97 TA should I put it back togeather or part it out...... give me some ideas here.

[89firebird]

Awhile back i picked up a 97 trans am that had a bad motor kid ran it low on oil blew it up they had it rebuilt and who ever did the work folded one of the oil rings over and never realized it until the put the car back togeather and it smoked like all hell. So i picked it up with the intentions on rebuilding it. Pulled it all apart and took the block in and found out the block was already .60 over and pretty much junk because the cylinder wall was scored pretty bad.
I finally picked up another 96-97 shortblock that had a spun bearing. I was going to get it all redone but just have not had the time to get around to doing anything with it and it has been sitting now for at least 6 months and I kind of got discouraged with the whole project. At this point i am pretty much just ready to get rid of it and pick up a ready to go ls1 car. So I have been kicking around will it be worth it for my to go ahead and do all the work of getting the motor done and putting it all back togeather to sell the car as a running car ready to go or should i just say screw it and part the car out. It is a 97 trans am with 101k miles on the body has tan and grey interior body is decent shape paints ok for the age of it has a set of zr1s Motor has bbk shorty headers and ypipe the intake is either a edlebrok intake or powercoated red to ressemble one i have to run the numbers to see if it is or not. Heads are clean and have a set of chevy bowtie engrave aluminum roller rockers. Has a bbk throttle body as well. Tran is good im pretty much trying to get an idea of what the car would be worth ball park ranger in parts or to sell as a roller and sell all the parts seperate or sell it as a project to someone who wants to build the motor and put her back togeather or should i just do the work and put it back togeather and sell it as a running car figured id ask you guys on here and see what you guys tell me and i will go from there on what i want to do thanks guys....

[Blackbirdws6]

If the car is in good shape minus the engine, then it could be worth throwing in a good, used motor and calling it a day. Lt1 cars don't go for much used in running condition so parting it out may net you more cash if you have the time to deal with people purchasing the parts. Auto or 6 spd car?

[V]

part it out or sell as-is

[89firebird]

Car is an auto. Wish it was a 6spd lol. What kind of total round about do you think itd be worth in partout condition i deal alot on ebay and craigslist selling stuff so parting it out wouldnt be any big deal i just know what i have into the car and what i need to get out of it. Its not like i need to get rid of it i just hate seeing it sit there lol.

[WildBillyT]

All depends on condition of stuff.

[V]

parting out an entire car isn't as easy as many think.

A lot of parts will sit around for a long time, some stuff there is no demand for.
Also i see a lot of people asking for way more than a part is worth and if you don't know the common values then you're just hurting yourself.

If done properly and you know the market, demand and proper pricing, the car would be worth 2-5k in parts all depending on condition of specific high demand items.
Broken or less-than-mint parts are usually trash, so even if you don't know how to properly disassemble the car, you will lower the value.

As a running car, you're probably looking at 2-4k as well. That depends also on condition, finding the right buyer, proof of any work done etc. That also can take a lot of time too.


You're better off selling any performance parts like headers, TB, etc and then sell the shell as a roller. A 4th gen roller is worth no more than $800 imo. Few people want a hacked up project, which almost all rollers tend to be. People who will part the roller will not spend more than that buying one because then the profit for their time and experience is not there. And for what its worth, I find rollers all the time for under 1000.

[maroman88]

u said u had no time to work on it... parting it out takes a ton of time, and meeting up with people who may or may not even buy a part. imo slip a used motor in there and sell it, lt1's came in a bunch of cars back in their day as well... big buicks, caprices, vettes, impalas and fbodys. used motor u could prob get for a couple hundred bucks, and even if u have to pay someone to install it, u would have to waste ur own time dismantling and such

[sweetbmxrider]

I'd stick a motor in it and either enjoy it or sell it. You'll be hard pressed getting 2k out of it parting from the sound of it.