Worth it or dont even bother?

[FreakSe7en]

First thread to the site, take it easy on me.

I just recently picked up a 91 240 from my brother. the price was low so i figured even if this was goner that i could at least part the car out and make a profit. I do have experience doing body work when i went to a tech. school, but we never did get into rust repair. Our teachers said it would be too long of a course to get into, but they did offer it as class you could take outside of school. so i never learned that part of "auto collision repair"

so, just how bad is the rust that i have on my 240? Im really hopping she can be saved, only has almost 72,xxx on the odometer, and the interior is clean despite drivers seat wear and the need of a vacuum. but this rust....it scares me to be honest.

anyways here are the pictures i took a few hours ago.

[Def]

DAMN!!!!

Looks like you'd basically be redoing over half the chassis out of sheet metal. I guess if you've got an extra 100 hrs or so to burn, have at it, but I think that one is beyond gone.

[DoobieS13]

this^^, yea dude that's bad....wow worst I've seen in awhile

[enjoisk8board891]

HA. good luck. just sayin. . .

[FreakSe7en]

yep, thats what my fears were basicly going twards. glad i didnt pay too much, 250 and im not out much.

[jr_ss]

If you wanted to save it, it can be done. That's a big if though as you'll be putting alot of man hours into it to get it right. The frame rails and rockers are that big of a deal, but that strut tower would concern me.

[shaggy sr]

almost 72k miles? no way. i been to michigan many times. maybe s13 cluster odometer must be broke. 72k to 172k miles, who knows? junk ur s13 for money and buy another s13 rust-free

[ryandriftingfat]

I have seen all of those spots repaired, but not all on the same car. That part on the side would be covered up if you had side skirts. Still a lot of work though.

[stilmissmysti]

May be a car you could use to practice welding on or something but that's way to far gone to save nog worth it bro

[FreakSe7en]

I was surprised as well seeing it was that low in miles. Original owners were an older couple that only used the car for summer and trips down to Fl. Owner my brother got it from defiantly drove it during the winter, anyone that's been in Michigan during the winters knows it will eat your like a midnight snack without proper care.

[kennedy8383]

That rust not big issuse i have seen worst than that... If you have mig welding you can fix those up real good.. The mileage low and could still save it.. I really hate driving winter.. LOl

[JFoxx]

Originally Posted by kennedy8383

That rust not big issuse i have seen worst than that... If you have mig welding you can fix those up real good.. The mileage low and could still save it.. I really hate driving winter.. LOl

those are just the holes you can see..... your best bet is to part it, then use the money to get a rust free 240 and then spend money and time on it.....

you could fix it, it is just not worth it......

[kennedy8383]

Originally Posted by JFoxx

those are just the holes you can see..... your best bet is to part it, then use the money to get a rust free 240 and then spend money and time on it.....

you could fix it, it is just not worth it......

The frame rail are common rust problem for all 240sx. It up to person who own the car, but i would just cut it and weld it back on. There are place you can buy the under frame metal.. IF peoples don't know much about body work or have the equipement then why bother buy rust car... I really enjoy peoples doing welding and fabrication..

[Blues13]

For as cheap as 240s are, there is no reason to try to salvage that unless you just want some 'practice'. Use it as a spare parts car and it'll save you a lot of time/headaches.. 240s aren't exactly rare.

[MadScientist]

Originally Posted by Blues13

S13s aren't exactly rare.

fixed that for ya...

[cotbu]

This is my S13:

This is my S13. There are many like it but this one is mine. My S13 is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my S13 is useless. Without my S13 I am useless. I must drive my S13 true. I must slide straighter than my enemy, who is trying to out drive me. I must boost on him before he boost's on me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my S13 and myself are defenders of the track, we are the masters of the track, we are the saviors of this spirit. So be it, until there is no enemy, and peace. Amen

[Neon_rain519]

Its up to you really. If you think its worth it, throw it up on jack stands and start cutting out the nasty. Until you dive in you won't know what your dealing with. Then decide what you'd like to do.

[Tommy]

That rust looks nasty but anything can be done if you put time into it.

[2IL40via]

Part it out and look for a cleaner 240. Not flaming but i picked up my 240 with 180,xxx miles on it and its got nowhere near the rust. theres gotta be another cause to it. anyways if it were me, id tear it down and part it out, then keep the rolling chassis and practice on it. if your dash isnt cracked, i desperately need one

[KiLLeR2001]

Originally Posted by cotbu

This is my S13:

Full Metal Jacket.

[Frank_Jaeger]

Originally Posted by KiLLeR2001

Full Metal Jacket.

There are many like it, but this one is mine.

[FreakSe7en]

that is true thats its not exactly rare to another one, its just trying to find one that has not been modified in any way. I use to search on craigslist a few times a week and there were always a few up. once spring hit.....there is only one on there that was RHD converted and is just a rolling chassis.

this weekend i will be going into town and talking with a few shops and see what it will cost me to get it fixed or if they would even touch it. Wish me luck!

[TougeSR20Kid]

^^ What's up with all the random fucking bump posts lately?! Fucking retarded...

Either way OP that's not that bad, seen worse repaired, 100hrs lol I dunno bout that, depends on ur skills and all, but yeah give it a shot and if anything if you part it out and then fix it u will get more cash money so may be worth it

[FreakSe7en]

I was not able to get some quotes done this weekend with the holidays and all. I did a little more searching around the web and came across these Online Store - Xcessive Manufacturing

Any one have and experience with them? are they reliable?

on a side note, about how much "should" i be paying to get the removal and welding done for?

Thanks for your guys help.

[future]

You still insist on getting it done after everybody tells you not to so why bother asking in this thread? Smh.

Its not worth it. Not even if thy gave you the car for free

[jr_ss]

It all depends on who you take it to and what their labor rates are... I would imagine 10-15 hours of work, but keep inmind labor rates/material/etc... You can save yourself some money by removing bad metal and prepping the surrounding area for the welder/fabricator. If there is no rush to get the car on the road, I'd do a lot of the labor myself.

[Def]

Originally Posted by jr_ss

It all depends on who you take it to and what their labor rates are... I would imagine 10-15 hours of work, but keep inmind labor rates/material/etc... You can save yourself some money by removing bad metal and prepping the surrounding area for the welder/fabricator. If there is no rush to get the car on the road, I'd do a lot of the labor myself.

No way you're getting that done in 10-15 hrs if you're shaping panels yourself even if you strip the car and prep all the areas yourself (which will probably take 10-15 hrs itself).

You're also going to have a few areas that are suspect and you might as well fix them as well. Then naval jelly on remaining areas, then undercoat, paint etc.


I'd say more like 40-60 hrs for that much rust.

[jr_ss]

I was assuming he was buying the xcessive rails, which basically replace the factory rails, so there's not need to fab parts there... I had forgotten about the cancer under the doors, which will take the most time to fix. So with that said, I wouldn't say 40-60hrs, but more than my original statement. I'd also check the floor boards, they are known to rust out.

[Def]

Yea, replacement frame rails would speed that up, but with that much rust there's got to be a TON of ~1" size holes in places that collect water like in the wheel wells. That will eat up a ton of time repairing all that crap. The floorboards aren't that big of a time sink since you can typically fab up large panels.