'82 far gone?

[Mister]

I got this $400 X wanting to learn how to weld with it in service of restoring it, but I don't know if I want to spend a ton of time doing that if ultimately the car will never be roadworthy; or if fixing this level of rust is way beyond a beginner's capabilities. Any thoughts? I'm wondering if just taking it apart, and that experience gained, is the most I should shoot for.

I have an '83 in storage in much better shape rust-wise, but it has a small dent in the front fender, and the driver's door doesn't close all the way, seems like some impact affected the frame. I was imagining I could get the frame stretched on that one, and then work on getting it running? I've got one bay in the garage to work in.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

Just my thoughts here. It really depends on your goals. The rusty one looks like it might be salvageable and put back on the road with a lot of work. I can't really tell from the pics how bad the undercarriage is structurally. Some things like the doors, hood/trunk lids can simply be swapped for better ones. Repair panels can be purchased for some areas. A lot of other areas would need to be fabricated. Although if you don't necessarily want to keep it stock then you could also make something like a track car for the street. That way you can cut off some rusty areas and simple leave them off (like the rear valance, etc). Just keep in mind the cost and time involved in doing any of it.

Another possibility is to concentrate on the better car and use the rusty one as a parts doner. Consider if there are $400 worth of usable parts on it that the "good" car needs?

 

[Mister]

Some more pics

 

[Steve Thomas]

All X have rust. ALL. So, learning by doing is a very good plan with nothing to lose. Your good 83 has rust cos ALL X have rust so getting skilled in X rust repair is a good idea. Start with some easier areas and you will find that you get pretty OK reasonably fast. The important thing is practise. Go for it.

 

[Alex(Tenerife)]

400 buck exxy. good purchase. I would give it a go to repair it up. Learn to weld on a few bits of scrap and then go for it with some repair panels.

I think you can bring this back to life

 

[Dr.Jeff]

Looking at the additional pics of it reminds me of one that I have. It was also very rusty so I bought it as a parts donor car (for the same price as yours). However after getting it cleaned up and raised up where I could see the undercarriage better I realized the structural aspects were solid. The bad rust was pretty much confined to certain body areas: the rear valance, outer rockers, fender lips, and one door was really bad. And it came with a good replacement door. I had the thought of making what I call a "outlaw" car....nothing cosmetic but drivable, stripped down like a race car but still street legal, modified as needed to try and make it reasonable overall. I cut off the rear valance completely and just left it open in the back. I cut off the fender lips and got some really cheap generic plastic flares to cover them. And I made up some simple patch panels to fill a few other holes. The interior on mine was pretty bad so I stripped it to use some seats left over from another old project. The engine and trans needed some work so that's as far as I got with it (other obligations have prevented me from finishing it). But the plan was to cobble together a really cheap toy that could be thrashed around without caring about it. @carl has done something similar and loves driving his.

 

[Mister]

Just my thoughts here. It really depends on your goals. The rusty one looks like it might be salvageable and put back on the road with a lot of work. I can't really tell from the pics how bad the undercarriage is structurally. Some things like the doors, hood/trunk lids can simply be swapped for better ones. Repair panels can be purchased for some areas. A lot of other areas would need to be fabricated. Although if you don't necessarily want to keep it stock then you could also make something like a track car for the street. That way you can cut off some rusty areas and simple leave them off (like the rear valance, etc). Just keep in mind the cost and time involved in doing any of it.

Another possibility is to concentrate on the better car and use the rusty one as a parts doner. Consider if there are $400 worth of usable parts on it that the "good" car needs?

Yeah, I guess I really have to give some thought to what my ideal end result would be. I have always wanted to restore a car, and although I'm apprehensive about spending year, or two or three doing it, if this one might be salvageable, I'm attracted to that route. I would want to keep it stock, as I love the beauty of the cars as they are. I was thinking the experience gained on this one would set me up to better fix the better one? Maybe I will approach this like I'm trying to fix it, but be open to changing tack and using it for parts if it becomes too difficult or the rust is too bad. I will get it off the ground and take better pics.

 

[Mister]

OK, Steve and Alex, that's all I need to hear, I'm in, haha. I appreciate the encouragement. The catch is there's no title, but the people at my DMV are great; I spoke to them the other day about it and getting one with their help seems doable.

 

[JimD]

Since you are soliciting opinions, here is mine: Yes, it is too far gone. I will go against the "restore it" grain on this. Take the fire extinguisher and that deluxe ice scraper, then run away!!

That $400 82X will cost you around $5K to get back into stock form if you do every bit of work yourself. And at that point it probably isn't painted yet.

First, get the 83 evaluated by a shop. The answer to the question "Can it be straightened?" may help define your path.

