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Hello, I'm new here. We had a family member give us this "barn fresh" 75 Vega Notchback, and we would like to restore it, but we dug into the car and the floor pans in front are rotted out from the inside due to mouse infestation, and the differential is shifted off to the right. Instrumentation is missing from the dash, no big deal, crack in the upper corner of the windshield, and hole in the hood from someone who had a scoop or something there. The rear differential mounting brackets are bent, and I haven't been able to find much at all online about the notchback, just a lot of hatchback cars. I am wondering if it would be better to sell this car as a rolling chassis for race enthusiasts or restore it, but I don't know how to fix the backend. The body looks ok but there is some evidence of bodyfill. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Sorry but it needs to be scrapped. These cars have very low resale values.

It would be suitable for a race car. If it has a great deal of sentimental value it may be worth fixing for you but the extensive rust is a real hindrance to building a nice street car. Likely the rear control arm mounts are torn loose or rusted loose is why the rear is shifted. There is some nice parts on the car you can sell or use to fix another if you decide to find a better body to build. To get a good idea of the work involved to fix a rusty car, check the project journal section for 80 Pontiac Sunbird project phoenix. It's a fairly rare car in the hands of a dedicated individual who has endless drive to save it. Looking at his work should help you decide if you are willing to go all the way. The alternative is build a tube chassis, cut the floor and firewall out and set the shell on it for a race car. Good luck!

Or set it on an S10 frame ( since they make kits to shorten or lengthen wheelbase ) and go from there.

Project "The Bad Sunbird" on the Projects subforum explains what is evolved in swapping out the whole floor pan.

Doug in P.R.

The rear offset may simply be where someone removed the lower arms, or as someone else mentioned they may be rusted out. I've seen rougher cars brought back, but it takes time. If you can weld, you can probably fix the floor. Looks like the spare tire well is good. Finding a windshield may take a little time. No rust in the quarters, or around the windshield? The rear arms are easy to find.