Hey everyone. It's been awhile since I posted. I'd thought I'd ask this but before you guys laugh here's a little info on the car.
I picked up this Skyhawk from the second owner last year. It hasn't been driven in 13 years. Factory 5 speed transmission. I've never seen another one of these.I know this car is rare but the rear quarters have lots of rust. So is it way too far gone?
Here are some pics
From someone who has recently done rust repair, I'd say it is definitely salvageable. If the floor boards are solid and there is no major decay on any structural points you should be fine. My local yard has an '87 coupe that's rust free and claims it still runs.
Love your Sport Hatch Holden!!
Looks like you have a roof to keep it parked under, so you ought to be able to keep a lot of that rust under control. Sure it isn't a museum piece, but I do not see any holes big enough to put my fist through either. Have you been underneath for a good inspection? Like Josh mentioned, pay close attention the the structural areas -( get a good look at the fuel and brake lines too under there), if everything is managable then clean up what you can as best as you can and go crazy with the rust inhibitor, primer and paint. You'd be amazed how long you can keep this sweetheart on the road once you get used to being vigilant on the body.
Enjoy your Buick!! You won't ever have to worry about it looking like all those Hondas & Toyotas. Another plus is it is something you can fix yourself - something special in this day and age!!
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That's nothing. DEFINATELY fixable.
Post pictures of underneath !
I'm with Cody....that's nothin' if you want it bad enough, though there is a point when you might question how bad you want it when your in the middle of the project, but if you see it through, you might feel it was worth it after all. On the flip side.....rare does not always equate to desirable. Desirable is what determines value so it is about having something someone else wants when you are done to make it valuable.
It will be a long time before the time, effort and investment are equal to the value of the finished product. J body cars are dirt cheap right now and may always be that way. That's how I found them. 3 convertibles for $1,350 seemed like a great way to have an everyday cheap fun car to come home in with the top down. Which is also a good comparison. I suspect I will have about $2,500 in each one when they are done with mechanicals, paint and new top. Ask yourself, for the money and time invested, would you rather be driving a hatch back, convertible or something else. If convertible is your answer, then pass on fixing it. If driving a hatch back is where its at, then commit to fixing it. The pictures seem to indicate that it needs lower quarter panels and area in front of the wheel well is no big deal if you have some experience mig welding and doing body work. I call these kind of projects, skill builders because the parts for them are cheap and still readily available. A person gets quick gratification from doing a simple job with bolt on parts or by repairing rust one panel at a time. They also help build your skill set and gain confidence to do better work on more valuable cars. That's why I shifted from working on my hot rod, to hone my skills on these types of cars so if the work is not up to snuff, its ok because the real test lies in wait.
So if you want a skill builder, you have a great candidate....go for it, fix it and live with the results or redo to your satisfaction. If you want an investment or show car, I would seriously move on to a convertible where the fun factor will exceed the expense if the value does not.
@Bill
Believe me I want to save this old hatch. Just can't do anything at the moment due to financial reasons. It wouldn't be an investment to gain money at all. It would be just to have something different. I actually do have an 89 Z convertible already. If I could have any J body it would be an 83 Cavalier convertible. I've searched and searched but can't find one anywhere at all.
If the car is not costing you money for storage, is taking up needed inside space or an issue with another like a spouse, parents or landlord, then just hold onto it until you have to get around to working on it. Too many guys sell cars because they don't have time for the car or need it and then later in life have sellers regret and wonder why the heck they got rid of it. Condition becomes a sliding scale the older and more scarce a car becomes. I have a ton of cars I bought at great price now only to have in wait until there is time and funds to get around to fixing.
Most of what I see underneath looks like rusty scale, didn't notice any real structure rot. It does have the cool hide away headlights and l like the color and wheels. Seems like you better start keeping your eyes for cheap parts that way when you do want to spring into action you will have pieces necessary for the rebuild and you will have spent your money out of time restraints which is usually how parts become expensive. I really try to ride out buying parts until I absolutely need them because I know a little later, I will run across the same thing dirt cheap. The waiting game and skill of striking a deal is art in itself.
I think a stick car would be fun and sensors are cheap on ebay. Have fun with your project
yeah, I don't see any holes.
If you have like $20 and some spare time, you can make it look good, and make sure it'll last a lot longer.
Sand/wirewheel the rust away, spray some rust paint underneath, and then spray rockguard over top.
for the quarter panel, do the same thing, but prime it instead of paint + rockguard haha. Get rid of your rust while you can, to prevent it from getting worse.
Haha frig, you know it's in good shape when there's still color underneath
That is quite a rare model, only one that would be rarer is the Turbo t-type. Looks very save-able to me, like said above as long as it doesn't have too many holes in structured areas your good to go. I've seen worse that are still on the road.
