Exactly - you need to enjoy repairing Omegas if they're going to last. I very much think of it as another hobby for me, and at least in my senior years it means I keep sort of active crawling around under the old girl getting covered in crap.
I've had an CD estate on the driveway going nowhere for the last couple of years and decided a couple of weeks ago to do something with it. Keeping it for spares was an original thought, but with the other estate CDX as a weekly drive and in tip top condition, I got the urge to go through it and make sure things weren't too far gone. New wishbones & steering rodsfitted last week. So far the front wheel arches & sills are all tidy now and protected inside and out, the front end behind the bumper is all sorted and protected....... I haven't even got to the rear arches and back end, so there's still a hell of a lot of work to do, not to mention cambelt, cam covers, handbrake cable, drilling out broken rusty screws, etc.
Sounds like hard work? It's enjoyable and feel as though I'm saving something in a throw-away society. Financially the car owes me nothing, and I'll easily get the budget down under £300 for a reliable winter runner.