I had a meeting canceled this morning so I took a quick run up to look at the car. Depending on the final auction price, I would snap this up in a heartbeat if I lived closer. The car is a mess and in need of total restoration, but from what I could see via a cursory inspection, it is incredibly solid. I took some photos if anyone is interested, but the truck floor looked perfect and I could only see surface rust on the floorboards. There is a ton of crap, some of it worthwhile Alpine bits, in the passenger compartment, so I couldn't get a good look, but even the area around the gas pedal looked solid. There has been a lot of rain here over the last few days and the car is sitting open (in addition to no seats, it also has no top or top frame) and it was full of water. While that isn't good long term, it does suggest that there are no holes in the floorpan for the water to leak out of.
I didn't have a magnet, but tapped around the rockers and lower fenders and it didn't sound like there was any filler. The only rust I saw was one small bubble near the right front wheel well and a bad area near the driver's side hood bracket. Other than that, it seemed really sound. The engine also looked complete to me. I tried to look under it to see if there was an OD, but couldn't tell. I don't think so. The VIN was just LRX and there was no evidence of a relay in the engine compartment or switch wiring hanging down near the steering wheel.
Speaking of the VIN, the original color was 106 - Comodore Blue. One of my favorite colors. The VIN has been removed and crudely reattached at some point, but there were traces of the blue around, so I suspect it is original.
While it is a good starting point, it wouldn't be cheap to restore, since it needs virtually all of the expensive bits; the chrome and interior parts we share with Tigers. Even the door handles were non standard (I think they are Roots, but from a different car) and would have to be replaced. No bumpers, or at least whole ones - there was one bumper cut in half and painted black sitting amid the crap in passenger compartment. And, it looks like the front valence was badly damaged at some point. There is a piece of solid sheet metal screwed in just below the opening. It is possible this was done to route air differently, but I doubt it. There was also an aftermarket plastic battery box screwed into the trunk floor about where Tiger batteries go, so the battery box was probably rusted out, too.
There was a sign in the lot for cars4autism.org, which is part of the charity Talk About Curing Autism. I didn't see much on the charity online, other than the fact that they seem to be affiliated with Dave and Buster's.
So, one important warning: I spent a total of about 15 minutes looking at it and was unable to do a thorough inspection. There may well be more rust than I was able to see. The car still has carpeting (now thoroughly soaked from the recent rain) and as noted, the passenger compartment is full of crap. So, I was unable to to really inspect it for rust the way I would like to. Nor could I get down on the ground and look at the underside. Besides the fact that I wasn't dressed for crawling around under a car, it is sitting on four flat tires and thus even lower to the ground than normal. So, buyer beware. But, what I could see looked like a really good start for someone. That plus the parts car I bought a few years ago, which was a complete rust bucket but with really good chrome, would have been a great combination.
One more thing: Is there anyone in the LA area who wants to grab a beer this evening? I will be in Costa Mesa this afternoon and then spending the night in a hotel near LAX. As far as I know at the moment, I will be free today from about 3:00 on. The best way to reach me is to text me at three.one.four.853.8912.
