Cost to complete the resto? (88 Verde)

[RogerB]

Ran across a black 88 Verde today.

The story:

Previous owner (PO) "babied" the car, but somehow, broke the timing belt. So, car didn't run, and then sat for about 2 years. Current owner (CO) bought it, had the engine/valves fixed, recovered the seats, and cleaned it up.

CO admits that the valves need readjustment. Car obviously needs new paint, but I didn't see much rust. There's a bubble patch under the right rear taillight. The bumper "accordion" on one side looks a little roughed up. The spare tire well looked OK, and included the original phone dial full-sized spare. Car has aftermarket 15" alloys with brand new rubber (205/50). The worst part, right now, is that someone vandalized the car. They got inside it, cut up the brand new seats, and slashed the tires. That's why it has new tires. He started it up for me, and it sounded OK, but he pointed out the valve tick, which he said the readjustment would fix. Steering wheel and shift knob are Momo wood and chrome pieces. Not what I would have picked, but they have a nice, functional shape, and actually looked pretty good. I asked him about his second gear. He says the tx is good, but we didn't drive it around, either.

So, what the car needs right now:

1. Valve adjustment (Is that possible? I can't remember)
2. New paint
3. New upholstery.
4. Restored rubber trim all over the outside.

He says he has about $2500 into it, now, including the cost of the car, and he would let it go for pretty much that amount. The car was sitting on a used car lot, but it's his personal project car, and he's not actively trying to sell it.

He also figures he has about $1500 to go in the "restoration." I think that's unreasonably low for what has to be done.

So, my question, at long last (sorry I'm so longwinded):

Let's say I picked it up for $2500. About how much would it cost to finish it? Ballpark.

[JoeCab]

OK, I'll give it a shot:

1) Valve Adjustment - About $250-300 if you have a shop do it. I wouldn't worry too much, all of the V6s tick to some extent, it's when they are too quiet you should be worried (valves too tight - can burn a valve).

2) Paint and slight rust repair - $4-5k. Sounds high, but ask around. Not many shops will take on this type of work (non-insurance) these days.

3) Seats - you should be able to have the seats recovered in non-original material (looks very close but not exact) for about $250 per seat. I would double that if you want the original Recaro fabric.

4) Trim - not much is available. You can look for decent trim off a parts car, or paint what's on the the car now with a flexible trim paint. Not a lot of money, but a ton of work.

Joe