I called about a 1991 RS, white, T-Tops, 305 (locked-up), automatic, 151,000 miles...the guy who answered said it belonged to his son. Also, he said everything works but the motor (locked-up). From what he said it needs some body work but not anything major. I am going to go look at it Monday (2-18).
Do you think this would be a good restoration project?

 

I guess it depends on what you are after. If you have an engine on a stand ready to go, a TBI motor, sure. If you want to upgrade it gets more expensive. Plus if you go really high performance then the suspension of the RS needs to be upgraded. What are your ultimate plans?

 

I have a friend of mine running some numbers on a 350 he's going to sell me. It will have a mild cam and a compression ratio of about 9.5. I originally wanted to put it in my dailydriver (see sig.) but this '91 could make a nice ride if the body doesn't need too much work. Decisions...Decisions...The '91 will have more amenities than my dailydriver, it's a plain Jane stripped-down Sport Coupe.

 

Its probably worth that much, even as a parts car. If the frame or quarter panels aren't damaged, and it isn't rusty, then it would more likely than not be worth fixing up.

 

For $500 you can't really go wrong. However 'needs a little bodywork' usually means its a totalled car. Most people don't consider light hail, a dinged fender, or a scratched lower GFX as needing minor body work. Minor body work in laymans terms works out to "the rear fenders are wrapped around the tires and the hatch is in a ziploc bag in the backseat." or "the passengers side door is bent in laying over the console" etc...

Keep in mind, even if the body is straight, if you intend to make it move faster than high 15's in the 1/4 mile you're goingt o need to scrap the TBI setup. Also keep in mind the Trannies pretty much on its last leg witht hat mileage. Even worse since it doesn't run you can't drive it to see if the tranny works. Add possible brake issues, electrical problems, etc...

If you want something you can drive anytime in the next 6 months I'd stay away fromt his car.