Hey guys, got a matter of opinion question for you.

As some of you may know I had picked up a donor car for my project that was in unknown condition. I was told it had a blown motor and I gave the guy a little more then scrap money for it. My initial plan was to just strip the car of part that I needed, sell what I didn't and scrap the rest. However after tinkering with it for about half a day today and using many of the nice guides on the forum she fired right up! Bad news is it has a blown head gasket from what I can tell. Not sure what else. So now I have to make a decision from one of the three options:

1.) Pull the motor and rebuild it exactly the way i want it as time and money permits. This will allow me to get my project on the road way earlier then planed as mine has a good engine/trans and I can focus on paint/interior/exterior and enjoy the car while I build the other motor.

2.) Continue to strip car of valuable parts and sell them and scrap the car when finished. This will free up some cash, garage space, and time.

3.) Sell the motor/trans/rear and shell as is for $500 to a guy locally and keep whatever parts I can salvage without making the drive train inoperable and the car unmovable. This is obviously the quickest way to be rid of the car but I will lose out on a lot of parts and won't have a reference/practice car while I work on mine.

What would you do if you were me? Keep in mind cars are currently stored in a 60x40 building with full shop amenities and a lift.

 

I'd have to say rebuild the motor, because when you're done doing that, the cars gonna be worth minimum 4 to 5 times what you paid for it. Thats good value for money, plus you get the joy of having another fast toy to play around with.

 

I would be pulling it and rebuilding it for my other car, not to put back in the parts car as its definatley not road worthy. Essentially using it as a core to build the way I was going to build the one I already have. This just allows me to keep my actual project car drivable and not sitting around for months with no motor in it.

 

^^^ thats what i did, worked great

 

Sounds like a wonderful plan to me.

 

I'd take the engine out and build as you wish (as you've said) while still driving your current car. As for the rest of the donor, I'd just sell what you don't think you'll need, and when you can't sell any more, scrap it. If some how the upper dash and center console lid are in perfect shape, you have almost $150 worth of parts right there.

 

Thats the theory anyway. I just have to make the decision because I need to pull the motor and check the rest of it and make sure its ok. There is just a risk factor involved because as soon as I start tearing into it the guy that was going to buy it as is wont want it and there car will be immobile and if there is anything catastrophically wrong with the motor I kinda screw myself. However with the relatively small amount I have invested its not a huge deal and it will give me some good practice anyway lol.