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I've been looking for a 164 for a long time. These things are hard to find down in the South. I finally came across this 1975 model nearby. It the engine runs well. It belonged to an older lady who bought it used in 1980 and drove it very little until 2003 when it was parked. Unfortunately it is an automatic, however, the lady had it rebuilt right before she quit driving it.
It sat under a tree for five years and started rusting from the top down rather than the usual from the bottom up like you would typically see. The brown stuff on the hood and top is not rust but hardened tree sap.
The windshield was packed with wet rotten leaves causing rust spots around the trim clips. It has only rusted through on the bottom corners.
The cowl vent was clogged up causing water to enter the cabin through the heater box and rusting the floorpans. Its worse than it looks. There are only a couple of holes, most is just surface rust.
There are a few rust spots here and there where leaves had piled up.
The doors, rocker panels, frame rails, and everything else underneath is good and solid. I plan to strip it all down, repair the rust and repaint it. I am going to weld up patches anywhere the rust is broken through or structural.
How should I treat the small pitted places that still have good metal underneath? I was thinking of wire brushing, sandblasting, and filling. What type of filler would be best? I've heard of fiberglass filler (everglass?) that is waterproof. What do you think?
The Engine is Cool! It looks like it will be fun to work on. Most of the fittings look like off the shelf Hardware Store/McMaster Carr items. The vacuum pump and large accumulator for the brakes seems strange. Why did they do this? The 240s don't have this stuff. Would the booster work fine without the pump?
Thanks,
Preston
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