ezysk

I was not sure where to post this, but because the condition of the body is making me think about parting it out, I post it here.

It’s a 1986 Firebird with a 305 carb. so nothing special there.
It is a hard top with no power anything besides power steering.

The front fenders both of them and rear quarters both of them have rust holes right through them at the bottom.
The DS shock tower is shot.
The engine blows some smoke at start up and the carb is running rich.
The driver’s side seat has its typical rip.

The good things with it are:
The hood is solid with no rust, rear hatch the same way.
The doors open and close perfectly so hinges are good.
The doors are clean but are not power widows.
The Trany is good and console is good.
It has the Rally rims on it, came with the car from the factory. I know because I have the original tag that was on the window from the original owner.

What is really amazing is that the floor is still rust-free under the car.

Ultimately the car has some good parts but many bad ones as well. To fix it up right would probably run me at least $600.00 for body panels alone.

It would just suck to send a good unibody to the scrap yard.

What do you think?

Sonymaster20

iTrader: (3)

Can you do the work yourself? If so you may just want to try and patch the rust holes up.. Other then that see if you can get a stud gun and get the metal as straight as you can. It isnt that hard but just time consuming. I would really try to save it, it sounds like its in ok shape.

1989karr

keep it and use it as a dd or grocery getter

ezysk

I recently picked up a 4th Gen for that lowly duty.
Here is some more background:

I own an 85 Trans-Am that has been significantly modified.
I also own an 86 Trans-Am that I am currently restoring.
I picked up a 94 Firebird for DD duty.

So now I am left with an 86 to figure out what to do with.
If I were to fix it up I would sell it, and I can do all the work myself.
The thing is, a base model firebird with nothing special on it, does not sell for very much unless it’s pretty mint.
As I figure I could probably only make like $600.00 bucks on it or less after putting countless hours into restoring it. I could most likely make the same $600.00 by putting far less hours into it, and parting it out.

I hate to see a third gen body go to the wrecker, but for each one that gets destroyed, it simply makes all the remaining more valuable.

Then again, I might just sell it for $300.00 to some teenager that is handy with a wrench.

Any additional suggestions would be appreciated.

1989karr

hmm, if it were me i would find a way to keep it, but it sounds like you have a lot on your hands already.

Some thoughts are that you can keep it and tinker around with it when you get the chance or get a bit frustrated when working on one of the other cars, or sell it to someone like you said, or maybe donate it to a community college or high school....as long as they keep it and use it as a demo/instruction car rather than junking it. If i had one of these to work on back then i would have been thrilled! just a thoght though.

Rich2279

iTrader: (7)

Hopefully some one will buy it and save it from the wrecking yard.

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

it's hard to imagine rust holes in the rear quarter panels without more rust lurking under the rocker panels and into the floorboard. I'd check it over very very well before deciding whether or not to save it from the crusher. If you don't see rust on the floors underneath, pull the carpet and check the inside.... they can rust from the inside out, especially on t-top cars but it can happen on hard tops too. check the rear hatch area well too. I've seen one rot out on the top of the rear fender wells under the plastic panel. Be sure to check the spare tire compartment and the opposite side too, and the trunk well. Having the strut tower rotted out is a huge problem and I've seen several in junkyards where it's weakened to the point of failing. Check the corners where the strut towers meet the firewall; they love to collect dirt and hold water.