How much is this damage worth... (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Aug 5, 2019
Threads
23
Messages
186
Location
Colorado
I'm looking at a 94 today and am pretty happy with the mechanical condition for a truck with 240k on it- it had a head gasket leak so the head was decked and the gasket replaced. Compression around 160 on all cylinders Part of that included refreshing the cooling system, new rad, etc. OME 2.5 lift and it's riding on some nearly dead 35s on aftermarket 17s. Front leather is pretty dead, but that's easy enough to refresh.

While most of the body looks pretty straight, It has one area of body damage- the passenger side bumper cover was ripped off and the radiator support has some impressive twisting. I looked at an exposed rad support on another truck yesterday and yeah this piece is toast.
Lower headlight trim is gone, fender looks terrible up close, but may be redeemable.
Rust along the fender looks to be around the damage area as well, probably flexed the paint off the metal whenever the damage happened.

Real question is how much should I ask to knock of the price for this? I'm not against fixing it, but I've also found some trucks that I could throw an OME lift onto and not have to deal with the body work.

My intention is to turn whichever truck I buy into a clean daily driver...

radiatorsupport.jpg


To fix this, it looks like I'll have to pull apart the front clip and just replace the rad support. I've already found the parts.
front-clip.jpg
 
Personally, I'd pass on it...in favor of something cleaner (less work). Also, 160 psi compression at sub 250K miles is very much on the low end.

My '97 by comparison (with 312K miles) has 190 psi on all six cylinders (dry, cold).
 
I’d pass if you’re hoping to make it into a clean truck. It won’t be as simple as replacing the radiator support.
 
Also it appears that the lower valance is from a 95+ truck. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that and the passenger fender are the “repair” of whatever happened.
 
I think I'm getting it - looks like the bumper cover was glued on and rubbed the fender before it fell off. I didn't realize that the lower valence had been replaced, thanks for the eyes!
 
I’d probably roll out to Denver and buy something like this:
 
From the 1997 workshop manual:
Compression pressure: 1,176 kPa (171 psi) or more.
Minimum pressure: 883 kPa (128 psi)
Difference between each cylinder: 98 kPa (14 psi) or less.
 
That sure sounds high to me. I thought these had about 170 from the factory.

I will check again using another gauge when its time for my next spark plug change, but this gauge has always been pretty accurate.

Compression test was taken as I always do: (Dry cylinders, Engine Cold, All plugs removed, Battery Charger hooked up and set at 40 amps, 8 engine revolutions per cylinder).




HG7.jpg
pic1.jpg
pic2.jpg
 
I will check again using another gauge when its time for my next spark plug change, but this gauge has always been pretty accurate.

Compression test was taken as I always do: (Dry cylinders, Engine Cold, All plugs removed, Battery Charger hooked up and set at 40 amps, 8 engine revolutions per cylinder).
If that's what it reads, I'm thinking that's what it reads. And I'm not an expert but I've always done this with the engine warm. Not sure if that makes a difference or not or if it even should be warm or cold. Just how I've always done it. No matter what, compression is not an issue on your motor!
 
Youll get different compression test numbers at altitude.

No doubt, but I'm a scant 300' above Sea Level.

I'm curious now what others with similar (or less) mileage have for readouts. If mine is significantly higher than others, I'd like to discover the reason why.

1. Inaccurate gauge.
2. Better engine turn over (fully charged battery and battery charger connected).
3. Better maintenance.
4. Other.

Pretty sure the gauge is good, but I do have another one someplace...I can check it against. I don't need to change my plugs until around the end of next summer...but will do another compression test at that time.
 
Thanks for the feedback on the whole - I learned a couple things and decided to pass on this 80 for now. Seems like I'm going to go for a 100...
 
Good call. Mine had similar damage in the same area and I was told it was ‘straight’(they hid the damage well). I wish I’d steered clear but I had to go look at it at night and I was rushed. Knowing what I do now I would have passed on it, but I also love it after all of the work I’ve had to do. So love/hate. Haha.
 
Keep looking. Plenty of clean non damaged 80s out here in
Colorado.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom