And the forests will echo with laughter...

 I went back into the garage to clean up a bit...and took some more photos of what I have to work with-just to see if there's anything I missed.

This is the left side of the engine cover/cargo floor.  It is flat and straight.

 This is the right side with the two large creases in the floor.

 The left side cargo area wall.  Straight as it should be.

Right side of the cargo area wall-wavy and warped.  The outer panel is fine-the roof is fine.  No idea how this would have been warped like this without affecting something else in the structure.

 Left rear under seat area/kick panel.

 Note heater box rust.  I'm doubtful that they'll come off the engine in one piece at this point.  The back ends are nice but the fronts are completely rusted through.

Under back seat area/cargo floor.

The rust is far more of a problem than it appears in this photo.

 At least one wheel is damaged-bound to be the case when everything else on the car is dented.

 Original carbs-probably never rebuilt.

 Original clamps on the rubber connector for the heater elbows.

 Interesting idea to extend a spring that's too short.  Or maybe to make it easier to remove

 Left side shock tower.

 Rear apron replacement-not welded back together.  I can get my fingers in the gap.

 Duct tape on the heater boxes.

 Old ass worm clamp.

No chance this is coming off intact.

 Rear apron welded back on the car-choppy welds.

 Front right bumper bracket.  Rusted through.

 Left bumper bracket-rusted completely through.  Not sure how it'd hold a bumper in this condition.

 The warped left side of the apron.  The other side is the one with the crease.

The rust is under the inner fender panel.  Only a matter of time before it eats everything else because there's no real way to get to it without a can opener.

My new 'favorite' place on the car.  The A pillar/front left rocker.  This whole area would have to be rebuilt.


I deleted my alerts on The Samba tonight.  I'm building a pile of sub-par parts to either sell, give away or scrap in the next two days (for trash day).

I'm either going to prepare to move on or make progress-both start the same way.

And now I'm going to rant. 

I always wondered what it was like when someone made a serious financial fuck up...now I don't have to wonder anymore.  I can think of about fifty things I would have rather done with that money that would have been more productive.  I'd have gotten more out of donating it to an organization that provides therapy to horses suffering from premature ejaculation than the rusty pile of scrap metal that is in the garage.  This 'barn find' car is in far worse shape than the car I bought that sat in a back yard in Indiana for five years.

All I know is that every turn I've taken has lead me to a brick wall and I'm getting pretty fucking tired of staring at bricks and digging out mortar to try to find something else on the other side.

It’s a trick. There is no other side.  It's just more fucking bricks.

/rant

Background Tune: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zepplin