Hey everyone. Ok so I wrecked my 90 gtu. I hate myself so much right now.. For someone that has never done such a job and I don't consider myself a mechanic in any way. I know the simple things. How tough of a job am I looking at. I saw a almost completely stripped shell for 200 with no doors, no sunroof, no wiring/ac, no interior except dash and I wonder if that would be entirely way too much work for me or am I better off spending the extra 600-900 dollars and finding a shell ready for motor/tranny rather than taking the stripped shell. I'm a part time worker and will also be attending school in spring. Let me know what you guys think.

 

you'd probably be better off spending a little more and getting something "more swap-ready". if you're apprehensive about all this stuff (doors, sunroof, etc.) now, it will take nothing more than a few curfluffles (sp?) to get you under water ... QUICK!

that said, it begs the question that if you're worried about that stuff, then how do you figure you'll do a successful powertrain install?

 

I have help with that. But then again I didn't think that would be the hard part being that my motor and tranny were in good running condition. But I've never done a motor drop in or anything like that, my help has. Its a learning process for me.

 

it breaks down to what your time is worth, really. If you have a TON of time and enjoy learning, then a bare bones shell might be a fun project for you in the sense you will get to know alot more about mechanics and the car itself.

Me personally, even though I own a nice shop and have decent mechanical ability, would still save my money and buy a more complete shell that needs a drive train swap only.

But thats my .02

Time is money friend

 

It really depend how on much time you have to work on the vehicle between work and school. If it were me, I would first figure out my work and school schedule. Based off of that, I would then decide if I would buy a stripped shell or complete roller. Hope that helps you decide on what to do.

 

I guess you are quiet young.....

When I was 19 years old, I wrecked my Honda Civic Vti. During that time it was a great ride and was very sad about it. Nevertheless I always wanted a Coupe with the B16A engine which wasn't sold in Germany. I also thought about buying a shell and building it up, but after a lot of reading, I decided to buy a complete car with hugh mileage, but perfect bodywork. The swap was easy and a lot of fun. I did that with my dad's help in 3 days after school in front of our house

I believe that might be the best solution in your situation.

 

I hate to go this far..but here goes.

The car will suck your wallet IF you do not know what you are doing.
If you work Part time then you either EAT or buy car parts.
If the car LOOKS good,you Won't.

Personally I would not get into this Situation Unless you just want something to screw with on the weekend.That is to tinker with and wrench on.
This endeavor that you are mentioning will go go well if you intend on making it a Daily driver..Right away.
You will end up BROKE..trust me..(if you do not believe me I will show you BILLS..I am still paying!)

 

All of you guys have great advice. Sarios2.. wow 3 days ? Nice!! I have made up my mind. I'm going to either sell the car how it is and just buy a whole new car... unfortunately I don't think it will be another rx7 because my insurance will be sky high. If I was able to find a shell for 500 or less I probably would have stuck with it.

 

Find another shell because the $200 one can turn into a headache fast. Ive seen some deals on FC shells on CL recently.

 

There's is time, there is knowledge and there is tools....invest in tools and the first two will make up for eachother.