Sion

"So...now that I know what I want to do, I submit this to you, the forum members, to critique, wail, compliment, and give suggestions. If anyone knows of online stores that sell these particular needs cheaper than most, links would be wonderful. If you have any suggestions to other additions, or why the current schematics might not work, I'm happy to hear you!"


Memnoch, for all that you plan/need to do to this vehicle you will be spending 10 times what the vehicle is worth. Not to mention the fact that you could buy a much better and newer vehicle with all the money you are planning on dropping into this one. To me, that makes no sense. Your vehicle right now is worth, maybe, $500, on the open market. Why spend $5k (or more) doing all that to this car?

my advice is to sell it as a work car for whatever you can get out of it. Then take that $$, plus $2-3k more and buy a 95-97 vehicle and THEN start with the mods. You will be doing much less work and be much farther ahead in both the short and long runs.

note: I base these comments on what you say the vehicle needs in the way of mechanical repairs (ie ignoring the aesthetic concerns). just based on those criteria alone, this car is not worth dropping another dime into. why? because I can guarantee that it needs a LOT more than you have mentioned, you just are not aware of it yet:

brake pads and rotors only? probably flex hoses too, maybe calipers and/or master cylinder. rear shoes, hardware, possibly drums and wheel cylinders. steel lines are ALWAYS a hassle on older vehicles. not sure if the parking brake works? chances are it hasnt in years. might as well strip the entire front to rear cable off right now and start from scratch.

one tire? bet it needs 4. alignment too. rear springs are probably shot by now. shocks, front struts are likely well overdue. what about ball joints and tie rod ends?

"leaking something or other"????? I dont even want to speculate on what this is or how much it could cost you.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.

best advice I can give you is this: take the thing into a reputable full service repair shop and pay them $25 to do a complete, front to back and top to bottom look see. have them give you a point by point inspection and estimate to fix. from that, subtract all the labor costs (you plan on doing the work yourself, right?) and then subtract about 20% of the remaining total (40% is a standard markup in the biz on parts - but of course, they usually buy parts at a wholesale price, which is about 20% lower than retail. so, wholesale marked up 40% minus 20% is approximately retail price for most parts - give or take a few %). this will give you a ballpark figure on what would cost a decent mechanic just to get the thing running right and safe. now add 20% because you are not a mechanic and are going to make mistakes. depending on your level of expertise (or lack thereof) you might increase that last 20% to 30 or 50%.

still sound like a good idea? remember, I personally dont care whether its a minivan, a Yugo or a corvette. Im just trying to help you make a solid decision financially. and from what you've said, its my best guess that this vehicle isnt worth putting another dime into.

ps. post a pic of the thing if you can, BEFORE you start anything.

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