OK, time to come out of the closet!

I'm the new owner and the dowager is here, in Vermont, and I'm exploring it and staring at it trying to figure out what to do with her. Considering she's been in New England since 1972, she's in remarkably good shape for her age. (Wait, did I lift that line from a sleazy eBay ad?). My '59 544, which came from California in 1980 is in much worse condition. Anyway, the '53's floor seems solid, though there's a few rust through problems- front fenders below the bumpers, some rear fender attachment points, one small spot in the trunk, plus the rocker panels are gonzo. Undoubtedly, there's a lot more rust lurking, but the body's probably good enough to get a VT inspection sticker. Window fuzzies need replacing but the rubber parts all seem to be in good condition. The interior needs a little work, but the dash is in great original shape- 15,000 (or is that 115,000?) kilometers showing on the odometer. I suspect the latter, since the ignition switch has been replaced. Known mechanical probs so far: no brakes and seized engine. It's remarkably complete, though. It's missing the grab straps, for lack of a better phrase- those loops that help rear seat passengers get in and out, the halves of the seat/shoulder belts that mount to the B pillars, and most of the air cleaner.

So, what to do now? The body obviously needs some work, and in addition, here are the options I'm considering:

Option 1: Getting it running and puttering around in it as is. It wouldn't take much to get it on the road, but it will be slow, slow, slow. Imagine a 40hp VW beetle with 3 passengers. Cameron Price reports that his '53 has problems keeping up with traffic on a 4 lane highway with hills (this is with a B4B engine) so mine will be as slow, or slower, depending on engine condition.

Option 2:
Updating to a daily/occasional driver ala Virgil II or Gert's PV- a B20 with goodies, 5speed/OD, beefier rear axle, better brakes & 12 volts. A fair amount of time and fun would be involved to get it on the road, but it's doable, with a car that's more fun to drive. Original drivetrain parts could go to someone who's doing a restoration.

Option 3: Custom sectioned and lowered body with windshield /firewall/dash moved rearward 24" with 5.0 Mustang drivetrain, using the '59 544 as a donor car. Moving the firewall and engine back allows lots of room for the engine (and maintenance), could result in 50/50 front/rear weight distribution with improved handling. (A poor man's Bugatti?) This idea was inspired by the V8 discussions on this board of last fall, some correspondence with Bob Melville (the owner of the Canadian V8 544) and a desire to expand my sheet metal and 3D CAD skills in a usefull way. (I have in-process Photochopped pix of the resulting beast, but haven't learned how to post them here yet. Perhaps I need to expand my online skills, too :-). This would be a several year part time project, at the least.

As you can probably tell, I'd really like to pursue the all out hotrod, but after getting the car home and looking at it, am VERY reluctant to cut it up. There's just too much history involved, and her condition is too good. It'd be a bit like insulting my mother.

For now I'll just stare at it some more- there's a Diamond T pickup to finish, a barn slab to pour, a lift to install, a house to start and a living to make. Minor things. So I have time to gain more clarity.

Thanks to Bob Silvius for a thorough inspection and report before the auction closed. He saved me an extra trip to Portland and back. Thanks too to Cameron Price for his article in Rolling magazine on his '53 444 and to Dennis Flynn for his just-do-it attitude. And thanks to everyone on the board- you've inspired me to get back into Volvos. Did I leave anyone out? Mom?

neil