alice7290

I was hoping to restore this car which I love but never had the money for it, so am looking for some advice. The car is in California. It is in non-op status due to water in the engine. ~240K miles, higher end GL model; air, power steering, etc. Beige/tan (faded) faux-woody. Class III hitch (pulled a boat (has a heavy-duty radiator.)) One small dent on hatch, otherwise in good exterior, fair (worn) interior. Due to CA smog restrictions, I'm wondering if there is any demand for these cars in (Northern) Calif. I would hate to see it crushed. Also have a non-op silver 82 4 sp, GL wagon (after headgasket seals blown.) Perfect body but became rodent habitat inside and out and all wiring is long gone. Just wanted to see if there might be any thoughts or opinions. Thanks very much.

Hi, I am looking for opinions or suggestions about what to do as I really don’t want to see these cars junked if at all possible. Both are in good exterior shape and if I had the money I’d restore both. I never see them in my area anymore and I have always loved the body style. The 82, (light tan and a now faded woody) probably the more restorable of the two, for reasons to be explained, is a 5 speed and I believe was the top of the line 82 model, power steering, air, etc. The engine was replaced and ran well for some time but water ended up in the engine and it has sat ever since (about 4 years.) The other is an 83 silver 4 speed with a great exterior (small crack in windshield) however it has been sitting outside for years and has become a packrat condo to the point where the hood latch cable (I assume it’s a cable) was munched long ago so the hood no longer opens. (I have a photo of a neatly packed engine compartment taken when I was able to open the hood.) Not sure if anyone would want a project like that. I remember reading a post on another message board about California making it very difficult to get older cars registered so I don’t know if anyone in this area would be interested in either. I would love to see these two cars, if not on the road, usable again in some form. Suggestions or comments would be much appreciated. Thanks, Alice