[jsalvador]

Hi Everyone,

So I've had my 1969 Malibu for many years now. When I first got the car she some rust in the usual spots but nothing major. I planned to fix her up when I was in a better place financially but that took longer than I had planned or hoped (doesn't it always). Now the rust has gotten a lot worse. I would really like to restore THIS car but I have no sheet metal, welding, or bodywork experience. So I have no idea if it's sensible to repair all of the rusty metal or bite the bullet and let her go for something in better shape. I've included pictures of the worst spots. What do you guy's think?

 

[67shovel]

A lot worse cars have been saved. In some parts of the country that would be considered rust free. You can look around for a replacement car to do but they are getting very hard to find since we all have been trying to find them for the last 20 or 30 years, expect to pay big bucks. I'd guess at about 6 to 8 grand to put your car back in paint and that's low but times are tuff now. Locate the body shop that you'll bring it to. Try to get an aproximate price from them for the repair when you bring them the car all stripped down. If you can afford it, start taking it apart while taking pictures and bagging and tagging the fasteners. It might be a year before your putting it back together so taking pictures and being orgainized is very important. Don't throw anything away yet either until you've got the replacement part on the car. You can save money by taking it all apart and assembling it yourself. While it's at the shop you can detail all the little assemblies...bumpers, blinkers, get he interior spruced up, etc. Get some Chevelle suppliers catologs and get the 3 factory manuals for the car and read up on the sections that pertains to the area of the car your working on. It's a big project but you'll enjoy it especialy when it's coming together. Next thing ya know you'll be looking for your next car to restore.