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| The Woes of owning a Sprint - especially a Turbo | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 12 2016, 01:06 PM (1,400 Views) | |
| nwgeo | Mar 14 2016, 12:55 AM Post #16 |
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I see several sprints each year in my PnpP, and a few around town. |
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| don_dowdy | Mar 14 2016, 11:09 PM Post #17 |
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I see a blue Sprint every now and then, and a few years ago I saw a flea market seller with a red over silver turbo Sprint. |
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| cwatkin | Mar 15 2016, 08:49 AM Post #18 |
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How many normal Spring parts interchange? I actually see a few of these in my area from time to time. It is nothing like the amount of Geos and Festivas but I do see them. Conor |
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| Cardinal Grammeter | Mar 15 2016, 11:41 PM Post #19 |
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EDIT: I've found my MKII is a tank. The engine is totally shot and the car just keeps running. Nothing breaks. So I figure a MKI ought to be as good and a decent DD car. I don't mind hunting down a part here or there - I have a bunch of cars so it's no biggie if it gets laid up for a week or two. However, the T3 WILL NOT BE DRIVEN IN SNOW. Anyone know what the total production numbers were for MKI T3? Or MKI Sprint for that matter? I realize the MKI is old, but so is the MKII and they don't seem to be a problem finding and getting help. I was surprised. It's almost like MKI folks need a unified watering hole - I think the herd has been split up. What I really need to do is find a wrecked carcass for a spare tire post... EDIT2: As far as squirreling survivalist parts - I'm The King when it comes to Studebaker Parts. I had planned a serious drag racing quest and kept the complete drive trains from about 1 dozen Studes. Yes, I have about 10 blocks stacked up in my 1.5 car garage. Every room in my house has Studebakers parts in it - including/especially the kitchen - and the bathroom has a couple parts manuals there - haha. I have piles of them in my yard. I bot 15 new crankshafts for $10 a piece when the foundry that was supposed to scrap them decided to sell them - I bot them from my buddy who bot 50 of them(!) (Man, I wish someone would make me an offer on every last nut and bolt - I'd probably take it - time to move on - and I have an R3 Lark too.) Edited by Cardinal Grammeter, Mar 15 2016, 11:57 PM.
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| 92blumetro | Mar 16 2016, 09:58 AM Post #20 |
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jack of all trades, master of two
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I drove over 8 hours to buy a t3 shell- no motor or trans. mostly body parts, frame horns shot, floor rotted out. but the price was right. no, I wont sell any t3 parts- way to hard to replace ! I do have my eyes on another one, but its 12 hours away- one way! |
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| mt999999 | Mar 16 2016, 02:08 PM Post #21 |
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Self-Declared "Genious"
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Those Studebaker parts have to be worth something! Did you ever think of listing them on Craigslist? Then again, it might be a little bit nerve-wracking having to let strangers walk through your house just to take a look at the parts. There's got to be some hard-core folks on some classic car forum that would love to have those Studebaker parts, and they would likely be a lot more trustworthy than people you meet from Craigslist ads. |
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| Cardinal Grammeter | Mar 16 2016, 03:30 PM Post #22 |
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Unfortunately, in the 70's, those parts would have sold like hot cakes. Now, 99% of Stude people have their collection and simply maintain it - basically no one is building anything! I've been trying to sell blocks for $100 and I've sold 1 in 10 years - a guy was building a custom 53 and needed a block for a mock-up. Where were the odds of that sale? They there was a guy who was going to campaign a Bonneville Avanti and needed a bunch of blocks (6 at least) to mod for dry sump. Wow, that would have been so sweet, but the buy went through some hard times and he's the kind of guy that won't return your call when he's backed out of a deal. Irritates me because IDGAF, since I have no problem holding on to them if he still wants them. I hate the silent treatment. Well, you know, eBay might work. I finally have a truck working (1974 Datsun 620) and I can now haul to freight company. |
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| arudlang | Mar 16 2016, 09:44 PM Post #23 |
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Andrew
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"spare tire post" ? I don't understand. I went out to my car with a flashlight and I still don't understand, surely you do not mean the body-colored piece of steel pillar-thing that is essentially welded to the bottom of the trunk pan? Are you looking for some kind of special bolt that threads into that part? I just used whatever random bolt happened to fit out of my misc. collection
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| Cardinal Grammeter | Mar 30 2016, 08:04 PM Post #24 |
