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Gone and done it again... Introducing my new CWC candidate
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Ol' Rotchester
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0504.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...IMG_0526-1.jpg The wagon has 187k documented miles, spending most of its life in New York. Somehow it made it over to Kansas in the last 5 years or so, with brief stints in Wichita and Lawrence. So, the good: Runs and drives amazingly: 250 miles logged just today driving it back from Lawrence http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0502.jpg Near Minty interior: http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...IMG_0511-1.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0510.jpg Second row 60/40 with headrests, which means... http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0513.jpg Third row: http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0507.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0508.jpg The best part of the car is this: http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0528.jpg I haven't done a tally yet, but I estimate 20-30k in service invoices alone on this car. One of the last ones in NY was nearly 6k for an entire front and rear suspension rebuild, all belts, hoses, and fluids, along with other odds and ends. A 3k transmission rebuild is in there as well. Now for the bad... this is why the car begins with rot. :( http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0515.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0516.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0517.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0520.jpg Pretty good wallops on the front fender, passenger door and rear quarter as well. http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0525.jpg Okay, now the ugly... Brace yourself. http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0522.jpg That's my fist poking through the wheel well. :( http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0523.jpg Engine shot: http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0521.jpg I can't believe the owners would maintain their car mechanically with such fastidiousness while allowing rust to consume it. Its so depressing. :( Many parts are going into trigger, and I may be parting it out to (peachparts:mad:) Members. It seems such a shame, though. a shame, though. |
Wow. Amazing they put so much dough into a shell that's so beyond hope :( Great parts donor though, that blue interior looks great. Looks like the SLS even works!
-J |
That is indeed odd.....so much $$ into a badly rusted car....makes no sense.
By the way, in Michigan that'd be considered a perfectly good car. It'd make a great winter driver for several years at least. Parting it seems a waste if it runs and drives so well. How much did you pay for it? |
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Poor bugger. It's heart and guts will live on
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It looks great 20 ft away and at the right angle, maybe with some of your
photo shop expertice it will be perfect ;). charlie |
Wow, what a great idea, You bought a parts car before
my wagon even ended:eek:. You really are serious about my rust free wagon:D. and now you have everything to fix it:cool:. BTW folks, my "gem" goes off tonite;) |
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I'm not sure if I can let this thing die that way... |
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You got your work cut out for you, I wish you the best. IMHO though, I really think you would be better off finding a rust free donor body and transplanting everything. |
With the exception of the wheel well, my 300D has more rust than that. And more dents. (Note: I take great pride in my engine's health, not the body health)
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I'd drive it until the rust was real bad, then I'd do transplantation.
$500 is a steal for a vehicle with so many good parts though! |
And some lucky young forum member is going to benefit greatly from that awesome blue interior. Sadly, I'm not young..........:(:(:(
It is mind boggling to think of that much $$$$ spent on that wagon. So much in the way of good parts!!! BTW, you really have a knack for coming up with very applicable car nomenclature. Rotchester is very clever, and very fitting...... |
^Hmmmmm.... I wonder who that could be?!?
Norm is going to like headrests! |
That poor car could part itself out on a rough road.:eek:
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I'm glad to hear you made it home!
I'm glad you like the car! It was great to meet you. It looks really good, even better than it did in my driveway!
Thanks Again. I am so glad to see that you are enjoying the service records as much as I did, mind-boggling! I'll keep checking back for progress reports. Timothy |
Timothy, you'll know what I'm talking about...;)
It caught a friend of mine under his spell, and it looks like he is going to buy it from me and use it as a daily driver until it rusts apart. This car is so incredible mechanically, I imagine it will last him a while. Don't worry Colin, you still get the interior, we're just going to do a complete swap of Norm's and Rotchester. I already swapped the wood with Trigger, and am going to swap other sunbaked trim and rubber parts that don't look as pretty. The car will still be perfectly functional, and Norm's current interior is pretty darn nice, so he won't be missing much. I took the third row seat and seat belts to sell. Zach will have no use for them. We'll see... It may be out of my hands as soon as tomorrow. |
Nice Find
Wondering what year it is. Could that be an uncracked dashboard in blue? Also wondering why the SLS reservoir is on the driver's side....
