Breadfan
07-05-2005, 07:12 PM
So, I've been "restoring" my '65 Spitfire for a few years now. In fact, back in the day my dad gave me the car for $1.
As I finally started making some money a few years back, enough to get serious, I stipped the car down. The frame has been powder coated, so have suspension parts. I've done plenty of body work on it. It's starting to come back together, suspension/frame-wise. Engine/trans and rear end are in decent shape.
The body tub/body shell however is not. The body work uncovered plenty of rust, bondo, fiberclass. The floors are gone. Rocker panels are gone. Both rear quarter panels are dented up and were bondoed over. The rear valence was rused and obviously had been hit and pounded out. So plenty of sheet metal needs to be replaced.
I had the idea late last year that buying a new good condition body shell would possible be costly initially, but would save the cost of new sheet metal and the pains of cutting, shaping, replacing.
Finding a MK II body isn't easy though.
So perhaps because of the daunting task of fixign the rotted body shell, I've let the project sit for a little while.
Today I'm thinking about it, and go to Ebay. And find this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4560083404&category=80756&sspagename=WDVW#ebayphotohosti ng
It's a few hours from me, in West VA, I'm in Northern VA. Right now its $780. Has 13 bids and about 5 days left, so obviusly may go much higher.
But if it stays at or below 1,000, it may be a great deal, espeically if the body shell is better than mine.
The way I see it, I buy it, strip it, use what I want and sell off the other parts. If I can use the body shell, great. I will have a surplus of good parts, so I could sell:
- engine
- trans
- rear end
- carb's
- doors
- hood (err...bonnet)
- trunklid (err...boot)
- gauges, steering wheel, lights, blah blah blah, glass, blah.
The engine/trans/rear end would easily sell for $1,000 for the three. So in a sense if I could get a body shell that might work better, a parts car, and potentially make some profit.
But of course I don't know the true condition of the car without seeing it. Hasn't been started in ages so who knows the condition of the mechanicals. (Of course mine hasn't run since 1990 but the engine cranked fine.)
I'd also have to cough up the money to buy it, and rent a trailer and pay the gas on whoever's truck I borrow. :)
So...is this a crazy idea or what? I hate not having time to think something like this over, if I decide to do this and the auction is ending with a good price I may have to bid without being able to see the car. Makes me wonder, would it be more trouble than it's worth? Or is getting a complete MK II parts car gonna be worth it?
honestly so long as it hasn't been in an accident I'm sure the body tub is going to be better than mine. Mine sat outside in the dirt for 13 years, that's way worse than 20-30 years indoors...
*sigh* what to do... :)
As I finally started making some money a few years back, enough to get serious, I stipped the car down. The frame has been powder coated, so have suspension parts. I've done plenty of body work on it. It's starting to come back together, suspension/frame-wise. Engine/trans and rear end are in decent shape.
The body tub/body shell however is not. The body work uncovered plenty of rust, bondo, fiberclass. The floors are gone. Rocker panels are gone. Both rear quarter panels are dented up and were bondoed over. The rear valence was rused and obviously had been hit and pounded out. So plenty of sheet metal needs to be replaced.
I had the idea late last year that buying a new good condition body shell would possible be costly initially, but would save the cost of new sheet metal and the pains of cutting, shaping, replacing.
Finding a MK II body isn't easy though.
So perhaps because of the daunting task of fixign the rotted body shell, I've let the project sit for a little while.
Today I'm thinking about it, and go to Ebay. And find this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4560083404&category=80756&sspagename=WDVW#ebayphotohosti ng
It's a few hours from me, in West VA, I'm in Northern VA. Right now its $780. Has 13 bids and about 5 days left, so obviusly may go much higher.
But if it stays at or below 1,000, it may be a great deal, espeically if the body shell is better than mine.
The way I see it, I buy it, strip it, use what I want and sell off the other parts. If I can use the body shell, great. I will have a surplus of good parts, so I could sell:
- engine
- trans
- rear end
- carb's
- doors
- hood (err...bonnet)
- trunklid (err...boot)
- gauges, steering wheel, lights, blah blah blah, glass, blah.
The engine/trans/rear end would easily sell for $1,000 for the three. So in a sense if I could get a body shell that might work better, a parts car, and potentially make some profit.
But of course I don't know the true condition of the car without seeing it. Hasn't been started in ages so who knows the condition of the mechanicals. (Of course mine hasn't run since 1990 but the engine cranked fine.)
I'd also have to cough up the money to buy it, and rent a trailer and pay the gas on whoever's truck I borrow. :)
So...is this a crazy idea or what? I hate not having time to think something like this over, if I decide to do this and the auction is ending with a good price I may have to bid without being able to see the car. Makes me wonder, would it be more trouble than it's worth? Or is getting a complete MK II parts car gonna be worth it?
honestly so long as it hasn't been in an accident I'm sure the body tub is going to be better than mine. Mine sat outside in the dirt for 13 years, that's way worse than 20-30 years indoors...
*sigh* what to do... :)