i bought a crashed svx!!! Was I in for a surprise

[chris92svxlsl]

Hello everybody,
I am new to the group. My name is chris I bought a 92 ls-l touring with 116,000 miles. I paid 1,400. I had to have about a grand of body work done on it (fender replaced and the car went into the frame straightening machine because the cross bar under the hood was bent up severely. The two pieces of plastic on top of the radiator snapped off during the accident. I believe the plastic is "abs" so i used a product called cold weld and put the peices back together.

The car has a salvage title. I made a big mistake of buying the car because in MA the registry puts the car through an anal inspection before you can register it. I still have some problems and i need some advice.

Current problems: On the both sides of the engine about halfway down there is oil leaking . I do not know what it is and how much it will cost.

there are dark spots (oil) right where some of the manifold connects on top of the engine.

Black residue on left exhaust pipe.
sunroof wont open
rear wiper broken
right headlight needs replacement.( I used abs plastic fix kit for motorcycles to fix it but i dont think it will pass.)

I am coming to a dillemma : depending on the feedback I get from you guys. Do I continue my journey with this car that i have fell in love with or part it out on ebay and get the 2600 Ive put into it thus far. I think the tranny was replaced at some point just guessing cus i took it for an illegal test drive ( couldnt wait) and everything shifts great no thuds at all no slippage either.)
give me your advice please i love this machine!

[Subafreak]

Welcome to the site man. Sounds like you picked up quite the project SVX but the price was right. If the car is straite now and it feels good to you than it may be worth continuing your jurny into SVX ownership. Look around the site and youy should be able to find all the awswers to your questions. Good to see another N.E. SVXr.

[ensteele]

Wecome to the site Chris. I would agree with the last post. Do some searching and get some of the questions answered. It is too bad that there were all of the other things that are bad as well. You will find out very quickly that we all love this car very much and will help as much as we can. Good luck and weigh your options. It may be better to try to sell the parts if there is too much to fix and then buy a better one. They tend to be an expensive car when it comes to maintenance anyway, but well worth it.

[thumper_svx]

Originally posted by chris92svxlsl
Hello everybody,
<snipped>
Current problems: On the both sides of the engine about halfway down there is oil leaking . I do not know what it is and how much it will cost.

Hmm... about half way down? Like above the cylinders? Could be a leaking seal somewhere around the cylinders themselves. Strange that it's on both sides. How far back on the engine is it? Could it also be where the transmission meets the engine?

there are dark spots (oil) right where some of the manifold connects on top of the engine.

Related to above? Maybe there's a leak at the manifold and that's dripping down to the engine. Try pulling the manifold and see if the leak is under it.

Black residue on left exhaust pipe.

Probably due to burning oil... you've got an oil leak somewhere. OTOH, most SVX's I've ever seen (and owned) leave a black residue on the exhaust... seems to be normal.

sunroof wont open

Does the motor whine? Could it be the car frame was bent bad enough to trap the sunroof? Can you open it by hand?

rear wiper broken

Yeah... this happens. Probably a burnout of the motor (happened to mine because some kids decided it would be fun to screw with my wiper). If it is the motor there may be a wonderful smell around it.

right headlight needs replacement.( I used abs plastic fix kit for motorcycles to fix it but i dont think it will pass.)

Perhaps buy the http://www.smallcar.com clear headlight kit at http://www.smallcar.com/svx/hlk.htm. Looks pretty cool I think and would save you worrying about replacing the entire unit (mucho dinero).

I am coming to a dillemma : depending on the feedback I get from you guys. Do I continue my journey with this car that i have fell in love with or part it out on ebay and get the 2600 Ive put into it thus far. I think the tranny was replaced at some point just guessing cus i took it for an illegal test drive ( couldnt wait) and everything shifts great no thuds at all no slippage either.)
give me your advice please i love this machine!

Personally it sounds to me like your decision's already made: KEEP IT! Hell, even with the amount of work you've put into it, it sounds like you've gotten one hell of a car. I don't think you've got more than $500 more work to put in at this point to make it really nice (so long as most of the LABOR is your own instead of taking it to a shop). My feeling (and I'm a little biased) is that you've already come this far, it would be a shame to give up now. Of course, that depends on your will to make the car work... but from what you've described it sounds like the remaining problems are "niggling details" compared to the body and frame damage.

Thumper.

pssssh my friend bought his SVX for $1,000 and the only thing that doesn't work is REVERSE, but it's all good cause we are gonna put a 5-speed in it. $1k, that is it. Leather, CD, moon roof, AWD, smoke you up!

[SHISVX]

hello and welcome to the clan. good luck fixing her up!

Kelli

[thumper_svx]

Originally posted by fatboyfsx
pssssh my friend bought his SVX for $1,000 and the only thing that doesn't work is REVERSE, but it's all good cause we are gonna put a 5-speed in it. $1k, that is it. Leather, CD, moon roof, AWD, smoke you up!

You know, last I checked, we were here to discuss SVX's, not try to one-up one another on a "good deal". The original poster asked valid questions, what he paid for the car is immaterial except in his decision whether to keep the car or not.

Please refrain from this kind of slamming... it's juvenile.

[chris92svxlsl]

wow! was I surprised to see all these replies so soon. Everyone on this site is great, I appreciate all the feedback and the help. I am keeping the car in fact ( i know this was obnoxious) i had my friend bid on rims on ebay and won! 245.00 for a nice set of 17's with a chrome and alloy mix, I like the five spoke style I got them from motorsport and should recieve them soon. although I cant afford tires till i have the other things fixed first have to get my priorities straight. I should have the car on the road before the end of the summer and it will hopefully be in good condition. Its going to be hard mainting it being a 20 year old paying for college but I love this car too much to give it up. I belive it is the seals, I wonder how pricey that will be ? It also seems that the gasket down there is leaking. I will be posting pics (soon couple of weeks ) scanner broken! I am proud to consider myself part of this group of svx owners . When you own a car as rare and high matenaince as ours, its pertinent for us to help eachother out.
P.S does anyone know of any reputable svx mechanics in new england? I bet even at the dealerships the techs maybe have each worked on a couple at most, I need someone that knows what they're doing .

[Tim]

Good luck man and welcome!

You passed the point of no return though! Once you get an SVX you'll seriously never want to get rid of it. Many of the owners are like that. Some have an SVX for almost every day of the week (Earl - ensteele ) while some are selling, but we know they'll be getting another one sometime again in the near future (Kelly - SHISVX )

The hard work you put into it will definitely show and is going to be very rewarding.

I'm in a similar boat.. I bought a 92 for around 1 grand, put around 2 into it including tranny work, new brakes, a/c repair, windshield... Right now it just needs some slight electrical work, new tires, and some body work.

I don't know... I'm 21, work in a video store, and pretty much have no spare cash, but it seems worth it to me because the car is truely unique. That's reason enough. I can't even find any for sale if I wanted to get one in better condition. I do enjoy knowing that I'm taking a project car and actually doing something with it, instead of buying someone else's babied ride. It at least lets me know that I'm putting another SVX on the road. Its inevitable that I'll sell it because I always get an itch for something new, but for now its what I want, so I'm going to put a lot into it and hopefully someone else will enjoy it when I'm done.