Well, that is a real bummer, Bret, but as they say...nothing lasts forever. Take solace (and pride) in the fact that an American car of this vintage would have turned to rust under those conditions 25 years ago.

After 1.5 million miles, I think it would be a shame to let her die, though. How bad is the body, really? Sounds you have more than just surface rust to contend with here. $2,500 canadian is about $2,100.00 US. Not an insane price when you consider all of the labor involved. I understand that there would still be a lot of work to do after the body is primed, but it seems to me (knowing little about this) that most of the labor is included in that one step.

In the end, your son may be right: 'move' all of the good bits and pieces to the new chassis. But that is likely to be expensive as well.

Six of one, half a dozen of another. I guess the question remains: How bad *is* the existing body, chassis?