You did sink quite a bit into a car that has rust, it'd have been better to find one cheap with no rust and spend on that, My 80 is rusty, was free, and I'm in it about $1k in mechanicals and DMV costs and going on 1.5 yrs and 10K miles on it now. Everything I spent on mechanicals can (and will be) reused in the 82, which is not rusty at all, and I paid $100 for that one. I'm only spending what's needed to keep the good things (like the engine) in good repair on the rustball, cosmetics I could care less about on it (maroon fender and white spray paint blotches on a puke beige car) since it's basically a driveable parts car/cheap commuter (which will soon be retired) for the 82. The 82 needs very little & will be restored. They're easy enough to find when you look around. 'Nuff said there....

If you think the body moved as you say, you will see it in the hood and fender lines/gaps. These are unibody cars, so if the body bends somewhere, things around the area won't fit right like they used to.

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Chris
64 190D R.I.P.
80 240D W/617 engine -for sale
82 240D -for sale