<VV> HELP (Saving a 4dr) (long)

[Roger Gault]

I'd like to offer a counterpoint to the advice to run from rust.  It depends
on how much rust, and the personality (sanity?) of the rebuilder.

I've been driving my '65 convert for 24 years.  When I bought it, after
looking for months for a Corvair convertible and not finding one in ANY
condition, it was a $200 junker which had been sitting on a dirt lot for 2
years.  The negatives were many:
  All 4 corners dented
  Pass. floorboard rusted out
  Both "leaf traps" rusted through (driver's door sagging from rust behind
hinge)
  Both rear quarters rusted out behind wheels
  Piece below windshield rusted through.
  Big dent ahead of the right rear
  Right front wheel well "enlarged" by somebody's bumper
  Huge slabs of cracked body putty put on by a Gonzales HS shop class
  Top destroyed
  PG instead of desired 4 spd
  Not running
But, I was young and dumb - and desparate, so I bought it.  After all, it
did have some redeeming virtues.  It was complete, had a tele column, and
the mildewed white seats looked like they'd clean up.  Oh, and the AM/FM
worked.  ;-)

I found a Corsa coupe that had been hit in the front and parted it out for
the drivetrain, Corsa trim, and some sheetmetal.  A friend of mine who said
he's help me restore it carved out the lower driver's door hinge mount and
welded in new metal.  We welded in a new windshield strip.  Then, with the
car completely stripped, I showed up at his house one day and he said, "I'm
sick of working on this and it's taking up too much of my time.  Today we'll
put the 140 drivetrain in it and you take it home.

Four months of bodywork (never done it before), and 9 more months of
mechanical work (all day every weekend, and some evenings after work), I had
a beautiful blue '65 convert.  I still get comments on it every week.

Could I have bought one cheaper?  Absolutely, if VV had been around and I
could have found one.  Is the rust gone forever?  No, it's starting to come
back - I'll fix it maybe next summer.  Is the car show quality?  I've seen
worse looking ones at convention (and a lot of better looking ones).

But I still drive along and suddenly say, "Damn, I love this car!"  It's MY
car.  I built it from junk.  I did every scrap of work on it, mechanical,
top, paint, upolstery, everything - and the pride is worth every minute of
work and every dollar spent.

So, my advice is, if you'd rather save one from the crusher than buy a
perfect one from somebody else, DO IT.

Roger Gault