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Here are pictures of the third row. I'll wait a week or so for a shop member so I hopefully catch a forum member to buy it, then put it on Ebay.
I decided not to remove the c-pillar trim because I didn't want to Ghetto out the car too much for my friend. Its easy enough to cut a hole in the right place of the seatbelt anyway. You can see one spot on it that appears to be paint or white out. I was scratching it off with my finger nails, so it should come off easily. http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0530.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0534.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0532.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/IMG_0533.jpg |
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Just added it all up...
Invoices go from 1990 to 2006, totaling without change $23,884. The books have the records from 1985 until then... My guess is the purchase price was exceeded by maintenance and repair costs during the cars life. Year Cost repair 1990 $223.00 New antenna 1990 $59.00 oil change 1992 $3,037.00 Transmission rebuild 1992 $399.00 Service, fuel filters 1992 $273.00 60k service 1995 $221.00 Belts, tires, radio repair, window switch 1996 $209.00 Water pump, oil service 1996 $83.00 Hood release 1996 $902.00 New exhaust, oil change, air filter 1996 $139.00 wheel balance, oil change 1996 $196.00 Brake pads, oil change 1996 $360.00 Heater Mono-valve, fuel lines, brake lines 1997 $89.00 Alternator belt 1997 $597.00 Alternator mount, washer motor and check valves 1997 $372.00 Alternator rebuilt, new tires 1997 $332.00 A/C charge service, new CCU 1997 $56.00 Oil change 1997 $411.00 Transmission cooler line, Pads and rotors 1997 $227.00 Transmission pan gasket, and vacuum modulator 1998 $775.00 Starter, 120k service 1998 $559.00 Rear window, tie rod 1998 $655.00 Brake pads, calipers, rotors, Belts 1998 $1,631.00 Wheel bearings, Tank drain and fuel system flush, hood release cable, Full service 2000 $5,784.00 Front end rebuild full service, belts, hoses, fluids 2000 $592.00 Wiper motor, antenna 2000 $172.00 Sway bar, oil change 2000 $649.00 Window switches and regulators 2000 $206.00 AC charge 2001 $104.00 Oil change 2001 $62.00 Oil change 2001 $490.00 Front bearings, brake pads 2001 $418.00 AC repair and charge 2001 $301.00 Water pump, anti freeze 2001 $92.00 Oil change 2001 $337.00 Injector lines 2002 $50.00 Oil change 2002 $39.00 Wiper blade 2002 $532.00 Alternator, oil change 2002 $39.00 Wiper blade 2002 $40.00 Oil change 2002 $61.00 Block heater cord 2002 $31.00 AC test 2002 $542.00 Transmission pan, 2 tires, brakes, rotors 2002 $217.00 Engine mounts 2002 $40.00 Oil change 2003 $164.00 Two tires 2003 $541.00 Brake pads, Calipers, rotors 2003 $276.00 Brake master cylinder 2003 $50.00 Oil change 2004 $50.00 Oil change 2005 $50.00 Oil change 2006 $150.00 Oil change, coolant flush Grand TOTAL $ 23,884.00 |
My 300cd also has more than it's purchase price in maint. receipts. This includes a new rear end, 20 hours labor to replace all rubber in climate control system, 3-4 drivers side window regulators (Guess what, driver's side is broken again)
I bet that car would last a few years of good service after some angle grinding and POR 15! I would drive it on a deferred maintenance schedule and not be surprised at all when the drivers seat, sway bar or battery falls out due to rust. |
The battery trail and floors are really solid, actually... The only thing that looks scary is that wheel well, and 2 of the jack points.
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Man, these 2nd row blue back seats keep getting away from me, but that one hurts.:( Very nice, and head rests!!
Colin better lock up Norm and stand guard when he comes to Texas......:cool: Nice job on the wagon sale. That was very fast, and no storage fees. ;) |
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From the records, it looks like a recurring tranny issue made them just give up and do a rebuild.
All they say is, transmission shifts too soon in the issues box at the dealer. It was probably something minor and misdiagnosed. This is a dealer, of course, so they don't repair things, they replace them. I will look more closely at the tranny rebuild part tomorrow. |
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Dave |
Email sent about the engine/tranny/shell
Dave |
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That was easily more than the sum total of the car was worth in 2000, even assuming rust hadn't started in... |
Man Tyler, I would have paid $500 for those headrests alone!
