not sure what to do???? need YOUR advice

[greg g]

oh yea after I cleaned my glasses, I can see the p15 prefix. Now you can see if its the OEM engine.

[Plymouthy Adams]

if not matching numbers, what ya going to do now...I mean with all the OEM stuff and such..is this basket worth the patch if not original? we can only hope it matches..

[Rumble1960]

should i take the frame off or not this is the questions still debating.

YES

[Plymouthy Adams]

nothing to debate..face it..if you want this car solid and dependable, and with the existing rot where it is ans such..a frame off will get you the access you need to do all the undercarriage and frame...I would at this time recall my car from the sandblaster until such time it is properly stripped and prepared for the task at hand...body off is easy and simple task..I removed my coupe body by myself in one evening..get a bud to help you have it off before you know it..I can assure you that either way you go will cost money..access to work will make the job go faster...stuff in the way and work around items blocking access..well it can be done but the man hours increase drastically...so money saved in farmed out labor...I really think you have put too much out there at one time and be a bit overloaded trying to tackle too much at one time when you need to concentrate on just taking small bites of the elephant..

[michael.warshaw]

tim you are right its getting overwhelming at this point.

[Plymouthy Adams]

in your entusaism, you may need to stop a minute and reflect on what you have, where you want to be and how to get there...assign the tasks in the correct order so as not to cause rework in another already finished part of the car..do ensure that all you do at the present is done safely not only for yourself but to protect the various systems of the car..I would not want to see a generator run after just a bit of silica gets in there..

buying the parts and such is not a problem..buying and paying for things you really don't need takes time and money from areas that are deserving of the most attention. Besides..a watchful eye on the e-bay or swap meet will net more rewards at better prices than saying I need this, I'll pay any price..patience is a virtue...stewardship requires its..

[michael.warshaw]

i noticed ebay is good and bad something get bidded ridiculous sand some things not.

[michael.warshaw]

howe much should it cost to pop the motor out, and to pull the frame off, and put it back?

[Joe Flanagan]

To what extent are things still connected? Transmission? Electrical? Shift linkage? Exhaust? Fuel line? Heater hose? Etc., etc. The engine's not going anywhere until all that stuff is disconnected. That's time consuming.

[Plymouthy Adams]

howe much should it cost to pop the motor out, and to pull the frame off, and put it back?

to a person like myself and many others on here..just a bit of time..take the engine out one evening after work..prep the body for removal the next evening..third evening body on rack,, frame sitting off to the side..or one good clear Saturday..

[michael.warshaw]

made the right move took the frame off, is at a shop being worked on i aam happy but my wallet is not. thanks for all the advise.

[Don Coatney]

made the right move took the frame off, is at a shop being worked on i aam happy but my wallet is not. thanks for all the advise.

Good for you on making the move. Keep us posted on the costs as many others are thinking about doing it.

[Plymouthy Adams]

4th down and goal to go...no holding back now...hero or goat..

[RobertKB]

Michael, in the end for what you want for your car, I believe you made the right move and will be happy you did remove the body. It drags out the whole process but in the end you will be glad you did it. Keep us updated!

[Joe Flanagan]

It sounds like you wouldn't have been happy any other way, so that was the right choice for you. You'll forget about the bill once the thing starts coming together. I've saved all my receipts from my project but I may never add them up. What's the point? I don't want to rain on my own parade.

[Captain Neon]

Michael, in the end for what you want for your car, I believe you made the right move and will be happy you did remove the body. It drags out the whole process but in the end you will be glad you did it. Keep us updated!

It's almost winter in NYC. You won't be driving until spring any ways. Storing your car at the mechanic's while he repairs it may be cheaper than putting it into winter storage.

