Trying Not To Panic

[EllEVElER]

I got my newly purchased '87 to the body shop and pulled the interior, engine, and transmission only to discover the whole lower body is corroded; door beams, cross members, trunk pan. The guy I bought it from included the floor pans, a fender and quarter panels, and trunk lid, but it looks like it needs a lot more than that. Auto body guy says he can't do the work within the quote and my only hope would be to find a parts car and cut out frame parts as replacements. The only good news is the frame is in good shape.

Does anyone have experience parting out a stock regal for a GN rebuild? Looks like the dimensions are all the same. I found a couple candidates within driving distance in good shape. Is this my only option? Should I spend another $5000 - $10,000 on a parts car or eat the costs and abandon the project? Seriously gutted right now. HELP!!

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Should I spend another $5000 - $10,000 on a parts car or eat the costs and abandon the project?

From the looks of the rust, it would be my choice to strip every good part and trash the rest.
$5-10K??
Add 50% to the high side.
On top of that, there's no body shop that's doing collision work, ever going to get it patched up in any reasonable time frame.
How did you get hooked with that mess?