I'm new to this bb, live near Seattle and just bought a 76 02 which I intend to bring back to full reliability for my 21 y.o. son in Colorado who is currently in engineering school and ready for his first car. The car is from New Mexico, but has spent a few years in Oregon getting updated regularly before I bought it locally for $2800.00 (yesterday in fact). Jade Green exterior, tan interior, 129K miles.

I spent the day today putting the car on the lift at Group 2 in Seattle and going over the entire car with their head mechanic (they maintain my Alfa S4 Spider and are great guys). The short version is that the car is miraculously free of rust except in the spare tire well and a few really superficial spots on the driver door and at the trunk lid hinges.

The whole drivetrain runs exceptionally well - clearly there's been some significant updating in this area - and other than oil leaks from all the usual places, it's mechanically sound. Going 80 down the freeway feels effortless and secure at something under 4500rpm. The engine has plenty of pull all through the gears and the sychros are all perfect even on a power downshift into second. The clutch pulls uphill under load and will kill the engine before slipping when lugged.

The steering is a bit vague, so I suspect the steering box is probably original. Front suspension needs all new bushings, but doesn't look too bad. All the boots are still intact. The rebound on the Bilsteins seems ok, but I suspect fresh shocks would really help.

Brakes are good but the master and the slaves in the back need rebuilding. All glass rubber has been updated. The seats are also updated in correct 02 tan vinyl and the carpet is also fairly new. Dash is perfect. All lights and instruments working properly. Heater motor sounds terrible - bearing must be failing. Any sources for a replacement and any hints on how to proceed with this job?

The exterior paint is ok, but both doors have had damage from glancing blows with something solid, so they both look a bit ...tired. I thought to just replace both doors, but I suspect it isn't that simple to get the right fit or to get used doors that aren't rusty.

There are small dents in the chrome trim and at various locations aournd the car - the usual accumulation. Just above and in front of the passenger rear wheel well, there's some body repair that may include filler - the paint doesn't match perfectly here or on the passenger side door so something happened that required body work, although it appears to be only cosmetic as I can reach behind in the rear wheel well and nothing appears out of plane.

The driver's door interior panel is loose and shows obvious signs that the water seal was violated, so I'll need a new panel and water seal. The bolster is also missing from that panel, but I have all the handles. Anyone has sources for the panel and bolster? They are tan.

The sunroof is working, but the ceiling liner is bowed downward just behind the sunroof and I suspect this is the result of water getting into the liner instead of channeling down the drains - anyone know where the drains are and how best to determine if they are working? I'm reluctant to tackle the liner since it appears all the glass has to be removed for this job but I don't want water to cause any further damage. Any thoughts?

I'm new to the 2002, so any advice on proceeding with this "working" restoration would be appreciated. If all goes well, I'll hand the car over this summer to my very appreciative son in good, solid, reliable condition.

Rijco in Seattle

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