Full body restores - costs & benefits vs targeted restoration

2006 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by SnuggleSeal, 3 mo ago

boomclart

Discussion Starter · Apr 4, 2021

My 8 has been mostly in storage the last 6 years but I'm now spending more time and money on it.

The biggest question I have is should I strip it back completely and do a full restore, cleaning and sealing the entire chassis. Replacing bushings, arms and such like on the rebuild and if so what ball park figure would I be looking at.

Or is it wiser to spend time and money dealing with the most critical areas where some rust is appearing and not worrying so much about areas less prone or still fine today?

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Humps85

· #2 · Apr 4, 2021 (Edited)

boomclart said:
My 8 has been mostly in storage the last 6 years but I'm now spending more time and money on it.

The biggest question I have is should I strip it back completely and do a full restore, cleaning and sealing the entire chassis. Replacing bushings, arms and such like on the rebuild and if so what ball park figure would I be looking at.

Or is it wiser to spend time and money dealing with the most critical areas where some rust is appearing and not worrying so much about areas less prone or still fine today?
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All depends how long you plan on keeping it and what your budget is. A full underside resto done right will cost thousands.
However, if it’s a keeper and you can afford it, then why not.

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EddScott

· #3 · Apr 4, 2021

If it helps, I have a 05 Impreza Spec C Type RA which is having a full underneath restoration. Everything stripped, cleaned, powder coated and refitted. Brakes refurbished new discs/pads, new bushes etc.

Think the final bill is going to be between 4/5K all told.

I'm currently after a white 9 which will go through the same process.

To me, they are 15 year old cars, doing this should keep them sound for another 15

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Humps85

· #4 · Apr 6, 2021

EddScott said:
If it helps, I have a 05 Impreza Spec C Type RA which is having a full underneath restoration. Everything stripped, cleaned, powder coated and refitted. Brakes refurbished new discs/pads, new bushes etc.

Think the final bill is going to be between 4/5K all told.

I'm currently after a white 9 which will go through the same process.

To me, they are 15 year old cars, doing this should keep them sound for another 15

4/5k for all that doesn’t seem bad to me. Are you having it painted underneath as well or just undersealed ?

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EddScott

· #5 · Apr 7, 2021 (Edited)

Humps85 said:
4/5k for all that doesn’t seem bad to me. Are you having it painted underneath as well or just undersealed ?

The car had Dinitrol sprayed on the underneath which wasn't a particularly decent job. The garage doing the refurb found a way of painting over the Dinitrol - rather than attempt to get it off.

My task now is to find a protection system which is clear so it still looks minty fresh underneath.

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Mita

· #6 · Apr 7, 2021

EddScott said:
The car had Dinitrol sprayed on the underneath which wasn't a particularly decent job. The garage doing the refurb found a way of painting over the Dinitrol - rather than attempt to get it off.

My task now is to find a protection system which is clear so it still looks minty fresh underneath.

Painting over Dinitrol?! 😳

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Humps85

· #7 · Apr 8, 2021

Mita said:
Painting over Dinitrol?! 😳

Yeah seems a bit of a strange approach that does.

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ant1

· #8 · Apr 8, 2021

Hmmmmm painting over underseal? That’s not good.

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boomclart

Discussion Starter · #9 · 3 mo ago

5k doesn't sound too bad, it's something I plan on keeping forever (had it 9 years and counting now and the car has only done 78k in total)

I need to start looking around for somewhere to do it, finding somewhere here in the Netherlands isn't so easy as it's hard to get a good feeling between you and the company when the language barrier exists.

Currently have these two on my list in Netherlands, I've had services done with them along with brakes & a custom aluminium under-tray made but with the guide price of 4-5k I think if they are in or around that then I might feel comfortable with having one of them do it.
Van Hoof Sport
Hans Weijs Motorsport

Some of the suggestions I had back in the UK are over 12 month waiting list, if I add the time and effort of getting the car back to the UK along with ease of communication with whoever's doing the work whilst I'm back over here... I think taking a chance on one of the above is my only real option.

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SnuggleSeal

· #10 · 3 mo ago

whats the point in keeping it in storage if you still need to do a full underside restoration? might as well drive it and enjoy it

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boomclart

Discussion Starter · #11 · 3 mo ago

SnuggleSeal said:
whats the point in keeping it in storage if you still need to do a full underside restoration? might as well drive it and enjoy it

Unsure what you mean, it's used every other day. I also never said it 'needed' a full underside restoration, but that I want to do one.

When a car hits 20 years old, it's certainly a good time to look at ensuring it's good for another 20 years by looking after the bodywork before there's any problems.

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SnuggleSeal

· #12 · 3 mo ago

boomclart said:
Unsure what you mean, it's used every other day. I also never said it 'needed' a full underside restoration, but that I want to do one.

When a car hits 20 years old, it's certainly a good time to look at ensuring it's good for another 20 years by looking after the bodywork before there's any problems.

you wrote "has been mostly in storage the last 6 years" so I thought that was still the case but I see you mentioned youre driving it more now. Good idea to do have a look at the underneath and do some preventative work, many Evos have rusted away now as their owners havent taken care of the underside. If you plan on keeping the car for a long time then it definitely makes sense and will only help keep its value. If its still in good condition maybe you wont need a full restore but could do some preventative work that would be cheaper

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