The Old Green Thing is an old friend.
From the outside, she appears as a more-or-less stock '73 2000, with a black vinyl roof. She came with the "Decor Group" interior. My favorite option is the factory sunroof, which cools the interior down very quickly on hot days.
My dad bought her used in 1977. She was a bit of a basket case at that point. She needed some engine work, and the dealer-installed air conditioning didn't work. He installed the capacitive discharge ignition system that she still retains. He drove her as a commuter car in North Jersey for about five years, before selling it to me.
I made a number of changes. I installed the optional "full instrumentation" dash. I also made the wooden console cover, after the original was stolen.
I've had a lot of good years with the Green Thing, and she's still a lot of fun. Although the engine had to be rebuilt, (after 170,000 miles) she's rarely let me down in a mechanical sense.
The engine rebuild included a larger 40mm Weber carburetor and a hot cam. She's pretty quick now!
Unfortunately, all the years of commuting took a toll, and she became seriously rusty. Two restorations did not fix the structural problems. Still, she drove under her own power to each of her reconstructions.
She's undergoing a third restoration (to fix major structural problems) at this point, but I expect to have her back on the road in 2000.
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