The restoration I did back then was an old school look. I chrome plated the stock roll bar, added '56 tailights, and kept it as clean as possible. I added an infant Beard suspension seat shortly after my son was born, and, as time went on, a drop down dash. (Again, I'm kicking myself for not buying the opening hood that Bruce introduced in the 90's, that would have been a cool addition!) I painted it an ice blue metallic color that came off a 1966 Chevrolet Station wagon I remember my Dad buying new. I just liked that color and thought it translated well to the buggy given it was close to the same year. This was also the first car I ever painted, using an airless sprayer in a paint booth made out of plastic sheeting in my garage. There's one spot on the driver's front fender where I hit the fresh paint with the bottom of the spray gun during one of my passses. I still smile when I see it.
Today I took the car apart, and within the next two weekends. I'll deliver it to David Barret to have him work his magic on a condor chassis for it. Mike Dario is going with me to have some work done on his Tow'd, so it should be a fun trip! Here's the teardown pics . . .I wish it would go together as quickly as it came apart!
Cosmetically, it's pretty decent, but the chassis has cracked and been rewelded so many times I wouldn't take it offroad
This is the seat I put in for Jake when he turned 5 years old, he's now 17 and 6 feet tall
This is the drop down dash I added in the late 90's
6 hours of using an impact wrench on some seriously rusted bolts and the body finally came off the chassis
Now I just need to remove a few more things, fix the cut fenders, and get it up to David. I'm going to keep it the same color. It's grown on me over the years. I might wrap it though, instead of painting it. They can do anything with that stuff nowadays in every color and pattern imaginable.
. In spite of it's swiss-cheese-like condition, he's making great strides. And, it's now an Ecotec
