[mrennie]

Well, the inspection of the 76 was bittersweet. Story was that it had been in storage for at least 10 years, then bought by a guy in his 30's, kept in storage for another 5 years, then he passed away recently and the storage owner took it over for storage fees.

It was on a hoist when I first got there, front frame was fine, rear frame sections also good, no flaking rust or pinholes, just typical light surface rust. Rad support also good except for some rust flaking at far ends at bottom, nothing that would need replacing. Had 4 aluminum turbine style wheels in decent shape, and almost new 255/60R-15 Mickey Thompson tires. Things were looking good...

Lowered car onto the ground and started looking at outside real close. Bottom of both front fenders has rust bubbles and would need patching (I can live with that.) As I moved back, I could see many areas from doors to back bumper that had cracks in the paint but no visible rust. Looked closer and realized there was filler over everything from the doors back...like from the window weatherstripping right down to the rocker, and entire quarters from bottom of back glass to bottom of quarter. Current owner said he realized there was filler but had no history on what was going on. Seems odd to me as the bottom of the car was good (only found 2 small spots with rust through on the floor, about the size of a dime), and based solely on the underside condition, I would have been comfortable pulling the trigger. Car was a base Firebird or Esprit (no rear spoiler), and hood was a steel hood with twin scoops like a Formula, but PO had cut a massive hole in the middle to fit one of those face blower assemblies. Uhg..

The inside was a whole other level...PO has recovered everything, I mean everything, in blue velour. Seats, dash, console, inside glovebox even...It was so swanky that if I bought the car I would probably leave it, but the top of the dash has discolored and looked like crap.

Currently has a BBC 454 and TH350, that owner is removing prior to sale. He is asking 4K CAD for rolling chassis and as this is the first car I actually looked at, I told him I am passing for now, at least until I see what else it out there. If the car had no filler on it and I could see it needed, say, fenders patched, quarters patched, then I might have gone for it, but the fact that there is something going on with every panel but the roof or trunk, my gut is telling me to walk. I am fully aware of what it takes to replace panels and do bodywork, and while I am not expecting to find a rust-free roller, I need to ensure I stick to my plan and make this about building a drag car and not about restoring another parts car

Hoping I am not being unrealistic...Ontario has used salt forever, and these cars are 40+ years old. It has been a Long time since I bought a used car, my expectations may be out of whack...I guess I will find out after looking at a few more.

Have plans to check out a 79 next week while down south on business. Fingers crossed!