Hey guys. Always got good help from the forum members. Looking to buy another s5 shell. The first one I owned I was too young to care and I junked a GTUs rear end and components. Now I am picking up another and I would like to know, besides the major exterior components (Tails sunroof mirrors wing bumpers moldings) and interior bits. I need to know the mechanical side. I plan on pulling the rear end pumpkin and I have heard about maybe better sway bars? Any help is greatly appreciated. SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE!

If it ends up being worth the buy I will also be parting out the car. thanks

 

So you're buying this car solely to part it out?
If so, potentially any part is of value assuming you can find a buyer.

How will you determine if it's "worth the buy"?

 

I'll get it cheap enough that the tails and power window switches pay for the rest of the complete car.

 

But I want to make sure that I know what else is worth keeping before I get it so I phrased that incorrectly

 

Maybe cruising through the Want To Buy ads in the classifieds would give you an idea what the market wants.

What is your shipping/packaging experience?
Many of the more desirable parts would be ah, challenging to package.
For instance, I'd potentially be interested in the a-pillar plastics but have no idea how you'd get them to me undamaged (assuming they can be removed without crumbling...).

Seems like quite a bit of the worthwhile stuff would have to be "pick up only" which of course, limits your market considerably.

 

I would definitely find ways. I got B pillars for auto seat belts. I just painted my 86 a pillars when I swapped over but I was looking more for like what parts will upgrade my s4. And I have been buying selling parts for the better part of a year. So it won't be an issue to set up shipping and what not I could get you them. I have a large ups box that had door panels so I would basically support it with more cardboard boxes inside and bubble wrap/ news papers. But I want to know what will benefit me more than anything

 

almost nothing will really benefit you.

the engine is slightly superior but the thermostat neck is inferior.
the plastics won't interchange(well most won't like the A+B pillars which is half the interior plastics)
the tails are an upgrade if you feel they are
even the s5 LSDs are pure junk
the electronics are less servicable

people will buy most of the crap but it is mainly just an aesthetic change, as most people prefer the external styling of the S5 to the S4. mostly people just want the parts to fix their broken ones.

 

Good to know about the LSD. I will be salvaging the body panels and stuff as spares because I converted mine. But I wanted to know mechanically if I could benefit

 

is the labor worth the effort? in my opinion no, because you may gain 10-15 horses and slightly higher redline but with a few tweaks could achieve the same with an S4 engine which is running well.

 

Exactly. Thank you for the input. It's a blue interior as well. Which to me is useless

 

its hard to judge on a lot of parts, ive parted cars out years ago and randomly u get hits or misses on weird ****,
if you have room and time I say stipe it completely!

if you havnt torn into an fc that deep before, before it can be a great learning experience, to fully strip the car.
grab a case of beer and a friend and go to town!

 

hands on knowledge and the ability to eventually part out the shell for yourself or to sell makes grabbing a shell a no brainer! good luck

 

Cliff notes:..Fully strip,grab a case of beer and a friend and go to town!

(once you are done,put your clothes on and work on the car..)

Seriously though,there is Big sellable items and then small stuff that nobody will use until you throw it away.Then people will ask you if you've got it!(I've got 2 big rubbermaid containers of nuts and bolts that could hold 6 cars together..I refuse to dump it.)
The thing I find about stripping cars is that you need Room,patience and a never ending resource of tape and cardboard boxes for shipping.(living near a grocery store helps..you can ask for free boxes!)