car though. Should I
just bite the bullet and restore it; knowing full-well that it may (will)
end up costing more than buying another (rust-free) car?
I'd like to hear from listers who've tackled the tinworm with success.
My Series V has the typical lower body rot through the lower fenders, holes
in the wheel arches, and cancer of the rocker panels. The floors and trunk
floor are remarkably good. The frame shows a bit of weakening in the frame
ends, but I suspect that it is not terminal after all. I've certainly
visited some cars for sale that were as bad or worse. The car is complete,
but has not been driven at all for 5 years, hasn't been driven regularly for
12, and hasn't been started in 2 (cough, cough!). The car has never had any
body work done to it in the past; completely original body and paint (no
surprises).
I have no previous experience with welding or body repair. I have access to
a MIG welder and an arc welder, plus a brother-in-law who could probably be
coaxed into getting me on my way.
So who out there has been there and done that? Would you do it again? How
much did it cost you in replacement panels, etc? Did you get the results
you'd hoped for? What would you do differently?
Does anyone know of a good reference that details how to get this sort of
effort underway?
I'm trying to be realistic here. Can someone who hasn't done this sort of
work before even hope to get a presentable car for anything approaching a
reasonable amount of money?
Thanks,
Jonathan Audette
Montreal
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