1988 Mercury Cougar Blue Max

That's a nice little gem for someone looking for 'grandpa's low mileage car'. I'd maybe get her a tune up, chuck some fuel injector cleaner, check brakes/rotors/change air filter, replace tires if needed, save your receipts and list it for sale. Someone buying a car from the 80s wont care much for the body unless its a collectors car. If the inside looks great and its low mileage, you can make some decent money just selling as is. You will probably spend $1000-3000 on paint and body work that won't return to you once you sell.

How much time and money you got ? How much rust/rot is there underneath ? ? is the frame damaged from the accident ? For the price of a new car you could have it in nice shape , I'd rather have the cougar , it can't be hacked into . Plan on tearing it apart ? , I'd at least drop the gas tank and clean that out , that could be the decision maker .