UPDATE, MAY 2001: The car came out of storage
mid-April, and after some carburetor tuning I got it to run really well,
and smooth in all conditions. I now have my own welder, so I was able to
weld up some larger areas, in front of the rear wheels, in the wheel wells.
Today, the dual exhaust system is being installed. The muffler guy showed
me a sample sound on his 85 Grand-Prix. What a wreck on the inside for
a car so much newer than mine. But the exhaust had a nice note. I get the
car back tomorrow. I also swapped out the 2-spoke steering wheel for a
tan "bent spoke" model that Starksy had, and I changed the factory dome
light for the dome/map light combo. Got both those parts in perfect shape.
And, I found a great gas tank for $45, which will go on this weekend. The
original tank leaks, and is not repairable. I still have to repair the
headliner, rebuild the back shelf and install a new carpet. On the exterior,
the final prep will begin next week. There are some small surface rust
areas that need to be ground down and smoothed, then the whole car is going
to get a good washing, and then a wet sanding before priming. I will go
with 2 coats of primer, sanding in between, before the final color goes
on. I'll post some pics when I have time.