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78Z

78Z

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this is a 1961 or 1962 Sprite. Its mostly complete except for engine, tranny, top (has frame), and seats. Its mostly rust free and has a very straight body (ex California racer of some sort). Had a Datsun 510 motor and tranny in it (now gone) thus the hole in the hood. It has good guages, chrome, etc. The rear springs are shot. Any value in it? I was thinking of finding a rotten later Spridget and swapping over the drivetrain. Or even putting in a Corolla GTS or RX-7 engine (with a rear end replacement). Its avaliable for under $400Cdn.

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I guess you are asking is it worth 400 Canadian? I have bought better 'part' cars than this for far less. Body does look straight and no obvious signs of major rust but it has had major surgery in the tranny tunnel area that will require fixing to make it useful and a new bonnet.
 
Fixing rusted out 1/4 elleptic spring boxes on the rear bulkhead can add up fast, so watch out. My guess is 62 for the year. I sold a 62 mkII sprite rusty ,but complete for $500 us. so either I let it go too cheap, or that's a tad steep for a rusty Sprite shell. 'course, it's got potential
 
I think 400Cdn is not too bad and if you're planning on using it to do a transplant, I think you're in pretty good shape because this car is already half-way there. Now, if you're looking for a restorable car, as in back to original, I think Biff is right, the tranny tunnel and bonnet are going to make this car less desirable for those purposes.

JACK
 
I think you're looking at a $200.00 to $250.00 CDN car at best. Body panels look OK, but I can't see the rockers. Depending on price the black car behind this one might make a better starting point.
 
the black one behind is rotten - doesn't run either. Anyway I hear what everyone is saying and I think you're right - too much work. It just blew me away that the body was so straight and rust free.
 
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