Worth buying and fixing?

HamiltonSeth · 01-16-2011, 07:31 AM

Hello everyone,
First time post here. I have been hunting down the right fixer-upper sc for about 6 months now. The other day I ran into the car below. It is a 1980 sc with 42k since motor and tranny rebuild. A daughter inherited it from her father ant though it would be a great idea to smash up the front. The lady really doesnt know much about the car, and obviously had no idea how to drive it. I think I could walk away with title in hand at $5,000. What is appealing about the car is that it allows me to replace the hood, fenders, and bumper with fiberglass. I had always planned on replacing at least he front bumper with an rs style. The painting is not much of an issue to me as I would have ended up painting most any of the cars I have been looking at. I cant fire the car up right now because the battery was knocked loose. I will try soon. The real questions are,: What do you think this car is worth, What can I expect to fix? How much would it cost to fix? Keep in mind, I will be wrenching the car myself, and my brother owns a hotrod fabrication shop. I will have plenty of help. Just want to get the car running. I was thinking I could do that with $3,000 in repairs. What do you think? Please keep in mind, I enjoy the work and have a tight budget. Just looking to get the cost estimate to get the car on the road. From measurements I took the frame seems straight. Potential issues found would be the wiring near battery and anything that lies underneath it. Of course I will need a PPI.
Thank you all for you help. Much appreciated.
-An underpaid newlywed with a Porsche obsession.

Thanks again

Danny_Ocean · 07:39 AM

$5k is a good deal. $4.5k is a better deal. If you do the work yourself, using fiberglas parts, I think you'll be in it for another $4k. You'll then have a $7k 911.

P.S. - Looks like you're in Calif. Where's the smog equip?

ratpiper71T · 01-16-2011, 07:48 AM

Hard to tell the full extent of damage(ie.- frame/unibody) but that car took a hard hit. I would at least have a Porsche familiar bodyshop take a look or do a PPI on it first. When the front is that crunched up, it may have pushed the rest of it out of whack,- maybe too far out of whack to fix within economic
Reason.

Laneco · 08:02 AM

Will the title be clean when you get the car (e.g. is her insurance company paying it off)? That does make a difference.

You can part this car out for $5K, especially if there are receipts for the engine and transmission work.

I would NOT use fiberglass on the front of this car. You can put used metal on it for less time and money than new fiberglass.

Next, you are wrong about the structural damage. There is visible setback in the drivers side wheel which tells me the structure ahead of the strut tower is bent, probably kinked. Look real hard at the tub between the strut tower and passenger compartment and the floor of the trunk. Further, the pictures aren't entirely clear but there appears to be significant camber change on the right side that indicates the side energy in this "front" impact was pretty severe. When you take this down, you are going to find the front end has moved over to the right (as well as the left front moving toward the rear). This is wholly repairable but there are actually three layers of metal spotwelded together at the front of these cars (maybe even four in a few spots) and it's pretty heavy guage metal, not like fixing a honda. The proper fix is involved, but completely do-able. Your battery and the a/c blower motor plus a condenser are also probably hammered besides the obvious hood, fenders, lights, bumper, bumper shocks, smile, bellows, gas tank/front suspension pan, and valance. I would absolutely COUNT on this tub needing alot of pullling to get the front back to where it needs to be. Unless you have a unibody alignment machine, this car is not a fixer for you - at least not fixed "right."

So to your question, is it worth it? Well, I'm a sucker for these and know I can get most of the metal pretty darn cheap so I would say a YES at around 4K. At that price, I could either part it out or fix it with my free labor (or should I say my husband's free labor - LOL).

angela

HamiltonSeth · 01-16-2011, 07:48 AM

Yes, I am in Southern California. What smog equipment are you not seeing? How do you come up with $4k in fiberglass? From what I found online, I could get both side front fenders, hood, and bumper for $2k. What else would be needed?
Thanks for the help,
Seth

Drisump · Drisump's Garage

The engine and tranny alone should be worth $5000. I have no idea what an SC with a record of having a serious front end collision would be worth. I have a tendency to think that this car may appeal to a guy who's actually going to keep it, as opposed to repair and flip. If you're looking for a project to repair and flip, you may want to stick with vehicles with no record of accidents, since you take a big hit in value. I would be concerned about the trueness of the car after that, I personally would get the damage appraised by a very capable shop before putting any real money into it. Good luck

HamiltonSeth · 01-16-2011, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laneco

Will the title be clean when you get the car (e.g. is her insurance company paying it off)? That does make a difference.

You can part this car out for $5K, especially if there are receipts for the engine and transmission work.

I would NOT use fiberglass on the front of this car. You can put used metal on it for less time and money than new fiberglass.

