WWYD? Scrap or repair?

General Newbie
1

So I’m in a little bit of a dilema here regarding my mk1 GTO.

I bought it roughly 2 years ago and I’ve been screwed around so much with it that I’ve probably driven it like 5 times during this period. Long story short, screwed by a garage who had it for like 4 months who crushed some jack points (didn’t tell me) and failed to mention anything about how bad the rust/corrosion was (told me its fine and he’d seen worse), then failed MOT. Then a welder didn’t do all the repairs and it failed MOT again.

Now the car is down at Horsham Developments, who I highly recommend by the way, they have been nothing short of amazing and despite being a 350z/Nissan specialist they have been super keen and eger to work on my GTO and have done a great job.

Car unfortunately has way more rust and corrosion than I expected. Had a few restoration shops pop by for quotes and it’s been around £12-15k, roughly all estimating around 200 hours including new sills, floorplan etc…

  • repair and strengthening of both sills and structure underneath

- floor pan edge where it mounts to the sill panel

- sill ends,

- Front cross member,

- front chassis legs as required

- rear jacking points.

I’m pretty sold on owning a mk1 and I’ve already put about 6k into the engine including a full turbo remanufactoring.

My dilema is

  • Do I scrap this (sell the important parts) and import a mk1 from Japan for little bit more than the welding cost? I could pick up a mk1 for around £15-20k from Japan currently. Risk here is I don’t know the rust condition of the car?
  • Do I suck it up and pay for the welding restoration repairs knowing that the car is actually fixed and I get to keep another GTO from being scrapped? Plus here is I know the car is now good for another 20-30 years maybe.

Costs

  • Probably spent about £12k so far. Purchasing the car, major service and engine overhaul, remanufactored turbos, more.

Sentimental value?
I do enjoy cars with stories and history and I will rarely sell cars. I’ve still got and drive my 350z that I purchased 15 years ago with zero intentions of selling it. Either scenario the GTO would most likely become part of the ‘forever’ car collection.

WWYD?

2

@just_cool can you help with your rolling shell?

1 Like
3

I do have a rolling shell, the floor inside is solid, the boot floor, inside the rear wheel arches is good, no idea about the sills though.

Terry :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

1 Like
4

Hi Terry @just_cool, any chance you can drop me a message about your shell? :slight_smile:

5

Done mate

Terry :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

6

Tough decision. Unfortunately if it’s a JDM car that’s been imported, the salt on the uk roads just murders the car. I had to scrap a fairly rare mkIII as the underside was just gone. Completely.

I have a 1997 GT3000 currently being restored. Underside not too bad other than petrol tank. Still have lost track on how much it’s cost to strip everything back, gouge out the remaining corrosion etc. everywhere I looked, smth else was needed. Rear steering rack. Gearbox. All suspension components etc. it just goes on and on and on.

Must be mad, and it’s a complete money pit - but there’s just something about a really good GTO that makes it all worthwhile…..at least I’m telling myself that :man_shrugging:t2:

Good luck :crossed_fingers:

1 Like
7

Thanks all! Most likely picking up @just_cool shell and going to a transplant :slight_smile:

8

Do we know of anyone else that has a potential rolling shell or just a fairly decent car with a blown engine/car they don’t want to repair? Preferably a TT.

9

@gto_power1 thanks the heads up about @just_cool shell. We managed to meet today and I purchased his shell :smiley:

1 Like
10

Was nice to meet you @tony8 , join up and do a project build so we can see the progress.

Great chat too mate.

Terry :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

2 Likes
11

Hi all,

Going to close this thread as per club guidelines.

@tony8 as Terry mentioned and as I responded by PM we are a subscription members club. With full membership you will be able to start a restoration thread for your project :+1:

Cheers James

1 Like