Inspection Report 1974 Coupe in MD
George was gracious enough to show me his coupe a few weeks ago.
It was unexpected to I didn't have my usual equipment to do the PPI.
All body checks were done with a little magnetic pickup tool I got at Advance Auto Parts. It's an ND magnet, so a bit too strong to detect anything but pretty thick body filler.
(Now on eBay for $22500)
BODY:
RUST: trunk rear seam is pretty bad, needs new skin across that edge
hood is rusty on the underside rear corners. Should be fixable,
but it's rust because water is getting between the skin and
understructure. Ideally, this root cause should be addressed.
Front fenders: passenger fender has a blob of bondo coming loose
at the rear vertical edge. As this is adjacent to the A-pillar, I'd say
pulling the fender to repair and rust proof is the right way to go.
Damping pad on the driver side shock tower area is bumpy. Don't
know if this is just the pad coming up or if there are issues below.
Underside of both fenders looked clean with the following caveats.
The front fenders have been restored in the past and measures
were taking to prevent/stop more rust. The metal along the bottom
of the notorious mud-pockets was removed (open like a 2002).
Good for keeping that area clean, but it does remove some of the
structural metal from the inner-rear of the front fenders. There was
a small patch in the bulkhead above the glove box indicating a
good amount of rust in the past. Also, the "hidden" channel where
the outer fender overlaps was filled in with some sort of black
substance. Maybe it's body caulk. If it's kept water out, then it
should be rust free. Otherwise, it's just hiding rust. Don't know
for sure. The upper/outer fenders were otherwise without rust
and magnet said clean metal throughout.
Doors looked fine.
Rear quarter rusty at the bottom corner of the wheel well. The
bottom of the inner wheel well seemed a bit soft as well. This is
likely the start of classic rocker rot, but I'll bet it just needs a
relatively small patch on the outer rocker, inner wheel well and
just maybe the 2nd rocker skin. No more than that.
Trunk floor looked fine. Surface rust had been present but now
POR 15'd. Cosmetically, it should be blasted and then filled
and painted for better appearance.
Top: there was some loss of magnet stick, bubbling and an odd
curvature to the metal just behind the sunroof opening. Plus, the
sunroof exterior was getting scratched when it was opened. I think
there is a patch panel over that area that was done rather than
cuttingout the roof and butt welding a new piece in. This
should be addressed properly to put an end to the problems.
Floor pan plug areas were slightly rusty in the past. Rears were
welded up with flush patches and fronts were cleaned up POR15'd
and the plugs put back.
The front frame rail (D side) is sort of bent up (just the bottom part)
from improper jacking. Not structural, but not pretty. Front valance is
dented but rust free. Wheel well lips have been rolled but don't show
signs of rust or having been repaired in the past. A and C Pillars were
really nice. No obvious signs of undercarriage rust other than what
was mentioned previously.
MECH: engine runs pretty well. No sign of ring or valve wear. Plenty of power (well above stock). Webers need a good tuning (stumbles on tip-in). Transmission layshaft bearings worn out. Should be fixed before it ruins the layshaft ends (which would lump the gear set). Brakes/rear end fine. Suspension setup for autocrossing (nice). PS steering assist is faulty. Needs a pump rebuild, but the box seemed ok.
INTERIOR: carpets good, front seats good, rear seats need a reupholster. Dash good, center console sides are slightly hacked up. Wood on doors starting to peel at the ends, but the dash is good. Headliner slightly dirty but can be cleaned up.
TRIM: chrome bumpers seem fine (as does the rest of the brightwork).
Depending on what a buyer wants, this car could be turned into something like Stan's white car for $35k in restoration costs. If you want something as good as HBChris's body/paint add another $10k. Personally, I think this puts the buyer value on this one at between $15k and $20k which puts the all-done costs around $50k.
PM me if you have specific/detailed questions.
