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?

 

[GNVYUS 1]

What Chuck said because...
Whoa, is this a legit GN, you ran VIN etc because who treats a valuable car like this to rot away like its been sitting in a field?

IMO, You'll have to go big picture before moving forwards with body swap or restore so.....

10+ years from now, you keeping it, you gonna go through the stress and time and $ to restore and then drive the wheels of it, then sell maybe 20 years later for a premium or never sell and die with it in the garage?? If so and can afford this then restore it and get it appraised asap after.

BTW restoring a car is a real PIA and nothing is as fast or cheap as you think vs buying a nice one at say $45k. It's never too late to bail and start over with a different approach if you wanna just drive and enjoy.

Are you up for a body swap and fitting the bills from the body, engine and trans because you're looking at well over $35k total to do those 3 big items and to then get it to drive and look great.

 

[TurboTGuy]

We've done a couple GN's in the past where I work , one for a close friend of mine. His took nearly 3 years for us to complete and it wasn't nearly as rough. Admittidly, it was a side job and didn't take priority, but whatever shop you use, it won't be a priority to them either, not without paying thru the nose. Even if you use a Resto Shop, they are notoriously slow and expensive.

I showed a couple of really good body techs at our shop your pics. They say it's pretty much a basket case from what they can see. It can be done, but bang for the buck, you'll end up on the wrong end of the deal.

Do what Chuck says, keep the good stuff, junk the rest. That $10K number you have will easily double, maybe even triple, with what your starting with.

Best of luck.

 

[V6sleeper]

Keep in mind to just PAINT a perfectly straight rust free bare metal car is 15-20k nowadays

 

[Chuck Leeper]

And John's 55K GN is/was for sale for $30K!

 

[EllEVElER]

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?

$10K is for an '87 Regal with a 305. Body is in great shape. Pull the 305 and put the 3.8 in it? Customize and repaint for a GN clone? Fuck, idk.

 

[EllEVElER]

What Chuck said because...
Whoa, is this a legit GN, you ran VIN etc because who treats a valuable car like this to rot away like its been sitting in a field?

IMO, You'll have to go big picture before moving forwards with body swap or restore so.....

10+ years from now, you keeping it, you gonna go through the stress and time and $ to restore and then drive the wheels of it, then sell maybe 20 years later for a premium or never sell and die with it in the garage?? If so and can afford this then restore it and get it appraised asap after.

BTW restoring a car is a real PIA and nothing is as fast or cheap as you think vs buying a nice one at say $45k. It's never too late to bail and start over with a different approach if you wanna just drive and enjoy.

Are you up for a body swap and fitting the bills from the body, engine and trans because you're looking at well over $35k total to do those 3 big items and to then get it to drive and look great.

This was definitely going to be a forever car and 2+ years project. Had budgeted $50K for the body to do a frame-up with custom paint. Not thrilled about buying a $10K parts car but I'm happy to do the work to strip it down. I'm on days off and my buddy's shop is available.

 

[GNVYUS 1]

Ok good to hear, you'll save a GN from the crusher and oddly need one so I guess we're down another GN from the 20,193 production 1987s so all ours go up a bunch of bucks LOL but....

I wouldn't do a clone, that's the easiest way to kill the value at the end when you or someone in your family has to sell it. Then I wouldn't dump $50 into a clone when you can find a killer GN for that and save a ton of time enjoying it vs swearing at it in your garage. Hahaha

Can you salvage your body at all with new parts and keep the VIN or you really have find a shell like my original GN that got stolen and picked clean?

 

[EllEVElER]

Keep in mind to just PAINT a perfectly straight rust free bare metal car is 15-20k

Ok good to hear, you'll save a GN from the crusher and oddly need one so I guess we're down another GN from the 20,193 production 1987s so all ours go up a bunch of bucks LOL but....

I wouldn't do a clone, that's the easiest way to kill the value at the end when you or someone in your family has to sell it. Then I wouldn't dump $50 into a clone when you can find a killer GN for that and save a ton of time enjoying it vs swearing at it in your garage. Hahaha

Can you salvage your body at all with new parts and keep the VIN or you really have find a shell like my original GN that got stolen and picked clean?

Oh man, that's a nightmare scenario. I was of the same mindset, try to salvage as much of the shell as possible to keep the VIN. It's a forever car so I'm happy to take my time and build it right. Can't stomach seeing it get crushed. Also, I should premise with these figures are in CAD so $50K quote is closer to $35K USD.

 

[GNVYUS 1]

Luckily there's so many body panels available for us so you might be able to make your shell survive. If you get to the frame you might wanna consider blasting it etc while it's exposed. Think about if you're gonna notch it or not too, do all that while it's exposed and can build from a solid foundation and eventually say frame up restoration.

I'm also restoring my 91 Talon and luckily got some the last main body parts in 21 available but it's a blood bath of no floor pans, rocker panels, sills, no quarters etc etc as they're a real mess. The GN has so many more body panels at a fair price to restore so you can probably keep your VIN and not need a donor.

I had the T Tops done recently and looked into parts in case I needed them so there's hard to get parts like A pillars out there too.

https://www.opgi.com/sheet-metal-body-panels/windshield/1978-88-t-top-a-pillars/a-pillar-1978-88-g-body-with-t-tops-L241032.html

Luckily you're a body guy because my God would this be a bill. But if you're a lifer, a decade from now when they calculate there might be say 11k 1987 GNs left, these are gonna be easy 6 figure cars for the nice ones since Gen X will all need to blow their retirements on Viagra and hot rods. LOL

If you go frame blast and coat, bushings, body restore, then nice interior etc even if it takes 3 years, easy $80k appraisal if the VIN is legit. Big money buyers like frame up restorations and they don't care if the floors and A pillars are aftermarket, keep that VIN etc. I just hit $88k appraisal on mine and it's no stock low mileage garage queen.

