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  #1  
Old 04-03-2007, 02:47 PM
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To save this car or not...

Alright, so I'm pondering whether or not to pick up this car. She isn't a pretty lady right now, not by a long shot. Each wheel well has rust, the door skins are likely toast, and there's a radiator that I've never seen in an SVX before. All 4 wheels have corrosion and bubbled paint, both rear quarters have small dents, the spoiler is horribly chipped, the hood doesn't latch, and I'm not even sure what it looks like underneath yet.

The good stuff? Good interior (Very good), about 108K miles, new tires, brakes look newer, electrics work. I'll be taking it for an extended test drive once I get the CarFax.

I talked to a body shop guy today. He said to expect roughly $5-600 per side to rebuild the rear wheel wells. Doors, fenders, a proper rad, all that I can do. I'd only need someone to repair the rear end rust.

I can probably get the car for 2000-2500 Canadian, which is not bad as SVX's seem to command a steeper price here. (Like 6-10K).

So who thinks it's worth saving? I'll probably be in for about $4-5000 once the repairs are finished, providing the mechanics all check out as they should.

The pictures are in my locker, too big to put in here and slow everything down.
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92 Ebony Mica LS-L "A Rolling Restoration": 223,250 KM - Sleeping
2007 STi 6MT, Stance GR+ coilovers, PWR Rad, JDM hood badge, svxfiles 6000K HIDs, JDM Clear Corners, $15/15 min mod, $20/20 min mod, Energy Swaybar Bushings, Hella Supertones horns, Gold STi BBS rims, Group A lightweight crank pulley, A/C system removed, Custom header-back exhaust, Hybrid carbon/metal rear sway bar, restored headlights with CCFL halos
2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Diamond Grey Metallic - Sold
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  #2  
Old 04-03-2007, 02:59 PM
dcarrb dcarrb is offline
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The rust is what would worry me. Probably superficial, but I've seen Subarus with a bit of bubbly paint that were so far gone underneath the rear jack points were unusable. My old GL after 3 Vermont winters, for example...

Good luck with it.

dcb
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  #3  
Old 04-03-2007, 03:03 PM
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looks pretty good man... its gonna take some work to get her looking better. If it runs and drives well then I say do it to it man... Its a long haul but when she is done, it will all pay off

Tom
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  #4  
Old 04-03-2007, 04:46 PM
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How hard is it to pull the sideskirts off? I'd like to look underneath and see how far the rust has spread, before I buy it preferably. The top pin in the left rear wheel well isn't really holding into anything at this point, the metal is pretty much gone there.

I wonder if anyone with a parts car would be willing to cut the rear panels off their cars for me. Perhaps being able to weld in real panels would save me some cash on bodywork, since they won't have to bend up patches to weld in.

I'm leaning towards going for it. I have a feeling this one is just going to end up junked if I let it go, and I really don't want to see that happen.
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92 Ebony Mica LS-L "A Rolling Restoration": 223,250 KM - Sleeping
2007 STi 6MT, Stance GR+ coilovers, PWR Rad, JDM hood badge, svxfiles 6000K HIDs, JDM Clear Corners, $15/15 min mod, $20/20 min mod, Energy Swaybar Bushings, Hella Supertones horns, Gold STi BBS rims, Group A lightweight crank pulley, A/C system removed, Custom header-back exhaust, Hybrid carbon/metal rear sway bar, restored headlights with CCFL halos
2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Diamond Grey Metallic - Sold
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  #5  
Old 04-03-2007, 04:57 PM
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you can buy NEW rear quarter panels for it too ya know

Tom
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  #6  
Old 04-03-2007, 06:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomsSVX
you can buy NEW rear quarter panels for it too ya know

Tom
Note to self: Get more sleep.

Yay new stuff!

Edit: $290 for a new panel from 1st Subaru Parts, plus all the work of removing the window, welding, re-installing...cheaper to patch. Or I can just let it rust and save money till I can afford a complete panel.
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92 Ebony Mica LS-L "A Rolling Restoration": 223,250 KM - Sleeping
2007 STi 6MT, Stance GR+ coilovers, PWR Rad, JDM hood badge, svxfiles 6000K HIDs, JDM Clear Corners, $15/15 min mod, $20/20 min mod, Energy Swaybar Bushings, Hella Supertones horns, Gold STi BBS rims, Group A lightweight crank pulley, A/C system removed, Custom header-back exhaust, Hybrid carbon/metal rear sway bar, restored headlights with CCFL halos
2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Diamond Grey Metallic - Sold
2020 Ram 1500 Longhorn - Red Pearl


Last edited by Crazy_pilot; 04-03-2007 at 06:54 PM.
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  #7  
Old 04-03-2007, 07:55 PM
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Hmmmm.......I suppose I could lend a professional opinion or two...

