Well, I have some good news to report on this... I got proactive about it and sought out an Emerald parts car with rust free doors, or otherwise just some rust free emerald doors. Huck offered up an SVX that had been hit bad and the drivetrain and most of the interior had been removed as well as some other parts. I Had one hell of a time getting the car back using a dolly but made it safely. So after trying to get ahold of the guy for a few weeks to get him to take a look and not working out, I started to just strip the car of everything useable, literally, everything...
Well finally a couple weeks ago, New Years Eve actually, I was able to get ahold of him and work something out. His transmission developed a failed driveshaft seal and was pissing out fluid pretty bad. Well, instead of immediately parking it and calling a shop after seeing trans fluid on the ground, he decided to keep driving it draining it almost completely empty. So, since I have spare transmissions laying around I we were able to work out that I'd do a trans swap for him and he'd get the emerald doors he needed as well as he wanted the gas tank and gas lines in exchange for this car.
Now, the funny part is the fact that the transmission still worked fine after I dumped fluid in it just to see if it would be usable again and although it slipped slightly when changing gears from all of the clutch material, it actually held all gears just fine even under moderate throttle. So, I still did a trans swap but I'll probably just use the old transmission in the car that I'm getting from him in exchange... With a fresh filter and a couple trans fluid changes every 50-100 miles it should be good to go.
So, I suppose I gave up quite a bit just to get a big project, but I'll be exchanging cars later today and will get pics up of the new pearlie. In my mind, it's more than worth it for this car and the best part is the fact that he's considering trying to get the other "parts" car he has up and running again for his son's first car.
I told him that it won't be worth anything were he to sell it since it does have 270k+ miles but that having it for his son would be a great option for it. I also let him know that I'd be more than willing to help him locate parts whenever he decides to start working on it.
I guess I was a little over the top on my feelings that I posted right away, but in the end I decided to be proactive about it and do anything I could to try and save this SVX. I will post updates as much as I can but it is going to need quite a bit of work. There is no transmission, radiator, driveshaft, intake snorkel, and a few other parts under the hood. The trunk hinges are bent and the interior smells like something died but the body is rust free and straight and even under layers of dust, that pearl paint is just dying to be shown off.
Sorry for my ranting but I think when I put the pics up, you will see my point.
