I recently aquired a 65 dodge d100 stepside, that had always been on my wish list, as a family restoration project. Upon going to inspect it before purchase, my daughter (almost 13 years old) anounced that I needed to get it because it would make a cool first car and she would be driving in the next few years. Well, I didn't agree
but I did buy the truck, and the comments kept rolling in from her about how she NEEDED a first car.... those with children know how this goes... About a week after this we went to a man's house to look at a possible parts truck. The truck was to far gone to be of any real use to us. However, my daughter was with me and the man mentioned he had a couple roadsters in his barn that had been there for 20+ years and a light bulb went off in my head. One was an mg midget who's body was in amazing shape but the engine had thrown a rod and had sat there hidden away for God knows how long. The other was a 69 datsun 2000 roadster. I had never seen one before and was immediately in love. My daughter felt the same way. Her eyes lit up like I would have never expected. The car body was seemingly in really good shape for the age, however the engine, transmission, and rear end had been removed. I knew exactly zero about this car so, on a whim I offered the man $400 for the car. He said it was worth more than that and I could see the defeat in my daughter's face when I told him I wasn't willing to go higher without doing some research. On the way back to the truck the man kept looking at an old corvair van full of parts and said to wait a second. He went to look in it and then came back and asked if he had the rear end would I be willing to do $500 on the car. At that point I figured, why not. Long story short, I purchased one of the coolest cars I have ever seen for my daughter's first car.
After getting it home, I realized I had gotten myself in WAY deeper than I would have ever imagined. Not only did I realize the cost of parts for this thing are astronomically priced, but also, she was in slightly worse shape than I had originally thought. However, my daughter is in love with it and I just can't bring myself to let her down. So, I'm in it for the long haul.
As you can see in the pictures, she is dirty, to say the least
The bumpers are pretty well shot, the drivers side fender is shot but he did provide an extra passenger fender in decent shape that I thought I might be able to swap for a drivers replacement, and there is some metal work needed for rust repair and dent removal. But, overall, this isn't undoable in my mind. Just way more work than I think the car is worth overall. However, she is absurdly excited about the project. So, here we are. Now, I'm on the hunt for basically an entire drive train, would probably be easier to get all new sheet metal out front if it can be had on a 12 year old girls budget
, and God knows what else I will find missing/destroyed.The rear end that the previous owner provided wouldn't spin, so I removed the drums thinking it might be the brakes rusted and sized. As it turned out, the bad news just kept rolling in. After removing the brakes entirely it still wouldn't turn. At that point I removed the drain plug on the center and approximately 2 gallons of muddy/rusty water poured out. I pulled the axels and opened the center to find about 3 inches of rust and debris inside. Began pulling it apart and found the bearings rusted and the gear pack etched from rust at what apparently was the water line. So, apparently a rear end is still on the needs list
Anyways, hi, it appears this will be my new home for the remainder of my natural life because that's about how long I've figured it will take to do this project correctly
and if you guys are religious.... send prayers... as it looks like they may be needed 