Back to the 82: Do you value your time? If so, put your time into stripping every usable bit off this X and save it for your other X or resale. The wheels, the seats, the door cards, targa top, control switches, controls levers, exterior lights and lenses, etc. Then move to the engine bay and suspension to work through what still looks usable.

Once you clean the carcass of everything of value, you will have learned a lot about what it takes to work on an X. Feel free to try welding on it before you send it to the crusher.

This all just my opinion.

 

[Mister]

Looking at the additional pics of it reminds me of one that I have. It was also very rusty so I bought it as a parts donor car (for the same price as yours). However after getting it cleaned up and raised up where I could see the undercarriage better I realized the structural aspects were solid. The bad rust was pretty much confined to certain body areas: the rear valance, outer rockers, fender lips, and one door was really bad. And it came with a good replacement door. I had the thought of making what I call a "outlaw" car....nothing cosmetic but drivable, stripped down like a race car but still street legal, modified as needed to try and make it reasonable overall. I cut off the rear valance completely and just left it open in the back. I cut off the fender lips and got some really cheap generic plastic flares to cover them. And I made up some simple patch panels to fill a few other holes. The interior on mine was pretty bad so I stripped it to use some seats left over from another old project. The engine and trans needed some work so that's as far as I got with it (other obligations have prevented me from finishing it). But the plan was to cobble together a really cheap toy that could be thrashed around without caring about it. @carl has done something similar and loves driving his.

That's interesting and does sound fun, and could be a possibility, since I have the other one to be a nice one.

 

[Steve Thomas]

OK, Steve and Alex, that's all I need to hear, I'm in, haha. I appreciate the encouragement. The catch is there's no title, but the people at my DMV are great; I spoke to them the other day about it and getting one with their help seems doable.

Excellent! Like I say, nothing to lose

 

[Mister]

Since you are soliciting opinions, here is mine: Yes, it is too far gone. I will go against the "restore it" grain on this. Take the fire extinguisher and that deluxe ice scraper, then run away!!

That $400 82X will cost you around $5K to get back into stock form if you do every bit of work yourself. And at that point it probably isn't painted yet.

First, get the 83 evaluated by a shop. The answer to the question "Can it be straightened?" may help define your path.

Back to the 82: Do you value your time? If so, put your time into stripping every usable bit off this X and save it for your other X or resale. The wheels, the seats, the door cards, targa top, control switches, controls levers, exterior lights and lenses, etc. Then move to the engine bay and suspension to work through what still looks usable.

Once you clean the carcass of everything of value, you will have learned a lot about what it takes to work on an X. Feel free to try welding on it before you send it to the crusher.

This all just my opinion.

Thank you, all these perspectives are much appreciated. It gives me a lot to think about! Getting the experience of disassembly could be just what I need, now, and save a lot of time. One problem is, I'm not really one of those rational people you hear about.

 

[JimD]

One problem is, I'm not really one of those rational people you hear about.

You purposefully bought two non operational Xs and you feel its necessary to tell us that you may not be rational??

Good luck with whichever path you choose!

 

[Mister]

Thank you!

 

[Clatter]

I’m looking closely at that and getting other ideas…
Build one car from the two - use the best parts and sell the rest on when you’re done.
There’s an old saying “buy rusty not wrecked”.
This because locating bent parts is another level of skill than replacing rusty pieces of known location/alignment.
Perhaps your wrecked one would be a great supply of pieces to fix the rusty one?
You can weld in the VIN that has a title into whichever shell you end up using.
At that point which car is which, really, right?

Another thought is that yes, they all rust, and even a “clean looking” car like mine is hiding a bunch of rust inside panels and within seams and in floors and…
If you’re going clear in, which car you start with starts to matter less and less.

Anybody can do body work - everyone starts somewhere. YouTube can teach a lot that used to be taught in person. After you have a welder and a place to make nose and dust, you’re well on your way. An angle grinder and a few hand tools and away you go.
But make no mistake, a newb makes slow progress. It’s fun, but takes a LOT of time. A VERY BIG LOT of time. What makes a pro is their speed - better tools and practice make things happen more quickly. A novice can get good results eventually with patience - copious quantities of time and patience. Their work will be of low quality only if they try and hurry.

So make sure you want to invest the time.
Time is money if you’re not having fun.

And the other rule..
“Always start with the best one you can afford”(!)

 

[Clatter]

Since you are soliciting opinions, here is mine: Yes, it is too far gone. I will go against the "restore it" grain on this. Take the fire extinguisher and that deluxe ice scraper, then run away!!

That $400 82X will cost you around $5K to get back into stock form if you do every bit of work yourself. And at that point it probably isn't painted yet.

First, get the 83 evaluated by a shop. The answer to the question "Can it be straightened?" may help define your path.

