Newbie Intro and GTV6 Question

["David R Johnson" <johnsnd@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi!

I'm a newbie to this list and thought I would take the time to introduce myself
and my car and to ask my first question.  I just bought an 82 GTV6 I found in
Wisconsin (I live in Chicago suburbs).  The car seems mostly in pretty good
shape for its age, has only 72K miles, seemingly genuine judging from the huge
folder with complete service history from day 1.  The original owners manual
was even still in the glovebox!

I've owned a couple of Alfas before, both Alfasuds when I lived in England (a
78 and an 83).  Always loved those cars, but didn't know where to find one when
I moved to the US.  Now I have the car I always lusted after in college!

Anyways, my question refers to the dreader r-word, rust.  I had the car looked
at by a body/resto shop I respect, and they say I need rocker panels on both
sides.  They can't tell until they grind off the rust how bad, but assuming I
need the full box section it would be $1000 per side.  Does this sound out of
line?  I'm pretty sure at least one side needs the full box section from what I
have already seen while fooling with fuel and brake fluid leaks under the car
(watch for future posts on those subjects....).  I also need inner and outer
 fender work on the front passenger side.  There are other more minor things
(doors are shot, spare tire well gone, plus a couple of surface spots), but
these things should take care of the serious structural stuff.  The hood, front
valence, hatch and rear seem to be pretty solid.

I want to keep this car for a few years and get it in decent shape.  I knew
there was work to be done when I bought it, and I realise that I probably will
never recoup the money I'm putting in in increased value.  I'm doing this for
my own satisfaction.  What I'm looking for is reactions from experienced GTV
owners as to whether my plan seems reasonable or if I'm totally nuts and should
just look for a car with clean body to swap the low-miles mechanicals into!
 Also is there anything else I should be looking for in the rust department
which should be dealt with immediately?  I've noticed surface rust on some of
the inner box members underneath - can I just sandblast this off and apply
sealant?

Thanks for reading this far!

Dave J.
82 GTV6
94 Camaro Z28, supercharged

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David R Johnson

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