1980 Civic Burns Oil After Adding

I suppose it's only fair that I show you guys some pictures, so you can see what you've been giving me advice on. I haven't taken very many pictures of this project, but you can still get a general idea Here are a few pics for your amusement.

The car as it looked when I acquired it. The worst of the rust is of course hidden out of sight. The interior, before. Lots of material had faded or torn from sitting in the sun. Here's what was hiding under the carpet, after I had chipped away the loose stuff. The floor repairs well underway. Afterwards the floor was primed/painted/and coated with gravel guard. Rebuilding the right rear fender, since it couldn't be replaced. This is the only way I could figure out how to do it. Once the welding was done I built it up with figerglass and a Bondo-like filler, and I will eventually sand it to the shape of a fender before painting. Working on the seat upholstery. For the drivers seat (left), I replaced the vinyl at the sides but left the original fabric in the center, since it was still pretty good and I couldn't find anything to replace it with. For the passengers seat, I instead only repaired the existing material rather than replace any of it, to keep it as original as possible (and to save some work). A view of the typical working conditions this time of year. I've since shoveled this out and could now drive the car out if it were ready. All that remains is to weld the exhaust system, find and correct the cause of the burning oil, do a paint job, and a few minor things like fix the hood release. I'd like to see the car completed by spring but with my health problems I can't guarantee anything. At least if I don't get to complete it, I won't be leaving much work for the next guy.

It's a nice little car. I like the red interior. Don't like the snow. Does it have independent rear suspension?

"Chris F." wrote in news:4b56098c$0$12443$ snipped-for-privacy@news.aliant.net:

You need to start reading restoration magazines, like Britain's Practical Classics, or like Hemming's Classic Car. They cover restoration projects that involve metalwork, which gives you a really good idea of what's needed to form such complex shapes as a wheel well lip. Forming such a thing is NOT easy OR quick.

Yow! You must be /way/ out east. Here in Ontario we've had a big melt-back, with maybe two or three inches total remaining.

Yes it does actually. I think all Civic 3-doors did, but the wagon version always had a rear axle.