My 1995 850 Turbo wagon is moribund - how to sell? In Maryland.

[850forum]

Took it to the shop, where I have taken it since 1999, because I saw some oil dripping. They found:
1) the rear frame is pretty rotten & getting ready to fail, mostly on one side but both sides below par.
2) massive oil leak from the turbo.
3) gas smell & leak, suspect rodents chewed hoses on top of gas tank.
4) gas tank has corrosion & is ready to leak.

So the frame is probably not fixable, at least not without spending thousands to have a body shop shore it up, if thats even possible & how long would it last? Need to have them look at it.
A good gas tank would be hard to find - they called a place that manufactures gas tanks, and no joy.
The turbo is probably fixable, but an expensive fix.

Now the engine is pretty nice, I have had them do a lot of work on it including the top end, valves, etc. Still the fastest production station wagon ever built.
The tires are in good shape.
Nice metal skid plate
AC works, had it extensively repaired a few years ago.
The pewter paint on the hood & roof is in bad shape, but the sides are pretty nice. Some dents.
The electric seats work, leather is cracking & has some tears (some fixed with acrylic Gesso & cloth backing).

And how can I replace this low to the ground, long bed station wagon? What is comparable these days? My wife does not want a car that she has to climb up into, which means any SUV type.

[V50M66]

Get a second opinion from a different shop before making any big decisions. Also post pictures here of the issues

[scot850]

Are the 850 gas tanks metal and not plastic like the P80 V/S/C 70's? If they are plastic, what rust are they talking about? Hanging straps rust, as do the pipes to/from the tank.

Neil.

[BlackBart]

My ‘94 wagon has the plastic tank.

[Sveedy]

Yeah, if your mechanic says that your plastic gas tank is rusting, then it's time to find another mechanic.
Sveedy has a plastic tank. I doubt any of the 850's came with metal tanks.

[abscate]

Rear frame rust could be body or it could be easily replaced rear suspension arms.

Let’s get some pics!

[850forum]

Took it to the local body shop first, its got a good rep. - they said they don't work on old frames. Then went to a good welding shop, who sent me to a custom car shop.

The tank is metal. Does the 850 have an inspection panel under the seat, to view the top of the gas tank? The custom shop mechanic opined the leak might be a gasket to the metal "pump housing" (I forget the name of this part), but the tank itself does look rusty & might get leaky.

The custom shop looked & said the rails are firmly attached to the unibody, so its safe from that perspective. Need to re-work the attachments that hang from the rails (like for the exhaust system).

Where can I get a rebuilt turbo? Maybe Jasper ? What are the chances a junkyard turbo is still good?
A local junkyard has a tank for $75, dunno how good it is.

Looking for replacement cars, found an article from the 1990's about buying 850's cheap with over 250,000 miles and dropping in a Mustang V8. Paul Newman had one done, then David Letterman. The mechanic who figured it out did it cheap & sold a kit, for the love of the project.

The Volvo V60 and V90 are worth looking at; have to price 4-5 year old ones & look at Consumer Reports, and the Subaru Outback is about half the price for new ones. None of the Car & Driver spec info includes how many pounds of cargo you can haul !!!

I parked next to an Outback and it seems a tad smaller. Need find the measurements of the cargo space to compafe.

[abscate]

I’ve never heard of a metal tank on a P80.

I’ve got two tanks in upstate NY. Free, and I start cruising next year , too.

[BlackBart]

The Newman / Letterman cars were 740/960-series RWD cars.

[V50M66]

Yeah, I'm almost positive all P80 tanks are plastic. It's probably the metal collar connecting the filler neck. Common issue and a simple, cheap fix. Need pictures!

Also, BlackBart is correct about the V8 swapped cars