Next, you are wrong about the structural damage. There is visible setback in the drivers side wheel which tells me the structure ahead of the strut tower is bent, probably kinked. Look real hard at the tub between the strut tower and passenger compartment and the floor of the trunk. Further, the pictures aren't entirely clear but there appears to be significant camber change on the right side that indicates the side energy in this "front" impact was pretty severe. When you take this down, you are going to find the front end has moved over too the right (as well as the left front moving toward the rear). This is wholly repairable but there are actually three layers of metal spotwelded together at the front of these cars (maybe even four in a few spots) and it's pretty heavy guage metal, not like fixing a honda. The proper fix is involved, but completely do-able. Your battery and the a/c blower motor plus a condenser are also probably hammered besides the obvious hood, fenders, lights, bumper, bumper shocks, smile, bellows, gas tank/front suspension pan, and valance.

So to your question, is it worth it? Well, I'm a sucker for these and know I can get most of the metal pretty darn cheap so I would say a YES at around 4K.

angela

I hope I am not wrong about this, but when I inspected the car I measured the distance from the back of both front wheels to the fender, and to the door. They were both even distances. The wheels were turned a bit to the left in these photos, making it appear as if it is tucked back. Again, I am no expert but that is what I found. I could be wrong though. What kind of time or cost would fixing that be, if it were bent?

GaryR · GaryR's Garage

Unless you have a friend with a frame machine it won't take long at all to be upside down fixing this car. For parts alone you will do well with $4K, use the proceeds toward a driveable car.

IROC · IROC's Garage

Luckily, even for $5k, you could part this out and make money. Having said that, I think it is going to take quite a bit more than $3k to get it on the road. There are many things that will nickel and dime you to death. BTDT. That engine also appears to have had a rough life in the past 42k miles. Make sure the rebuild wasn't by a certain company that happens to be in the Downey area...

LakeCleElum · 01-16-2011, 08:18 AM

Good donor car for someone with a long hood that has a tired engine.....For what you'd have in it to put it on the road,you could buy a good used 911 that has never been wrecked and save yourself a lot of trouble.....

Scooter · 01-16-2011, 08:28 AM

Find out who did the motor rebuild before offering anything. If it is Motor Meister, then run away.

GaryR · GaryR's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scooter

Find out who did the motor rebuild before offering anything. If it is Motor Meister, then run away.

It says 42K since engine rebuild, if it wasn't being towed for 41K of those miles it can't be a MM rebuild..

tt_targa · 01-16-2011, 08:33 AM

I would never buy a coupe for the street in CA without AC. This might be something to think about.

G450X · G450X's Garage

around $1,500.00 for a proper chassis repair (Cellette rack). The tub is probably repairable, but be sure to price this into the restoration estimate.

HamiltonSeth · 01-16-2011, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tt_targa

I would never buy a coupe for the street in CA without AC. This might be something to think about.

Oh...shows how new I am to the porsche thing. I didnt notice the ac. So it's not there at all?

GaryR · GaryR's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by HamiltonSeth

Oh...shows how new I am to the porsche thing. I didnt notice the ac. So it's not there at all?

No compressor or bracket, no condenser in the hood, most likely never had it.

Danny_Ocean · 01-16-2011, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HamiltonSeth

Yes, I am in Southern California. What smog equipment are you not seeing? How do you come up with $4k in fiberglass? From what I found online, I could get both side front fenders, hood, and bumper for $2k. What else would be needed?
Thanks for the help,
Seth

El Cajon? Escondido? Linda Vista? Looks like things haven't changed much in the 10 yrs. since I've been there (except the price of homes).

Does the car have a current smog certificate? I believe a 1980 SC requires a smog pump.

I didn't say "$4k in fiberglass", I said after buying the fiberglass (and installing/repairing), you'll be into the car for another $4k.

Tsunamiboy · Tsunamiboy's Garage

Even after repair, if you have the pros repaint the the whole car right you are looking at $4,000 and up. Just repainting the front may look obvious that it has been wrecked. Maybe a rat-rod or auto-X toy would relieve you of a buffed finished product.

R_Builder · 10:39 AM

No smog pump on a USA '80SC car. It should have the first gen O2 sensor setup...

Cars don't "part" themselves out, so while the money may be there, make sure the TIME is, too!!

And BTW, that is a pretty good lookin' crunch... I'd say the latch panel took a pretty good beating.

john walker's workshop · 01-16-2011, 10:41 AM

non stock color, tan interior, salvage title, front tub kinked, etc. won't be worth much when done and you'll be over it's value real quick doing the body work, and then there's the rest of the repairs it will probably need. parts car if you're smart and can get it for less than $5K. no front end stuff, so after selling the engine and trans for maybe $5K, what's left for profit after all the time spent tearing it down? wheels, suspension, misc?