[V8] What to do?

[radek at uniserve.com]

Thank you guys for your responses, it feels better knowing I'm not alone.

Here is the continuation of the story:  after writing the post in  
frustration, I had a beer to calm down and came to a decision:  I  
should let the car choose if it wants to live.  In other words, I  
started the restoration but should anything major break, it will  
become a part-out.

After five days of work, I am truly amazed at the quality of the car.   
All the rust, as ugly as it looks, is limited to fasteners, elements  
of the subframe and spots on the body.  In no place has the body  
rusted through.  It will take a lot of time and POR-15 to fix it, but  
it seems do-able.

As of now, I managed to remove the rear subframe with the differential  
and the fuel tank.  All the bolts came off cleanly.  The tank is very  
rusted at the seams and will have to be replaced.  I will post a  
question about it separately.

I read Roger and Scott's posts and totally agree; however, this car  
has a lot of sentimental value to me.  I have been promising myself  
(and the car) to do the restoration one day and I feel obliged to at  
least try seriously.  If the car keeps cooperating, I will have a lot  
of technical questions to ask.
TIA.

Radek
91 V8Q 5-sp "being restored"

>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2017 07:08:33 -0600
> From: Dave Saad <dsaadme at me.com>
> To: V8 fan <v8 at audifans.com>
> Subject: Re: [V8] What to do?
> Message-ID: <3DBDFCE7-5AD1-4A15-8649-AF9F7307E769 at me.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> It would take a special kind of crazy to proceed it sounds like.  
> Bummer, because the 5-speed is such a fun ride.
> I just stumbled across a 1991 (I think) V8 with only 72K miles. It  
> still has the original timing belt - only it is not so much a belt  
> any more. The motor will need a pretty extensive head job at a  
> minimum. The bottom end is probably good though. The motor is clean  
> and leak free and looks like it has never been touched. I didn't  
> notice which brakes it had. The exterior is not great, but could  
> easily be brought back, but the interior is 100% complete and  
> perfect. All the factory manuals, tools, the phone, even the V8  
> wallet was there.
> If you did want to proceed, this is a good rust free parts car or an  
> easy restore. It is hard to understand how someone could not do that  
> one required maintenance that resulted in a dead motor.
>
> It is at one of those churchy charity donation places, and the sales  
> guy thinks he is sitting on a gold mine. He will come around after a  
> while...
>
> If I had time, money, and space, it would be fun to restore for my  
> kids. Unfortunately I have no time, money or space.
>
> Dave
>
>> On Jul 5, 2017, at 9:37 PM, radek at uniserve.com wrote:
>>
>> Hello all;
>>
>> I am at a crossroads of sorts, hoping to tap into group wisdom.
>>
>> First, some background.  My project car is a 1991 V8Q 5-speed,  
>> pearl white.  I bought it in 2002 and drove it for a couple of  
>> years until fuel lines started leaking.  It also needed a timing  
>> belt, so I put it aside in the garage "until I find the time."
>>
>> I got a running 1992 and kept the motor for a 4.2 swap.  Bought  
>> crankshaft holder, camshaft disks, as well as other assorted tools  
>> and parts, including brand new UFO disks and everything needed for  
>> a t-belt job.  Never found the time to do it, though.
>>
>> Some three years ago the car had to be rolled out of the garage to  
>> make space for a lift.  It spent three humid Eastern Canadian  
>> winters outside.  Today, I put it on the lift, looked underneath  
>> and nearly cried.  So much rust!  All fuel and brake lines are  
>> disintegrating.  Same for the fuel tank.  I'm not sure if I can  
>> even remove the rear subframe without breaking the studs off the  
>> body.
>>
>> It never crossed my mind that I might not revive the car.  However,  
>> after looking at the underbody today, I'm starting to doubt myself.  
>>  I'm not sure if I have the strength and time required to do the  
>> restoration.
>>
>> My kids tell me to do a part-out, save the transmission,  
>> differential, perhaps stuff for a manual swap for someone.  Really,  
>> I don't know what to think anymore.  Perhaps one of you guys will  
>> have some ideas.  At least I got a chance to vent my frustration,  
>> thanks for listening.
>>
>> Radek.
>>
>>
>>
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