1975 4spd auto avenger

[kierbear]

Had a change of interior today for the swapmeet. Plus my other suitcase was faded. Big ups to jared/joker for the castrol stencil

[kierbear]

Also its my birthday so spent some time cleaning the engine bay whilst having a cider. Love that washbag

[kierbear]

 

Getting things pretty ...will fix broken things shortly

[kierbear]

Something old + something new

[kierbear]

wow as un update, i still even have the suzuki siwift ! cant beat those leather heated seats

At the moment i am trying to get my Avenger back on the road after it being in my garage for the last 4 years or so. i pulled it apart to paint it some 4 years ago, primered it, moved house and then it sat for a while - long story

i have been trying to find a garage to restore it - i have a good lead for one in Carterton
Today i got a local (Hawkes bay) panel and paint guy to come tell me what it would need and if his garage would restore it. i already had a gut feeling i didnt want to use them, and him telling me that he didnt want to do the work because the trim in the car is too tacky, cemented that decision for me. At least now i know what i need to tell the garage in Carterton about what needs doing - basically just some minor rust repair in the boot.

Among the other reasons the local garage wont do it - because i only want the exterior painted - which he explained as being a very viable option- just that they werent prepared to do it because they want to strip the whole thing right back - no real reason given, just "if it was me" etc etc

regarding the tacky trim i told him there was no way i would contemplate taking out the brown velvet dashboard.....or the window winder knobs which are actually posh drawer knobs...and i wasnt interested in getting the back drivers side door painted the same colour as the rest of the car on the inside (it is faintly different but i like the quriks)

[avenga]

WOW! that panel beater sounds like an up himself prick!!

A couple of comments on what he said:

1. An Avenger isn't worth enough to do a full strip down restoration on. Fair enough if you are doing something like my Chrysler Valiant Charger which is worth $70k, but not on an Avenger, the cost of the restoration would be worth more than the car. I got my 75 Avenger Panther repainted 11 years ago and it still looks just as good as the day I got it done, and that wasn't a full stripdown. My wagon is currently away getting repainted and even that's not getting fully stripped down.

2. The styling of your car is totally up to you! who is he to say your trim is to "Tacky". That's the cool thing about cars, you make them your own and you customise them to your own tastes. I'm a prime example, I have a V8 Avenger and one with bolt on flares etc, not what I would call standard at all. Cars need personality, and your brown velvet dashboard and posh drawer knobs is what gives your car it's personality. He has no right to judge what other people want to do with their own cars. Not every car needs to be a factory perfect restoration, some of us want to have fun and express ourselves through our car customisation.

I would keep hunting around until you find someone who is aligned with the type of work you want done on it, stick to your guns and do it your way.

[kierbear]

thanks Richard, agree with all your comments. i have a budget in mind that is a reflection of the car being - not a Charger etc dont want to say "just an avenger" but you know what i mean

If i had the dosh to do a full overhaul i would be spending the money on something else like a 64-67 bel air ....one day

i approached a shed near my house and they seemed keen but just dont have the time as they are the main repairers locally for insurance work

i got another reccommendation for a shop in hastings and i saw the guy today, he seemed to be keen and i am going to email him more photos of the car and he is going to get back to me about what the costing will be. i tend to get a bit deflated when people dont get back to me but 3x have now managed to pick myself up and go back to another shop to go and explain the long convoluted story all over again

so fingers crossed! at least this paint shop is in the industrial area that they might also be able to give a reccommendation for a local nearby shop to do the mechanical work. The longer this takes, the longer i am able to save money but i need to remind myself not to increase the budget just because i'm saving more. it is holiday money

there were lots of reasons that panel and paint shop werent going to work out, including saying my trim was tacky, but i should have had a hunch not to go there when the first thing they asked was "is this your husband's car"

onward and not deterred completely yet!

[kierbear]

this is the current situation.....

[avenga]

The other way to look at it is, that you have had your Avenger 12+ years now, you have had a ton of memories in it. Crashed it, repaired it, been in the paper 3 times!! so it has a huge history with you. And that makes it more valuable to you, because you have all that sentimental value.

You know you are going to keep this car long term so spending more to do it to your standard is worth it.

That's how I am with most of my cars. I bought my Charger in 2004, so I've owned it for 18 years, and I have owned my 75 Avenger for 12 years also. Both those cars are worth way more to me than the market price because I have all those memories attached to the cars. My V8 wagon is even more so, because I spent so much effort building it just the way I wanted it, then there is no way I would sell it, even for triple it's market value.

my V8 wagon is away getting a panel and paint at the moment, it's been away for a year and the paint job is probably going to be worth more than the car, but that is worth it to me.

And I think you would probably be in the same boat as me, where your Avenger means more to you than what it's market value dictates, so don't feel like you are overspending on the restoration if it means that much to you.

[kierbear]

Thanks Richard yup i would agree with you there.

i didnt hear back from the shop that i most recently approached, after sending some photos through of the car about 4 weeks ago. i phoned them up today which i was a bit nervous about because i dont like to be seen to be hassling people, and it was positive, he is looking around at who can paint the car quicker than perhaps they can (3 months) and pricing up a few options, still seemed to be keen to do it. so that is good

i said i didn't mind waiting 3 months or so, but a timeframe would be good so that i can arrange for it to be at a mechanic before/ after the paint to get it road legal again. so he is also going to email me some local garages that would do this work

Been out of the game so long i have no clue who is doing what anymore - my last mechanic retired in the midst of some sort of mental health crisis, apparently (before i became a mental health nurse). i am also keeping an eye on trademe and smash palace keep listing wrecked avengers but havent been listing the parts that anyone is asking for......annoying. Also keeping an eye on what Ross is selling and might make a list and ask if he will do me a bundle deal - dont know if you dont ask ?

so on the whole this is a positive update

[kierbear]

oh good it's only been a month since the last update, and still no progress on this. oh well, at least it's only been a month (feels like two). i have some pipe dream of getting this car sorted before the next wheels on windsor in March. Iv'e had some recommendations for garages in HB who would be able to do the mechanical work - merely by me noticing old odd british cars and asking the owners - that has put me in some interesting situations