I found about this car by word of mouth. A friend told another friend, who told another..well you know how that goes! The car was owned by who I will call Mrs R, she was an elderly lady that treasured the car because it had belonged to her late husband. He purchased the car new in 1970, and passed away in 1978. Mrs R drove the car until roughly 1991, when her eyesight started to go. At that time, Mrs R could not part with the car and decided to park it under the carport at her apartment. The car sat there for almost 5 years, until I found it.
When I looked at the car (see the pictures in the next page)I knew that I had to have it. I saw beyond all the dust and flat tires and scrapes and scratches. The car was absolutely complete and original, down to the AM radio. At that point, I would have been satisfied to see that the engine was not seized, and could just turn over. I brought a new battery and some gasoline. After priming the carburetor and putting in the new battery, the moment of truth came. On the second turn of the key, the engine caught...some smoke blew out of the pipes... and she ran! she actually ran rather smoothly after just a few seconds! Not wanting to push my luck, and knowing that there were years worth of sediment in the gas tank, I shut her down despite my feelings that I could "drive her home".
It took three of us and a winch on the tow truck to get the car out of the carport area. The tires were flat, and after inflating them, they were still "fused" to the pavement! We loaded her up and took her home, making a short stop at a do it yourself car wash to get most of the grime off the car. After I got her home, she cleaned up real nice. The car had its original Verdoro green paint, it had an immaculate standard metallic green interior, all the glass was good, all the rally II wheels (minus center caps) were there, and the original bias ply spare was in the trunk.
Other than the paint job, I didnt really have to do much to this car. We put in a new carpet, a new dash pad, repainted the wheels, new tires, new emblems, new package tray, detailed the engine compartment, new plugs, new rotor, drained all fluids (including the gas tank), recharged the A/C, and that was it! The car is all numbers matching. It has the 265 hp 350ci/2bbl, TH300 2spd automatic transmission, drum brakes all around, A/C, AM radio, and not much else as far as options go. The only modifications are the removal of the black vinyl roof and addition of a new dual exhaust with turbo mufflers.
Its not a perfect car, and its not a #1 show car, but it is a rare specimen of a dying breed. In the following pages I have included pictures from the time I found her, through the body work, to current pictures. Let me know what you think.
PICTURES OF MY BIRD WHEN I FOUND HER
TECH & RESTORATION ARTICLES
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