My Amazon!

[robwizard]

Yeah I'm feeling pretty ****ed off with the the guy who sold it to me as he runs a classic car resto company and after speaking to him numerous times over the phone and him making various assurances it turns out he was being a tricksy rascal..

Here is the advert;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2308780855...84.m1497.l2649

The worst bits are in the spare wheel well as what appears to be the rear end of the chassis is visible.. and also the suspicious patches over the rear n/s floor and also running up the wheel tubs on both sides at the rear..

Pictures will follow..

Cheers

[Volvo Canadian]

It does look pretty-good in the pictures alright. Not sure about those fender sills, but no obvious rust, at-least. Unless there is a lot of bondo and/or fresh paint over old rust, I'd say.... well, no, I won't say anything. There are lots of places you need to look still, such as the undercarriage/frame-members, rocker-panels, and yes - the boot. Not uncommon to have rust in the wheel-well before anything-else and at least you don't have to spray the car to fix it. Same goes for the floor.

Remains to be seen what you got for what you paid, but post some pics, including close-ups of the fender sills/rails, around the headlights, all along the bottom of the car (including the inside of the door) and underneath if you can. You may have a reliable car with a few rust-spots (electrics aside) that you can save-up and have painted in a couple of years. That would be worth what you paid for it.

If those wheels are in as good nick as they look, a quick sand, some masking tape and a couple of cans of silver paint will give you that classic look, instead of a rat-rod.

Hopefully your mood has improved a bit - yes, you might have to spend some money, but it looks like she might be worth it. Yes, you were a bit impulsive, that is 1/2 of genius....

[123GT-AMAZON]

agree with above ? /\ 122canuck /\

but for what you paid i think it was worth it until we see some close ups dont feel to much like you have been robbed past owner should have been more honest tho defo without a doubt still your now blessed to be the owner ( all be it maybe not proud just yet ) of a Amazon some tlc will get her up and running into the condition your looking for i would stick with it unless the chassis rails totally rotten being a 4 door the extra money and time would then not make it viable but if your doing it for yourself its the love

all in all a good project i reckon

[heckflosse]

Stand back, have a cup of tea and don't panic!
It got you home, so isn't a complete toad, and most you'll get will need some welding.

Good luck with it,
James.

[redcar]

i agree, it doesnt look too bad in the pix, and wht's left of it is definitely worth saving..

cup of tea and a notepad.. go round it and mark off all the things it has to have addressed immediately, in the near term and then in the long term.

then you can decide if you're up for it or not..

interior and engine are tidy enough by the looks of it.

keep us posted

[Faust]

Sorry to hear about your issues – as others have said, post some pics of the dodgy areas and see what advice you are given before you make any drastic decisions.

I understand how you feel: it’s never nice to get all excited by a ‘new’ car only to realise that in the cold light of day it’s gonna need more work than you bargained for (I bet that there is no-one on this site who hasn’t experienced that sinking feeling...). But for the price you paid, I’d say you’ve got quite a nice car there. It may need a bit of work, but as long as it’s a good runner and the body isn’t too bad I’d say it’s worth sticking with. As Heckflosse said, it did get you home!

Yes, you could sell it and find another one – but by the time you’ve gone through all that hassle you’ll probably wish you’d stuck with what you’ve got. If you want an Amazon with perfect body work you’re probably going to need to spend in the region of 2.5 – 3 grand (they are sometimes tricky cars to value). If you put that extra money into the car you’ve got you’d have something quite nice.

Besides, I actually think Amazon’s look a bit better when they’re not 100% perfect. I really like to see an honest & hard working car that’s driven in all weathers. Immaculate show cars are all well and good... but in my opinion you can’t beat a car that looks like it’s ‘lived’. Suits the character of the car if you ask me, and I bet if you started a poll, you’d find that many people’s cars on this forum are not 100% immaculate and shiney.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

[Tail]

I bought mine because it looked nice but once i started looking there were quite a few jobs with floors, chassis repair sections, front panel and windscreen surround but a year on and its done, a mig welding course and a bit at a time and its very satisfying to look at for me especially as it was all done on a driveway with no garage.
Even now if i poke around i can still see potential jobs which any old car will need sooner or later but i also know they will be done right and if i had bought another better condition car then i would have to start poking around all over again.

But to show the hazards of using evil bay, i recently sold an Amazon that needed a lot of work, it failed the mot on corrosion in the rear suspension mounts, steering, inner rear wheel arches, rusty front floor and a panels and rear brakes. Two weeks later it was on e-bay with a not insignificant price tag and looking like a different car so beware buying anything on e-bay it may or may not be what it seems, personally i allways assume its a dog and bid accordingly and if its not then great, if it is then its what i expected.

[heckflosse]

Originally Posted by Faust

Sorry to hear about your issues – as others have said, post some pics of the dodgy areas and see what advice you are given before you make any drastic decisions.

I understand how you feel: it’s never nice to get all excited by a ‘new’ car only to realise that in the cold light of day it’s gonna need more work than you bargained for (I bet that there is no-one on this site who hasn’t experienced that sinking feeling...). But for the price you paid, I’d say you’ve got quite a nice car there. It may need a bit of work, but as long as it’s a good runner and the body isn’t too bad I’d say it’s worth sticking with. As Heckflosse said, it did get you home!

Yes, you could sell it and find another one – but by the time you’ve gone through all that hassle you’ll probably wish you’d stuck with what you’ve got. If you want an Amazon with perfect body work you’re probably going to need to spend in the region of 2.5 – 3 grand (they are sometimes tricky cars to value). If you put that extra money into the car you’ve got you’d have something quite nice.

Besides, I actually think Amazon’s look a bit better when they’re not 100% perfect. I really like to see an honest & hard working car that’s driven in all weathers. Immaculate show cars are all well and good... but in my opinion you can’t beat a car that looks like it’s ‘lived’. Suits the character of the car if you ask me, and I bet if you started a poll, you’d find that many people’s cars on this forum are not 100% immaculate and shiney.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

I fully agree with your love of well used Amazons, or any old car for that matter.
So many have been over restored during the classic car boom with ultra shiny modern paint, alright as a museum exhibit, but no good if you drive on muddy country roads!
Give me the genuine weathered look anyday, as long as they are solid and well maintained.
They are one of the few classics you can actually use in winter without crashing or freezing! just don't expect to stay dry.Thats why they dont have carpets...
After all , Stig Blomqvist started out on them, before converting to Saabs.

Unfortunately, there is no modern equivalent available.

[robwizard]

Passenger wheel well..



Driver side sill/valance..



Spare wheel well/Chassis member..



Passenger side rear valance..

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...passenger.jpg/

Driver side rear arch...

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...riverside.jpg/

Under the rear bench on the passenger side..



Big plate on the floor of the passenger side rear..

[robwizard]

Driver side front chassis..



Front driver arch...



Under bench driver side..



By the pedals..



Boot corner driver side..



Spare wheel well.. you can see the chassis poking through here



Oh what fun..