As far as the mechanical stuff goes, all I can say is it looks like she has a valve cover gasket leak...And the radiator is frankenstined in there. A bit of a fixer upper Im sure, but if it runs and drives well, its probly worth taking care of the little problems and making a solid daily / winter driver

As for the bodywork..you have your hands full.The drivers door was poorly repainted, and Im sure it has had its rust "repaired'' once already.the entire side looks to be repaired.The doors and front fenders, probly easiest to just replace, either with new sheet metal or used. For the fenders, Id spring a littl extra for new repalcments, just to hit with a healthy layer of self etchng primer, front and back, then rustproof the inside with atf (Old school )
Im sure the hood latch just needs an adjustment, likely from the light hit the bumper shows residual damage from. That should be an easy repair, but who knows how many layers of previously done work youll be dealing with.
As for the rear quarters....replacing them would be quite the hasstle. Cutting off bits from an old quarter may seem to be a viable solution...but then youll nd up with a welded seam around what was removed...There's really no way to hide that. You could do a half assed grind, bondo, rustproof and paint manuver, but for that cost, you midaswell have done it right (The afmormentioned method is likely what the 600$ a side will get you. Granted, it will look grea, but such repairs typically last no more than 5 years)

Your best bet, if you pick up this car, is to worry about the mechanical issues first. For the body...a good wet sanding and buffing will get rid of all the unsightly scratches and spiderwebs(Black cars are a PAIN IN THE ASS!!!), as well as remove the nasty orange peel left from previous paintwork. Itll look pretty damn good for a 15 year old daily driver that has seen many a harsh winter. After driving it about you can decide weather or not its worth permantly fixing its skin cancer...but in the mean time, use some sunblock. Clean the paint thats there, and take some sort of rust prevention methods for whats already there (Wire brush it out, use naval jelly, that crazey stuff that turns rust into somewhat useable metal, etch prime, rubber undercoating , ect.)
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  #8  
Old 04-03-2007, 09:21 PM
Romantt8 Romantt8 is offline
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Personally I would stay away from it. The rust would bother the hell out of me to the point where I wouldn't even enjoy the car anymore. Plus fixing it right would require alot of patching and welding. Offer them 1,000-1,500 if they take it then maybe you can live with the rust. Consider importing a cheaper SVX from the US?
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  #9  
Old 04-03-2007, 10:51 PM
svxstarship svxstarship is offline
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Seriously. I would not touch that one. Just looked at a black 92 in Toronto that was much better looking than that one for 2900.00. I was just looking out of curiosity as I have 2. They would not let me test drive it unless we came to a price agreement first?? Started and sounded ok, interior pretty good. Had some rust around rear wheel wells but nowhere near the one you are looking at. Let me know if you want more details.
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  #10  
Old 04-03-2007, 11:37 PM
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Just to let you know, I just picked up a 94 in what i would call excellent plus condition. Perfect exterior almost perfect interior everything works perfectly. Most of the guys who have seen it can't believe it's a 94. I paid $5,600 CDN but that included an extra set of winter tires on rims. New summer tires with completely redone rims.
I would look at autotrader.ca before making any decisions. There are four or five pretty good looking ones on autotrader right now...
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  #11  
Old 04-04-2007, 05:33 AM
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Hrmmm...I'm starting to agree with you guys. Between the rust-fest, the franken-rad, and the lack of paperwork at the lot I'm getting doubtful. We'll see what the CarFax turn up, but after a night of tossing and turning and brain squeezing I think I've come to my senses.

I hate to see one (my favorite colour too) sitting and rotting away, but considering I'm doing the student thing next year and all...ya.

So thanks for the replies guys. If I win the lotto I'll buy it up to restore, but for now I think I'm going to look elsewhere.
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92 Ebony Mica LS-L "A Rolling Restoration": 223,250 KM - Sleeping
2007 STi 6MT, Stance GR+ coilovers, PWR Rad, JDM hood badge, svxfiles 6000K HIDs, JDM Clear Corners, $15/15 min mod, $20/20 min mod, Energy Swaybar Bushings, Hella Supertones horns, Gold STi BBS rims, Group A lightweight crank pulley, A/C system removed, Custom header-back exhaust, Hybrid carbon/metal rear sway bar, restored headlights with CCFL halos
2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Diamond Grey Metallic - Sold
2020 Ram 1500 Longhorn - Red Pearl

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  #12  
Old 04-04-2007, 07:57 AM
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thats a brass/copper tanker radiator.... it will last 30x longer than our plastics so don't knock the franken rad

Tom
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