Turned out to be a decent car in hurt but restorable shape. The front passenger side got hit at some point which trashed the fender and the otherwise extremely nice bumper which explains both why they sold it and why the price was so good. Sellers were a very nice couple in their 50's by my estimate, and as has been my experience so far they want to keep in touch and know what I do to this one and my '69. The kid I bought my '69 from has kept in touch and followed my progress so I am not too surprised.
The car drove home from Whidbey to Gig Harbor with no problems other than somewhat grabby disk brakes - the 4 piston Kelsey Hayes (or so I recall) calipers are quite worn on this 131K mile car according to the seller. Engine burns a bit of oil but I don't really care since it will be rebuilt when the car is restored. Tires were unbalanced and the shocks are tired, but it shifted smoothly and the leaking exhaust still sounded pretty good. Steering was a bit squirrely but truth be told I have not driven these cars for more than 20 years and I am seriously wondering what my '69 will feel like...
Luckily the '69 seems tight when I twitch the wheel in the shop and watch the steering bits move so I am very hopeful it will at least be tight. The massive overcompensation - pinky just touching the wheel and it turns effortlessly - I expect. I hope that a newer vintage Eldorado steering box will help this in the future... I will first be crazy enough to steal the doghouse and AC lines for my '69 unless I find another parts car by next winter but eventually it will be replaced. I also need the vacuum motor for headlight covers and, strangely enough, the backing plates for the covers themselves. The kid I bought my car from sold the vacuum motor and said the car did not have the backing plates when he got it. The seeminglly flawless center wheel caps are a nice addition to my chrome wheels on the '69 as many of the caps that came with it are dinged up.
The electric window door switch plates and any associated bracketry will be transferred so I can upgrade my manual window car to electric windows, as will the door lock switches be used to provide electric locs. Motors I will buy new.
Hmm... what else. Seriously considering using the transmission for the core of my trans rebuild but might just throw it in for now and wait to do the rebuild next year when the car goes back into the garage for the winter season. The trans that came with my car seems pretty tired and probably has a lot more miles on it. That will also give me time to try to find a '78 core with low miles which seems like the best combination of qualities for a rebuild.
The vinyl top is either perfect or so close I could not see a flaw. All the halo trim is present. Other than the right passenger fender, the bumper, chin valence (or whatever you call the bit under the bumper) and passenger door are the only damaged bits I could see on casual inspection so a restore seems possible.
Now all I need is a pristine '66 and my collection will be complete. Given that such a car will not be cheap it will be the last to happen, so these two will keep me occupied for the next few years. I can't complain.
