Some of last night's observations:
- The main fiberglass body panel has a very loose fit to the steel body frame at the rear of the car. Apparently this was a chronic problem in the past, allowing water to penetrate to the interior of the car as there are multiple layers of various sealants in this area. Something to keep in mind when refitting the shell later.
Although there is still heavy undercoating on everything, there is less than expected rust damage visible in both the front and rear fender wells. The engine compartment is also not fully observable yet, but also appears to have very little damage.
- Unlike the many other repairs to the body, I have not seen any observable signs, yet, of joints where the rocker panels may have been replaced. I am beginning to accept the possibility that they may be the originals. I don't recall the originals being faceted on my previous '72 though. Any of you fellow S3 owners want to make an observation on that one?
- There were numerous signs last night that portions of the fiberglass shell have had repairs performed in the past. Many non-matching or missing bolts and screws, random connection points, etc. The nose of the car has obviously been removed in the past, but the rear shell has not. As I was curled up in the rear wheel well last night struggling to remove a hard-to-reach nut it ocurred to me that as difficult as it was to remove, it is amazing it is possible at all given that that nut has been there for at least 38 years!
