I have a 1990 305/tpi formula,5 speed with t-tops. I have had the car for 14 years and its been in storage since 2003. It has 160K miles with the normal wear and tear. It needs new carpet,seats,paint,front end rebuild,headlights fixed,rear wing is cracked and other misc things that go bad with time. Is this car worth me putting the money into,i dont see many 5 speeds,or should i buy a newer model that doesnt need so much? I love the car,but if it has any value down the road,i dont want change the factory motor. Any input would be great...Thanks

It depends on what you really mean by "Is it worth it". I'll never recover the money I've put into my cars, but I've always felt they were worth it. If fixing up the car will make you happy then of course it's worth it.

i guess one question is that i wanted to ask, is this car uncommon or are there a million running around ? I am like most others,i want something different,but dont want to chop up a factory car.

I wouldn't call it uncommon, but in another 10 years it will be. Be smart and hang on to it, or you will be kicking yourself in the *** when you can't find a decent replacement you can afford in the next decade.

If you don't want to put any money into it, find somewhere to park it for 10 years. You'll be glad you did.

i'd say anything is worth restoring if it doesnt have a lot of rust

Thanks for the encouragement,thats what i wanted to hear! The car has no rust or body damage,just needs TLC from driving it all those years. I guess i will need to find a donor car for the interior and find someone to rebuild my engine. It is hard right now because car is so far away, i dont have a garage to work on it. I live in MD and car is in WV, 6hrs away.

I would say that it will be worth it. 305 TPI/M5 cars are as desired as 350 cars, especially if they have T-tops.

Your car should even have the 3.42 or 3.45 performance gear...

I guess I should state that if you do the work yourself then it will be more worth it. I would charge around $15,000 to $20,000 to restore a rust free straight car back to normal. That would include paint, seats, rebuilt engine, trans, and new steering components.

If you do the work yourself:
Engine rebuild about $1000 for everything
Have a shop rebuild trans $1100
Interior you can get some ok covers for $500, a complete interior with headliners, door panels carpet etc for $1000 from 1A
It really depends on how much time you have and how much you want to invest.
$500 new fiberglas aero spoiler

The car is probably worth as little as $1500 and as much as $6000...

The values of the cars are increasing, ever so slowly right now. In a few years however they could be worth alot more. THats the current trend at least.

John

I am good at a few things,but taking the engine out and rebuilding and getting it back in and actually running,is not in my league. I can do the interior and prep for paint myself. I am going to work on it when i can,just a little far away right now.

Do you and your formula have a long history together? If so keep it if you want to. Hindsight is 20/20 but if you had it to do over again, you should have gotten a TransAm.

If you are wanting to keep a car with the hope of maximizing the future collector value, dump your formula and get a TA with all the bells and whistles, preferably a convertable or maybe even a corvette instead.

That having been said, the cheapest car you'll own is the one you have paid off. I have several coworkers that spend $500 a month on new car payments. If you sink that kind of money into a f-body you will quickly get a ride that people will envy.

Cost to restore your car to 1 year old or less factory quality will cost you $2,000-$15,000 depending on how much of the labor you do yourself and how frugal you shop for parts.

One of the coolest things about f-bodys, is that they are, if not among, the cheapest sports cars to restore. Incredible bang for the buck compared to other cars. Plus unlike a ricermobile you won't feel stupid driving it when your 45.

One of the best things a man can invest in is a 2 car garage and tools.

TheWesman

I have had the car for 15yrs,and really miss driving it. I can do alot of the work,but will need help with electrical and most of engine. I can carpet,seats,weather stripping,headliner,brakes,suspension myself,so i am going to give it a try,just might take some time,but i really love my car.

TheWesman has a very conventional and typical perception of what car will be worth the most in the future. He could be very correct...

Yes you might spend alot of money if you out source your project. Yes it would have to be a labor of love if you do it yourself... And its very possible that the GTA or Trans Am will have more value in the future. But I must disagree with such an absolute perception. Not everyone is the same Personally I would take a Formula with the same options and same condition over a GTA, I guess I don't like the Ground effects. But thats me... Prediction of futures is difficult, and you can loose your shirt or make a million on speculation. When you consider "Muscle CArs" back from the 60's those are the cars to own by most peoples books. The luxury heavy option cars with the same engine are not necessarily worth more... There is a market for both, and they are both worth similar values today and depending on who you talk to will determine the answer you get for which is worth more.

The Formula was the Fastest Normally asperated Production car made by Pontiac from 1987 to 1992 when equiped with the same options and engines as the GTA or trans Am. From 1982 - 1992 the Formula may even be faster than an IROC for that matter, making it second only to the Corvette for NA cars. Articles when comparing the IROC, GTA and Formula often preferred the Formula for its driving charactistcs over the other cars, not necessarily on the track but on the street over not so perfect road conditions. (See Automobile May 1987)

The IROC, Corvette, GTA or Trans Am are arguably and possibly a better investment, a GNX, or Gran National might even be better and a TTA, Firehawk or ZR1 would even be better yet. But Historically speaking, late 60's Camaros right now seem to be selling for more at auction than late 60's corvettes. So obviously it is not so cut and dried as we wish

My advise is if you like the car fix it up, and ENJOY it, if you want to make money invest in a good mutual fund.

John

I am not trying to make money off the car, i have turned down almost as much money as i paid for the car in 1992. I just am torn between fixing this car up or finding a newer model, 98-2002, not looking to race the car, just have fun. If i dont fix this car up, then i am going to find a dodge dart like i used to have and make it real fast. My 1st choice is the car i have had for almost 15 years, i know where its been. I just want to make sure i can possibly get some money back in the long future should i decide to fix it up.

Not really. Cars make lousy investments. If you sold it, and put that money into stocks you'd be way, way better off in 10 years.

But, the real issue is whether or not the car means anything to you personally. If you like the car enough to be willing to put the necessary dollars into it, then do it. If a car is a car to you, and you'd be just as happy with a different one that's already in great shape, then that's the cheapest way to go.

It's not about making investments. It's about having a desired car 10 years from now which will not be rotted and bashed up like most 3rd gens today. On the plus side, he will have a car which will be worth more than it is today.

The stat which suggests owning cars for 10 years is not a good investment takes into account ALL cars, not just Muscle cars. I believe if you pick a low mileage rare muscle car, it will always give you a good return provided you take care of it and not beat it to crap.

Stocks will not always give you a better return, just some of them. If I was to buy a car today that would give me a better return than the DJIA over the next 10 years, it would be the TTA.

i am not looking to make money,just something that will not put me in the whole bigtime. like i said, i was offered 6K last year to sell the car, but i love it too much. When i bought the car in early 1992, i bought it for $6900.00 with 20k miles on it. After i signed the paperwork, they figured out it was misadvertised, was supposed to be $9600.00....they should have been more careful...LOL

i need a drivers door for this car. I need the power mirror and windows door, if it makes a difference. I also need seats, anyone know where a good place to look in maryland ? Thanks.....

Brent4a,

As I said earlier. Cost to restore your car to 1 year old or less factory quality will cost you $2,000-$15,000 depending on how much of the labor you do yourself and how frugal you shop for parts. What other car can you do that with? When I worked at a body shop 8 years ago, a customer who I did some work for, slapped in a 100% new interior all by himself in a 69 firebird for a grand total of $1100. The interior of that car looked and smelled like it rolled right off the factory.

One of the coolest things about f-bodys, is that they are, if not among, the cheapest sports cars to restore. Incredible bang for the buck compared to other cars.

TheWesman

Sure, it'll be worth more than it is today, but you're still better off putting that money into some sort of money management account, and buying a mint thirdgen in 10 years and pocketing the rest of the money you earned. No matter how you slice it, sticking a car into storage for a decade isn't a smart idea. You own a car for the joy of owning it, not for the hopes that it might be worth more money later on.

the formula 5 speed TPI is a desireable car .
Yes car can be a easy huge investment. I had a couple early F body shells and made 1000% easliy in 10 years and them sitting in my back yard.
Thats about timing, and economy.
lots 10 years ago invested in muscle cars and and sold them recently for way more profit than any stock (except oil futures) would have given them, Oh, and by the way, without paying a dividend tax on it. That being said you must know what to buy, or keep.
This car you have should increase in value if in nice shape in 10 years as the parts cars get crushed and there are less around, and the desire for one goes up some.
most junkyards with F bodys cannot keep manual transmissions anymore, they sell like hotcakes.
just some fyi