[cabs135]

Hello,
I have been lurking the forums for years, but I am need of advice on how to proceed with the future of my '86 Cabriolet.

Background:
I have had the car since 2014 (my first car) and she has been my mostly faithful daily. I have done some modifications, but nothing that couldn't be easily undone so that I could restore the car someday if I had the money. A few weeks ago, an oil seal blew while I was on the highway and now I have rod knock and shavings in the engine. The body of the car seems to be in ok shape; although I did pull a 6" chunk of bondo off of one of the rear quarters recently and the other is starting to blow out at the seam. The paint job is a hot mess, but the interior is in decent shape and it is relatively sound mechanically. I am a broke college student, so I am going to do whatever I do in my parent's garage. We don't have every tool, but we do most maintenance on our pre-2005 vehicles.

The question:
Is the car worth someday restoring, or do I just send it and drop in a newer motor, which will make more power and likely have less miles? I have a new car now so she won't necessarily see the road a lot anymore.

 

[YJSAABMAN]

That's one of the most common spots for rust on these cars. I wish my 82 had that little rust on the rear apron. Check over the rest of the car really well, floors, strut towers, etc. It looks like a decent 10 footer as it is, I would say swap in a fresh engine (stock or an upgrade) and keep riding. As for restoration, only you can answer if it's worth it to you. It doesn't take long too spend more than one of these cars is worth, and they likely won't gain much value as the years go on.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[cabs135]

It looks like a decent 10 footer

Great way to put it, you should see how the last guy painted it yeesh.