The 'bird has landed! James from Intercity Lines unloaded this morning at 9 a.m. and gave me a hand getting her awake in the very un-California like weather we're having.

I do have a bit of work to do to make her roadworthy and a bit more to make her pretty, but I think that a frame off will be the plan for this 'bird. It's a very good car, but has been sitting so long that everything needs to be touched for safety's sake. Especially the rancid California gasoline from the early 90s...and the factory top with the consistency of peanut brittle.

But since my priorities lie elsewhere at present, there will be plenty of time to formulate a plan.

Wow, I think it’s one of the most exciting parts of getting a new baby – watching it be delivered!

CongratS!!!! Look forward to watching it fly one day.

Nice, let her sit a few days , she needs to get over the chock of getting there from Calif!

buy me a new bird vikki.

Looks good. Now you can relax.... The whole truck/shipping/long distance sale thing can be stressful. Especially when you add in the winter weather and the Holidays on top of it.

Right on Vikki, better get a warm coat as I suspect you will be out in the shed looking it over over the holidays

Vikki,

Where did the car get dropped off? I can't imagine a car hauler being able to get up and through your driveway.

Your killing me.
Always whated a 1st gen rag top...maybe some day...

You got it right, Brad, no way can a 53' get into my driveway, or back out. So I do what I have to do...roll it, tow it, or preferably drive it just that last couple hundred yards from a safe offloading point.

Relax? LOL, that's a dream.

Very kool, glad to hear and see they made it there ok. Looks great, and it will only get better from here. We'll be keeping tabs on the progress... once you can work on your own projects that is.

Congrats! - Brett!

Congrats. Looks good. It will be fun to follow your progress when you get to it.

Jeez Vikki, now I have to go buy another one just to keep up.

Nice find you got there.

Awesome Vikki. It must feel like a Pandora's box. I'm sure you can't wait to find out what secrets lay under that exterior(an interior). Ahhhh, if only they could talk. Then again, I might be in some trouble if mine could.

Robert

That's a sweet find Vikki. I wish my toad had half the potential yours has.

They all have potential. The hard part is making the decision to keep them off the road long enough to let them reach it, when the desire is to drive...

I already have all the receipts and history from the seller, who bought it in 1982. He still has contact info for the guy he bought it from and that may lead right back to the beginning.

That will be my dad's car. I owe him big for all the cars he let me keep in his backyard when I was younger.

Well, I finally got a few hours off work and headed straight for the storage unit.

The car is in much better shape than it looks in the pics and from the brief inspection. A few things need replacement for cosmetics, like the front bumper and rear bumper and windshield; the tail panel and corner of the right rear quarter need a little massaging to smooth an old dent; the 20+ year old home paint job needs to be erased to clean steel (no filler except dings); the convertible top fabric is shot but the frame is perfect including the front bar and windshield header (though header chrome may need a replate if it doesn't clean up well enough). Trunk floor pan needs replacement as was known, as do rear wheel lips and passenger inner fender, and electrical and mechanical and suspension systems need complete overhaul. This is going to be a very nice car to work on, no rust on the bolts, and it came packed with NOS and excellent used parts put away in 1982.

This is one of the cleanest unrestored convertibles I've seen and definitely the best I've seen lately in this price range, and other than a few bolts which were replaced with hardware store components and a few items missing it's very much intact.

Buying a car on eBay is a bit unnerving, but great cars and sellers do show up.

I brought the battery home and put it on the charger, circulated the coolant (thermostat was stuck shut, had to drain the radiator, pop it open, and fill the block directly). Now she's tucked away for the winter nap. I brought the carb and distributor home to send out for rebuild but otherwise she's asleep.

Ponch, the trick is to start with a convertible... then ya get the coupe.

Looks like a keeper Vikki! Is it going to be a rolling resto first?

No rolling resto, just a brief test drive when winter lets up, then she'll move to my house for a teardown (once my garage is clear).

That makes two coupes and two convertibles at present, plus a guest convertible.

It's a keeper, but for my dad to enjoy.

So many 'birds, so little time.

Why does it seem it's either lots of time, no money or lots of money, no time? I'd settle for a happy balance.

Doesn't much matter, though...when my son goes off to college in the fall, I will have neither time nor money.