Thank you all for your help. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.
I guess I should have provided a bit of my background: In the last ten years I've worked on a series of Studebakers. My dad and I restored his 63 Avanti while I was in high school, then I built up a 62 Lark with superharged 289 and 4-speed, disc brakes and posi-trac rear end. After I sold that I purchased a 63 Avanti of my own and returned it to the road in time for a 2200-mile road trip across the country.
I know a bit about restoring classics and have dumped a lot of money into them - I lost a lot of money on that Lark and still remember the pains I went through in selling it. But this 403 is a completely different animal. Its rarity means finding parts will be next to impossible, I'm sure, and otherwise prohibitively expensive.
If it lands in my hands, I will do all of the mechanical work myself, but aluminum body repairs, paint, and any upholstery work will necessarily be outsourced.
I guess my next bug question is what is the best relevant literature available? Is there an owner's manual, restoration guide, etc. that I should consult? In otter words, for those of you who have done extensive work on your cars, how did you do it?
Thank you all again for your help.
And last but not least, if I don't end up with the car, I'd like to help someone on the forum acquire the car. It should not stay with the current owner - I'm afraid of what will become of it.
Peter
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