2 days after getting it home, I parked it carefully outside my work. A junk shop truck reversed without looking and scratched all along the driver's side of the bonnet, fortunately stopping just before he smashed the windscreen. The driver ran off - he had no license, but I managed to track down the owner. He was a decent bloke and agreed to pay for the repairs - knowing otherwise I'd call the police!
These took longer than first thought, as the paint shop had problems with a nest of ants living somewhere in the car - apparently they liked the taste of the paint and came out to eat it every time they sprayed!
I ended up with a nicer looking finish on the bonnet than before, though the colour is just a tiny bit lighter - only noticeable when you look very close.
Its since developed the common uneven idle - improved (though not completely resolved) by changing all the vacuum tubes. Some difficulty starting - possibly due to a blocked fuel filter - which is on the list to replace. It was also running hot - although the temp gauge never went above halfway, it always seemed hotter than it should when I opened the bonnet.
A flush through of the coolant system resulted in lots of rusty sludge, putting in new coolant seemed to fix the overheating problem - for a few miles. Then the coolant pump developed a huge leak, wasting all the new coolant. Obviously the rusty sludge was all that was holding it together
I've just taken the pump off this morning and it looks more like a part off a rusty old ship than anything that belongs on a car!
There is also possibly some kind of fault with the aircon compressor, though I will check that again once a new coolant pump is fitted, before getting it looked at as it could have been just a wet belt.
It would seem I have ended up with a car that has a good shell, lovely interior, but the engine has been desperately neglected... Good thing thats the bit I know most about fixing! I'm just hoping I can find all the parts I need. Hopefully it will be back on the road in 1-2 weeks, I'll try and get some new pics taken then too. While its up on jack stands I will change the gear oil, (going by the state of the coolant its probably never been changed.) The engine oil is still pretty clean and the oil filter looks new. Anything else I should look at while I've got it jacked up?