Well, I guess the subject says it all. Drove today (1.5 hrs) to look at a
'74 TR6 I posted about yesterday. Car was described to me by the owner as
relatively rust free (except for the sills which had some rust bubbling) and
no Bondo, in good running condition, paint OK, 65k miles, no structural
problems (frame good), interior replaced by PO just before he bought it, and
dash finish in good condition. Said it just needed a top, drivers window,
and rear springs. Here's what I found when I checked it out today:
(1) Rust-through on both rear fenders above the lights
(2) Rust-through on back edges of the rear decklid
(3) Rockers were Bondo over the original and painted black (was chipping off
so you could see the original green color in places along the panel)
(4) Insides of both front and rear wheelwells pretty rusty
(5) Trailing arm attachment points in good condition as was rest of frame
which only had some surface scale rust forming on it (big surprise
considering all the other rot present)
(5) Car would not turn over (and was missing the air filters, which owner
was surprised when I pointed that out to him)
(6) Rear wheels stuck out more at bottom than at top (could the shot springs
cause this?)
(7) Rust bubbling around headlights and also on other areas on front around
grill and on leading edge of hood
(8) Paint very faded and peeling in places
(9) Interior was in very poor condition. Seats looked OK, but door panels
were ripped up, and the dash looked like the walnut veneer had been peeled
off (looks like the car sat outside awhile with the broken window and bad
top before it was covered up).
Car would definitely need a lot more than a top, window and rear springs to
get it in "roadworthy" condition, IMHO. Even though I made a list of all
items that were wrong, owner said he would not move on his $2500 asking
price. So as you probably guessed, I passed on it. Car would definitely need
quite a bit of body work, new paint, new interior including dash, engine
work (especially if it had been run minus those air filters for awhile) and
the list goes on. BTW, from the described condition, what would be a fair
price (just wondering what opinions you all would have)?
Craig
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