I would suggest wire brush and chassis cote application ASAP. It will cost you about $25 in materials and then it can sit for a while until you get some cash together.
A thought or 2 that has been in my mind lately that just seems so appropriate to post here.
The 1st gen J's are at that age where it is natural for them to be thinning out in numbers as well as (sighs) sheet metal thickness. One doesn't have to look too far back to see where we all will be in about the next 10 years or so. The GM H-Platform (Chevy Monza) along with such models as the Mustang II , Pinto, Dodge Dart, AMC Hornet were of that vintage and all flourished during the mid 70's. It is very difficult to see much if any of these machines on the streets nowadays, and mostly come out and about only at local car shows, Sunday drives or in proper dress to run at the local Drag Strips. As evidence exhibit A , I present the lamented : Chevy Vega website - a site basically of 1 owner. Laugh if you will my friends I know how lousy the Vega was, but here is how lonely it can get - not even one or 2 Cosworth owners onboard showing off their top shelf restored treasures ....Nope
http://www.chevy-vega.com/
And so it goes for the 1st gens that are of the mid 80's vintage. I guess we are at the time frame when the above mentioned models were in the 2000 - 2010 years. One notable difference we are experiencing is the ballooning prices of scrap metal these days which seems to be making a irreversible acceleration in the disappearance of all makes and models everywhere in this country. With this in mind I expect it to be nothing if even more difficult to source donors and repair-ables or restore-ables in the next 10 years. Back in the 1990's I have fond memories of buying cars that were fairly easy to be made road ready for $50-to $100 just about any time I wanted to find one. Those days are long gone. Finding anything nowadays under $250 is just crazy luck and knowing the right person. Something that actually runs and moves is easily double that. As John Masson keeps running into - so many people seem to think they have something very valuable now they it is nearly 30 years old or so and aren't ashamed to ask ridiculous prices for it....along with the threat that if they don't sell it by the weekend they will haul it off to the shredder.
I suppose the best course to take is to do the best with what you can find and afford to do with it. Everyone has a unique financial and skill level to work with - but we all have a common cause here at J-Body in that we all enjoy these body styles.
Enjoy these machines while they are available in numbers to support and maintain without needing to be a Jay Leno.
The last thing I'd like to mention is the difference between the 1st gen forum and the 2nd gen forum here. Here on the 1st gen there seems to be a very nice cross section of owners - from the long time keepers to the builders and modders , to the daily drivers like myself and even the newbies trying to figure out how to get their new to them 1st gen to settle down and drive normally. I've seemed to notice a decidedly smaller less enthusiastic crowd next door - perhaps due to the trimming down of the J-platform to just 2 makes. Not trying to be damning. I am merely noticing that if one decided to upgrade to the 2nd gen where there should be more newer examples to work with - it would seem that there isn't the same knowledge base to draw from as it is here. I can't help but wonder if the sophistication of the automobile is slowly snuffing out the enthusiasm once so prevalent in this country. Perhaps people are just buying and driving till it breaks and since repairs are so expensive , just dumping that for a newer vehicle to drive till it does the same. Is that Love Affair finally fading away?
Anyone have any similar thoughts or perhaps may think I might be off my rocker? The floor is yours!! It sure is nice to know this site is full of so many good folks and so much valuable information and experiences are swapped and shared. I haven't run across any yet that is as good as this one regarding any make or model anything.....Honest!!
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I think i saw the 87 on ebay under parts. If it still runs why is in the junk yard? Id love to buy it
Agree with you Orlen. Like you said I remember the days of buying $100 cars and driving them for well....... at least a year back in my college and HS days (early eighties). Times are a changing and everyone thinks that they can get $500 for scrap on a Cavalier. Well I have been calling around and maybe you can get $500 for a full size 70's cadillac that is COMPLETE. The most I have been quoted for on an 84 Cavalier is $225.00. Here are three cars that I drove back in college. Two mid 70's Vegas ($100.00 each ) and one 1975 Pontiac Ventura ($225.00) and drove that for 3 years in college and then my brother drove it for a year. Had a 250 Chevy motor with a 3 speed stick on the floor.....just could not kill it. Only replaced the clutch 4 times
But anyway my search for a cavalier 2.0 or 2.2 5 spd donor car continues.
Seen a few around here...but finding a decent 1st gen here in the north is pretty tough.
I've been on the hunt for a 1st gen in good shape, (would love a coupe or wagon), but it's tough to find a decent one...
My first car was an 87 rs, and was a bunch of fun!
It is what brought me to this site 15 years ago......
http://www.autotalk.com/pictures/data/1536/medium/2005_Chevrolet_Cavalier_Xtreme_002_autotalk_com_.jpg
