Hello All,
First post here. Used to be pretty heavily into the fox body scene about 12 years ago, but took a break and sold everything I had.
Anyway, I'm at a point in life where I have the time and resources to build something nice, got the green light from the wife, and started looking around. I quickly came to find that some things had certainly changed in the fox body world over the past 12 years. Prices about doubled, rust tripled, and most everything is pretty beat up at this point.
Fought through a couple weeks of rotten rollers on craigslist/facebook for 1000-1500 and started thinking maybe my budget needed to go up, but it was hard to justify.
Anyway, I found an 83 coupe roller for sale, asking $450. Was told it was rust free and barn kept. Went to look at it yesterday. Definitely not barn kept, but I believe it had been inside for at least a few years. Right front frame rail rotted at the strut tower. Floors are junk, trunk floor has a few pin-holes, so I'm expecting they are about to disintegrate. No hood, no trunk lid. Rockers are bubbling. Car has an aftermarket sunroof installed (no glass anymore), so it's just a big hole that won't accept a factory sunroof. When the sunroof install was done, they cut out the roof support. Interior is somewhat there. Seats are shot, but the frames are there. Most of the interior plastic is present, but most of the dash is long gone. Missing a wheel, which doesn't matter too much aside from making the car a pain in the ass to move.
So, asking $450 for an 83 coupe that needs:
Complete floor pan up front
Patchwork or complete floor in the trunk
Hood (which would be needed on whatever project I started)
Trunk lid
A roof
Right front frame rail and minor strut tower repair
Miscellaneous rust repair on rockers/doors, etc.
The big ticket items for me are the frame rail and roof. I'm capable of making the repairs, but I don't know if I can justify the asking price for a car that needs so much.
The seller is fairly firm on price, he thinks he has a gem. I disagree, but I do like the car. I think I could get the car for $400, and I'm probably looking at a few hundred for a tow. So like $600 deep into this just to start.
I like that it's 4 eye, I really like that it's a notch, but I'm fairly worried about getting parts for this year. Interior especially.
Honest opinions, would you guys spend $400-$450 on an 83 that needed so much? I like the car enough to be looking for some reassurance that in today's market it's not a bad deal, but ultimately I don't wanna throw stupid money at something that's not worth it. I don't HAVE to have this car.
Thanks in advance,
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