GTR81

We are the second owners of a white 1988 convertible with all the original accessories. Body is in very good shape and interior is OK for a 1988. Unfortunately there was a small engine fire and now the insurance company wants to total it. What is a fair market value? Any insight would be greatly appreciated, they are notorious for low balling the value.

lduley

iTrader: (1)

Look it up on NADA.com, that will give you a good idea of market value in your area

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Lawn ornaments are 5.99 at Lowes.

Rob XX 7

iTrader: (8)

$500

Seamoan

lets see some pics

GTR81

Insurance Company offered $6K and I took it, now I have to find parts! Thanks for all the info.

Rob XX 7

iTrader: (8)

I misunderstood, I thought you meant how much was the salvage value worth

i have no idea what book value is on a vert but $6000 sounds like you were treated fairly
I have agreed value insurance on my car for $20k you may want to look into it if its something that suits you

RXSpeed16

iTrader: (41)

Could you share what company and what was the mileage?
It's hard to justify the value of these cars and this is a great example to compare against if someone needs it.

GTR81

The mileage is 168,749 and the insurance is State Farm. Not sure how they arrived at the value, but it seemed fair.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

seems more than fair to me, you'd be hard pressed to get 6k for a non turbo even though the prices have been steadily rising for unmolested examples.

guess they had to total it since many of the parts are unavailable in like new or new condition anymore.

realistically though, if the engine survived then it is only a few hundred for parts.

GTR81

The engine is very much intact, I believe the fire started at the alternator wiring becoming too hot, due to high output from the voltage regulator. I think that the majority of the repair will be to the top of the engine. Finding usable parts will be the biggest challenge. THe car is very much original I would like to keep it that way if possible. I believe I can, just will take time to track down resources.

Rob XX 7

iTrader: (8)

the parts you need are almost giveaways they have little value

scour the parts section and maybe you can get an entire engine and pick what you need from it

I would think about taking that $6k and using it towards a TII swap

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

maybe he/she wants a reliable car, lol.

as for the parts, good working parts are becoming rather difficult to find. i have turned from an engine builder to a parts reconditioner in the matter of 1 year, and it kept the bills paid. but almost all my interior, electrical, emissions, fuel injection, turbo, etc items are mostly gone now. because it took only that one year to sell off hundreds of parts. mostly i just have engine parts left which are next to go, but also my most extensive inventory.

there's still part hoarders out there, but those people hold onto stuff until it's junk and have no intention of actually testing or repairing things before selling them, so it's a crap shoot in that respect.

i check the used parts section regularly and it is nothing like it was 2-3+ years ago, endless listings with 20-30 new threads per day have turned to one thread every other day with limited selection and fairly infrequently cheap prices.

engine harnesses can usually be repaired, unless the fire damage is extensive. most of the harnesses i see now look like they've been through the heat of hell and back and crumble upon touch.

GTR81

Thanks for all the input, I hope to get started on the repair next month, so the hunt for parts will start then. Had this car for a long time and really don't want to part it out, just never know. Thanks again.

lduley

iTrader: (1)

If the engine harness is the same between coupe and vert, i have a engine harness (ecu to engine components) i could sell ya, PM me if they are the same

Rob XX 7

iTrader: (8)

there is an engine harness, and obviously a body harness

did both get damaged?

if I recall the diff between a vert and coupe engine harness is the wiper motor is part of the vert engine harness coupe is not

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

all engine harnesses are the same, except late model vert with airbag.

Rob XX 7

iTrader: (8)

Is it tii have wiper harness with body harness and na have wiper with emgine harness?

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

all have wiper harness in the engine harness.

DC5Daniel

iTrader: (10)

I believe you're thinking of JDM models.

GTR81

Guys, I appreciate all your input and once I get started on it, I will be able to respond with more facts. For now it is on hold pending completion of a couple of higher priority tasks. Thanks again.

GTR81

Hope I am doing this correctly by not starting a new thread. Have started on the repair and the short answer is everything from the top of the motor needs to be replaced. Wiring harness, fuel lines, oil injector and lines, intake manifold, throttle body, the works. This is an early model 1988 and I believe there was a change mid-year production, so I need information about parts for specific to early '88. If the search doesn't prove fruitful, then it would be a good parts car for somebody. What I need is an '88 with a bad motor, so I can rob the top

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

the change you're thinking of was mid 87. and bad engine so you can steal everything on top is every other car but yours.

i was going to say you could probably score everything off the engine for $27, but maybe $270 is more realistic

GTR81

So "j9fd3s" could you be a little more specific, would a '91 work? My mechanic says "No" and where would you recommend looking for and engine to steal parts from. Appreciate the response.

RXSpeed16

iTrader: (41)

You need parts from an S4 (86-88) NA car. '91 won't work unless you are trying to change to the later style intake manifolds.

The 87.5 specific change is from low to high impedence injectors. There is an associated change to injector plug shape and deletion of the resistor pack in the wire harness. Other than that, S4 non-turbo parts should be interchangeable.

Look for someone local doing a turbo swap, they probably won't be using most of those parts.