I posted this in the wrong section i think :S and it got locked… Hope this is the right place.
Im lookin to buy a 240… But countless people have scared me $hitless about the frames of these cars… being weak and very rusty… I have seen them also They almost always are rusted to some degree. Most have been patched… Here is my dilema, Many people I call about 240 either have Restored the Frames or they are in decent restorable shape. How does this differ from the original frame and is it worth buying a car with a restored/patched frame… or is it worth patching. I keep thinking THe patching isnt going to do much besides prevent further rusting. Over a period of time… and cashflow Ima be doing an SR or RB swap, I keep thinking at high powers the frame wont be able to take it… Unless its Perfectly Mint and Rustproofed. And some Other Info on Patching and restoring would be nice. Thanks guys.
if your really worried about the condition of the frame and plan to go high hp in the future… you might wanna look into importing something. Personally i feel you get alot in value. Clean chassis, turbo motor, accessories etc…
one another note, i’m not to sure about how well patched frames hold up…i could be wrong on this, but logically i’d assume that even a patched frame will never be as structurally sound as one that didn’t have a piece cut out of it and a new one welded on… 1 piece vs 2 piece, i’d personally go with 1 piece. but again finding non rusted frames doesn’t seem to be the easiest thing to do these days, so maybe your going to have to sacrifice a bit.
have you thought about possibly bracing the car with a cage ? i’m sure even a patched car would hold up nicely if it was braced properly… since you plan to go high hp, i’m assuming you’d want to take this route, if it’s only a street car… then you face, hassles from the authorities and the fact that your car isn’t going to be very practical.
when you mentioned restorable, i’m not %100 sure wether you mean restorable in terms of the rust, or restorable in terms of a bent frame. Whichever one it is, make sure your not buying a car that has had the frame bent due to a collision, Although people claim it’s fixable by pulling the frame out, it’s never gonna be the same again. One part of the car will always be slightly longer/shorter than the other side. If i had to choose between one, i’d personally take a rusted frame, over a bent frame… but there are Exceptions to that as well.
Again, i recommend importing. I feel the price of a clean s chassis + motor work …is gonna cost alot. To me it just seems like the logical approach to take if you plan to spend upwards of 7g’s on your car, at any time.
Thanks alot… I know Good Canadian frames exsist… Just like good lookin wife that cooks and cleans :P… I cant find one and if i do they are way overpriced. I think importing from the states is the best way to go. Bite the import bullet but i guess it will way off in the future.
David W has a pristine s13 with the motor already pulled out up at the shop… he is looking to sell it, he was going to do a 5.0 swap on it but never got around to it.
it is VERY clean, no rust at all on it…i think he wants 4k for it, and it has lots of spares…PLUS its ready for a swap
A lot of it depends on how the frame was fixed, and that’s the worrisome part about buying a “restored” 240.
You look under the car, and there’s fresh undercoating. You have no idea how the repair was done, and have to take the owner’s word.
You may be buying a really solid car, that the frame was properly channeled and rebuilt. Or he stuffed the hole with newspaper and bondoed over it.
Even better is odds are he didn’t do the repair himself, but had a body shop do it for him while they did the rest of the body.
Scary.
Frames are notoriously weak on 240s in general, even if they’re clean and rust free. A stock 240 will flex like a wet noodle. I think even a sketchy repair would be at least as strong as the factory 2-ply steel.
Also, if there are any weird undercoated spots along the floor, try tapping lightly with a hammer along the floor to ensure there’s nothing fishy.
I wouldn’t let a little bit of surface rust on the frame worry you too much, our beloved S13’s are getting a little aged afterall. That’s my own opinion though…