I have seen a car for sale and the owner says all the restoring work has been done on the underside (welding etc) but the body is has some issues on the wheelarces on the back and the drivers door is not so great. See pictures below. What do you think?
From my perspective in the restore world I would say that what you are showing sure ain't a good thing, Senri. The other thing that bothers me in your post is that the guy told you that "the restoring work has been done on the underside (welding etc)" What the heck does THAT mean? WHAT welding? WHAT restoring on the underside? Bottom line for me is....when I see a rust bucket I walk away. UNLESS it is a one of one or two car, of course. You don't mention what kind of car it is. I'd like to see more of that car in, out & under but what I do see I don't like. JMHO.
Here, that would be a $500 car, unless, as Silverfox said, it is really rare. That's Salt Rust, and it means a new wheel well liner as well as cosmetic repair and finishing. Raises the question about the rest of the floor and frame. Brake lines, emergency brake cables, etc.
Senri, I have a really Off-topic question. What is the result of mixing Methane gas and CO2? Since our Canadian Artic ice is melting so fast, and since our Tarsands Oil refining emits so much CO2, just where the arctic Northern winds blow south and freeze up most of Central Canada and the USA down to almost New Mexico, we're wondering if these two gasses make a Freon type of refrigerant gas.
Welding may have been done to patch some holes. I had one patched below the driver's heel on my old fairmont.
I am not a chemist, but I think both methaan and CO2 are more or less inert, so mixing does not result in anything different. The boiling temperature of methane is -161 C and from co2 it something like -57C, so that means that using them as a refrigerant will need a lot of energy as you have to compress these gasses a lot to liquify. I don't think it will make an effective refrigerant.
Ok, about the car, it is 1977 Opel Diplomat with the 327 engine. It is the closest that Opel made to an american car here in Europe. It has a leather interior, which I am not sure of, but could actually be real leather, as it was the top of the line. Bucket seats and the 327 with console shifter, really brings the good memories of the 68 Chevelle I once had. This one has 4 doors, so it makes it a bit more family friendly, and I really love the simplicity of the V8. This is the translated text of the ad (the best I could, at least): "Leather upholstery Awesome V8 with Flowmasters for a super sound annual check up till 4-2010 (that means, last was done 1.5 years ago) year of build 1977 no welding needed on the bottom, everything is done wheelarces on the back show some blisters/bubbels and the left front door is not very good It is not a showcar, but a good base to make it a real jewel (I hope that translates wel..)" I just love the aggressive look.... I might sound silly, but sometimes the look of a car just makes you fall in love with it...
Looks to be in pretty good shape and I'll bet it's a blast to drive. Boy, I've gotta say, those taillights look so familiar, don't they? I'm trying to figure out what car had similar ones.
It would propably be easier for me to find parts as it is an Opel, but still have a sort of American car. And like I said (yes, I do repeat myself), in my opinion, this car is exactly right: the shabby black look, the stance, the widened steel rims... yes!
I would grab that right up myself. I have cut out and welded a lot worse in my days of body work. I have seen guys on here fix a lot worse basket cases then those minor skin pimples. Bondo is not a cure for rust. It needs to be cut away and new steel welded in, minor work, deff worth fixing a cool old girl like that.
Well....it looks a little more plausible now that we can see more of it and know more about the mechanics. Nevertheless, the build is 22 years old and you can't be sure yet what's all under that paint. It's a cool car and likely could be brought back but I would say that you should check it over closely for prior mud or metal work. It could be an expensive proposition or a medium one. From the looks of the front floor it looks like it has had some mouse problems. Might want to check that out as well. I like the car but I would sure be crawling all over it....in, out and under before making an offer. And that's the other thing we don't know...the price. My personal feeling, knowing what you have told us about the build date and looking at the pix, I would check, check and recheck and if you find it just needs metal work...I would still not offer all that much. He says the floors are done....was that in 77?? Check it carefully. EDIT: I misunderstood....I thought a REbuild was done in 77. Still...it makes me nervous but I like it. Salt damage that you can see means there is much more lurking. Except for my misconstrued comments regarding what I thought to be a rebuild date....my comments still stand.
