Ok, so I've always wanted to buy an 80s muscle car (Foxbody, IROC, Monte Carlo, etc) and just build a comfy cruiser with enough power to keep me excited. Maybe like 300 whp? Now my background... I'm a 17 year old who's pretty new to the car scene but have worked on his own cars.
Here's the thing, I've never worked on ANYthing carbureted, nor have I worked on something this old.
Now the other problem...
This car need work, and ALOT of it.
Some info about it. It's a 1983 Monte Carlo SS with a 454 Big Block and a Turbo 400 transmission swapped into it. The seller basically bought an old shell, and swapped in the motor and trans, and did the absolute bare minimum to get it driveable. He literally drove it for a couple weeks before he got a new Camaro, and then let it sit for 2 years. It's got unknown miles on shell and motor.
Condition? Not good. Paint is completely faded and the clear coat is gone, little rust on body except the floorboards are garbage, the interior is completely gone except for 2 seats, a cracked dash, and a steering wheel. Missing driver side window, passenger window doesn't work. Nothing is wired in except for the bare essentials. AC not hooked up, who knows about the heat... Basically just a button to start the motor, and the headlights/brake lights. Oh and it's really dirty, the interior has dirt and leaves in it.
How does it run...? Well... idk
The guy didn't even try to start it since about a year before, so naturally it wouldn't start the first couple tries. He put some new gas into it and after a couple tries it started running and it stayed running. The idle sounds pretty off, but it is cammed so i really don't know. He drove it around the block and it was making a weird scraping noise. It drove pretty well until at a stop sign, he gave it gas and it died for whatever reason. Started right up though and it drove fine back home. He hasn't changed anything since he put the motor in, but he says it should run great with a basic tune-up.
How much is he asking? After a bit of negotiation... $1200. Clean title, runs and drives, has a 454, but needs a ton of work. Here's some pictures:
http://imgur.com/1KNLlUw.png
http://imgur.com/DxaTCQB.png
http://imgur.com/jfBeOYw.png
http://imgur.com/scJ7lLd.png
http://imgur.com/JYXYT9J.png
http://imgur.com/HAhlqME.png
http://imgur.com/eqoMRIB.png
As you can see, it needs work. But is it worth it? I mean I love Monte Carlos a lot, but I'm scared that this will completely drain my wallet, and my biggest fear is that I'll never finish it, and will have to sell it at a loss. I really like that it has a 454, because the stock 305s are pretty damn slow.
My plans are:
completely pressure wash it
clean the interior out
weld in new floor panels
go to a junkyard and get new carpet, headliner, door panels, and a new dash. Plus get a new window and working window regulators.
get the motor running well, fix anything it really needs fixed.
Sand it down, bondo up the small dents, and plastidip it.
My total budget is $2000, give or take $500. Plus the $1200 for the car. Am I crazy or should I go for it?
Here's the thing, I've never worked on ANYthing carbureted, nor have I worked on something this old.
Now the other problem...
This car need work, and ALOT of it.
Some info about it. It's a 1983 Monte Carlo SS with a 454 Big Block and a Turbo 400 transmission swapped into it. The seller basically bought an old shell, and swapped in the motor and trans, and did the absolute bare minimum to get it driveable. He literally drove it for a couple weeks before he got a new Camaro, and then let it sit for 2 years. It's got unknown miles on shell and motor.
Condition? Not good. Paint is completely faded and the clear coat is gone, little rust on body except the floorboards are garbage, the interior is completely gone except for 2 seats, a cracked dash, and a steering wheel. Missing driver side window, passenger window doesn't work. Nothing is wired in except for the bare essentials. AC not hooked up, who knows about the heat... Basically just a button to start the motor, and the headlights/brake lights. Oh and it's really dirty, the interior has dirt and leaves in it.
How does it run...? Well... idk
The guy didn't even try to start it since about a year before, so naturally it wouldn't start the first couple tries. He put some new gas into it and after a couple tries it started running and it stayed running. The idle sounds pretty off, but it is cammed so i really don't know. He drove it around the block and it was making a weird scraping noise. It drove pretty well until at a stop sign, he gave it gas and it died for whatever reason. Started right up though and it drove fine back home. He hasn't changed anything since he put the motor in, but he says it should run great with a basic tune-up.
How much is he asking? After a bit of negotiation... $1200. Clean title, runs and drives, has a 454, but needs a ton of work. Here's some pictures:
http://imgur.com/1KNLlUw.png
http://imgur.com/DxaTCQB.png
http://imgur.com/jfBeOYw.png
http://imgur.com/scJ7lLd.png
http://imgur.com/JYXYT9J.png
http://imgur.com/HAhlqME.png
http://imgur.com/eqoMRIB.png
As you can see, it needs work. But is it worth it? I mean I love Monte Carlos a lot, but I'm scared that this will completely drain my wallet, and my biggest fear is that I'll never finish it, and will have to sell it at a loss. I really like that it has a 454, because the stock 305s are pretty damn slow.
My plans are:
completely pressure wash it
clean the interior out
weld in new floor panels
go to a junkyard and get new carpet, headliner, door panels, and a new dash. Plus get a new window and working window regulators.
get the motor running well, fix anything it really needs fixed.
Sand it down, bondo up the small dents, and plastidip it.
My total budget is $2000, give or take $500. Plus the $1200 for the car. Am I crazy or should I go for it?