Uh-oh, I'm in trouble now!
According to my sweetie, I'm now banned for life from Craigslist.

Just finished unloading my latest and greatest (sic), a 1963 Mk10 (or Mk X, whichever you prefer).

It's gonna be a challenge, for sure.

Previous owner found it quietly rusting in a Mississippi sugar cane field in 2006. Life got in the way, as it tends to do, they were unable to do anything with the car so decided to sell.
A deal was struck and I picked it up yesterday. Previous owners were real nice folks and gave tons of help getting this behemoth loaded.
(Thanks Meg and Ray!)

Here it is getting unloaded and settling into new digs. The rear bumper did come with the car, and it's in pretty nice shape.








We couldn't get the trunk open while I was inspecting the car, but Meg said there was "a new muffler" in there and possibly a few other goodies.

I fiddled with it this afternoon and got the trunk open.

Yowza! .... Bingo! .... Jackpot! .... Happy Dance ....!!!!



Found an almost complete, brand new Walker exhaust system (there is an additional long exhaust pipe inside the car), the hub caps and a bunch of wood and interior trim pieces. Haven't had a chance to go through the full stash yet.

More to follow, but right now I'm a Happy Camper ...!!!!

 

Nice one Retro, good find and congrats on the car

Maybe a post or two with pics as you slowly work ong etting her back into shape?

Thanks for sharing

 

Congrats Retro!!!!

I am with Jim, definetly post up pictures as you polish this diamond!

 

A challenge indeed, but on the surface at least she looks in fair condition.

And to echo the others.....

 

Dont paint it. People pay big money now to try and duplicate that patina on older cars. There are alot of high $$$ cars and trucks outthere that look like thaton the outside and totally new modern suspensions and drivetrains, and or high horsepower too. I say get it running and enjoy it and dont screw with the look

 

Norri,
If you'd break down and ditch your steam powered monitor for one of these new-fangled electrical ones, you'd be able to see that there indeed ARE some pics posted.
Sheesh .... some people ....!!!!

(Yeah, I know. Electricity .... damned dangerous stuff, whatever it is! I don't think the concept is gonna last in the long run, but meanwhile, what's a guy to do?)

 

I saw those ones!!
I was referring to the future pics that you haven't even thought of yet, just a wee reminder in case they slip your mind.

 

I hear ya on the patina. I occasionally hang around on a couple of the hot rod sites, and some of those people spend a lot of time and/or money creating fake weathered paint, truck lettering, etc.
Hell, I've got the real thing!

Seriously though, if I was to choose that option, I'd have a few problem areas. I haven't inspected closely yet, but it appears that there may have been some body filler applied to the passenger side. (Er ... that's the American passenger side, not the British passenger side!) Would probably require some touching up in a couple spots.
In the pic below you'll be able to see the areas around the headlight and between the door and wheel well. Will get some closeups later.

My first exterior project after washing off the dirt and mold will be to rub the car down with a product called CLR. I've seen fantastic results on faded and rusted cars.

Or, I could just do some nice script lettering in an unobtrusive spot:
paint by Pat & Tina

 

Yay Retro, a new project to run in parallel with the other two.

Er...um...this one does have an engine??

 

Well, you guys aren't too subtle, are ya?
I post pics of my new ride and y'all shut the site down, hopin' I'd go away.
Ain't gonna work!
My Mom and Dad tried the same thing when I was a kid. Sent me to the corner store on my bicycle for a loaf of bread.
When I got back, I found they had moved!

No, this project definitely supersedes all others.
I think I lost interest in the Jag powered Chevrolet because I just wasn't "feeling it", if you catch my drift. Lack of direction, whatever ...

I'm definitely feelin' this one! I love this car ...!!!!

And yes, Mr. Smartass, this one does have an engine! It's a beauty, too.

Here's a couple pics of the goodies found in the trunk. Note quality control hen, she gave it 3 clucks and a poop. Don't get much better than that!
More later .....

 

Off topic for sure, but this little guy showed up unexpectedly this afternoon.
About 3 hours old when this pic was taken.

 

That's gonna be a mammoth project yet fun as well lol
I appreciate your courage retro, I would not tackle this job

 

Not Off Topic at all.

Quite refreshing to see some advance planning in the upholstery restoration.

 

Now Translator, that's just plain wrong ....!!!

 

Thanks Regent,
What some folks might call courage, others more correctly recognize as abject stupidity.

Besides, it's not like I have an actual life or anything ......

 

A little cleanup progress today. These are some of the minor horrors that awaited me today.
The major horrors I'll post later, after your kiddies and any susceptible adults are safely abed.

The car sat with the hood partially open for quite some time, so every nook and cranny was filled with leaves, debris and wasp nests.
Still a handsome engine, though.





Lots of cleanup needed on the interior!









Note the spiffy picnic tables. Eat your hearts out, peons!
Missing door card and door & window cranks are in the trunk stash.

Dashboard shot.



This puppy has a helluva wingspan .....!!!!
I figger you'd need 'bout 4 parking spots at Wal-Mart if you let everybody out at one time.
Kinda makes my XJ40 parts car look positively dainty by comparison!





Still not very pretty, but scrubbing off some of the mold and fungus sure didn't hurt it any.







Next up .... the real horror story!
Or, since I've named it the Hindenburg, maybe I should say "Oh, the humanity!"

 

Since this is truly horrible, I was gonna have Mistress Elvira do the intro, but she had a previous engagement ....(dang)!



So here's what our humid climate does to old tin when it's too close to the ground for years and years.





Nice, huh!
Folks, if you have any cars stored outdoors that you care about, get them up on blocks or something so they can air out.

About the only bright spot I found underneath was the missing 5th muffler. It appears that it was slapped haphazardly on the car and maybe run for a short period of time. That makes a complete exhaust system except for the header pipes.

 

I love threads like this. Thank you for saving another one from whatever fate might have otherwise befallen it. I'll be watching for updates.

 

I wondered how it would be when you said it had been sitting in a field.

It'd be no fun if it was easy would it?

 

Ouch, definitly repairable but not easy on the frame since theres probobly no decent aftermarket pieces avail to weld in and will have to be fabbed. I think thing like this is exactly why people drop bodies down over totally moddern chassis and frames. You get the best of both worlds. Great suspension, brakes, a relible running, starting, powerfull, economical engine. All with a classic beautiful body, either left in patina or totally redone. And i could have sworn ive seen this body style jag that someone did exactly that.