Well Whip, my claiming to be an old bodyman would be an insult to the trade. I practised wise division of labor. I let the good bodymen do the repairs, I just made sure they had plenty to work on/with and their checks didn't bounce.

You're right that almost anything can be saved in the right hands. But that old trade off of "is it worth it" keeps getting in the way. The number of hours it would take to save that Pontiac, from a commercial sense, would exceed it's market value in no time, especially since it was a run of the mill Tempest LeMans...........apparently a nice one, but still not "special/desireable". There are guys with considerable talent who make massaging sheet metal an art form.