Andrew,
It sounds like you may want to ask yourself a basic
question:
1) do you prefer driving cars
or
2) do you prefer working on cars
Having answered the above, how does your Midget
fit into these catagories?
The car can actually appear in quite rough shape and
still be a good driver providing the engine and transmission
are sound (I can't remember your car's status).
If you really prefer driving the cars, you may want to find
a different car to start on, you aren't going to save any money
starting with a rust bucket. But, you may spend less upfront.
I should now admit that this is exactly the approach I took.
The car was real cheap.
Assuming you feel like driving this car:
1) bondo up the holes and hope the inner and outer
rocker panels are still strong enough to support the car.
What the heck, I've seen quite a few of these cars held
together by the transmission tunnel alone (which is quite
well rust proofed by engine oil in most of these cars).
2) Fix those inner and outer rockers ASAP. I paid for
the outer rocker panels from a reputable source and paid
a local welder to put them in and fabricate inner panels,
floor boards, and fender walls himself. This worked out cheaper
for me and has held up well for the last 10 years. Mind you,
I don't try and compete in concours competitions.
3) Convertible top, I suspect if the windows are fogged,
the rest of the fabric is getting ready to rip. I would grit
my teeth, buy a new top, and take care of it properly.
(Actually, to be honest, this isn't what I did at all. I drove
my car without a top from September when I first got it
on the road until February when, on the occasion of
my birthday, my parents bought me a new top for the
car. I did have one memorable experience of driving
home in a blizzard and getting several inches of snow
in the car on the way home)
4) What's wrong with real estate signs? They tend to be
quite rust resistant and are a pretty decent gauge of metal.
Just make sure they're sealed in well so you don't get exhaust
fumes in the car. The Midget will go like hell with or without
real estate signs!
Assuming you prefer to work on cars, start taking all the parts
off the car, meticulously clean and derust all of them, and
don't forget to align the bolts when putting things together. :-)
Good luck!
Mark M. Banaszak Holl
Brown University
401-863-2738
mark_banaszak-holl@brown.edu
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