70 DeVille finally driven home

[rms70]

Found this forum 2 years ago and it is truly a priceless motivator and source of information.   My 70 DeVille had been housed in a wood shed behind my business since 1996, driven thru 1998, then left in various states of disrepair til now. The shed's protection was an improvement over.the car cover i used since my first home only had a driveway.  In 1998 i failed state inspection for leaking exhaust manifolds and my attempt at DIY repair started., however business and three kids left little time. Occasionally I would wipe off the mold growing on the seats and dash and vacuum out the mouse nests.  As the shed decayed and more creatures entered through more holes than I could patch I knew I had to get the car out of there. From dropping and sealing the gas tank to getting my 22 year sleeping engine safely started to explaining why my rpms wouldn't go down( special thanks to 35-709 whose simple explanation made it clear my problem was not a problem), this forum was an invaluable resource  and thanks to all of you have contributed. Attached are some photos which leads me to my next question.  The car got a quickie Earl Schiebe paint job back in 1990 (my father had it done) which quickly became a problem when the car was under a car cover and now has morphed in to some kind of greenish colored (it was a metal flecked grey) flaking skin.  The driver door is typical of the spots appearing all over.  I know I wiil need a complete paint job but is there something I can do now to protect the rust spots  til then. (BTW I would like to bring it back to the original patina silver which is inside the trunk lid).

                                                                           Thanks again
                                                                                         Rob

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day Rob,

Congratulations on getting her back to life.

As for protecting these rusting spots, and seeing as you are going to repaint it, is to get some wet'n'dry paper and sand them down, then get some cans of primer, and a colour-matched can of the current colour, and simply spray the spots to protect the metal.

Anything will be better than seeing the horrible rusting.

And if any other places where paint is not adhering, do the same, but scratch off the loose paint first.

You WILL be surprised just how much nicer she will look.

Bruce.

PS.   Don't forget to mask up the surrounding areas, as you don't want to get the paint where it shouldn't be, like the door handle chrome.

[cadillacmike68]

Nice looking car.

As noted, just sand, prime and spray something of the matching colur on it to keep from getting worse/

[Highwayman68]

Great effort to keep the car over the years. Glad to see you getting it back on the road again and even more importantly intending to keep it original.

[Jamurray]

I had one like yours. I drove it to California from Connecticut twice. I loved it. I installed aftermarket cruise control,  and it cruise along at 75 all day with frequent fuel stops. Gasoline was $4 a gallon on the 2006 trip, and I was filling it every 150 miles. It probabably cost me $1,200 just for gas each way. Still that '70 gave me the ultimate road trip experience of a lifetime - something that will not be repeated with the LaSalle that replaced it.

Good luck and may you enjoy your '70 as much as I enjoyed mine.

[chrisntam]

I had one like yours. I drove it to California from Connecticut twice. I loved it. I installed aftermarket cruise control,  and it cruise along at 75 all day with frequent fuel stops. Gasoline was $4 a gallon on the 2006 trip, and I was filling it every 150 miles. It probabably cost me $1,200 just for gas each way. Still that '70 gave me the ultimate road trip experience of a lifetime - something that will not be repeated with the LaSalle that replaced it.

Good luck and may you enjoy your '70 as much as I enjoyed mine.

I bet your legs never got cramped.