LJ993

I am looking at an '86 Cab. It has a euro 3.2 ltr motor in it. Runs strong. Exterior is so so, metallic burgundy color. Somewhat recent respray, slightly better than earl Schieb job. Interior needs a complete redo. Car has leather dash that is dried faded and curled up. Carpets are a mess. Seats need work. Gauges are okay. Needs door panels. Mechanically it is pretty sound. Second owner, both prior owners are in the same family. Top is used, no tears. Rear window is faded, needs to be replaced. Miles are currently unknown. I would imagine 150,000 plus.

If I got it I would strip it all down and do a color change, currently has the original color, though not original paint. Full interior swap would be the most prudent way to go. I am thinking $2000 plus for the interior, $4000 for paint and minimal body work. Another $3000 for contingencies. Thought? Are my budget estimates out of whack? Any words of wisdom. It looks pretty good from 20 feet. Photos make it look better than it is.

Phil

raspritz

No photos in your post, but a complete interior redo, including carpets, dash recover or replacement, seat redo, door panels could be north of $10K, depending on what needs to be purchased and how much you do yourself. In terms of mechanicals, "runs strong" doesn't cut it. A PPI would be more informative.

Rich

LJ993

Dang. That blows my budget. $10k. Holy smoke. Not looking for a concour car. Just looking to get it back to clean fun, driver. Rather than new parts, I was hoping of finding an interior the someone had pulled that was still in good shape. Maybe that is a pipe dream. No ppi yet. It is at the shop that services the car. They have a decent history on the car. Of course a ppi would be required before purchase. Photo to follow. Phil

LJ993

Glamour shot

raspritz

Not a bad-looking car, but that interior is pretty tired. No pro is going to do a halfway job, as that reflects on them. The dash costs $500 to recover (not a DIY job), but that is once the dash is already out, which is major job and requires removing the windshield, wiring disconnects and reconnects, etc. Or you could get a dash cap, though that won't help the knee panels (a black sharpie might do wonders there). I imagine you can get those seats redone in Tijuana pretty cheap. The carpets you can do yourself, though it's a fiddly, nasty job. But that would save you a lot of money. The passenger door panel looks basically OK.

Here's the problem. You either do it all or you do none of it. As soon as you redo one thing, it will look great and make the rest look like crap by comparison. It's a slippery slope.

Amber Gramps

Who is doing the work? Your interior IS totally shot. You could spend your entire wad just resurrecting the interior. Look at the cost of the dash alone....

LJ993

Any other ideas? Like the title says, it is a project. Phil

Pep!RRRR

How good are your mechanical evaluation skills, or did you already get the PPI? I would be very concerned about the body and mechanicals given the miserable condition of the interior. On the other hand, interior work can be addressed over time as long as all the important stuff is actually working, i. e., lights, signals, wipers, gauges, windows. Doubtful that is the case though.

n8kruger

Time, low-cost, and quality of work are the three major factors when considering this project. You can pick any two factors. In 25 years of going to swap meets, I have found all the interior bits to restore the interior of our Targa except for carpet. I doubt it if we spent more than $250 for those parts.

You can buy seat covers and replace the leather yourself. Carpet isn't hard to do but you need to buy the material/kit.

needspeed

I agree with Amber Gramps. If you have someone work on the interior, it'll be $10-$15k (base on my experience with an '87 coupe). Looks like you need a dash, new carpets, seat covers and cushions, door pockets, steering wheel, possible bottom b-pillar. Closer to $15k if you need to replace all the door panels.

Speedster911

I see people have their cars parked at grocery stores with dogs climbing all over the inside. Always wondered what the leather interior of a car looks like after a couple of years. Thanks for answering that question - If the the previous owner has neglected the interior this badly - my guess is the rest of the car is neglected as well.

agree with previous posts - a used interior will be north of 5K new 10k.

Door pockets missing
dash - 1,600
carpet 600 - 1,000
Seats - covers 1,000 - used seats 2,500

LJ993

Yes that is one ugly interior. The motor was rebuilt about 15000 miles ago. The tranny is supposed to be solid. I will try get do a test drive this week. Phil

Speedster911

If you could get this car at a great price (20K or lower) and you do not mind a project. perhaps worth considering with a rebuilt motor, depending...... who rebuilt the motor?. Just remember the projects always take longer than you plan.

I would check the wiring - many times if a car has had many previous owners with different alarm systems, different stereos , hard wired radar detectors installed, There can be a wiring mess at the fuse box or under the dash. Nothing more frustrating than your battery draining in 24 hrs due to wiring issues and expensive to track down if you are not doing it yourself. Window motors all work and strong? - if not another $500 - $1,000. Pull up the carpet, especially behind the front seats to see if there has been water sitting there and rusty.

It's also a ROW car , so factor that in when making your evaluation - will always be a consideration if you want to sell it. Good Luck!!