I spent a few hours yesterday and today on the so-called ‘final’ body issues with the TI. Of the things I need to do before sending the car off for interior and exterior finishing work, I’m down to just three or four, namely:

1. getting some bondo on the exterior pieces that I’ve replaced
2. sanding and prepping the body as much as I can stand
3. re-installing the dash and gauge cluster
4. re-installing a driver seat so I can actually get the car to the various shops.

That should be a day’s work but I suspect it’ll take two or three.

Yesterday I addressed the front valence of the car, and the radiator support (again). The valence had already been ‘repaired’ at least once, and the bondo was 1/2 inch thick in some places. Bleh. I decided to cut out a bunch more of the old metal (and aforementioned bondo) in order to do a better repair and have a more regular shape to work with.

Valence, metal removed. Note fat layer of bondo, and mediocre repair (mine) of radiator support member at right.

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In this case, R&R means remove and replace. Or ratty and rusty. Rock and roll? Retch and regurgitation?

Anyway, after a 2-day bout of food poisoning courtesy of some shrimp zafrani of questionable origin, I found some time and energy today to get some work done on the TI. At last check, there were two remaining areas that needed patch panels and not just a quick and dirty application of fiberglass and bondo. The one, up front, is a simple enough job that will barely show anyway so I don’t need to worry too much about perfection. The other, today’s , was a less simple job in a spot that shows more (though still not a lot). This meant doing a more ‘correct’ job as far as conforming to the original shapes and contours of the body panel, and also remembering to err on the side of recess — in other words, make sure the repair is flush with or sufficiently below the surrounding (original) panels that the layer of bondo will cover any irregularities. That’s how it’s supposed to be done. I was mostly successful.

Here’s a couple pics of the area after I cut out the bad metal.

Here's the TI fender with the (majority of the) bad metal removed. I probably should have taken more off the rear section but I am nervous when it comes to compound cuves. Note repairs (mostly filled holes) already executed on the inner panel. Big clamp is the ground for the welder.

And the back of the rear wheel arch:

More fun in the orange and rust section of the crayola box. As in the previous photo, I'd already done some repair welds to the inner panel. If it shines, it's new.

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Progress has been slow but consistent.

I decided to take a stab at doing some repair to the trunk of the TI. The tank had a leak at the seam, and the lip in the tank well was hanging on by prayers and nostalgia for the days before the Great Rains. The trunk lid was eaten through at the left rear panel, and had crustiness all along the bottom edge.

Here’s the trunk while I was fixing up the inner lip that keeps the tank from dropping out and skipping across the road in ball of 91 octane flames.

I replaced about 18 inches along the inner edge - the cleanish metal you see in this pic.

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As if I wasn’t busy enough with the TI, I decided to buy a ’67 Volvo 122S, aka Amazon. It’s a 4-door automatic, which means I won’t be falling in love with it any time soon. (It shares the same tranny, the Borg-Warner 35, as the Datsun 411 wagon my friend Luigi now owns.) On the bright side, it’s that weird shade of Volvo green that is arguably the best color for an Amazon.

The Volvo, very dirty, and green with envy as the Super looks on, clean and greenly confident in its superiority. The assisted living people across the street would rather watch me flail around on old cars than watch the latest installment of Project Runway. (Actually the guy sitting there speaks only Chinese and occasionally yells stuff at me, in Chinese, in response to which I can only smile and wave.)

The good news: it’s a 98% complete and original car. It runs. It goes. It stops. There’s zero rust beyond some surface stuff where the car suffered some fender benders and parking lot dings.

The bad news: 20 years of deferred maintenance. There is significant smoke (white) coming from the exhaust. The brakes are sticky. The hood brakets are broken (both of them) and the front end was bent in so the hood barely closes anyway. Half of the electrical stuff doesn’t work. The other half doesn’t always work. The trunk latch is broken. The driver window winder cable is gone. Lots of little dents to try to bang out. Etc, etc, etc.

Naturally I’ll be addressing the smoking motor first. I’m hoping–really hoping–that it’s not rings, and that it’ll go away (or reach a more acceptable level) with an oil change, check of the valve clearances, and possibly a good old fashioned Italian tune-up. Stay tuned.