<VV> HELP (Saving a 4dr)

[NicolCS@aol.com]

Welcome!  Your desire to "save" a good Corvair from the crusher is laudable 
and you'll find that to be a common trait of Corvairists.  You didn't mention 
the year, transmisison, or condition of the car you are considering and that 
matters a little.  

I always evaluate a purchase by dividing the car into three "zones": 
Interior, mechanical, and body.  If only one zone is bad, that's a good sign.  If two 
zones are bad, be careful.  If all three zones are bad, you might want to 
reconsider your plans.  In Corvairs, a good runnning engine is a God-send.  You 
can easily spend $2500+ to get a good running engine.  Next is the body.  While 
paint doesn't have to be real expensive (Range $300 to $5000), body work is 
pretty expensive just about anyway you go.  The interior is the least expensive 
repair.  You can fix that up for about $1000 if you buy all new stuff and 
install it yourself.  If you do a little swapping an scrounging, you could fix 
that up for a fraction of that.  If the motor is really good (stick shift adds a 
gold star to the comment), you might consider tooling the 4dr around until you 
find a nice 2dr body that needs a powertrain.  (I don't know where you are 
but..) In the west where I live, there is an ample supply of good cars with dead 
powertrains.  Spending exactly the same money on a 2dr will return lots more 
of you investment than a 4dr would.
Craig Nicol

<snip>In Corvairs, My name is Jason Cesana and I just sighned up for 
membership yesterday. Im
thinking of saving a 4 door monza from the boneyard. the owner of the yard
told me it runs great and needs brakes. The body is pretty decent with some
rot throughs. I was wondering if it is to difficult to restore these cars. I
have always wanted one and the selling price is 400.00 so its hard to pass 
up.<unsnip>