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Techboy's 88 Starion SHP Save ....


techboy
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So, 2 years ago, in August of 2011, I got stupid lucky and found this 88 SHP Starion hiding out in NJ.

 

Here's what I know about the history of the car:

The seller claimed he was the 2nd to own the car. He said he bought it off the original owner after it had sat not running for several years in a garage. It has a documented mere 59K on it. Not knowing anything about cars mechanically he bought it for nostalgic reasons and figured his mechanic could get it running. Wrong. His mechanic discovered the motor was totally shot and so he abandoned the project and put it up for sale. Enter me. I bought the car as a shell, grabbed the rollback and hauled it back to my house.

 

These are some photos from the day I brought it home:

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Edited by techboy
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When I bought the car, it had been sideswiped on the rear drivers side. So, my plan was to have my uncle who owns a body shop do the body work and have it repainted. Then, using my Conquest as a donor car, rebuild the motor and swap it into the Starion.

 

Here's the rear quarter:

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Edited by techboy
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That plan got tossed out the window when October 31st of 2011 happened.

 

The freak East Coast early season snow storm that landed a massive branch on the car and smashed the roof. Some of you may remember posts I made from when this originally happened.

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Edited by techboy
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After a whole lot of thinking, decision making, and conversation with people here on the board (particularly Burton) I decide against scrapping the car and trying to repair it. I had a few challenges though. My uncle was no longer willing to do this kind of work - so I had to find a shop that could do the necessary work at a reasonable cost, and I had to find the necessary parts for repair.

 

After some searching and some help from members here on the board I was able to land a hatch, roof (thanks StarquestRescue!), and rear quarter. Funny thing is ... they're all red, but all came from different people ... :P

 

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In the meantime, a friend came over and with some 2x4s and a bottle jack we where able to push the roof back up into position close enough to get a new hatch to keep the car protected from the elements.

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Edited by techboy
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So that brings us all the way to the present: I'm very excited to say that after storing the car (safely!!) for last 9 months I found a shop willing and qualified to the work and this past week and the Starion was dropped off to FINALLY get this project under way.

 

Picking the car up where it was in storage in Quakertown PA:

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And .... dropping the car off at the body shop (my favorite two pictures :wub: 😞

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It's been a heck of ride so far, but my hope is that someday this will be a beautiful car again w/ a crazy story to tell people ...... we'll see. I look forward to sharing the progress with you guys.

Edited by techboy
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Thanks for asking and showing interest .... only update I have is the shop gave me a call on Friday and said the windshield came out in one piece, which I was nervous about. (I'm already spending enough money, I was hoping to not have to replace more glass). They said it should be done in about a week. I would expect to hear from them sometime this week. I want to call back and ask them to take some pictures along the way, I don't know if they will, but I'd love to have some documented photos of the work done for the future.

 

Coldscrip .... post up some pics of the red 87 on this thread, I'd love to see how it's coming along!

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Picked the car up last night with the rollback, it's back safe and sound in my new garage. Can't believe it, I still have to pinch myself. The shop is supposed to be sending me 20 some pictures of the work done ... when they do I'll post them up. Stay tuned .....
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AWESOME!

 

I'm glad you fixed her up. Kind of funny...about 18-19 years ago I looked at an 87 LE in Quakertown area (actually it may not have been as far as Qtown...maybe Center Valley) that was crushed just like yours. Guy wanted $1500 for it at the time and it was similar; low mileage, original owner, great condition with exception to the roof caved in, lol.

 

That car looks so familiar though...the full beige rear seats...I know I've seen it before. Where are u in the valley? I grew up in Whitehall.

 

kev

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AWESOME!

 

I'm glad you fixed her up. Kind of funny...about 18-19 years ago I looked at an 87 LE in Quakertown area (actually it may not have been as far as Qtown...maybe Center Valley) that was crushed just like yours. Guy wanted $1500 for it at the time and it was similar; low mileage, original owner, great condition with exception to the roof caved in, lol.

 

That car looks so familiar though...the full beige rear seats...I know I've seen it before. Where are u in the valley? I grew up in Whitehall.

 

kev

 

Wow ... that's a really weird post to read for me .... You couldn't have gotten any close to home for me than the towns you listed. I grew up in Quakertown and I now live in Center Valley. Work in Allentown. You still in the area?

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I go to those shops in center valley all the time. Will probably go to that theater to see Iron Man 3 next week. In August I usually go to the ford car show in coopersburg. I can't wait to see the progress pics of this rebuild. Edited by BuGG
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  • 7 months later...

Well, I still haven't gotten the pics from the shop, but I know some of you have been anxiously waiting for these pics. Walker's recent thread about replacing his roof motivated me to go out to the garage today and snap some pics of the work done back in April/May. A huge thanks once again to StarquestRescue for being willing to cut a roof off for me.

 

Starion with new roof:

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In this pics you can see the splice where the side vent goes in. There's still some body adhesive visible under the primer. On the actual body of the car you can see the weld points were ground down and sanded smooth. Can't even tell. Pretty amazing.

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Here's a quick shot of the drivers side hatch splice. They didn't particularly make it pretty here either, but it's hidden under the black trim pc.

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So psyched to get this car back on the road in the future .....

Edited by techboy
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  • 1 year later...

Wow(!), my last post about this car was over a year ago. I know some of you have probably wondered now again what I ever did with this car and how it's coming along. So, I figured it was about time for an update, here goes …. I've done nothing physically with the car, but I have been working toward getting this project under way. Last year I picked up a second job doing side work so I could start stashing cash to get this thing painted. For the most part, I was able to get the money together, but it hasn’t been without other temptations. I came very very close to buying dsmyers car back in Septemeber and abandoning this project entirely. At the last minute I changed my mind. And, truth be told, I’ve been eyeing Freebird’s black 89 in the F/S section right now too (so if you’re interested in this car shoot me a PM, I’d be willing to talk ;)).

Anyway, in an effort to get this car ready for paint I’m hoping in the next week or so to move it into workshop area of my garage and start emptying out the engine bay. I plan on having that painted along with the car, so it needs to stripped. I also plan to remove the front the rear bumpers, and the door handles, and any other trim pieces that pop off easily. I also need to drop the gas tank and get all the old gas out, and remove the horrible exhaust that is currently on the car – so I got some work to do – but it’s winter here in PA and there’s not much else to do anyway. Last inspection sticker on this car is from 99 ... so it's been sitting for 16 years.

 

Back in September, when I almost bought dale’s car, I rolled it outside and let it see daylight for the first time in a year and half. I was going to use these pictures to create a F/S ad but never did, here they are … they’re not too different than the other pictures in this thread, but everybody likes pictures! Enjoy.

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Edited by techboy
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Recently I've been reading through Walker's resto thread and it's really been inspiring me to get the paint job done. His looks awesome.

 

I'm up in the air about color. I've been leaning toward Black, but I've also toyed with keeping it White, Fiji Blue, or a Charcol Grey. The grey would obviously not be an OEM color.

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