After telling my wife that my son and I were off to find the "perfect" Christmas tree, my son Nick and I returned four hours later with a badly rusted, very sad looking 1960 Bugeye that I was not sure would recover from years of neglect. What initially appeared to be a moderately rusted body, ended up needing a major structural rebuild. The more we poked, the more the screwdriver went through "Fred's" body like a red hot poker through butter. Oh well, every long journey begins with but a single step.
Nearly four years later, lots of spot welds, burns and band-aids, the car turned out beautiful. We ended up replacing the inner and outer sills, door hindge A-posts and floorpanels on both sides. Rusted rear fenders were repaired as well as other "perforations" here and there. The bonnet was in such bad shape, it required our attention nearly every evening during one winter season. We spent so much time on the body, that we took "breaks" rebuilding the engine, trans, differential, brakes and steering rack. That was the fun part.
After a few local swap meets and locating other parts here and there, the car was completed in time for a local British Car Show here in Palo Alto, The car was received unvelievably well and people were very complimentary which made the long journey worth the effort.
Dave Golick