Well, after a hard scrub and a couple of months driving, it was time for some paint. Even though the car had low miles, the salt air had taken it's toll on the bottom of the doors and sills. No problem, as our bodyman said he could take care of it. Since the car was never going to be in "perfect" original condition, we thought it might be nice to choose a color that complemented the exterior lines over the bland white. So we stripped off all the trim we could so the color change wouldn't be so difficult. Plus we removed the front grills to rebuild and clean. Notice the mildew was even under the scoops!!  Note the only dent was under the rear bumper. Otherwise it was just rust to worry about. And, for you restoration freaks, there are some shots of the original placement of the emblems and stripes.

My car went to Ernie's Body Shop for paint in June 1985.  As you can see from this estimate, paint and body work has gone up a lot.  Yes, you read that right!  $825!!!! Don't we all wish we could get this kind of work done today for this price.

Once from the body shop, here is a toothless grin.  Once assembled, I took it for its first drive after paint. Don't you love my Sears hubcaps?  I drove it like this for a little while.  My uncle ended up giving me a set of fog lights for Christmas.  I had my grandfather weld me on a couple of mounts on the bumper bracket. I also had a traveling stripe installer mount a set of body moldings on the doors to protect it from high school  and Kmart parking lot door dents.