A guy I work with has a 91 Formula W/ the L98 in it. Has 85,000 miles on it and runs great. He wants $3000 for it but I ran a carfax on it and found that it was totaled in 92 and now has a rebuilt title. Knowin this I am concerned because there are two cracks that start at the top back corners of the doors. They are both about 5 inces long and working towards each other. He got the car because he lent a kid some money for the car and the kid couldn't pay up.

My concern is that the unibody is going to hell. Is there a way to confirm this????? I am mainly interrested in the engine for a truck i am building but I got another engine I could throw in the body if the body will hold up. But if the unibody is shot no way am I paying $3000 for the engine.

Any help would be great.

Thanks Kevin

 

well if your mainly intersted in the motor for other project by it up put in the other motor and sell it off to someone else

 

what do you mean by cracks????

 

Bet that they are stress cracks from the car being rear-ended. You see my posting about my cracked strut tower? The metal is thin, brittle, and unforgiving. Remove the plastic vent that is located near the door strike. See how very thin the metal is? I never realized what a piece of **** these things are until today. All the weight is in the iron and glass. The shell must weigh next to nothing. I had a 2500 pound car with a light-weight drive train. Car was a tank with real 5 mph bumpers, heavy-guage sheetmetal and a real box frame as part of the unit-construction body. The car was a Triumph TR-7. Go figure.

Seth

 

Thanks for the info Seth.

And yes if I get the car a different engine will go in it and it will be sold but if the car is falling apart I will offer him less and junk the car after I rip the drive train out. I am not the type of guy to sell junk even if I knew somebody would buy it.

As for a description of the cracks. Like I said they start at the top rear of both doors. They begin in the door channel and go towards each other. Each one is around 5" long and totally through the metal. To me it looks like the roof is trying to pull apart. I know these cars are not that tough but I have had 2 other f-bodies (both older and higher miles) and have never seen this happen before. I am just thinking that mabey when the car got totaled it didn't get put back together right and these cracks are just the begining. If all I have to do is patch the cracks with tin and repaint I'd get the car and sell it. But I am not looking for a quick fix and this is why I am wondering about the unibody frame. Last thing I want is to sell this car and then find out it fell apart while going down the road.

Thanks Again Kevin

 

Kevin,

Sorry for being so negative about the whole thing. At least you can throw the '91 away. My car is good enough to show, and I do not want to part with it . Especially now that the rear brakes are working.

Seth

 

cool, excuse to make a convertible
a 91 wrecked in 92? well if it has any miles on it im gonna assume its ok then, and its a 91 with an LT1? I hear people talk about these stress cracks on stock vehicles, let alone with more power.. but sounds pretty bad on yours
either way, great thing about metal, its fixable :0
this is one of the things subframe connectors will help prevent from ever happening

 

So am I to understand that if I fix the sheet metal and put subframe connectors on it the car should last..........

The reason I am asking now is because I have found a different engine for my truck (running 455 for $200 ) and am now thinking this car might be fun to keep around since there is 1/4 mile track 10 miles from my house. I always liked my other f-bodies but never had one with the 350 int it. I figure it would be a fun toy but like I said before I would really like to know if there are ways to tell if the unibody is going to SH** or not. I am trying to be fair with the guy but I don't want to get screwed either.

I showed him the carfax report and now he is pissed cause he lent the kid $3000 to buy the car and I still figure the car is only worth about $1000. Does my offer sound fair???? I figure it will cost an easy $2000 to get the body work done and repaint it so it will still cost me $3000 in the end for a fun car.

So what do you all think????

Thanks Kevin

 

Kevin,

Knowing how tissue-paper-thin the metal is, I would not bother to fix it. The drive-train and wiring and associated parts can be used elsewhere. A decent shell with a blown drive-train makes a better candidate for a project. That formula is not worth fixing. For the roof to crack, it has real issues. Hey, for my shock tower to crack, and my car is mint and babied, these cars seem far from wonderful. Your money. Your decision.
Times like this make me regret selling my 1980 Triumph TR-7 convertible, even though it was the most horrible shade of dark green.

