Our Gremlin Projects

["Karla Dick" <luvdmouse57@xxxx>]

Since, the group is seeing some action again, I thought I'd add how our projects are going.

We are now the owners of 6 Gremlins. The Gremlin that got totaled last summer is #1. It was actually our second Gremlin. Norbert reconditioned it to look like his first Gremlin that the insurance company took ownership of after I totaled it in '79 but we're not counting it since we no longer haveit. We bought #1 back from insurance company because the interior, engine, hood, bumpers & grill were still good. The engine is the only 8 cylinder out of all the Gremlins, so he plans to put the engine into his new Gremlin.

The second Gremlin we purchased to rebuild for me from a woman near Topeka.She didn't want to see it parted out.  

The third was purchased from a salvage yard. Norbert planned to use it forthe body for his new Gremlin but after buying & putting it on the lift to do some work to it, he found that the frame was almost rusted in half. It was very disappointing after paying $300 for the car. This is the most we've paid for any of the cars. There are some parts on it that we can use but not the body.  

We then purchased #4 & 5 Gremlins from an individual. There isn't much that we can use on one of them but it was a deal where you take both or none at all. We paid $200 for both of them. Norbert was going to use one of them for his body but it was going to take a LOT of body work to get it in newcondition. Norbert wasn't sure if he was up to it or not.

Then we lucked into a real deal! Our son knew someone who asked Randy to do some research & find out what a Gremlin body was worth on ebay. He has asandblasting business & was going to use a special glass bead made for cars to get it ready to paint & try to sell it for a profit. When he found out that we were interested in the body, he told us where to find it. We went to talk to the guy & looked the car over. It has a small amount of rust on the doors and some hail dings but otherwise is in good condition. He gave us a price of $50! Needless to say we bought it.

Norbert has stripped the car, sanded it down & has starting on on the body work. He's been experimenting with putties. His brother swears by an epoxy putty but Norbert said that it gets hard too fast. He has had more luck with one that stays workable until it's exposed to sunlight. He used the same stuff on the Gremlin that got totaled last summer & even after the accident, it held tight. Any comments on body putty or tips on doing body workare appreciated. 

Karla °o°



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