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Yes, its that "pillar-thing" that's welded to the bottom of the trunk pan. The mice built a high rise hotel in my spare tire well but the sewage was not up to code - their piss literally burned holes in the bottom of the well. The pillar is literally gone just above where its spot weld flange is. I can weld all this. But since this car is in exceptional condition, I want to do a job which will be hard to detect. So I'm trying to find a tire well bottom I cut out with a sawzall. Then I'll piece the new one in and oxy-acetylene precision butt weld it. I have a line on one in Johnstown which is 1 hour away. It is a complex deal with regard to meeting. I missed one at a large junk yard about 30 minutes away - someone drove an 87 in and they crushed it immediately. The yards don't even keep them around. I found a tail light a Pittsburgh metro junk yard had - he let it go for $20 cash, no receipt - it was sitting on the shelf "2600 days." That's like 7 years. Unfortunately, I don't live in the country and can't keep a couple parts cars hanging around. If I did, I'd be stock-piling them - yep, I've developed great hoarding tendencies being a Studebaker nut for almost 40 years. How many "60 year olds" have discovered the Cultus and jumped fully on-board with both feet? Not too many I'd bet. I'm stopped a lot and people said, they had a Metro and loved it. Of course they've all moved on. |
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| Deleted User | Mar 31 2016, 10:50 PM Post #25 |
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Deleted User
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Two Cars Of Mine I Miss The Most. My '86 Sprint (5 Speed Blue 2Dr. With Aftermarket Sunway Ragtop) And My '79 MONZA! (2+2 Sport Hatchback With 4 Speed And Pontiac Iron Duke 151 Four Cylinder And 85 Horsepower!) Just Like The SPRINT And SPRINT TURBO, When Was The Last Time Any Of You Saw An H Body MONZA Or MONZA SPYDER? Let Alone One With A 262 Or 305 Or 350 Under The Hood. Or A Pontiac SUNBIRD, Or Oldsmobile STARFIRE, Or Buick SKYHAWK?? Both The SPRINT And The MONZA Back In Their Heydays Were A Lot Like The GEO METRO! |
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| arudlang | Apr 1 2016, 02:58 PM Post #26 |
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Andrew
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Aye, have not heard anyone mention the mighty Pontiac Iron Duke in a long time My brother has a Pontiac Astre with that motor, and the motor is rebuilt and healthy but the car itself needs a lot of TLC. Have some interest in making him an offer for that car some day... Anyways back to cardinals spare tire post/pillar... So what you really need is somebody who has a sprint carcass in their back yard which has no plans or hope of ever seeing the road again, and you need them to cut out the bottom of the trunk and send it to you? I cannot spare either of mine at this time.I think unless you are willing and able to purchase one or two clapped out (but complete) sprints and store them to cannibalize, then you might need to dial back your expectations of having every last piece of the car 100% original right down to the nuts. External things that people see I can understand not wanting to hack something together but, spare tire post? Nobody ever sees that, with a welder you have endless options to make something that would work and it would be hidden forever. Even a piece of chain welded to the floor pan and a bolt going through the spare tire lug hole and one of the links would pretty much do it. It is different when you have a nice car though. My blue one is so far gone, there is really nothing to lose and no reason to try hard to make it all original. I may feel different when I start in on my red car |
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| turbogts22 | Apr 1 2016, 08:07 PM Post #27 |
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Dean
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Scrounging and hoarding are your only hope for keeping an MK1 Turbo Sprint. I always wanted one when I was much younger and finally bought two about 14 years ago. Being in Minnesota they both had rotten chassis so I saved every usable part and sent them to the crusher. I later purchased a rust free non-turbo Sprint to use as a possible donor chassis or for parts. I also found a T-Sprint in a local salvage yard and saved what I could from it. Many years passed by and in 2014 I finally purchased a rust free southern Turbo Sprint to use for the chassis. The interior was completely sun baked and turned to dust. The loads of parts I hoarded for years finally had a purpose! I have enough spare ECU's, ignitors, engines and turbos to keep it going for many years (I hope). Some fresh paint, new tires, some re-purposed Mitsubishi wheels and LOTS of time and I now have a decent little 80's pocket rocket. Some random pics for show and tell: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
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| Cardinal Grammeter | Apr 1 2016, 08:32 PM Post #28 |
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TurboGTS.... BEEE-YOU-TEE-FULLLLLLL (Ren & Stimpy) I'm speechless! My personal situation is I'm 63 and not really interested in doing any major reconstruction/restoration efforts - so I'm limiting myself to enjoying whatever comes my way. (I still can't believe I stumbled onto a Sprint Turbo that is is "impossibly excellent" condition in SW PA. And I can't see myself selling my Turbo either... |
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| Cardinal Grammeter | Apr 1 2016, 08:52 PM Post #29 |
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This thread has a lot of participation so I'm going to ask a MKI Interior Trim question: Do any 87 non-turbo models have the surrounding quarter window plastic trim? (The base model does not have it.) |
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I cannot spare either of mine at this time.










7:12 PM Jul 10