Seth

 

If thats your take NoTransistors, then abandon your car now
your going to find more problems, i guarantee
and ive been reading on here for about a year and a half now and your the first post ive ever seen about a rear shock tower being destroyed like that, so either your car is not as babied as you claim, or it has a rust problem
and news flash, every car since *** knows when is made of layered sheet metal, unibody construction has been the standard since long before i was born... so ... i mean.. seriously

---

To actually have the car checked out you would probably need to have a shop check the frame... but im just going on the fact if it was in an accident so long ago, and it has alot of miles on it... someone must have decided it was good enough
hell if you can get it for $1000 go for it, but $3000 doesnt sound too unreasonable

 

The car has no rust, and is babied. No winter driving in the salt, and only 42,000 miles. It is hard to believe that no one here has had the same problem.
Maybe no one wants to admit to issues such as this.

Seth

 

well mine isnt babied, has 158k, some winter driving, been in some accidents I believe, my doors dont match, heh.. and its fine
things happen

 

Guess that variety is the spice of life. Think this applies.

Seth

 

I'm sorry, but Seth, if you hate this car so much, and it's such a piece... why don't you get out of it, and buy a new Triumph?
Things happen to cars...And it so happens that you've discovered something unique... I don't think anyone on here would cover up such a thing if it happened to them, most everyone I talk to on these boards has been very helpful. The metal on these cars is not "tissue thin" as you describe... try working on the cars of today, and you'll discover how thin metal can get for 30 grand no less.

Kevin,
Your problem is not quite so unique... These cars are VERY heavy, but they also flex tremendously. The F-body has been notorious for flexing, and cracking at the sail panel since it's inception. I have personally seen dozens with that crack you describe. The problem IS REPAIRABLE, and as someone else stated, FRC's will improve the rigidity of the car. Compounding this is a motor that would probably show about 75 more horse than the veh came with, and it's age.
Having a car with a rebuilt title is not an issue. AS LONG AS IT HAS BEEN REPAIRED CORRECTLY. I would think, if you're serious about buying, do a title search and find out if the state reinspected the vehicle to put it back on the road. (This is law in most states.) A rebuild DOES scare people off though, case in point... So if it is in your plan to sell it in the future... be prepared.
NOW, is it worth three grand...that's up to you. I would think that a clear title car in GOOD shape with a few minor probs would go for about as much. If you're worried see if a local reputable shop will inspect it for you and tell you if it has been hacked or properly repaired.

 

my car also has the saim problem with cracks along the sailpanel. i figured it could be fixed and now i guess i know they can...just a question...what is the best way to fix them?

 

Thanks for all the help. I am going to talk to him tomarrow and will see what happens.

As for the durability of these cars I would just like to say the only reason I was concerned about this one was because it had been involved in a wreck. It does have the rebuilt title not the salvage so it has been inspected but still it isn't factory. But I would like to say that the third gen's that I have owned previously never had these problems but then again they were both t-tops. And both of those cars had well over 200,000 miles on them when I sold them and they were both driven hard and put away very wet. They both went through alot of snow and even quite a few dirt road miles were put on them being that I grew up in WYOMING. The t-tops work great for praire dog hunting .They were my HS & college cars and I didn't respect them much but I had no problems with them other than the tranny going out on my 86' when it had 195,000 miles on it. I still wish I had those cars and my parents know the kid that has the 86 and he still drives it hard. Last I heard it was pushing 325,000 miles and his only complaint was the t-tops just started leaking.

I am very impressed with these cars hence the reason I am even considering this one with the cracks. If I do get it I hope to get it all fixed up and someday give it to my boy who is 4 right now. He already loves fast things.

Thanks Agian for all the help. This is an awesome site and keep up the great work.

Kevin

 

drill stop the crack, weld, fill repaint....

INSTALL SFC's!!!

 

Hmmm. Things to ponder.

Seth

PS,

I joined the Antique Automibile Association of Brooklyn, today. Perhaps this means that I am thinking ahead, with respect to the future of this car, as three more years need to pass before it becomes an antique.

BTW, the newest Triumph that would be available is the 1982 model, nothing more recent, except for their motorcycles.

 

sv305...
Thanks! (y)