<VV> 3 year quest

[Sadek Charles H DLVA]

-----Original Message-----
From: Cepak, Tom A [mailto:tom.a.cepak@lmco.com] 

 .... am I totally out of my mind and wishfully thinking?  


Thanks,

Tom

Yes!  <VBG>

No, you aren't. Yes, I think you can do it depending on what you mean by
"total restoration".  A total restoration does not include Rhino stuff on
the car.  Some folks, not implying you, mind you, think "total restoration"
means repairing rust, more or less, getting a good paint job, spraying wheel
wells putting an engine together and maybe driving it.

A total restoration truly means taking the entire car inside and out, top
and bottom, to bare metal, replacing any questionable sections with exactly
the same shape pieces as stock, welding them in correctly as stock was,
priming and painting with proper overspray, etc. such that the car is as new
from the factory.  Similarly, all of the fittings on the engine are as came
from the factory, with matching numbers for date of mfg. etc. fit the VIN
and ID tags of the car.

So, Tom, what you want is a very fine driver car, rust proofed so you can
rely on the integrity of the bottom of the car, etc.  You talk to a modified
engine which is not necessarily the correct engine.  Fine.  All that is
wonderful and laudable.  Yes, you can do what you want for less than $15K.
You can find such a car, repair it as required, and drive the hell out of it
for significantly less than the amount you mentioned.

I suggest you buy someone's very nice car that is ready for you to drive and
improve, by paying special attention to those areas you think you need to.
I suggest you can do that, still have work to do on it but not so much and
can spend more time with your wife!  You have two winners there!

Good Luck

Chuck S
YS73