85rotarypower

Hey, i'm kinda in a slump after estimating how much its going to cost me to finish my 82 GSL. I figure I'm about $4000 into it as it stands right now, and after spending most of the evening figuring out what I need to do yet, its going to cost me another $4000, not including taxes or shipping on anything, so figure about $5000 left to finsh the car. I've put too many hours into this car to count and its so close to getting finished yet so far away. The parts I need aren't especially hard to install, but they are all pretty expensive. I figure if I had everything on hand, I could knock it off in 2 weeks, not including the body.

So, my question is, do you think its worth it? I'll have a fairly quick car when its done, but I think I could buy a GSL-SE or something that I can put my engine into and have it all work for less, but mabey not. I just don't know anymore.

inuissus_cendi

what else are you doing to it?

85rotarypower

The list is so long. I have a lot to do, and there is a lot of custom stuff going on in the car.

I've got a streetported S4 13B 6 port with a Jaytech intake manifold and 600 cfm edelbrock carb, holley FI fuel pump with 3/8" supply and return lines with a holley return style fpr. Long style 83-85 rad with an FC oil cooler and stainless braided lines. Custom side mount alternator braket with integrated torque brace. 15 gallon (mabey) fuel cell to clear the custom 2nd gen style dual exhaust that I'm planning out. 84 tranny with custom, more solid mount with stock 82 GSL rear end. Clutch uses a stock pressure plate and flywheel with a 6 puck copper coated clutch.

Racing beat front springs with 84 style hubs and brake rotors and the rear springs are actually the front springs from a Fiat X1-9 I believe. Tokico blues all around.

Mariah mode 4 side skirts and rear wrap around with their IMSA style front air dam with a erebuni rear spoiler. American racing outlaw 1 wheels that are 14x6 and will have 205/60R14 rubber. Complete new paint job being planned out as well.

Interior is mostly stock with the exception of a set of custom gauges with 2 APC racing seats with 4 point harnesses and a custom fiberglass center dash section. No radio will be present in the car as I will have all the music I need coming from the rotary.

Thats a basic summary of what has been done or is going to happen with the car. I'm sure more things might happen, and I know its going to cost more than I expect, but i'm loosing my ambition to work on the car anymore. I just want it done so I can drive the car I've been working on for the past 2 years. I know I've brought a car that should have gone to the junkyard back to life, but I wonder if I should have just bought a car that was in better condition to start with and I would be farther along by now. I had the chance to buy an 85 GSL-SE for $1700 that ran excellently but was in an accident, and I turned it down because I felt that was too much. I now know that I would have been much better off if I had bought that GSL-SE, even with the fixes it needed.

85rotarypower

I'm going to take a couple pics tomorrow to show you guys where I'm at. I think you'd be surprised just how shitty the car looks right now, but it is probably the most solid high mileage 82 I've seen, and probably even more solid than stock as I replaced both driver and passenger floors and bracing under the floors with metal that probably twice as thick as stock.

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

Do I think its worth it? Well my opinion is biased, because im a psycho car guy, but if it makes you happy do it. If you are gonna whine and complain about it, don't. If your not going to enjoy the work why do it? Just get some new plain jane car, I hate to say it, but why do the work if your not passionate about it...

I know what its like to spend a ton of money on these cars, and let me tell you it can be very rewarding. But im in a similar situation to you, my project car is going to cost me like $10, 000 to finish properly with rims tires and a powerplant...

81gsl12a

iTrader: (1)

woooot do it im upto about 6k on my 82gsl and i blew the motor and now im buidlign a new 1 the way i see it im going to need about 10k more to have it where i want it and its already got alot of stuff done to it...........the cars are just so much fun and besides its only money right?

85rotarypower

I guess the question is not weather it is worth it to go any further with the car, but weather or not one is passionate about the work or not. I personally love working on these cars. They are so simple is almost unbelievable. I have a passion for cars unlike a lot of people have and it shows with just how much work I have put into this particular car. I think most people would have given up by now, given the unavailability of used parts for the FB's in my area. The local junkyard just in the last month got their first FB in 2 years and its already mostly picked over. Also, the supply of parts locally from other FB owners is next to nothing, so I'm left buying parts from people in the US, getting charged outrageous duty charges at the border. But I have still persisted to get the parts I need to finish my car.

I guess it really is worth it for me to finish the car. My expectations aren't set too high so it should really be a fun car when its done. But I love working on the car, and I certainly loved driving the car when I did.

Whanrow

Its a tough call. It always is. I suppose it mostly depends if you're doing it to get what you want, or for the possiblity of breaking even or making money on selling it. You could always look at scaling back some of your wants. e.g. Why go to the trouble of creating a dual exhaust and putting in a fuel cell when a single RB system would give just as much power - just to have 2 pipes out the back instead of 1? When you mention an -se and putting in your engine, you may want to think hard on that. -se are nice, but just remember the more toys, the more to break. I have always found the electrics aren't that great, and a 20+ yr old -se seems to have continuing small electrical crap every time you turn around. I want to drive the car, not constantly work on it. If you realy love the car, enjoy working on it, then keep at it. You are at the stage in a long term project where people tend to give up. That's how you can buy a close to finished car cheap. You just need to get over the hump.

I'm in the same boat, with a good running, low mileage car that I paid way too much for ($5200). It needs a proper paint job, so there goes about $4k right there. In the end I'd have a car with about 10k invested, that I could sell for maybe 5k. I'd almost be better to put that 10k towards a 3 yr old Miata. Also the crappy steering and lack of parts availability for us here in Canada really sucks.

85rotarypower

The dual exhaust is actually going to be cheaper than a RB system, about half as much to be exact because I'm going to do the work myself. As for the fuel cell, if I were to find an original tank, it would probably cost me just as much and it wouldn't provide me with the proper sized supply and return lines for my fuel system.

I hear ya about the unavailability of parts here in Canada. I could scale back on the body a little bit and just leave it as is, all dented up and really needing a paint job, but I need at least $2000 in parts just to get the car streetable again.

Dr_Jeff

sounds like a money pit

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i dont have anything earth shattering to add here, but ive been driving these things for more than 10years now, and recently i sold my gsl-se and made it a whole 3 months before i bought another one. the only potential 1st gen replacement is the rx8. miata is fun, but its piston, fc is just not the same etc etc

Whanrow

Levi, I was just using the exhaust as an example because its something that requires a further change (fuel cell) to complete.

Maybe it would be worth it to show the list of things you want to do to a COMPLETELY NEUTRAL 3rd party who has some degree of automotive knowledge. They may present you with some questions like "why do you want to do that?", or "why not do this instead?" This may be a good avenue to make you think carefully. You may find some things on the wish list aren't as important as you thought.

No to dispute your claim about $2k in parts to get streetable, but any body parts I've seen for sale on the forum have been dirt cheap. Its the paint job that's the money eater.

Rob