The '69 was purchased locally in 1993. When I saw it, I thought it would be a good car for my daughter, 13 at the time. It was not in the best shape, but not bad. I figured some paint and some seat covers would be adaquate. It was faded red, with original carpet and interior. Dash was cracked badly. It was painted white in 1994, and I installed a dash cap. I also installed a top from JC Whitney. The mechanicals of this car were well cared for, and didn't require too much to begin with, everything worked and in good shape. My daughter wrecked it in 1996 or so, ran into a Buick tank and mangled the original 1600 front end. I had decided to scrape it out, when I heard about a 70 2000 in a juck yard in El Paso, TX. Turned out it had no running gear, but the front end was really good. I bought it home and used the sheet metal from it to repair the 69. The grill on it is from that car. I added the teardrop side lights when I got tired of the holes in the fenders. The car was painted silver at that time. I never really intended to rebuild the car. Really, I didn't. I figured to let it go when my daughter graduated high school. However, I needed something to relieve stress from work and found out that coming home and tearing down a car worked really well. I could cuss and tear things down without anyone bothering me. It really helped me. My older son and daughter helped out also. I had the exterior done locally this summer. I was pleased with the work, although it took a lot longer than it should have. The seats are from a 91 Miata. I plan on having them recovered some time. Steering wheel is original. I made a console for the cd/radio. The motor is original, transmission is a replacement, with the original waiting to be rebuilt. I have taken two major trips in this car, one to Solvang in 2000 and one to Colorado in 2002. The California trip was great, no problems at all, except for the heat in Arizona. Had to have the soft top up to prevent getting sunburned. The Colorado trip was good, until the starter died in Salida. I had intended meeting up with the WYCROC group when they drove up Long's Peak. My wife had gone up earlier to visit her parents and met me in Salida. We used our minivan for the rest of the trip and then pulled the datsun back to Carlsbad.