The roof is pretty near impossible to get and there is not much room to work near those seams where they tend to rot out. You will need a really good body shop or you may want to reconsider your purchase. There are always cars out there and in many cases people find that the cost of putting it back together will always outweigh what they can get for it. But, if it is a labor of love and "your mission" then you don't worry about the cost. Anything can be fixed and maintained well enough to keep it looking great. All it takes is money.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Karl Groves Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 5:20 PM To: Chevelle-list@chevelles.net Subject: [Chevelle-list] New member, questions Hello - I've just subscribed to this list, and I want to introduce myself before I start posting. My name is Karl and I just (as in this afternoon) purchased a 71 Chevelle. I've had fast, (mostly) old cars all my life, starting with a 70 Camaro when I was in high school. I've also had a 77 Z/28 and 76 Stingray. I had a son in 98 and the (now ex) wife pressured me into getting rid of my Z/28 and get a minivan needless to say, things didn't last very long with her. Since 1998, I've been driving more "practical" vehicles and my living arrangements weren't really conducive to having an old car to work on. The (new) wife and I bought a house a few months ago and, thanks to the side money I've been earning making web sites, I've been able to afford a project car. The Chevelle I just bought was owned by the neighbor of my babysitter. The guy's had it since 2001 and "always planned on working on it" but never did. It is somewhat of a basket case. There's rust in all the stereotypical places, the interior is a mess, they tried putting on a cowl induction scoop with pop rivets, and all sorts of small issues. The two main problems are the roof is completely rusted underneath the vinyl top. The whole roof will need to be transplanted. The second issue is the steering column must be completely screwed up, because you basically have to "hot wire" the car to drive it. For the price I paid, I'm psyched to have it. The point, to me, of owning an old car is to work on it. I'm not the kind of guy who wants to have the car already done for him. To me, the joy comes from knowing I'm eventually going to touch every nut and bolt on this car. I plan on doing the "resto-rod" thing - making it look mostly stock, except for a few upgrades to the interior such as seats and dash stuff. All best are off for the drive train, suspension, and breaks though. Anyway, enough babbling from me. I'm very glad to have found this list. Last, can someone tell me something about my car from this VIN? 136371B202451 Thanks! Karl Groves Master Certified CIW http://www.karlgroves.com
