The project
The owner's only request was reliability and correct road manners, not a cosmetic restoration — the car's original paint had softened with age but was not going to be touched. The flat-four was pulled and fully rebuilt with correct-type pistons and cylinders, the transaxle rebuilt with era-correct synchro rings, and the front torsion-bar suspension reset to factory ride-height specification after decades of sag. No bodywork or paint was scheduled or performed.
Return-to-owner mileage confirmed proper oil pressure, correct idle behavior, and torsion-bar ride height within factory tolerance after a 200-mile shakedown.