Sad to hear that - I can only assume that you have held on to this car for 30 years for sentimental reasons.
I can't give you any real advice since I don't know you, but I can tell you about a similar situation that happened to me about 14 years ago.
When I turned 18 I invested in a slightly tatty 67' Triumph Spitfire MkIII that became an integral part of my life to the extend that I would skip lunch a school (later at work) to drive the car with a sandwich in my hand instead of a warm, free meal...
This little car saw a lot of use - from long trips to work after being dug out of the snow some winter mornings, summer nights at the waterfront with various female companions, cruising under the sun with surfboards tuck in under the footwell, cursing and swearing underneath it at my mechanics' workshop (since I had virtually no money, he would let me work on my car at his premises and only charge for parts and the time that he had to spend giving advise). I even took the entire engine apart to replace a piston ring and put it back together with only 3 nuts in surplus to save the money I had accumulated to go skiing i France.
I would save up to replace the soft top, the carpets, have the brightwork re-cromed - after the final touch (a respray in guards red) and more than 6 years of ownership, the car war rear-ended by a big Mercedes and became almost 3 feet shorter and thus a complete write-off. That was sad - and even though I was then in a financial situation to replace the Spit with a TR6 P.I. (injection and 150 bhb rather than the US-version with carbs and only 100 bhp) and have that completely restored, I never felt the same way about it, same was the case with my MGA later on and - to be honest - also with my current Pagoda (bought 2 years ago, but a keeper).
Guess my point is, that if it is salvageable and means a lot to you...
Best wishes
Ulf
