Opinion/Advice wanted

Restore shell or buy a good condition car?

  • Restore

    Votes: 1 20.0%
  • Buy

    Votes: 4 80.0%

  • Total voters
    5

Mazinger

Daily Driver
A have a lead on a chassis, it is completely stripped, not a single part was left on. I also have an 87 under a tarp that has chunks falling from it every day. I found this just as I was about to give up and just part the one I have. What I want to know is; should I take the time to do a restore on this new find (it does need some minor body work so it's not perfect), or would it be cheaper to just buy a good one already in decent condition. Cost wise, what am I looking at to do the shell? by the way, I know my way around cars and x1/9s, body work is not my thing, though. I'm considering the time it takes to do the work as well vs having the car at my door shortly after I find one. I appreciate the input in advance,
 
No advice here, just a perspective.....
Our experience.....We enjoy the journey, but seldom make any money at it. In the end, we will spend more to finish our 79 than we paid for our nice driver 81, but it will be unique, our ideas & workmanship & we should know it pretty well. (I don't do bodywork either.....I've tried, but never developed the skill.) To us, building it makes it that much more satisfying to drive when it is "done".
 
No advice here, just a perspective.....
Our experience.....We enjoy the journey, but seldom make any money at it. In the end, we will spend more to finish our 79 than we paid for our nice driver 81, but it will be unique, our ideas & workmanship & we should know it pretty well. (I don't do bodywork either.....I've tried, but never developed the skill.) To us, building it makes it that much more satisfying to drive when it is "done".

I agree. I have more in my '87 than it's worth but I know once it is done, it will be perfect. Whereas if I bought one in supposedly mint condition, there may be hidden defects I didn't know about. Plus there is a great deal of pride in driving a vehicle that you built yourself.
 
There's no single answer. Depends on who you are and where you are in your life. Money wise, it's usually not worth bringing back to life a rust bucket. But if you do everything yourself, you may end-up with an X1/9 that is worthing the money you invested. No profit to be made. All your time is free. On the other hand, you have a car you build yourself. Where are you priorities? What are you looking for?

For myself, a rusty car with a non running engine is a parts car. I won't restore it. But I may consider rebuilding a car with bad mechanics if the body is perfect. Otherwise, the usual recommandation is to find the best car you could afford for your money. If you are experimented/wise enough/have access to parts, there are ways to rebuild a car for cheap and makes profit by selling it, but it involves cutting the corners, you wont do that if you like the car and want to keep it.
 
There's no single answer. Depends on who you are and where you are in your life. Money wise, it's usually not worth bringing back to life a rust bucket. But if you do everything yourself, you may end-up with an X1/9 that is worthing the money you invested. No profit to be made. All your time is free. On the other hand, you have a car you build yourself. Where are you priorities? What are you looking for?

For myself, a rusty car with a non running engine is a parts car. I won't restore it. But I may consider rebuilding a car with bad mechanics if the body is perfect. Otherwise, the usual recommandation is to find the best car you could afford for your money. If you are experimented/wise enough/have access to parts, there are ways to rebuild a car for cheap and makes profit by selling it, but it involves cutting the corners, you wont do that if you like the car and want to keep it.
I know the pride felt in driving a car you brought back to life, I finished my last project not long ago. Not an X, I've been in withdrawals since I sold my last X in 1997 so I wanted it to be my next project, the one I have now is just for parts. I have no problem restoring one with some rust, you could buy a complete one and find out later it has it too. I am leaning towards restoring myself since I like the finish product to be perfect, but I think I want to start with a shell a little better than the one I'm looking at. Thank you for your input
 
Just my two cents - unless you buy an X that's already been restored, you're going to end up doing pretty much the same jobs on a car in "nice" condition as you would on a (low rust) basket case. The main difference is the basket case will need all the work done now while you might be able to get away with a few things on the "nice" car for a few years.

The newest X is 31 years old - and 31 year old Italian electronics, wiring, plastics, belts, hoses, hydraulics, gaskets, etc are going to be nearing the end of their life if not already past it.

Unless it has already been recently restored, any X you buy in any condition will need a restoration.
 
I would be careful of cars with "title kits" (title and vin plates from another car. I did this with a 124 coupe (the only police officer in the US who would have known my coupe was a 73 not a 75 is the one who provided the title kit!). Whenever it came time to sell the car....yea, some of us actually do sell our projects and move on to other Fiats......you would have to be honest on this point and it's going to severely limit your customer base.
 
A have a lead on a chassis, it is completely stripped, not a single part was left on. I also have an 87 under a tarp that has chunks falling from it every day. I found this just as I was about to give up and just part the one I have. What I want to know is; should I take the time to do a restore on this new find (it does need some minor body work so it's not perfect), or would it be cheaper to just buy a good one already in decent condition. Cost wise, what am I looking at to do the shell? by the way, I know my way around cars and x1/9s, body work is not my thing, though. I'm considering the time it takes to do the work as well vs having the car at my door shortly after I find one. I appreciate the input in advance,

If the years of the donor '87 and the prospective shell are compatible, and the majority of the components of the donor '87 X are functional/restorable, then this seems like a good long-term project as long as your "minor body work" is indeed minor. There's a lot to be said for starting with a known-good shell, bringing the condition up to 100%, then media blasting it and doing the finishing process (chemical etch-treat/sealer/prime/fill/block/paint) with modern materials far superior to whatever was available in the '70s and '80s.
 
Thank you everyone for your input, it helps and it's truly appreciated. So far the ones I've found with "minor" rust are beyond my comfort for rust. I'll keep looking.
 
I would be careful of cars with "title kits" (title and vin plates from another car. I did this with a 124 coupe (the only police officer in the US who would have known my coupe was a 73 not a 75 is the one who provided the title kit!). Whenever it came time to sell the car....yea, some of us actually do sell our projects and move on to other Fiats......you would have to be honest on this point and it's going to severely limit your customer base.
I agree about being honest on this issue. I've never done this before . This would have been an 87 for an 87 shell.
 
The comments above on basically @knowing yourself " are where it's at. It's probably blasphemy to say here, but I would be far less prone to take on that degree of a basket X1/9 than other vintage Fiats. From my perspective, it seems like fairly decent Xs are still around. I have two other cars that are stupid projects...a rusty basket case 124 Coupe & 124 Sedan...the Coupe has a sentimental draw for me & I have all of the hard to find parts for it & the sedan makes for an ideal "family" fiat & a platform that just looks fun to play with (ie, what transmission will it have? what engine? will it look stock? whatever?)...both of those are cars that are much more infrequent to come by around here and considering that I enjoy doing these projects, even if in bits & pieces over long periods of time, they are worthwhile to me. For something like that which I expect to hold onto a long time & enjoy the process....the actual cost is relatively minor to the enjoyment of the process, the opportunities for creativity, etc. That said, pure logic would call anything but a completely restored, fresh example a poor investment unless the ownership purpose is to part out at max profit or a quick flip via improved marketing...but this isn't a hobby based on investment logic!
 
if the doner chassis is not bad, go that route. if it needs bodywork and bondo, if it aint right you can start over. and no I don't have stock in bondo, but I have rebuilt the flairs on one of my x's and through trial and error (some left to do) I am really pleased with the outcome. if the suspension mounts are intact your halfway home and ALL that is in your rust bucket will fit.
mikemo
 
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