My take on the car, make of this what you will. I'm no expert and don't pretend to be.
Structure from front to back:
Inside the engine bay was all together, wing rails there and good, not blown through at bulkhead - original factory seams like an Alfasud owner hasn't seen for decades. The rust on the inner wing (O/S) under and around battery tray mount into corner was more surface rust and not totally rotted out as the photo implies - it may need new metal here but not a lot from what I could see. N/S pretty good, original factory seams. No evidence of smash damage to corners and rails.
Front valence shot. Rails need inspection but if it was bad and weak you'd be seeing through it from the engine bay by now and the car would be sitting pi$$ed. Top suspension arms don't look great though, and I would expect new metal here to the inner wing.
Front wings pretty good really, all tops and front corners are solid without bubbling around lights or the rear corner. Plastic front arch liners are still there. Arches just need local work. The usual rot at bottom corners.
Screen surround bottom were original and had a bubble or two but looking underneath it's good. Roof to A-pillar join has a needs work but it's localised. Screen top to roof good, roof rails ok with some local work.
A, B, C pillars good, top to bottom.
Underneath! Outer sills plated in past in places many years ago, this and the thin tidy(-ish) lip welds indicate original sills and not covers. Inner sills seemed good at door shuts and when given a squeeze, but I didn't lift carpets. Floors rails look ok but will need work no doubt. Floors need replacing - it's a patchwork quilt from years of plated repairs along the length of the tub, but appears confined to the outer edge 6 inches and the expectedly hopeless areas around the jacking points. Inner arch flitches look ok but bound to be rough as the sill ends are all plated. Can't really offer any better with putting it on a ramp, but I've seen 12 year old Fiestas heading this way...
Rear arches saveable, the usual rot at bottom corners.
Inside the boot, all upper and lower corners good. The strut towers are exceptional and solid - Lancia Beta owners would love towers like this. I didn't lift the seat squab but I reckon it would be the same. Rear panel all good as was valence. Rot at lower rear quarters just like any old Cortina would have.
Panels: Bonnet front seams rotted from corners across lip, best replaced. Boot lid lip inner rust but saveable and not blown through to upper skin. Doors as you would expect - tops need local, but window frames look good. Skins shot at bottom, as expected, but door frames as a whole appear saveable. All panels and doors appear to be factory.
Interior: All there, grubby, rear squab seams split but saveable, front seats good, side bolsters ok if lumpy. Nothing seemed broken, not even the glove box lid !
Window glass all good.
Engine fired and ran sweetly and revved up and down very well and quickly, no oil leaks noted, not smoky. Didn't get it properly warm of course, but oil cap clean, didn?t hear any piston slap, knocks or grumbling bearings. Top-end sounded happy. Clutch operated, quiet gearbox bearings at idle, as was release bearing. Hoses, etc made it look like it's had decent servicing the past, but been sitting out in the open in recent years, unused. If it's done more than 53k then it's not much more.
I was pushed for time, so treat this as a quick inspection from someone burned in the past at MOT time
Of course it's a rot box, but I think the car could be saved as the bulkhead area; A/B-pillars and D-post are solid enough. I saw (and owned) worse cars twenty years ago. Floors and sills need replacing but that's straightforward stuff, box sections and strut towers are not.
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