I, and so many others here have considered the same thing, so do it and we'll all learn from your mistake er, process.

The later TEs are so much nicer than the '87 was. Besides, here in the rust belt, I agree. If there's a little rust showing, the tip of the iceberg. I've seen people chase rust so many times that it pains me to see someone say "fix the rust". By the time the body has a few bubbles, the jack points are soft, suspension mounts questionable, the pockets behind the headlamps are rotted, the electrical connections are all questionable, the radiator is rotting, EVERY fastener or adjustment is cruddy and likely to break during attempted disassembly/adjustment, JUST SAY NO TO RUST!!!

I don't buy Florida or any other coastal vehicles, nor rust-belt stuff, don't want to mess with it.

Find a nice TE, keep the TD. Look at them both, if you decide there is enough energy and similarity to make the powertrain swap then do it, otherwise part the TD (and keep the SLS stuff) and drive the TE.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff