It was exciting day when the green machine came home.  It was the Friday of the October long weekend 2005.  We had only seen photos and I had reluctantly agreed to buy it for $2,500 on assurance that the car was in pretty good nick.  As always, things look better from a distance!!  Surprisingly, the car engine was in working order, considering it has sat in a backyard in regional Victoria for nearly 8 years unregistered.  We knew the brakes were poor so I had the expectation that we would need to bleed the brakes or maybe replace the drums, check all the lights were working, take her for a green slip, rego and off we go.... but that wasn't meant to be. 

We attempted to bleed the brakes and then took her for a quick drive up the street to see if the brakes improved.. No luck..  We then took her on a tilt tray to have the brake lines professionally flushed and bled a second time, which improved them to some degree but not to the extent that they would ever pass rego or feel any sense of safety.

The more we looked, the more little problems we found.  There was more rust than we anticipated which would have needed repair prior to rego plus an exhaust leak, hole in the plenum that filled the car with water when it rained, not to mention the master brake cylinder leaking onto the drivers side floor. 

My excitement turned to disappointment when I realised that I would not have the car on the road that weekend.  As it turned out, we didn't have the car on the road until it was restored - some 11 months later.