I bought a 2005 Evo w/79k miles for 10k knowing it had some problems. I replaced the transmission w/a stage 2 TRE and did thousands in deferred maintenance. 90 miles afterwards, it spun a rod bearing. I bought a long block from someone that agreed to help me who is a trained mechanic/engine builder. We got the car apart and had some difficulties as is typical when working on these cars. Now I can't get in touch with the guy and my car is in pieces all over my garage. I don't have enough knowledge of drivetrain to do this on my own so I would need to tow it back to a shop to finish and I would expect to pay at least $1,000 for that convenience.

I think I've spent $15,000 in parts and labor on this car. So was not a good deal at all.

I built a spreadsheet to determine how much money I could get by parting the car out. I come up with up to $20,000 plus a bare shell w/clean title (this includes lot's of mods). I am not sure what a bare shell would sell for.

I believe that if I complete the project my car might be worth $16-17k plus about $3k in leftover parts.

I'm not sure it's worth putting together the Evo again if the net value is the same either way. I have three young kids and a busy professional working life, so I am about done with doing crap like this.

Any opinions or feedback are welcome.

 

Kinda hard to say. Depends on the condition of that long block. If the guy just totally flaked out on you, thats not a good sign of the condition of that engine. With the right tools and some knowledge, you can drop the engine/trans back in and get everything back together in a weekend. Whats your local evo scene like? Perhaps you could solicit some help from some locals?

 

The long block was originally purchased from a reputable member of this forum (he frequently parts out Evos), so I was never worried about that.

Evo scene is large, but rarely see anyone unless I want to hang out at Spec-Ops which is 35 miles from my house.

I decided to go this route because I judged the man to be of good character. We spent three days working on my car together I never once got the impression he was a flake.

 

So how taken apart is the car? Is it just the engine thats been pulled? You said you had it together for 90 miles before it spun that rod.

 

If spec ops is down the block why not give them a call and see if you cant round up your parts and drop it off to them to inspect and rebuild--it isn't going to be a 1k deal but it gets done, then have the car hauled over to them and have the engine installed and finished out.. You in way too deep already, might as well just get it done and drive it. The time you will spend parting it out, pricing and shipping will have you head spinning.

 

The engine and the transmission have been pulled out. Originally, Spec-ops quoted me $2000 for labor to swap the engine. I've spent too much money fixing this Evo already. It will have to sit for a while or I will not meet my savings goals for the year. Family comes first before spending more money on this thing.

Seriously, I have never seen an Evo so subtly mistreated. I have been fixing so many little things that where done incorrectly. You can tell it was once heavily modded (just not properly modded). Whoever put it back to stock used lot's of cheap non-oem parts. When I'm done with it, at least it'll be a decent Evo again.

I wish I hadn't seen it on Craigslist, but I drove the thing to NC from Florida so I didn't think it needed much more then maintenance and transmission.

 

Do you have a cherry picker and a load leveler for it? If so dropping it back in is pretty straight forward. I did it by myself in my garage. Toughest part is probably getting the transfer case to stay outta the way.

 

I'd part it out. It's hard to sell a car that doesn't run, and if it is already pretty taken apart I'd safe yourself the time and frustration.

 

part it out if your part out price calculationss were reasonable low balled prices you'd get from buyers...

 

Kinda sad IMO when an Evo gets parted out as the VIII/ IX is becoming more rare. This thread is kinda old so maybe you already did it. I guess if I had the time and could afford to keep the car and parts in the garage for a while I would try and figure out how to fix it on my own. Having knowledge of how to successfully complete a project like this could be very useful on future car projects.

 

I'd agree.

At this point usually you can take 75% of what you think you will get for parts as your worst case total from parting out, and be sure never to accept anything below 75% of what you think the parts are worth.

Part it, get your money back, put it in the savings, meet your goals, and find another one.

 

Ill agree with this. These cars need to be owned by enthusiasts.

 

Have patience, if you are out then part out.

 

If you do decide to part out please let me know, I'm also in NC and would be interested in the trans with all wiring and mounts as well as the shifter. lmk I live in Jacksonville. If you decide to keep it, just know that spec-ops will take care of the car

 

I would part out and part ways with that one.