My 77 Volare Wagon Progression. Slowly, but surely

Leizurtime

Leizurtime

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Location
Westminster, CA
Bought the car in May of last year. When I found her, she was literally melting back into the Earth. Through some sense of mercy which I still don't fully understand :confused: perhaps because she was so cheap (only $250), I have saved the wagon from certain doom. It has in a way become my obsession, I spend all my free time and money on her :D lol. In tribute to the Punisher :mad: I've appropriately attached a 3D skull license plate to the front until I can get a new set of license plates. This car has punished me plenty enough :p I suppose I'm a glutton for it.

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Leasuretine, I like your car.

I have a feeling that both of our wagons were made not far apart from each other. Could be wrong, but I’m sticking to that story.
I like the looks of the “no frills” wagons, a lot. Matter of fact, if I could find (another) one in same condition yours is in, I would get it.


A couple of comments:
On my wagon, I have found rain water leaks coming from the luggage rack screw holes. I will need to remove the rack and see what can be done about that. I’m guessing the holes are “open” (not blind) and some thread sealer might be all it will take.

Do you have any before and after pictures of your grill repair?

Have you thought about “faded paint treatment”? I don’t think it will fix all of your paint issues, but may help it a lot.

Any other pictures you are willing to post, from your car?
 
My goodness, yes I'm figuring out all too well the rust issues on these cars. This car sat for over twenty years out in the open in Southern California, subject to all the elements for that time. There is much surface rust, and a few holes, more than a few. I want to replace all my doors completely. But the worst of it is, the drainage track on the roof line for the rear hatch has mostly rusted through. Several small holes all the way across it and the hatch itself is rusted through to. It completely destroyed the headliner and the spare tire compartment cover. I don't doubt if my luggage racks leak too. It is so severe, that I'm embarrassed to post pics of it, but I will at some point. Thankfully, I've been able to keep the car in storage and finally give it a break from all the weathering. The damage is repairable, of course most likely at a pretty penny. The best will be to have new sheet metal welded in and that usually costs a bit and I'm not looking forward too the "why bother" conversation with the body guy. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to this being my first body work project. I plan on putting in some of my own elbow grease. It is the reason I bought this car in the first place.

Here are some pics of the grille when I was repairing it. It was so dried out from sitting 20 years, that it broke in three pieces just removing it from the car. I cut the screen sections out with a hacksaw, then I glued the pieces back together with plastic epoxy and sanded it with 80 and 320 grit sand paper. Used some aftermarket grille mesh from Pep boys that was an absolute nightmare to cut and bend. It was not designed to bend at all and the threads of the grille material kept coming loose and it would fall apart. I'm still finding pieces of it. Anyways, in hind sight I would have used the old school aluminum grille mesh. That would have been far more manageable. Not to mention I probably went through 7 cans of paint. 5 black metallic and 2 chrome, for the turn signal bezels. It took allot of work and patience to put it together satisfactory and it still really looks messed up. I would replace it in an instant with a clean stock one. It at least makes the car presentable for the time being.

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This is the original grille, now it sort of has a rat rod look. It keeps breaking though, it cracked again and I would definitely replace it. I'd like to do a matte black on the car eventually.
 
I wish someone would repop the grills using a better plastic.

I think they could easily make their $ back.
 
That's a nice find! I remember seeing that for sale somewhere, maybe on CL? Really glad you got it, and for a super deal price. Is it a /6? I'd like to see some pics of the interior. Is the original color dark brown or dark red? That must have been a very pretty little wagon when new. It reminds me a lot of my first F, which was a dark brown '76 Volare. Just take your time and have fun with it! Really glad you saved it.
 
old yellow 78 said:
That's a nice find! I remember seeing that for sale somewhere, maybe on CL? Really glad you got it, and for a super deal price. Is it a /6? I'd like to see some pics of the interior. Is the original color dark brown or dark red? That must have been a very pretty little wagon when new. It reminds me a lot of my first F, which was a dark brown '76 Volare. Just take your time and have fun with it! Really glad you saved it.
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Correct! I myself found it on craigslist and the seller put videos of it on youtube. The interior is dark red and all the upholstery is in shambles. I'm considering bringing back the original color when I do the paint. It comes equipped with a 318 V8.
 
Ahh! A 318! Fun! Keep your eyes open for a replacement interior. Mine was not too bad, but basic and burned up with cigarette burns from the original owner. I looked for a while on CL and finally found a great interior in Tulsa. Drove out there from Pennsylvania to get it and turned the trip into a camping vacation at the same time. Some friends/family thought I was nuts, but who cares? There is nothing logical or economical about my fascination with Aspen/Volare's. I wonder about trying the "faded paint treatment" that BudW suggested. It actually might look good with the remaining paint polished up, and the rust just arrested. The "patina" look. Hummm. I think I like it.
 
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