Back to the 82: Do you value your time? If so, put your time into stripping every usable bit off this X and save it for your other X or resale. The wheels, the seats, the door cards, targa top, control switches, controls levers, exterior lights and lenses, etc. Then move to the engine bay and suspension to work through what still looks usable.

Once you clean the carcass of everything of value, you will have learned a lot about what it takes to work on an X. Feel free to try welding on it before you send it to the crusher.

This all just my opinion.

^^^this is all very true and excellent advice^^^

 

[Alex(Tenerife)]

I think the true answer depends on you more than the car.

If you know how to weld or are prepared to learn and have some time to spend on it, great I would say go for it.

How much time will depend on how far you want to take it and how good a car you want at the end.

While the rear looks bad, its not that hard to repair. I did this and I used repair panels from eurosport (easier as I was in the UK at the time) but panels off a donor car work too. Making them from sheet metal is one step harder.

I think it looks like the sill is gone on the RHS, If it has then for certain the inner sill has gone too. You will only find out how bad that is once you start opening it up. Its a seat out and carpet out job. Then take a brave pill and start to carefully remove the sill. Again I did this and used repair panels for the inner and outer sill and sheet metal for the floor.

I would check under the rear boot. Could find some rust there given the back of the car, also check the rear suspension points and see if they are good.

While I think of it have a good look and the inner wheel arches and engine bay. Fixing these can be a pain, might even be an engine out just to get access.

If you have time/resources give the underside of the car a good clean. see what you have. while you are at it best to get all the rust out in one go.

If you have time and patients and want a project, this isn't a bad car from what you have shown us so far.

 

[Mister]

I’m looking closely at that and getting other ideas…
Build one car from the two - use the best parts and sell the rest on when you’re done.
There’s an old saying “buy rusty not wrecked”.
This because locating bent parts is another level of skill than replacing rusty pieces of known location/alignment.
Perhaps your wrecked one would be a great supply of pieces to fix the rusty one?
You can weld in the VIN that has a title into whichever shell you end up using.
At that point which car is which, really, right?

Another thought is that yes, they all rust, and even a “clean looking” car like mine is hiding a bunch of rust inside panels and within seams and in floors and…
If you’re going clear in, which car you start with starts to matter less and less.

Anybody can do body work - everyone starts somewhere. YouTube can teach a lot that used to be taught in person. After you have a welder and a place to make nose and dust, you’re well on your way. An angle grinder and a few hand tools and away you go.
But make no mistake, a newb makes slow progress. It’s fun, but takes a LOT of time. A VERY BIG LOT of time. What makes a pro is their speed - better tools and practice make things happen more quickly. A novice can get good results eventually with patience - copious quantities of time and patience. Their work will be of low quality only if they try and hurry.

So make sure you want to invest the time.
Time is money if you’re not having fun.

And the other rule..
“Always start with the best one you can afford”(!)

Thank you, all interesting points for me to digest. It is the time that I'm definitely apprehensive about, but I also know that's what it takes to learn. Overall, my gut has been pulling me towards learning body work. Do you have any recommendations for cheap welding equipment that can be found on CL or FB?

 

[Mister]

I think the true answer depends on you more than the car.

If you know how to weld or are prepared to learn and have some time to spend on it, great I would say go for it.

How much time will depend on how far you want to take it and how good a car you want at the end.

While the rear looks bad, its not that hard to repair. I did this and I used repair panels from eurosport (easier as I was in the UK at the time) but panels off a donor car work too. Making them from sheet metal is one step harder.

I think it looks like the sill is gone on the RHS, If it has then for certain the inner sill has gone too. You will only find out how bad that is once you start opening it up. Its a seat out and carpet out job. Then take a brave pill and start to carefully remove the sill. Again I did this and used repair panels for the inner and outer sill and sheet metal for the floor.

I would check under the rear boot. Could find some rust there given the back of the car, also check the rear suspension points and see if they are good.

While I think of it have a good look and the inner wheel arches and engine bay. Fixing these can be a pain, might even be an engine out just to get access.

If you have time/resources give the underside of the car a good clean. see what you have. while you are at it best to get all the rust out in one go.

If you have time and patients and want a project, this isn't a bad car from what you have shown us so far.

Thank you, these tips from your experience are really helpful. I will check those spots and get a better look at underneath. Knowing the rear is doable with panels is great, it's a little daunting to look at as-is. I do like the idea of restoring the car if it is possible.

 

[Mister]

I'm thinking @JimD's plan covers both bases and is what I will try. Strip the car completely, then give it a go with welding. I'm going to approach it as if I will complete the welding and restore it, but if it's too much for me, or the car is too bad, I can bail.