The car was reliable all season, even making the trip to Ocean City, MD and back. While we were there it was our only means of transportation. It got me back and forth to several other shows, and did a small parking lot “acceleration demo” for another car enthusiast. With that said, my only real complaints are a small squeak in the front suspension, the front bumper isn’t perfectly aligned, and there is a tiny dent on the right hand side front fender from some PVC tubing that fell over in my garage. None of these “issues” are very high priority, and I could probably get by without doing any winter projects beyond normal maintenance.

My ideas for potential winter projects are:

• Rebuild front suspension. This isn’t really necessary as everything is tight and the alignment is still good. Seems like overkill to fix a small squeak. However it would give me the opportunity to add some upgrades if I choose to, such as solid strut rods, roller bearing idler arm, roller bearing lower control arms, and possibly a Monte Carlo bar.
• Remove and align the front bumper. Most people don’t even notice the small misalignment of the bumper, but it still bothers me. A fair bit of work for a small reward. But I probably will still fix it.
• Paint less dent repair for the passenger side fender. I would have to hire somebody to do this for me.
• Polish/buff the exterior paint. I may attempt to do this myself as I have the equipment. But I may choose to hire a professional if I’m not satisfied with the results of my attempt. If I hire a professional detailer I will have them do the interior and exterior, as well as the engine compartment.
• Replace the exhaust tips with larger diameter ones. The current exhaust necks down from 2.25 inches to 1.875 inches just before the exhaust tips. I could modify the existing exhaust to keep a consistent 2.25 inch diameter all the way to the exhaust tips.

I’m not certain how much of this list I will tackle this winter. I don’t need to do any of these items. It all depends on my motivation and more importantly on my health.