Hi ! I've found what looks like a good parts car nearby, and cheap too, provided that most of it is usable for my '76 Eldorado convertible.
This is a very rare find over here in Romania.
It's a '77 Eldorado. The listing is written in Hungarian, but I'll attach it anyway for the photos.
http://v8cars.hu/hirdetes.php?apro=53cd3c4ef1845
The asking price is around $2700, but I think I could manage to buy it for about $2000, maybe a little under. This might seem like a lot to you, but bear in mind that any part I order from the USA, with shipping and import charges, ends up costing about double what you would pay for it over there.
There are some instances when I end up paying up to 3-4 times the price if the items are oversized, such as radiators for example.
A windshield alone would cost almost what I would pay for this whole car.
I'm mainly interested in the following parts:
Interior door trim (upper and lower), interior rear quarter panel trim (upper and lower), windshield, one rim to use for a spare tire, passenger door ashtray assembly.
Of course, I would plan on removing and storing any other parts that would be usable on my '76 Convertible. The more the better.
The door panels will interchange but I think will look a little different (unless they got lazy and didn't restyle them the last few years?).
I don't think the rear stuff will interchange, its not the year its convert vs hard top.
Rims should be the same.
A lot of interior stuff will interchange, just possibly slight style changes.
Almost all the mechanical and under hood stuff will interchange. The 425 engine is externally the same as the 500.
Thanks TJ.
In that case I think I'll pass. Maybe I'll go take a look at it anyway. Maybe it's worth restoring.
The upside of living in Romania is that the labour is dirt cheap compared to US. Mechanical and body/paintwork is about $20-30 per hour in the better shops. If it doesn't have major issues, it might be worth saving.
A friend of mine has a 76 Convert, and I have the 78 Coupe. If I can remember, the interior is the same. Nothing has ever jumped out that was different, except for the convertible parts. The lights and stuff in the back is different. But I would say 95% of the stuff is the same.
$20 per hour in the better shops? The better shops? Might be cheaper to send whole car there to have it painted then. Ha.
afaik shipping a car from US to Germany or Holland is about $1200-1400 one way, plus the trailer from Holland to Romania maybe another $1000, so it might not be worth it.
On the down side, we pay way more for parts with the shipping and customs.
The windshields are also different between coupe and convertible.
-mB
In that case, I'll buy it only if it's worth restoring. Thank you all for the info.
Mihai