Thread: So what do you think??

Well good on you for doing a thorough recce!

I would have been surprised if the bulkhead hadn't been rusty in those places - they all rust there!

The engine no. is stamped on the block just in front of the exhaust manifold on the machined face; you might need emery cloth to make it appear.

I am looking forward to your next report but I won't be able to read it for 1 week

Cheers Charlie

With that much rust in the chassis and bulkhead, I reckon you have a parts car. Restoration would be a long expensive process unless you have a good chassis and a good bulkhead. A few hundred dollars would be my offer.

If the vendor won't accept this, walk away, unless you are a masochist, or an eccentric millionaire.

^^ I'm with Brian, I'm afraid.....

Only worth a few hundred at most with that rust - chassis is not suspect as well. That looks like dampness around that rust - but isn't it parked in a shed under cover.

However if you were to find a good firewall, the car might be worth getting if the price was right.

Garry

I just hope the little truck gets restored one day - either by you, JayBo, getting it at the right price, or by some one else.

My opinion for what it is worth $650 top price.
I would give no more than this and I have spare firewalls and chassis.
Dennis

I won't fast forward to the end (I've still got pictures to post), but I'm in tune with the general sentiment in your responses.

It was great to have the old S1 pushed out of the shed because the first visit I couldn't really get inside to check the inside of the firewall or the rear cross member. Also with all four tyres flat there simply wasn't enough room for me to shimmy underneath for a good look. The farmer brought his compressor out and pumped up all four tyres. After 30 years parked in the shed, all four tyres blew up and held air. Amazing! This despite at least one of the tyres having a severe crack in the sidewall about 6" long.

Anyway, on with the show...
So the rear cross member didn't look so go at first glance from the rear.
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However any thought that maybe it could be sorted was soon thrown out when viewing the underneath.
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I can't remember which cross member this is but it wasn't too pretty. I think it's just rear of the gearbox cross member.
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The actual gearbox cross member looks like it's had a steel plate welded under it.
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I did say it had been parked right up against the rear of the shed didn't I?
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Another thing I was keen to check out was how much damage had been done to the dash when fitting the incorrect speedo. So I pulled out my screwdrivers and removed the square panel that had been made to mount the bigger speedo to see what was behind. Not a pretty sight! The panel has just been butchered. The speedo cable obviously didn't line up with the grommeted hole in the firewall so it looks like the hole was elongated ... using a big pair of pliers or similar.
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I was also disappointed to find that the speedo panel had been screwed through the Transfer Case instruction plate on the firewall, leaving a self tapped hole in the plate. Arrgghhh.

I also noticed another crack in the front fender that led to a further discovery. The front grille panel has been welded to the fenders! The aluminium of the fenders has cracked so the bolted section was free so good old farmer mate (previous owner) has attacked it with a welder.
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The rear sliding windows seemed okay. (As long as you don't mind your "windows" being opaque that is). One actually moved a few inches but the only thing stopping both from working is the 30 years of dust in the aluminium tracks.
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Steering wheel seemed reasonable and the indicator stalk still moved and felt like a good "click" into each position.
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So, overall, I'm quite disappointed. I guess I'd kinda fallen for the old thing but it's just not worth anywhere near the money he's asking. I doubt I'll get anywhere with him because he seems to be under some spell where he thinks he has squirrelled away a gold nugget worth a squillion dollars. He also says one of the two previous people to have a look at it told him he'd get $5,500 for it. I'll try but it's a long way from $4,500 to $600!

A couple of memories maybe?
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Cheers
John B

The body work is quite decent, though would take alot of work but it is doable.
Iam sure that if you go out searching you may well find a series 1 in better cond and for a lot less the $4,000.