Purchased it Memorial Day weekend last year. Work I've done so far is clean out the gas tank which was responsible for clogging the fuel inlet sock inside the tank and stalling the car above certain RPM/speed. New Carter fuel pump. The 2.0L stock intake/carb was swapped out for a 1800 intake and rebuilt Holley 5200 from a 2.0 early 70's Merc Capri. A 3" lunchbox tops it off. The air valves in the head were removed and plugged (that was fun - snapped one air valve off at the head.) EGR tube between exhaust manifold and head has been removed and the bung plugged under the manifold so that hole through the front of the head is just open now. My fan switch was bypassed and the fan running constant off the coil positive. Replaced the rad switch and restored wiring to stock. Cleaned up the radiator and fan brackets a bit with some fresh semigloss while I was in there. At that point the car finally ran consistently, throughout the RPM range and all gears, and had pretty good performance. I knew the front end needed work badly so it got driven a few miles here and there but nothing too far from home, high speed, or near other traffic.
This year my goal is to get all the floor pan rust fixed, fix my gangsta lean seats, get the front suspension restored, and my dented oil pan replaced before summer hits. The seat repairs are essentially done and they just need to be reassembled and a pulled stitch in one of the seats repaired. The front suspension is torn down and I just have to yank the crossmember so I can do the oil pan. I have a replacement crossmember (3 bolts w/ flattened threads and a really bad crack on one of the front bolts) that will go on. I'll probably stick with stock control arms but get the rust off in a bucket of water & baking soda + battery charger. Arms will get new ball joints, bushings, and outer tie rod ends.
So here's some photos of floor pan work I've been working on for the past couple of weeks. If you can't tell, I'm a hobbiest welder, and don't get to do it out too often. This was all done with a special .030 flux wire I found that is specifically for up to 20 gauge sheet metal. It'll all get primer/seam sealer around the edges top and bottom and then I'll probably coat the entire underside and cabin in Eastwood Rust Encapsulator. POR15 has let me down on other projects, and RE has not, so that's what the spider will get.
Pass. side lower control arm plate:
Pass. side rear footwell:
This was the first panel I welded in, and unfortunately it shows. I don't think I had used my welder for about 3 years prior to this. Driver side footwell area:
Same area from the top:
Driver side rear footwell and lower control arm plate (hard to see under the mount) from bottom and top:
Pass. side rear footwell from the top:
I don't like laying on the garage floor for hours on end below about 50 degrees, so when its 38 like today I'm inside working on some other project or relaxing.
