Gtaebr

Ryan,

I cannot agree more... I was painting a hot rod in a body shop for a friend here in the other LA and witnessed a "cut n shut" being done.....to have cheap cars available at tax refund time.

I had the owner move the car to another shop I was so horrified. This is soo illegal back in the UK but apparently is done here on the bayou.

I do not care about the legality or intent or soundness of weld. It is utter CRAP. You, your loved ones, friends, or strangers do not belong I'm a car like this!

potsiewebber

Front clip swap was done correctly. as was all other repairs. The car not running is an electrical problem. 4 cylinders arent getting spark. The car is solid.

AO

hacker-pschorr

I agree with you 100% on buying a car cut up like this. But the fact remains it is not illegal.

The system for inspecting salvage cars for resale is a joke, usually performed by a state official that knows very little about automobiles much less the engineering behind what makes them safe. The real kicker is if done "correctly" the selling dealership doesn't even have to disclose the work performed.

Many years ago I wandered into a local body shop (not some hack either). Sitting in the corner were two very new Pontiac's of the same model. One was hit head on, the other backed into a tree.
They were both a complete loss, the car that hit the tree came from the insurance company with a clean title. Guess what, that car became the VIN for the new vehicle with the other car welded onto the back.
The owner of the shop showed me where he was cutting the original factory welds, taking the cars apart exactly like they were put together. In the end maybe a factory engineer could tell the work performed.
The real kicker is the work was being done for a big dealership who had the car on the lot a few months later - clean title - no disclosure statement needed.

He has done some minor body work for me over the years. Every time I stop by, there are cars lined up from dealerships that look (to me) like a complete loss. These guys are doing [u]nothing[/i] illegal.

Cars with a clear title sell for a lot more money at insurance auctions than cars with salvage ones. It is 100% up to the insurance company to stamp a car with salvage or junk. I have seen cars rolled into a ball so bad the only way to tell the make is the centercap on a wheel.........with clear titles.

Gtaebr

Guys you are all partially correct.....

In some states it is illegal to sell a car repaired this way in most it is not...
That said all the car manufacturers declare this as an improper way to repair a vehicle. This is why the unibody is given a part #....

Yes even our beloved 928's have part numbers for the complete body shell... Check in PET.

A car repaired this way and sold in a state in which such repair is legal falls under the "lemon law" which in this case protects the manufacturer from liability as it is not an authorized method of repair.

Back home if you took this car for an mot and the join was discovered it's to the crusher for the car and you are SOL for the money you paid.

potsiewebber

this car was never meant to be a collector. It was meant to be a fun driver which it has been.

Gtaebr

Potsie I understand and really really sympathize for you current situation you and your family are in our prayers.

As a fellow enthusiast I would have told you to run a mile before getting this car...
You owned it before our paths crossed, I will not stand by and not say that IMHO I would not put myself or my loved ones in that car and my concern extends to you.

However you are trying to sell the car...

How much would you have paid for her if when you bought her she was listed as a.....

Twice salvaged, clipped, non running car, assembled from several different models?
May not be legal in some states.....

If you are honest with yourself your answer would be "parts car".

Please read this with good intentions, good friends tell you like it is. If they don't they are not a friend.

Lizard928

Ryan,

I mean no offence by this, but you really have no idea what you are talking about. I was not aware that there are alot of shops down there that do this type of work incorrectly. However, when welding two pieces together, when done properly the orginonal metal maintains 100% of its strength, the welded part gets slightly more. From the sounds of where this was done I would not be concerned about the crumple zone. I say that as it will crumple into the engine transfering the impact through to the rear before the area the weld was performed on would really be affected.

But if you HONESTLY believe that it is unsafe to drive a car that has been welded together, then I recommend that you start walking! ALL cars are welded together. Most of the 928 is SPOT welded together. This is a far far weaker weld than something that has been MIG or TIG welded together.

I do think it would be a good idea to have it put on a frame machine to see if it is straight, there is no question about that. But to say that the car is garbage and that it should never be driven again without knowing ANY of the real details such as where and how it was done is simply just ignorant in my books.

Now I think that you should also go and see a ton of restored race cars. Most have been crashed, put into a wall at very high speeds. And all of them that have had this happen have had a section of the car cut out, and a donor section from a new car welded in. All the racing bodies permit deem this to be acceptable, but perhaps you would care to get in touch with them and set them straight on this matter.

You might not approve of a car that has had this repair, and that is your decision to not buy a car because it has had something like this done. BUT for you to come down on this car like the hand of god demanding that it be parted and is unsafe to drive without ANY proof is a little childish IMO.

I hope that the OP gets the most for his car, but I fear that most are correct in their assesment, present state it is worth more in parts than whole. Whole I would say $5-8k is about right.

Adrian_

You're 100% right BUT , when talking about welding the front of a car to another car, you have to consider the fact that you might end with some items of the shell being 2-parts, when they were intended to be one part items.
Of course, it's hard to say if this is the case here.

But if the front was removed along the original welding points and added to the rest of the car, I see no problem IF the job was properly done.

.............................................................

1979 Euro

Lizard928

It was stated that the frame rails were cut between the suspension mounts and the firewall. IF this is true, and the welding was done properly then they are technically 1 piece again, and it should not matter.

Heck if it was my car when that happened and I had a donor car to cut the front off of, and weld it on, I would have done it myself. You would be amazed as to how accurately it could be grafted on. It is not too hard of a job IMO.
A much harder job is to convert the front end of a car to full tube frame, and even that isnt too hard of a job, but it is VERY time consuming!

Bill Ball

Potsie: You deserve some luck, but I honestly think you're in a very tough spot trying to sell this car. Here's what I hope you do.

Remove the SC and get the car running. That will net you an additional $5k right there. With the few SC'd cars I have sold, I always removed the SC and sold it separately. The value of the underlying car usually went up, if it was running. MANY more buyers want a non-SC'd car than an SC'd one primarily due to the smog laws in a number of states (like mine). This is a no-brainer and must be done. Being out of work, you should have the day required to revert back to stock.

If the car runs then, at least clean up the interior a bit. Give it a detail. Get rid of all the loose hanging crap and secure all the panels. Do something about the rusty rotors (drive the car!). Get some centercaps. Put the crossbar back on. Take some new pictures and go for it, but you should reveal it's checkered past upfront as well as all the new parts you've put into it in any eBay ad.

Ultimately, I think you've got a much better chance of selling and making money if you part out. Go though the numbers. It does require more effort, but is more likely to produce more than $10K.

Tim Murphy

At this point I think you would have to put it on a frame rack and get written verification that the car is straight.

Is it just me or do the doors look like they are rubbing in the pictures?

potsiewebber

not rubbing Tim. It would be nice if you were be spending your time getting this s/c working rather than posting here.

potsiewebber

I will get the car running. If anyone local wants to help i am game and available this weekend. At 339 hp and 12's in the quarter. you can have your perfect cars. youll never n/a have the power that this car has less supercharger. Thanks for the positive replies and for now i dont see myself parting this car.

AO

Can't fix the installer.