Joe, here is what I think.
- Check for rust in these places (you indicated other areas but not these)
foot well, rear corners of the floor pan, right underneath the back of the
seat. pay special attention to the bottom of the floor pan where it is
lowest, and to the point where the floor pan and the a-pillar (the area
right infront of the door) meets. these areas are prone to rust. dig a
little with a small screwdriver, the factory seam sealer hides this quite
well. As for rust on the frame. One important place to check is in the
back right where the frame angles up. Last look around the brakes and
clutch master cylinders on the firewall. Is the paint good, flaking or
rusty. Hydraulic fluid typically leaks out and deteriorates the paint,
which also leaks down into the floorboards causing rust. Check your rocker
panels. All these given good, you should have a pretty rust free car.
<snip>
The car is a 1974 spitfire 1500 with overdrive. It's recent history is 700
miles since 1996; and eight years in storage prior to that (apparently due
to having to be re-worked to meet smog regulations).
<unsnip>
the overdrive is a benifit! The 700 miles in four years is indicative of a
car that might need some maintenance to bring it up to daily driver
standards. I would not woory about the smog work as long as it looks and
operates well. My car doesn't have any anyhow (but I don't live in
California)
Carpets and insulation are an easy repair and that whole job could cost you
less than $150. It will make a big difference in the noise level inside
your car. You probably are missing the rubber grommets that are on the
firewall, this is typical and not to hard to fix. Fixing the seatbacks, not
too bad but figure around $150 to $200. I would want to know why the
windows don't roll up all the way, this is an unusual problem. The roll
bar, depends on your taste. I sold the one that was in my car, didn't like
the look and I don't think it is necessary. But that it up to you, I don't
think it would detract from the value (if you don't like it, unbolt it)
<snip>
behind the bumper which makes up the front bottom
half of the front wheel arch droops about 3/8" from the bonnet at its point
nearest the wheel.
<unsnip>
I would investigate this, could be simple as someone put their foot on it
and bent it down.
As for the noise from the rear, this could easily be your u-joints. or worse
case a bad diff (I tend to bet on the first and not the latter, also a lot
easier/cheaper to fix)
You mentioned somewhere in your letter about the wiring, how bad did it
look. This is one of the worst things. If the wiring looks like a rats
nest and has had a couple tom, dicks, and harrys mess with it, you will not
have fun fixing it, and from my experience t,d, and h had no knowledge of
what they were doing and hosed it up for you.
Take a look at some of these items, as for your pros they sound great.
Evaluate the car, and decide, recognize you might get a little use out of
the craftsman tool set you got a couple Christmass back.
Best of Luck
Patrick Bowen
sorry for the length
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