Hello to all!

I have owned my '72 for over 10 years, but it sadly, it sat for around 5 years after I moved to Nashville, TN. So, now I've finally gotten the car up here and am going to get it running again and fix her up! I'll post some pics soon so you can all get an idea of what I am up against. There is some surface rust and one or two areas that will need some bigger repairs (jack areas mostly).

I have an NPR big bore kit in there that worked great for a while, as well as 'new' (6 years ago) lifters / cam. They're probably still in good shape as long as nothing is seized up in there... the engine still turns over so I think it all 'moves'

The starter is frozen up for sure, though. I put a new battery on there and when I turn the key -- {click} -- nothing. I haven't tried 'jumping' the terminals on the starter yet, though... maybe something for this weekend.

First couple of questions:

One of my spark plug threads in the head is stripped (#4 I think). Is there an inexpensive but decent place to get re-done heads with an exchange? Or maybe a place to send the heads and get them cleaned/checked/rebuilt? If there is somewhere good within a respectable range of Nashville, I'll drive the heads over there...

Does anyone know of a good mechanic for the 914s in the Nashville Area?

How about body shops? I can buy all the parts I need for the rust repair, but I don't have the tools or know-how to do much more than clean / por-15.

Are there any 'junkyards' around that will let me go pull parts? In St. Petersburg (previous home of the car in FL) I had two places I could go back in the day... I loved that... the Ebay thing is nice, but I don't get to 'touch' the parts...

What are some good internet sites / local places to go for parts?

Any other tips/ tricks? The goal of the car is to get it looking nice and being somewhat reliable . I'll drive it once / twice a week to work and on weekends during nice weather. It's not going to be a 'show' car, so original equipment isn't an issue, but I do want it to look nice. And even though I'll check the weather before driving it, i would like to get it to keep the passenger compartment somewhat dry in an unexpected rain-event.

Thanks all! And I look forward to trying to contribute to the list!

-Tom

ps - found a couple of pictures from about a year or so ago... since nothing's been done to the car, the only difference is a little more surface rust...

couple of more pics...

the rear trunk looks bad, but that'll clean up pretty quickly... most of the rusty bits are on the edges. Is that kind of thing worth fixing or do I look for a rust free trunk lid?

I can get some better pics of anything to assist in a diagnosis...

Hi and welcome.....sorry don't have any answers except for the trunk lid one. It usually is cheaper to get a better lid than have a shop rebuild a rusty one.

Perry K is in the Tenn area, not sure how close to you. He has some parts and could help you.
Welcome to the BBS

Geoff