Betsy in her original purchased condition, one
large, faded green, old car with no style.
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You can see the slight rust on the headlights,
the surface rust on the front fenders, and yellowed roof.
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Her
original interior was ripped and worn beyond the 2 different seat covers
installed to protect the seat.
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The
dash was in good shape, but the original vinyl of the seats had yellowed
and was encrusted with grime that just didn't come off.
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Aug 1987, all cleaned and waxed for the Lamar,
MO parade.
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Parades are hard on old cars. By the time the parade
was done, Betsy was almost overheating. But we all had fun.
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Despite
the loving care, sitting outdoors in all weather and weekend roundtrips
between college in Springfield, MO and my parents house just outside
of Kansas City, MO took its toll on Betsy. By spring of 1988, less
than 4 years after the initial restoration, the headlights and other
spots showed rust. Kurt and I worked to patch this as good as possible
on a college budget in preparation for a May wedding.
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Eek, a one eyed monster! We had several spots of
rust that needed repaired as well as the headlight area, again.
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As I said, several spots of rust.
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She looked good for the wedding after several
weeks of intermittent hard work and a quick spray job by my father
again.
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What a way to start a marriage, with a car
that is older than both the bride and the groom!
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And now for the rest of the story
Betsy survived 5.5 yrs of college,
as I took a co-op position to help pay for college. The position
was with the federal government in Washington, DC. She took me
between DC and MO several times, sometimes pulling a trailer with
Kurt's motorcycle on it. I graduated in Dec 1991 and accepted a
job in the Northern VA area since the government had a hiring freeze
on and there were few good jobs available in MO. In Nov 1992 our
first child was born, and by Nov 1993 we were living in England.
To go to England, we had to sell both of our British cars, the
MGB and the Austin Healey Sprite, and store Betsy under Kurt's
father's deck
back in
MO.
Between Dec 1991 and Nov 1993, Betsy
was involved in 2 accidents. The first damaged the front passenger
fender, grill, and bumper. The second damaged the rear driver fender,
bumper end, and rear end. As a young married couple just starting
out with one child, we didn't have the money to fix her properly
and Allstate Ins wanted to use parts from a salvage yard. This
damage wasn't fixed before England.
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Kurt
was at a stoplight behind another vehicle that started to turn right
on red. Kurt checked and the opening was large enough for 2 cars.
Kurt decided to go and started rolling, only to find out that the
other car had stopped since he wanted to get across 3 lanes.
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Only the front passenger fender, grill, and bumper sustained damage in
the accident. We had Allstate Insurance at the time and they wanted to
"repair" the car using parts from a salvage yard. Needless to say, I
won't have Allstate Insurance after that.
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However, by shoving the fender back, the door
edge was crumpled when the door was opened. This edge would prove
troublesome to fix later.
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Betsy was parked for the second accident, involving
2 cars and no drivers. The police loved this one. A 1988 Mustang
had been left idling on a hill on a sidestreet. The car rolled down
the hill and hit with enough force to throw Betsy against the curb,
break the tire loose from the rim, and leave a gash in the concrete
of the curb and sidewalk. The driver rear fender and bumper end were
crushed where the impact bumper of the Mustang had hit. Fortunately,
the gas spout was untouched. Betsy was flatbed towed to a local Goodyear
and they were requested to pull the rear end and check for damage.
They looked at the rear end and saw nothing bent so they certified
it as no damage. The rear end bearings and spider gear went out less
than 6 months later.
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We returned to VA in 1995 but still
lived in a townhouse and had no place to keep Betsy, so she remained
in MO. Our second child was born in 1997 and by 1998, we realized
we had outgrown the townhouse. Finally able to afford a single
family home by moving out to Dale City where housing was cheaper,
we purchased the house in April 1999. One requirement for the house
that drove our realtor crazy was a 2 car garage for Betsy. Finally
settle and ready to bring her home, during Spring Break of 2000,
we returned to MO to pick up Betsy.
Sitting under a deck for 5 years had
not been kind to Betsy. One side window survived and the floorboards
looked like something Fred Flintstone could use. But she started
up and pulled herself onto the trailer. Betsy wanted to go home.
Back in VA, Kurt started dismantling her, in preparation for a
full off-body restoration.
Everything that follows is Betsy's well
deserved off-body restoration.
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The splash pan
area has a little bit of rust. The grill will need to either be rechromed
or replaced.
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The gas tank had rusted through in several spots, so a gas can was used
in it's place. In the 1980's musical horns were "cool" and Betsy
had one as well.
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The passenger corner was damaged during an accident and the bumper guard
was sheared off.
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The splash pan was split and pushed down over
the frame horn. The splash pan will need to be fixed or replaced.
Due to other rust, we decided to replace.
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The passenger front fender was damaged in an
accident. Notice that the headlight cap is popping out of place.
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The fender extension will need to be replaced.
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The deck lid has many rusted areas, some holes all the way through. This
will have to either be skinned or patched.
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The inner front fenders are dirty and have a small
amount of surface rust. No real problem here.
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| As Kurt removed the pieces from the
car, we found out how extensive the rust actually was. Many parts were
salvagable, but we would be looking for two front fenders and a whole
lot of floor pan sheet metal. We already had a splash pan that was purchased
just after the 1991 accident, along with a passenger front fender from
Arizona. |
The inner front fenders are remarkably sound.
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These should be able to be cleaned up and kept.
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The front suspension was worn out and the front
coil springs were shot.
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The frame had the usual rust and the engine the usual grit and grime.
However, the #1 piston skirt was cracked and we would have to rebuild
the engine.
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