[d.a.]

To all: Today I stumbled upon a very, very original '70 Thunderbird 2-door Landau for sale. It is the proverbial 'little old lady's car' that was recently willed to the niece of an 80 year-old woman who recently passed away. This is a one-owner car that is in very good condition overall.

The high-points are as follows: Red, 2-door Landau (the fast-back-roof), very nicely optioned with buckets-and-console interior, air conditioning, rear defroster, am-fm stereo, cruise control, all power options, and the (perfect) vinyl top. I haven't decoded the vin to see what other options it has. The interior is spot-on perfect, and still smells new. Very, very nice interior. The car runs and drives perfectly... the 429 is at the top of it's game. The car appears to have been serviced regularly, and has been garaged all it's life. The only body damage I could find was a dime-sized nick on the left front fender. The bumpers and all chrome trim are above par.

The low points aren't all that bad... the worst of it is the small amount of rust in the rear quarters and at the bottom rear of the left front fender. This car spent it's life in Beckley, West Virginia, and has obviously seen some salt. The rust is nowhere near terminal, but the left front fender will need to come off to ensure a good fix. The frame has a little surface rust on the rear rails behind the axle, but the floors, rockers, and valences are perfect. The paint is in fairly decent shape considering the age. Unfortunately some low-rent rust repair was done on the rear quarters and front fender at one time, and the repaint was done with very, very cheap paint that has already started to fade (probably alkylid enamel). On the minor, minor side, the ac needs a charge, and there are several electrical glitches (cruise doesn't work, windows barely move, some of the power seat switches don't work... but, the clock works great!). The only flaw to the interior is a small, small tear in the dash pad (1/2"), and the lock for the console doesn't work.

So, let me get to the point... I love the looks of the car, always have. It drives beautifully, and given the mileage, history, and condition, I feel it should be saved at all costs. The present owners have little interest in it beyond getting rid of it as soon as possible, and have even considered selling it to someone who just wants the 429 out of it. The asking price is fair at $4,000, but since I'm the only person who's shown even the slightest interest, I could probably purchase it for much, much less. So, I need someone out there to convince me to buy it. The money's not an issue, but the time to play with it, and more importantly, finding a garage to store it in are the reasons why I'd like to forget about it. But, it's such a sweet looking and driving car... so, can anybody out there convince me to dedicate myself to saving this beautiful automobile?