Shadow9x99

This little number popped up at a local auction house. 1 owner, all original & all complete (minus the front floor mats) with 66,9xx original miles. It's listed as having an 8.57L V8. I went to check it out during their open house last week and mechanically it seems very nice. Engine (stock 5.7l TPI) runs, sounds great, and the car drives. It has obviously been parked outside for a while though. Most of the interior is faded to oblivion (a shame since it doesn't seem to have ever been smoked in), every rubber seal is toast, and the paint is nonexistent in some spots. The seats are so toasted that when you touch them you get this powdery deteriorated cloth stuff on you. The body is very solid and has no major rust, just some light surface rust here and there on the undercarridge. I didn't notice any dents or cracks either. Someone put a subwoofer deck in the trunk, but thankfully it's just sitting in there (not bolted or glued in). The tail lights don't have a single crack in them and surprisingly the original rear lift struts still work perfectly. Headlights work fine too.

These pictures are from the auction listing (I know they're not great), minus the RPO sticker that I took a pic of when I was there. Worth restoring? Or should I just stick the V8 in my rather rusty '91 V6? I've got the skill set to do all of the work myself either way. If you were looking for a project, what would you pay for it?





It looks like the front drivers fender is scratched/dented, but that's just the reflection of the bicycle.

The BK6 headliner retainer is still working well.

All 4 rims look this nice.

350 TPI, Auto, Oil cooler, WS6 suspension, molded door panels (in nice shape BTW), 3.27 9-Bolt Posi, BK6 Roof Console.

ksr

If you have a "rather rusty" V-6, you might be better off restoring this one. That's a weirdly deteriorated interior for only 68K miles.

I wouldn't pay much for it. $1500?

navy02ws6

Certainly worth restoring, but you'd have to sink a ton of money into it. Real shame that they let it sit outside for so long, interior alone is probably going to need at least $2,500 worth of work, then probably another $4-6K for a decent Black paint job, plus whatever mechanicals it needs (tires and brakes for sure, but plan on injectors and other odds and ends too).

On the plus side, you'd have a nice, fresh, low-ish mile car when you're done, but you're certainly not going to make any money selling it afterwards. You can still buy nice, low-ish mile GTAs for under $10K, so it doesn't make sense financially, if you want to bring it up to where it should be. Assuming it's been sitting for years and needs everything refreshed, it looks like about a $1,750 car to me, tops, and that's if it runs good, and everything works.

dmccain

iTrader: (2)

2k.

ksr

Maybe moving the seats from your rusted V-6 into this would be a start on the interior.

Shadow9x99

I considered that. I could move the excellent interior from my V6 into the GTA, then all that would be left is paint and basic tuneup items.

kentuckyKITT

iTrader: (4)

If the drivetrain is excellent, that would be the perfect car to just clean up, replace critical things like brakes and throw some seat covers on the fronts and drive it while you restore it and not spend a bunch of money all at once. I would go $1,900 on it if the engine/trans is good and I could have that car looking pretty slick for about 10-12k within 2-3 years doing most of the work myself. If I was looking for a car to make money off of, this an't it! If this was an IROC-Z, you could, but then the initial price would be too much anyway. An IROC in that condition would fetch what? $13k? Isn't that right?

ironwill

A one-owner, 67K mile original? Based on your above statements, definitely worth restoring. I'll defer to others here on a value, but $2K sounds about right considering what it will cost you in parts to bring the car back from it's current sad fate.

That driver's seat; the car must have sat outdoors for years with that side if the car facing South.

Reddragon88gta

Restore it, if the body is as solid as it looks its worth 2k-ish all day. Shame about the interior but up North a non rust bucket car to start with is a huge plus and well worth the $. Like others said full tune up/fuel system parts and paint it would be a sharp car.

WildCard600

I would throw $2k at it if the bones are as good as you say.

Neil350

iTrader: (1)

If the V6 is rusty and this one isn't, long term this is a better choice. It's nice that it's a low mile car but it's still 33 years old. Miles aren't a measure to dictate condition anymore. If the mechanical aspect sans maintenance is solid, then you're looking at all aesthetics. Guess what? Most every one of these cars in original shape that saw regular use, even well cared for all need the same stuff if it hasn't already been done. Weather seals, common and easy fix. Seats, expensive but you cant just replace a driver seat if there is just some bolster wear. It all comes in a set. They all have some UV damage if they saw the sun, so you can get the factory interior color blended and respray the panels. Dash cracked, a lot of the original ones are and you have to replace the whole thing anyway. Needs paint? These cars are so old if any major panel is failing with original paint and there's going to be multiple in the same condition. You're really no longer in a position to just blend panels and leave others alone. Entire car needs to be painted at that point. The logic of how you look at this needs to be, it's a solid car. It has no major rust. It's original so the last person in there was GM. Lastly, it's all there in terms of bits and pieces. If you get that car for $2K, its worth putting the money in to in the long run.

Shadow9x99

Thanks for chiming in guys, but I did not end up getting the car. My top bid was $2,500 and it ended up closing for $4,250 + 18% buyers fee. That's a bit more than it's worth IMHO.

SirReveller

iTrader: (4)

In for save at 3K
lol
seriously though get that car and revive her

WildCard600

Wow. That's a LOT more than it's worth.

dagwood

iTrader: (5)

Yep, I agree. The 91 Trans Am convertible i fixed up was in about that same shape, and I got the car for $1,800

Drew

iTrader: (58)

No great loss. It went for that much because some doofus bought into the idea that it's low mileage and didn't even notice that it's neglected to the point of being trashed.

Neil350

iTrader: (1)

Some slick deals weasel will have his cousin repaint it out back, change the plugs he can get from the top, grab some junk yard 4th gen cloth seats and attempt to sell it for $10K. Concourse quality, unibody frame off restoration complete.

dmccain

iTrader: (2)

It will take some $ to get that car back together. At 2k I could see painting it and full interior putting you at $6-8K in and that would be ok. Starting out at around 5k I don't think theres enough meat on the bone there to really make enough $ for it to be worth it.

ksr

Wow, that seller did really well for himself. I wouldn't have paid that.

If guess if the buyer was just looking for a solid car start with, he was okay with the price. It's sure not an investment (as few are), but maybe he's just willing to spend what it takes to build himself a great car. From what shadow9x99 says, it was a solid car. I'm kind of surprised that the car would be that good underneath considering what the elements did to the interior.

okfoz

Sometimes at Auctions you get two crazies that want the car and it goes up little by little and before you know it the ego of neither will not let it go... Then the price is more than the value, and it is a matter of time when one realizes it before the other... Other times I have seen one jerk who will just jack the price up and does not really want it at all, the person who is really interested in it keeps bidding and the jerk just want's to jack the prices up... This happened to me, I was in college and there was an auction, I needed some silver wear, it was nothing special just cheap stuff, and I started bidding, it got between me and this other jerk who looked at me and smirked... I figured out quick what was happening and let it go for a while and finally said "it's yours"... He had this look on his face like WTF just happened? he got himself something he did not want but I could have used, oh well...

Steve86TA

iTrader: (57)

At nearly 5k out the door, that's over 3x what I would have paid.. Someone probably looked in KBB or some other book and thinks its worth 10k+ but has no idea the real world cost of getting it back to life. Great deal for the seller