How do you do it???? |
nice find!
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That was only 30k ago too. |
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I just want my beloved Norm to have them. |
All things considered, a terrific find.
Did you find it on craigslist, newspaper ad? Just wondering where you found such a deal. :cool: |
This one was right here in the cars section of the forum.
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like i said in the post "I know i'll kick myself later!"
Actually, i have a big sense of relief not having to worry about what to do with that car for another week! Once again, best of luck to Tyler, you have my blessing to make the most out of this situation as possible.
I got what i really wanted from the deal... an empty parking spot, and my wife to stop asking me what we are going to do with that car. |
I can't believe it, but Rotchester sold before he could mark his territory in my driveway. :D Its going to a good friend of mine who needs transportation for the next year or so. I'm going to swap some more parts into Trigger, and Norm is going to swap interiors with the car as well.
Zach is going to bring the car by on Friday so I can change the oil and fuel filters. This is the second car I've sold to him, and his grandparents had a petrol green 1984 300D (same color as Ol' Turbo) that he used to drive often. Actually, that 300D was the first I had ever driven. He agreed to pay what I paid for it, and sign the title back over to me for 1 dollar when he moves to the West coast in about a year, or something breaks that is too expensive to fix. I'll keep a watchful eye on all those valuable mechanical parts in the meantime. I purchased the car around noon on Saturday, and Zach had it insured, tagged and registered by noon today... Less than 48 hours. I used to say in middle and high school that one of my goals was to have a car for every day of the week, and for 2 days that became reality. The 7 cars in my head back then were a bit different, though. :o |
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:musicbooh |
Are you sure the car isn't already in Albuquerque? :jester:
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Photo of the happy new owner, striking his best GQ pose at the dealership. :cool:
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...60/photo-1.jpg |
Norm and my ass are going to be pretty happy to have the new interior in a few months, I really can't wait for that! Not that the old one is in bad shape, but pristine is better then really really good!
Plus Tyler gave me some bum tires =] |
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Damn tires plus. |
Revived Rotchester's AC today. It had been converted to R134 and lots of work done in the past, It held a charge for 3 hours of driving before I sent Zach on his way. He seems to really be enjoying the car.
We'll see how long the charge lasts. Was able to do the same with Ol' Turbo without recharging for 6 months until the compressor failed. Then switched back to R12 after the new one was installed. |
Rotchester will be doing a cross country trip to California next month. :eek:
It drove fine for the 3 hour trip back from Lawrence, so I imagine it will do okay if Zach pays attention. The car has been performing flawlessly for the past couple of months. The AC is still working perfectly, by the way. |
I will post pics/stories of my $500 wagon as soon as I can. Probably in late summer. See the forsale section. :D
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I got to see Ol' Rotchester last week on my road trip to California. It made it the 1500 mile trek easliy, and is now leaving flakes of rust in its wake out in sunny California. Failures include the odometer stopping just shy of 200k, one headlight bulb, one of the rear bumper shocks came apart, and the AC leaked out again, but is unnecessary to fix in the mild climate.
Its pretty incredible that for $500 it only needed better tires and fluids renewed to perform this well for this long. In the past, Zach has managed to wreck or mechanically destroy every car he has owned, so the abuse this car has endured is remarkable as well. There are a few new dents though, and a caved in door from cutting too close to a parking garage pillar. :eek: I suppose it just adds to the cars patina. :D http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/DSC03299.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/DSC03300.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/DSC03301.jpg http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...0/DSC03302.jpg |
We wouldn't have expected anything other than that rear passenger door! :P
Zack is a good dude! Rotchester's awesome front seats live on in Smash, and his rear seats live on in the white wagon! |
I almost forgot that the hood star got swiped as well. :( Poor Rotchester.
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Looks like it's had a hard life since the exchange...
What happened to the front bumper impact strip? |
I bought a euro '84 wagon in Berkeley, CA last for 700.00 with an amazing amount of previous work, a still semi working SLS which I fixed for about 350.00 and a clean rust free body -love the wagon and our CA climate - good for cars! -too bad about the rot! I might be contacting you for spares -
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ROTchester
Where is it now ? being broken up for parts in So. Cal. ? .
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