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Engine pull then Body Off

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mshelby

Probationary Member
14
0
Aug 1, 2011
Ridgeland, Mississippi
I'm interested in being thorough while fixing up my 2g Spyder Convertible.
I already have all interior peices and parts out of vehicle. Thought it might be good to pull the engine and transmission for refurb and then taking all body panels off frame.

I've never done these things, but I'm in no hurry with it and I like to learn. Still, for the aggravation it seems like it might be worth it just to pay a body shop to pull the engine and trans. Seems like a lot of unhooking this and that otherwise. Am I throwing money away by paying someone to do this?

Next, I wanted to take the body panels off for body work and painting. Again, I'm in no rush here. Could be off for a year... Not really sure how pricey this generally is?

I'm not seeking a shop to do the body work and engine cleaning and refurbishing... I'm only looking right now to have a shop pull the engine and trans and put it in the back of my truck. And likely another shop to remove the body from the frame and that is all.

Am I nuts? Does this type of labor cost a huge amount?
 

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Yes, I should have been more specific. I guess I was just using the old term.So then, removing the panels... crazy difficult? Never done it. I'm guessing the entire back piece is one assembly minus the bumper cover & trunk lid? My repair manual got ruined. :) Guess I need to go buy another to disassemble the thing!
 
hood, front fenders, doors, trunk/hatch, bumpers

thats all you can remove. the rest is seam welded creating a unibody and must be cut apart
 
I would say remove the engine yourself. You'll learn on the way and know its put together right if u do it. You'll get more knowledge and know how to work on your car easier. No major things u need, just an engine hoist, a jack, jackstands, and regular mechanic tools. Be sure to keep everything organized and over label everything. I enjoy watching Tom's turbo garage on you tube. Check him out. He will guide you on engine removal.
 
Any shop would charge you a retarded amount to pull the engine and trans out. Then you'd have to tow it home, paying more. Just pull it out yourself, it's not hard at all. Drain fluids, disconnect the wire harness, fuel supply, air intake, intercooler hoses, pull the axles out, hook up the crane, unbolt 4 mounts, pull it out. Too simple ;)
 
You are trying to restore a car that has a value under 10k. It is an expensive process. Ridiculously so. I love the cars and I would not do it. If you want the car painted then paint it or have it painted. I would not diassemble it to do so. Underhood is likely just dirty and not in need of paint. Clean it. Look up some things on underhood detailing etc. Labor is very very expensive. The value of any of this will only be "worth it" from the perspective of the owner. If the engine does not need to be removed for anything then don't remove it. I wouldn't throw tons of money at any of these cars or completely disassemble only because the the money required to do so is huge and the cars are still not worth that much even if you did that. There might always be that one person that would pay 20k for a car if it were done like that but I would say unlikely. I'd sooner buy another one in great shape etc. In the end it is up to the owner on what is "worth it". I'll preface all of what I said being a 28 year owner of 9 different DSMs and I've spent more than the value of the car on mods it would still not be worth it to me to "restore" a dsm. That is purely my opinion. Do I love the fact that some guys are doing so? Sure. I just wouldn't. Would I remove an engine to clean up or repaint the engine bay?.....probably yes but I've been wrenching on these for 28 years and the most important part. I don't drive this car everyday nor do I ever intend to. That answer would have been different 2 years ago. I may have the unusual position of daily driving a DSM for 26 years. My ONLY daily driver for 26 years. I damn sure wouldn't recommend that either. I was fortunate enough to have owned them when they were very very new and was able to learn on them as they aged. That also gave me the ability to maintain them easily as I learned their systems and quirks. I could plan for larger jobs and I didn't abuse the cars so much as to break them seriously where I had to fix something major just to get to work. If this isn't your driver and it seems it isn't. The final decision is up to you. If you hire the job you will pay dearly.

I just read your profile and noticed this is a spyder NT automatic car. Very low value. My advice is have it painted, clean the engine bay, fix what is necessary and enjoy the car. If you truly want to go further than that understand what you are getting yourself into and it is for sure literally throwing money away for no other reason that personal satisfaction. It will boil down to how nice do you want it to be? Showroom new or "nicely redone".
 
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I agree with Pauleyman. The only way I would consider all of that is if you were going to turn it into a show car, otherwise there isn't a real reason to take all the panels off in order to have is painted. You could pull the motor and tranny if you wanted to change the color of the car and wanted the engine bay to match, but other than that it's a lot of work for nothing because the whole car can be painted without removing anything.
 
Thanks for the really good advice!


You are trying to restore a car that has a value under 10k. It is an expensive process. Ridiculously so. I love the cars and I would not do it. If you want the car painted then paint it or have it painted. I would not diassemble it to do so. Underhood is likely just dirty and not in need of paint. Clean it. Look up some things on underhood detailing etc. Labor is very very expensive. The value of any of this will only be "worth it" from the perspective of the owner. If the engine does not need to be removed for anything then don't remove it. I wouldn't throw tons of money at any of these cars or completely disassemble only because the the money required to do so is huge and the cars are still not worth that much even if you did that. There might always be that one person that would pay 20k for a car if it were done like that but I would say unlikely. I'd sooner buy another one in great shape etc. In the end it is up to the owner on what is "worth it". I'll preface all of what I said being a 28 year owner of 9 different DSMs and I've spent more than the value of the car on mods it would still not be worth it to me to "restore" a dsm. That is purely my opinion. Do I love the fact that some guys are doing so? Sure. I just wouldn't. Would I remove an engine to clean up or repaint the engine bay?.....probably yes but I've been wrenching on these for 28 years and the most important part. I don't drive this car everyday nor do I ever intend to. That answer would have been different 2 years ago. I may have the unusual position of daily driving a DSM for 26 years. My ONLY daily driver for 26 years. I damn sure wouldn't recommend that either. I was fortunate enough to have owned them when they were very very new and was able to learn on them as they aged. That also gave me the ability to maintain them easily as I learned their systems and quirks. I could plan for larger jobs and I didn't abuse the cars so much as to break them seriously where I had to fix something major just to get to work. If this isn't your driver and it seems it isn't. The final decision is up to you. If you hire the job you will pay dearly.

I just read your profile and noticed this is a spyder NT automatic car. Very low value. My advice is have it painted, clean the engine bay, fix what is necessary and enjoy the car. If you truly want to go further than that understand what you are getting yourself into and it is for sure literally throwing money away for no other reason that personal satisfaction. It will boil down to how nice do you want it to be? Showroom new or "nicely redone".
 
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