Shell Help!

[andernamen]

Found a rust free shell project.  Nothing at all in it, not even glass.  No dash, wiring, pedals, seats.  Just the steering wheel and gear.  Great price, an engine and tranny come with it along with parts.  I'm afraid project is too big.  How hard is it to wire a car from scratch ?  What about getting a rusted out car and swapping to the shell?  Please, need encouragement.

[72ITB]

Sounds like fun. I am probably going to go this route with my project.

 

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performance+Products/555/10405/10002/-1?CAWELAID=1710724595&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=15769068431&CATCI=aud-194671897271:pla-171299431031&catargetid=230006180037477042&cadevice=c&gclid=CjwKEAiAg5_CBRDo4o6e4o3NtG0SJAB-IatYNMjybJmnNYArnxIgK_U7l_9rMdJYNb0dS30NcIQvdxoCZbTw_wcB

 

[PaulTWinterton]

Time, space, money, enthusiasm, and help from the FAQ.  If you have all those it's only one step at a time.  These cars are not that complicated.

 

To answer your direct questions: you can find used wiring harnesses and get advice on installing.  Swapping will work too, as you'll be able to see how the donor car is put together.  If the donor parts are too funky you can replace with new.

 

The enjoyment of completing each task will be well worth it.  And when the car is finished, you'll feel like a proud papa.

 

I say go for it.

Edited December 7, 2016 by PaulTWinterton

[Conserv]

49 minutes ago, andernamen said:

Found a rust free shell project.  Nothing at all in it, not even glass.  No dash, wiring, pedals, seats.  Just the steering wheel and gear.  Great price, an engine and tranny come with it along with parts.  I'm afraid project is too big.  How hard is it to wire a car from scratch ?  What about getting a rusted out car and swapping to the shell?  Please, need encouragement.

 

It depends....

 

Have you ever either (a.) done a ground-up restoration on any vehicle, or (b.) spent a lot of time working on 2002's?  If so, a 2002 is a fairly simple car, and shouldn't be a problem.  And I doubt that re-wiring will be the greatest challenge.  Tedious?  Yes, but certainly do-able.  It's the many, many miscellaneous details that are -- in my opinion -- the real challenge....

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

[Son of Marty]

With no glass or wiring I would try to source a rusted or wrecked 2002 depending on your location it should be a money saver over trying to source all the various parts and as Paul said you get to see how everything was put together and that's a big help 

[solo 2]

I'm no expert but I have done quite a few motorcycle restorations and I can tell you from experience that buying a rusted out 02 with everything else in good nick will save you thousands. An entire vehicle is always cheaper than the sum of it's parts. You have a good shell which is more than most start with it seems, finding a rust bucket shouldn't be a problem, I'm guessing someone on this site may have one sitting around.

 

Good Luck.

[andernamen]

On 12/7/2016 at 1:16 PM, Conserv said:

 

It depends....

 

Have you ever either (a.) done a ground-up restoration on any vehicle, or (b.) spent a lot of time working on 2002's?  If so, a 2002 is a fairly simple car, and shouldn't be a problem.  And I doubt that re-wiring will be the greatest challenge.  Tedious?  Yes, but certainly do-able.  It's the many, many miscellaneous details that are -- in my opinion -- the real challenge....

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

I've done neither.  Swapped engines and trannies before, but nothing this big.  Step one is to get glass in it to keep the rain out.

[Simeon]

Step 1 may be even more basic than that. How is it finished? Is it painted?

 

You will not get a better opportunity than this for rust proofing etc. If it is anything short of show quality I would get it shot blasted, then two coats of quality 2 pack epoxy primer then paint. You might regret it later on otherwise. 

 

Jmho. 

[pklym]

31 minutes ago, Simeon said:

Step 1 may be even more basic than that. How is it finished? Is it painted?

 

You will not get a better opportunity than this for rust proofing etc. If it is anything short of show quality I would get it shot blasted, then two coats of quality 2 pack epoxy primer then paint. You might regret it later on otherwise. 

 

Jmho. 

 

Exactly, I wish my '67 was a bare shell already

[Hans]

As above, you need a parts car on hand to use as a template and source of parts. I wouldn't try to do this otherwise.

[Conserv]

2 hours ago, Hans said:

As above, you need a parts car on hand to use as a template and source of parts. I wouldn't try to do this otherwise.

 

+1

 

In my opinion, if you've not seen every corner of an '02 multiple times, Hans makes the most crucial point!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[TobyB]

Step one- is it even a viable shell?  Rusty?  Dented? Twisted?

 

Can you get a title?

 

I had a 'clean' shell once- it ended up being a panel donor...

 

t

 

[Solarphil]

On 12/8/2016 at 6:45 PM, andernamen said:

I've done neither.  Swapped engines and trannies before, but nothing this big.  Step one is to get glass in it to keep the rain out.

 

One big question is do you have a dry place to work on it?  If you are doing this outside, that would raise some red flags right there

 

but yes, it is definitely doable, these aren't terribly complicated cars. Having a parts car to serve as template and source would be dangled handy. 

Edited December 10, 2016 by Solarphil

[andernamen]

Ok, so I will be looking for a rusted out car.  I agree this is the way to go.

[bwalvoord]

If you pass on the shell, I would be interested.   Thank you