Time takes it’s toll on old cars. Dirt and road grime build up over the years as does rust which is always the biggest demon when restoring an old car. There’s only two ways to deal with rust and that’s cut it out or sand it off.
Although no one wants rust and grime, its pretty cool to see the changes that take place when cleaning up the parts that are in need. Scraping off dirt and old oil to reveal the part beneath it to later prime and paint. It is too damn expensive to pay for new parts when old ones are still good but only need cleaning or paint. Paying someone to do the work is also an option but again do you want to spend money on things like that when you still need new wheels and tires? Save the money for the good stuff. Check out the picture on the left. Rust removed and ready for paint, while the picture on the right shows the parts primed, painted and ready to be put back into the cars chassis.
     
Picking through the extra parts that came with the car, I found it wasn’t worth cleaning, repairing and recovering the cars original bucket seats. In hind sight, I should have inspected the extra parts more carefully because half of them weren’t worth taking. One call to a local Auto Recyclers netted me new set of buckets and a center console for $140.00.Perfect leather seats from a Mini Cooper which is a definite upgrade from the ’72 Chevelle bucket seats. The console with its cup holders and armrest/storage compartment adds a touch of today’s cockpit conveniences.
Restoring a car takes a lot of patience and time but its also very Zen in that it’s quiet time you spend detailing and thinking usually by yourself and in the end you feel good about the results and that you accomplished something rewarding.