Thanks. It is remarkably straight, even bearing in mind that a lot of the damage she does have--dings and scrapes--doesn't show up in the pictures. She's almost entirely rust free, and what little surface rust she does have (in the bottom of the spare tire cove in the trunk and on the floorpan in front of the passenger seat) I think was formed during the few weeks she was outside at the junkyard during the February downpour. All the clues I've found point to this car being well cared for much of its life and driven up till the year 2003, after which it was stored inside till someone decided to get rid of it and it made its way to Pick and Pull where our paths crossed.
When I first bought the car, I was excitedly bragging to everyone that she still had the original paint. Closer inspection showed that wasn't true; she has been repainted once in a color that is close to the original, but not quite the same. I'm in a bit of a quandary over what to do about to this: should I have it repainted in the original color or should I touch up and maintain the color on her now? The problem is, even though original color is the way to go for the sake of authenticity, I actually like this shade of green better: it's more vibrant and sets off the car's lines nicely. The original code 601 green mist metallic was slightly darker, duller, and more olive.
In terms of what she needs to go back on the road, unfortunately, I'm one of those people who's always been in love with cars because of the way they look, but have next to no idea about what makes them go, so I'm learning as I go along. She ran at the junkyard, but died easily, and the people there told me she had a tendency to overheat. A few months ago I tried installing a fresh battery, but I think I put it in backwards: something popped, some sparks went up, and she's been completely dead since. I'm hoping I just blew the fusible link; I'll put that to the test next week. Once I get her actually running, I'll be able to diagnose things a bit better, though at some point I might just break down and tow her to a mechanic, if only to have them tell me what needs doing.
As for plans, I want to make her an immaculate 70s time capsule inside and out and use her as my daily commuter. I'm going to install a modern sound system, but house it behind period faceplates. The interior upholstery is in fairly good condition, so I'm just going to clean it, repair what damage there is, and re-install it.
Everyone says these cars were severely underpowered enough that getting on the freeway with one is a scary experience, and that's without the automatic transmission and air conditioning (a necessity to have working during the summer months where I live) that mine has, so I may try swapping in a more powerful engine one of these days, but that's a ways down the road.
20170226_092700 by emanistan, on Flickr
20170301_112116 by emanistan, on Flickr
20170328_122757 by emanistan, on Flickr
20170622_121739 by emanistan, on Flickr
20170622_121922 by emanistan, on Flickr
20170629_124254 by emanistan, on Flickr
