Hi all,
Hopefully this is in the right section, I'm new around here.
I recently bought a 1985 mustang gt on craigslist for 1000 dollars. There didn't appear to be any major rust-through when I looked at it, the interior was critter-free, and the engine ran after sitting for 15 years, so I decided to take the plunge and buy it. Here's what I have:
While brainstorming a way to re-seat and inflate the tires so I could roll it into my garage, I found some issues:
This was taken from the drivers side wheel well, Needless to say, the shock tower and frame rail are finished. I couldn't get a good look at the other side, but what I could see seems to indicate that it is pretty much in the same shape.
I contacted a shop that specializes in mustangs, and they gave me a ballpark estimate of around $12,000 to fix the frame, which is more than double what I am willing to spend on the car. They also told me I paid about $800 too much for the car, which I absolutely agree with.
I am going back and forth between cutting out all the rust to see exactly what I have to work with, or just scrapping it and wiping my hands clean of the issue. This is my first project car, selected because fox body parts are cheap, and the motor runs, so I thought it didn't need any more than $5000 worth of work and parts to get back on the road. I know I should have looked more carefully at the car, but it was 1000 bucks for a running mustang and I had been dreaming about a project car since before I was in high school. I also know I'm an idiot.
Was the shop's estimate reasonable? Is this car worth trying to get back on the road, and if so, is there any way I could do that safely within my budget of 5000 dollars? It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to run and drive, and I would do anything that doesn't require welding myself.
If I do end up getting rid of it, I'd rather sell it for parts than scrap it. There's a lot of good stuff here, and I'd like to get some of my money back if I can.
Thanks
Hopefully this is in the right section, I'm new around here.
I recently bought a 1985 mustang gt on craigslist for 1000 dollars. There didn't appear to be any major rust-through when I looked at it, the interior was critter-free, and the engine ran after sitting for 15 years, so I decided to take the plunge and buy it. Here's what I have:
While brainstorming a way to re-seat and inflate the tires so I could roll it into my garage, I found some issues:
This was taken from the drivers side wheel well, Needless to say, the shock tower and frame rail are finished. I couldn't get a good look at the other side, but what I could see seems to indicate that it is pretty much in the same shape.
I contacted a shop that specializes in mustangs, and they gave me a ballpark estimate of around $12,000 to fix the frame, which is more than double what I am willing to spend on the car. They also told me I paid about $800 too much for the car, which I absolutely agree with.
I am going back and forth between cutting out all the rust to see exactly what I have to work with, or just scrapping it and wiping my hands clean of the issue. This is my first project car, selected because fox body parts are cheap, and the motor runs, so I thought it didn't need any more than $5000 worth of work and parts to get back on the road. I know I should have looked more carefully at the car, but it was 1000 bucks for a running mustang and I had been dreaming about a project car since before I was in high school. I also know I'm an idiot.
Was the shop's estimate reasonable? Is this car worth trying to get back on the road, and if so, is there any way I could do that safely within my budget of 5000 dollars? It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to run and drive, and I would do anything that doesn't require welding myself.
If I do end up getting rid of it, I'd rather sell it for parts than scrap it. There's a lot of good stuff here, and I'd like to get some of my money back if I can.
Thanks