I'm at a crossroads with my supra, it just had some cosmetic damage from a wreck and I have to choose whether to keep it as a salvage title, or sell it and part ways with it.
I've had it seven or eight years and it's been faithful and a great learning tool that taught me a lot. I've done the head gasket, entire brake system, parts of the steering system, basic maintenance and whatever else I've forgotten, and I learned how all with this car. I never took classes, just taught myself with the help of kind folks here, and the TSRM of course.
Sadly it's taken a few hits since I got it, and after the second-to-last hit, I elected to just take the money rather than fix the dent in my fender because I needed the money more than a cosmetically fixed car. I'd previously discovered the rear upper suspension arm (a-arm?) had been at the very least broken off or sheared off at the rear mount. It was subsequently repaired using 1/4" steel stock, and it's a bad looking repair and a shoddy weld. I didn't feel like dumping a lot of money into a wrecked and potentially dangerous car knowing it would need at the least, a new rear subframe.
That being said it's a 1986.5, and it has numerous issues. I'm currently being offered $3700 for it outright if I let the insurance company take it, since it was deemed a total loss given it's current body condition. It's just as drivable as it was before being hit so it's still a functional car. This isn't to say it's running well, but it runs. I was hoping for some advice on ditching my first car, or keeping it. I thought perhaps someday I'd strip the interior, put in a cage, do some body work, replace the rear subframe, upgrade the suspension, and fab it up for the drivetrain and LS1 out of a camaro.
Frankly I can't ever see restoring it to a daily or a show car because:<br><br>The car isn't clean enough to warrant restoring, and the engine and drivetrain aren't worth keeping. Basically it's come down to keeping my car to resurrect as a different beast with a new heart later in life, or just ditch the thing now, save space, and buy a cleaner supra if I ever want one, someday.
I get the estimate for buyback tomorrow and expect them to be asking $200-500 for the car if I want to keep it. I intend to buy an economical car as a daily regardless of my choice, probably a Civic HX (40-45mpg).
as for the car's condition, there's easily 5-6k of needed body work at a shop. To look ok, it will need a new front fender, and work on the damage you see above which might mean a donor hatch, license plate section, and bondo work below the tail light.. along with a full paint job because the paint is badly faded and wasn't good to begin with. I figured as a track car, it's still worth keeping, but I dunno. I would be doing the body work myself if I fix it up for a track car.
There is also another option of parting it out, but mostly it's just the glass, maybe the driver's fender, interior, and Gotti rims that might be of any value to anyone.
I've had it seven or eight years and it's been faithful and a great learning tool that taught me a lot. I've done the head gasket, entire brake system, parts of the steering system, basic maintenance and whatever else I've forgotten, and I learned how all with this car. I never took classes, just taught myself with the help of kind folks here, and the TSRM of course.
Sadly it's taken a few hits since I got it, and after the second-to-last hit, I elected to just take the money rather than fix the dent in my fender because I needed the money more than a cosmetically fixed car. I'd previously discovered the rear upper suspension arm (a-arm?) had been at the very least broken off or sheared off at the rear mount. It was subsequently repaired using 1/4" steel stock, and it's a bad looking repair and a shoddy weld. I didn't feel like dumping a lot of money into a wrecked and potentially dangerous car knowing it would need at the least, a new rear subframe.
That being said it's a 1986.5, and it has numerous issues. I'm currently being offered $3700 for it outright if I let the insurance company take it, since it was deemed a total loss given it's current body condition. It's just as drivable as it was before being hit so it's still a functional car. This isn't to say it's running well, but it runs. I was hoping for some advice on ditching my first car, or keeping it. I thought perhaps someday I'd strip the interior, put in a cage, do some body work, replace the rear subframe, upgrade the suspension, and fab it up for the drivetrain and LS1 out of a camaro.
Frankly I can't ever see restoring it to a daily or a show car because:<br><br>The car isn't clean enough to warrant restoring, and the engine and drivetrain aren't worth keeping. Basically it's come down to keeping my car to resurrect as a different beast with a new heart later in life, or just ditch the thing now, save space, and buy a cleaner supra if I ever want one, someday.
I get the estimate for buyback tomorrow and expect them to be asking $200-500 for the car if I want to keep it. I intend to buy an economical car as a daily regardless of my choice, probably a Civic HX (40-45mpg).
as for the car's condition, there's easily 5-6k of needed body work at a shop. To look ok, it will need a new front fender, and work on the damage you see above which might mean a donor hatch, license plate section, and bondo work below the tail light.. along with a full paint job because the paint is badly faded and wasn't good to begin with. I figured as a track car, it's still worth keeping, but I dunno. I would be doing the body work myself if I fix it up for a track car.
There is also another option of parting it out, but mostly it's just the glass, maybe the driver's fender, interior, and Gotti rims that might be of any value to anyone.
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