Faults:

Battery died.

Distributor died.

Clock/fuel/rpm gauge ain't working.

Huge rust issues.

Small oil leak when engine is hot.

Trans won't always get out of its third gear, due to clutch blocking on the exhaust.

Interior is a full scale mess.

General Comments:

It's a beautiful 4-door pile of rust.

It features an original 3 on the tree and I6 250 engine.

Car is assembled in Antwerp, Belgium and did service its first years as a taxi in Brussels.

Car is imported into the Netherlands in 1998 from Belgium, and I bought it December 2007 for $2000/1500E.

At this moment the carb, spark plugs and cables, distributor, all brakes are replaced.

The car features some HEI-distributor now, which does give quite a boost in performance; it makes me able to spin my wheels in first gear, totally unexpected.

Performance is for the given engine and date of production in reasonably well state and satisfying.

Mileage is about (litres:kilometers) 1:10 in low rpm in the city, and 1:6/7 on highways at 70MPH.

It doesn't feature any options except some kind of heavy duty suspension.

Overall, for 1500E, it's quite a bargain for such a rare though stylish car in Europe.

Faults:

The previous owner didn't have any problems, but the engine was "freshened-up" at 40,000mi. This included a high performance cam, main & rod bearings, and piston rings.

The carburetor was replaced, only because the car was stored for many years.

The motor and transmission mounts also got replaced with solid steel (Moroso) mounts.

The points ignition was replaced with a HEI style.

I replaced all tie rod ends, ball joints, A-arm bushings, trailing arm bushings, brake lines & hoses, master cylinder, and front wheel bearings. All of these parts went bad because the car sat for 20 years causing rubber to dry-rot and thin steel to rust.

General Comments:

When I purchased this car ($1200) it had been stored for 20 years. With a new battery and a can of fresh gas, I started the car and drove it onto my trailer.

After some basic maintenance and replacement parts, I drove the car down my street. I realized the 2 speed power glide wasn't what I wanted. The engine ran excellent, however the valve seals were bad.

I replaced the drive train with a stroked small block (383ci), and a TH350 transmission with a 2400rpm stall converter. With the car's 3.73 rear axle this makes for a great cruser. The old 307ci was actually a 327ci. That engine is still running in a '68 Chevy 4x4.

The car handles very well, if you don't mind the tires squealing through the turns, and lots of body roll.

The brakes are scary! Four corner manual drums are terrible. Especially while driving down long winding hills, they fade like crazy! I need to invest in stopping-power now.