 

[EllEVElER]

Luckily there's so many body panels available for us so you might be able to make your shell survive. If you get to the frame you might wanna consider blasting it etc while it's exposed. Think about if you're gonna notch it or not too, do all that while it's exposed and can build from a solid foundation and eventually say frame up restoration.

I'm also restoring my 91 Talon and luckily got some the last main body parts in 21 available but it's a blood bath of no floor pans, rocker panels, sills, no quarters etc etc as they're a real mess. The GN has so many more body panels at a fair price to restore so you can probably keep your VIN and not need a donor.

I had the T Tops done recently and looked into parts in case I needed them so there's hard to get parts like A pillars out there too.

https://www.opgi.com/sheet-metal-body-panels/windshield/1978-88-t-top-a-pillars/a-pillar-1978-88-g-body-with-t-tops-L241032.html

Luckily you're a body guy because my God would this be a bill. But if you're a lifer, a decade from now when they calculate there might be say 11k 1987 GNs left, these are gonna be easy 6 figure cars for the nice ones since Gen X will all need to blow their retirements on Viagra and hot rods. LOL

If you go frame blast and coat, bushings, body restore, then nice interior etc even if it takes 3 years, easy $80k appraisal if the VIN is legit. Big money buyers like frame up restorations and they don't care if the floors and A pillars are aftermarket, keep that VIN etc. I just hit $88k appraisal on mine and it's no stock low mileage garage queen.

Solid feedback! No, I'm not a body guy. I'm a pipeline tech who's pretty handy with basic mechanics. I was going to do an engine reseal with help from a mechanic buddy and send off the transmission for a rebuild. I guess the question is, can I get the panels, sills, pillars, doors all for under $10K? If I get the parts car I can do some work and part out to recoup a bit of money and I would have all the parts I need. I did find a great condition T-Type not far from here that just needs paint.

 

[GNVYUS 1]

Highway Stars inspects all Body and Exterior we sell

Body and exterior parts are completed inspected for quality before ever leaving Highway Stars

www.highwaystars.net

Highway Stars will have most of what you need and know where to get the rest.

Example, full floor pans, like $479.
They have the doors, rocker panels and sills, lower quarter and fenders etc.

OPGI will have other items and G Bodyparts will have items too. Those A pillars were at Opgi like I posted above so the parts are out there luckily.

I don't wanna make an assumption on value but I'd think a number matching restoration vs shell donor restoration will have different values in the end. Though it's much easier to probably do donor if the price is right but what donor shell is in good enough shape to do this in 2025?? Everyone knows what these are worth so you're gonna pay and what rust demons are hiding in that thing too so it's probably..... restore yours or bail completely and get a really nice one and drive in the Spring.

Load up the carts on the websites and I would guess the parts aren't more than $2500 so it's really and usually always body shop labor, brutal world there. At the competent shops you're competing for time vs huge dollar restorations, we're taking people dropping off for 6 figures vs you needing maybe ultra low 5 figures from them. You'll hear 9+ month waits to get in these shops and then you might need a 6 month repair window.

Though I just found a great shop near me and they're surprisingly $88 and hour and already knocked out my under carriage and fuel tank on my Talon. You might find a great place that's not slammed but you'll need to search hard and stop by the top 3 so you see what's going on.

Tell the kids Disney and Private school is gonna wait. LOL

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Load up the carts on the websites and I would guess the parts aren't more than $2500

Last I saw a pr of new door skins was $1500 + the ride.
A 1 pc floor pan $850 + the ride.
The list goes on and on.
Having done several total restos on various GM cars, and given today's prices, the hidden gremlins will shoot the $25K idea all to pieces.
Here's a "for instance":
16-23 hours
The flat rate hours for replacing the left quarter panel on an 87 Regal will vary based on the shop and the specific damage. A full quarter replacement can take between 16-23 hours, while a lower section for the rear alone may take 8-12 hours. If additional damage is needed, such as the part forward of the wheelhouse to the door, it can add another 8 hours or so.
So, at $88/hr low is $1400, hi is $2025. Add in materials, paint/prep, etc, that shoots big holes in the estimates.
With a rust bucket, the hidden rot is always a big issue. Ask me how I know this.
Furthermore, big panel replacements due to rust or a wreck create the need to fit, move, re-fit, all panels.
Otherwise, there' comes the "aw shit" moment when the doors can be an inch "too long/short" because the 1/4 panels were welded in wrong.
You get the idea...

 

[GNVYUS 1]

Highway Stars might be the way to go then since their prices were $479 for the full floor pan.

Floor Pan - Full pan - 78-88 G Body vehicle

Replace your floor pan with a full floor pan for your G body vehicle from Highway Stars

www.highwaystars.net

Door skin is $249 for each door which seems crazy good.

Door Skin - 82-87 Buick Regal and 82-88 Olds Cutlass - RH (Passenger Side)

Outstanding quality door skin sheet metal for Buick regal grand National and cutlass supreme

www.highwaystars.net

Regardless this is gonna take time, money, and big bag of $ hiding on the closet and determination to get the result. Finding a competent body shop that has people that have actually done the work is the next challenge vs they can in theory. Good luck