I picked up this 88 xlt 2.9l about a month ago for $1200. Ran and drove good but was in rough cosmetic shape to put it lightly. Put another $1k into it doing a partial restoration. Thought I’d share some before and afters. This was my first time working on any kind of project like this and between YouTube and google was able to do everything myself except the welding a neighbor helped with.
- pulled out biggest dents
- 4 new tires (they were 25 years old)
- custom door cards/carpet/oh sh!t handles
- repaired floor pans and rocker panels with fiberglass
- welded driver seat to frame (the mounts had completed rusted through and seat was totally unattached)
- tore out ripped headliner
- painted wheels/grill/rear bumper/windshield trim/mirrors
- added a tailgate net
- new radiator/upper hose/coolant/pcv valve
- full detail in and out and bunch of other small things
I wasn’t able to fix the rusted out rear fenders, bad body paint, rpm gauge doesn’t work, and other things before running out of budget. But everything important works, all lights and controls. Not bad I think for $2200 all in taxes and fees, first time DIY project. I think I’ll drive and enjoy it for awhile and then sell and atleast try to break even