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Winter is setting in around here, the fun vehicles are all winterized and the snowblower is ready for action -- time to start putting together the plan for my Bugeye. As my shop is not insulated or heated I won't be doing much work until April-ish, so now is the time to lay out how I'm going to proceed -- and time to fit in as many gigs as possible so I can afford everything!
I do have the end game in mind, pretty standard stuff really:
As for my skill set, mechanical and interior work I can, for the most part, handle myself. Will need to farm out some component rebuilding, but there's lots there that I can put my sweat equity into. Bodywork and paint will need to be handled by a pro; I know my limits.
I never intended to do another deep-in project after all the time I spent on the Tunebug, but this car is a special case for me. I'm already prepared for how upside-down I'm going to be from a financial perspective, and don't care one bit. For me this car is worth it.
So the question is this: what's the best path to proceed? I see two main options:
My first inclination is option 1, just dive in and do what needs doing. This option takes the car off the road right away, but ultimately would be done sooner as there'd be less to have to redo -- and I wouldn't have to spend the time/money on fixing the current mechanicals as they'd be removed anyways. If money got tight I could always put off the 1275 and just pop the 948 (with a new clutch) back in to be able to shake down everything else.
So what are your thoughts? Other plans I haven't thought of?
As a reminder, here's the car:
I do have the end game in mind, pretty standard stuff really:
- Disc front brakes
- Supercharged 1275 (only because of altitude: I'm at 5550', good roads go up to 10,000')
- Datsun 5-speed
- Return interior to original red
- Fix body issues - fender beading, few other patches, fill in some holes, repaint in original Old English White
- Rebuild gauges, convert tach to electronic guts
- Restore the BMC factory hardtop that came with the car
- Charcoal grey minilites, or maybe refurbished stock wheels
As for my skill set, mechanical and interior work I can, for the most part, handle myself. Will need to farm out some component rebuilding, but there's lots there that I can put my sweat equity into. Bodywork and paint will need to be handled by a pro; I know my limits.
I never intended to do another deep-in project after all the time I spent on the Tunebug, but this car is a special case for me. I'm already prepared for how upside-down I'm going to be from a financial perspective, and don't care one bit. For me this car is worth it.
So the question is this: what's the best path to proceed? I see two main options:
- Strip the car down in the spring, plan on a 2-ish year full restoration process, finances depending -- pretty much down to the bare metal.
- Fix the clutch so it's driveable on the current 948, sort out mechanicals as I go. At some point in the not-too-distant-future have the bodywork handled.
My first inclination is option 1, just dive in and do what needs doing. This option takes the car off the road right away, but ultimately would be done sooner as there'd be less to have to redo -- and I wouldn't have to spend the time/money on fixing the current mechanicals as they'd be removed anyways. If money got tight I could always put off the 1275 and just pop the 948 (with a new clutch) back in to be able to shake down everything else.
So what are your thoughts? Other plans I haven't thought of?
As a reminder, here's the car: