I have a '87 Sports Coupe that was given to me by my Father but it has been sitting since 12 and currently runs great but needs serious body work. The entire under side has surface rust, the finder wells have horrible rust holes, my interior is shot. So my question is, Should I try to save the car and properly restore the car or sell it and buy a 3rd gen in better condition. Oh I'm also 18 and in college if that helps. I just wanted to hear what other people would do or think?

 

Well its an 87 Sport Coupe, and on a college budget a proper restore will take you forever. My advice would be to make it your own, and check the local pull-a-part junkyards often to find good parts cheap. As far as rust goes, if the underside is surface and not rotted through, clean it up as best you can, take it apart and wire wheel it, or sandblast if you have access to the equipment, then primer, paint, undercoat, ect. Shouldn't be trouble finding fenders. If the quarters are rotted maybe cut wheel arches from a junkyard Camaro and weld them in. It really depends on what you have to work with and what your skills are, but don't be afraid to learn new things, I learned to weld for my Trans Am project.

 

My problem is lack of tools and location when it comes to working on the car. I have found that the car has been wrecked several times and some one has poorly put it back together. I'd hate to put so much time and money into it just to find bigger problems. My dad says make it look decent and drive it.

 

I agree with dad

 

Yeah I wouldn't spend any exorbitant amount of money fixing the body on a base model '87. Properly done, you can easily spend $10,000 on just body and paint if it's as bad as it sounds. I'd say get it safe/drivable, and spend your hard earned cash on a different car.

 

yeah, i agree with the others. dont waste your time and money trying to fix this thing up. the return (of satisfaction) on your investment is likely to leave you very much in the negative.