Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Touring Project


Finally saw the touring!

Last weekend I took a trip to Atlanta to finally see it in the flesh (or rather, in the metal and rust). It IS quite rusty, but it IS a tii, and a touring to boot. So, after assessing its condition, I have determined that I'm gonna take a shot at restoring it. Plans are to make it a nice driver, not a concours beauty. It will probably be a long and arduous (and expensive!) process, but I am sure the end result will be well worth it. There is nothing like driving a tii, and I still miss the Chamonix '73 I sold over 20 years ago.

There is a possibility that the welding and bodywork can be done in Atlanta. Alex from Carma told me that he has a good friend, Jeff Chang, who is a great welder and might be able to take it on. I do heve new doors, left frond fender and nose panel which came from the car, but I will still need to get the right front fender and the uber-pricey quarter panels. It also will need rockers and quite a bit of welding in the floor area.

I will post updates as I progress in this journey.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

The touring arrives in Atlanta!


After a few hits and misses, the touring finally arrived in Atlanta last Thursday (3/5). My son sent me some pics, but I will have to wait until I go there to evaluate its condition and decide what will I do with it. I would love to restore, but it all depends on the extent of the rust.

If I decide to restore it, I will probably bring it to Puerto Rico, since the restoration would be a lot less costly here, even taking into account the transportation costs and the darn Puerto Rico Excise Tax.