[michael.warshaw]

As long as their is no snow, its not winter yet, its not the snow its the salt and sand and sodium chloride taht can kill you.

i have a decent size heated garage, so storage wasnt the issue, the only issue was finding someone who was good, had nice shop, and wouldnt charge me by the hour. i went to a resto shop here in long island, and maid a deal with a shop owner to pull the from paint the bottom. pull the motor and tranny, and then piece the car back together. for a decent price. everyone else wanted time and material which i know makes sence, but at that point i should just give them a blank check so they can laugh their way down to the bank. t and m makes snse but labor rates here in ny are so high it can get ridiculous. the average labor rate here in ny, 95 to 105 and hour. im sure most shops are honest, but the last shop i pulled the car out of, i felt like they can make up whatever they want, and i have no choice, plus at the old shop i was fill in work, and getting charged regualr hourly rates. im very happy where i am now. i started this as a no charging problem, and ended up doing a full resto shop.

no charging to hey mike lets do an engine detail, to buying a new wiring harness, to lets clean the bottom, to lets rip apart the suspension, to lets rip apart the WHOLE CAR, IT MIGHT BE THE NICEST P15 IN THE WORLD, AFTER I GET DONE, only problem might be ill be living in the car AT THAT POINT,, I MIGHT JUST PUT A BATH TUB IN THE TRUNK.

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS - SORRY FOR CAPS....

[Captain Neon]

I don't live THAT far south. I know all about salt on roads, and also know that northern metropolitan areas use copious amounts of salt to melt snow. I grew up in Painted Post, and Minnesota, and have lived in Colorado, northern Arkansas, and now northern Missouri. Salt and road grime are old enemies. I have a dearly departed '78 Pinto that succombed to salt in '97.

Your labour rates are pretty reasonable. I paid similar in northern Colorado, plus 50% premium over retail for parts once. I told them they were crooks as I would have paid cheaper in Albany so northern Colorado should have been cheaper than that. They called me a liar.

They essentially told me that they could charge whatever they wanted and there was nothing that I could do about it but pay and never come back since Colorado law and legal precedent heavily favoured repair shops. I've met few honest repair shops. Auto repair must be very profitable in northern Colorado as I've never seen a higher per capita of repair shops any where else that I have ever lived. FYI, Better Business Bureau approved means nothing. All a business need do is pay the membership fee and one gets their name listed as "honest." BBB will never list negative information about a member business.

[Plymouthy Adams]

actually as he has hired it out and hopefully to another person so that his body work/electrical/mechanical that is being done at the moment will not be hindered by the same folks having to break away and attack this issue...that is how it should be done when paying others..sub contracting will get it done faster than a single contract..

[Joe Flanagan]

That's usually the way these things go. You start small and end up with a major project. Mine was in such bad condition when I got it that it went from zero to major project in five seconds.

[Plymouthy Adams]

it is not only cars that move the line in the sand forward..my house remodel started out as just two rooms and grew to three rooms, center hall, rear entry and mudroom, staircase addition, two dormers and upstairs hall, upstairs bedroom and start of three rooms on the upstairs other side of the house (l-shaped) water lines moved, relocated the gas hot water heater, moved washer and dryer, main seal repairs three locations, new piling under the house to replace 100 year old w/slighly deterorated mortor..yep that line in the sand went from a par 3 to a par five and I snowmanned the hole..

[Joe Flanagan]

I was going to mention house projects. It sounds like yours started off as a local conflict and then went nuclear.

[michael.warshaw]

yup

[Plymouthy Adams]

I'm glad I did what I did to the house...got a few more things to complete but that is not a necessity at the moment...its like a frame off..you got a do it to get to the foundation and then come back up from there..it was a nightmare for a few days as I had to put a 6x6 beam below the rafters braced by 6 x 6's to support the roof as the ceiling, floors, back wall and seal were all removed at the same time..I had a walk board spanning between the hall and the kitchen and wide open from there...the job even went into the roof where in the end I put new decking up there and new shingles..some 17 squares altogether..I will now try to get back to the shop a turn a wrench or burn a rod here and there...but not till after Thanksgiving...I have company coming tonight and tied up with family through the 30th...

[Joe Flanagan]

You get sick of the hammer and miss the wrench. You get sick of the wrench and miss the paintbrush. I know how it is. Sounds like you did major work on your house. Fun living in all that mess, huh? I took out a bearing exterior wall some years ago to expand our kitchen and add a room above. I used one of those Micro-Laminate beams (two, actually, nailed together) as support. The architect said that there would be a "rotation moment" when the old wall was removed. Never felt a thing. It was a lot of work, but doing it myself saved us thousands. Never did get a taste for drywall and mud, though. I've done a lot of it. I'm OK at it, but I sure don't like it. I'd rather do insulation.