thanks chaps,
yes, it is rougher than the pics made it look, but I suspected as much when my requests for "more pics of the rust" went ignored. However, it's quite localised and not too far gone, the underside is remarkably solid.
I'm not going for a mint restoration, it's beyond my talent and budget, rather a solid, useable classic.
I
much prefer the earlier models visually, (in fact I really wanted a 145 but no way I could stretch that far) and converting a new one to an old one is also beyond my skillset/patience/budget.
Colour wise, I might deviate slightly (my wife refers to it as "the turd") towards a dark red, but haven't decided yet...
Going to collect my temp rolling stock now
