Someone help me, I'm close to officially going crazy.

Kinja'd!!! by "Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
Published 04/26/2017 at 21:14

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STARS: 3


Kinja'd!!!

EDIT TO CLARIFY: I don’t intend to use this for all that much/attempt to get it done in a certain timeframe. Likely this’ll just be something to wrench on for a while and develop my amateur mechanic skills further. If it works out, I’ve got a rare (unless you count it as the same car as the Legend) little British sedan to use. If not, I can sell it to a junkyard (this place is a private scrapyard for a small mechanic’s shop) for about the same amount I might buy it for.

Hi oppo. First post here.

Because I’m equal parts stupid and crazy, this Sterling 825 *might* be my next car/project.

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It has literally sat in the same spot since 2004.

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It hasn’t been run at all in that timeframe, its sun-damaged, and the driver-side windows were busted out at some point apparently quite a while ago.

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Worst part is, I still have no idea what’s under the hood.

No guarantees, but if the yard says it doesn’t require total engine replacement, it’s probably mine.

Lord help me.


Replies (30)

Kinja'd!!! "Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
04/26/2017 at 21:17, STARS: 0

Hello. And yikes.

Kinja'd!!! "My citroen won't start" (lucasboechat)
04/26/2017 at 21:19, STARS: 4

I love the Sterling and I’ll all for reviving forgotten cars but please don’t, no good other than Lemons car can come from that.

Kinja'd!!! "Die-Trying" (die-trying)
04/26/2017 at 21:24, STARS: 2

you might ask about that nice corvette thats sitting next to it instead?......

what are you planning to swap into the sterling?

Kinja'd!!! "Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
04/26/2017 at 21:26, STARS: 1

That looks like Tetanus, syphilis, and hantavirus wrapped up in one package. Welcome to oppo the place with the good advice.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
04/26/2017 at 21:27, STARS: 1

Solution: Buy Acura Legend, rebadge as a Sterling.

Kinja'd!!! "Vítor" (vitorcesar)
04/26/2017 at 21:29, STARS: 0

Hello! Interior looks surprisingly good for thirteen years in the open, except for the headliner. Is that rust in the A pillar?

Kinja'd!!! "Vítor" (vitorcesar)
04/26/2017 at 21:35, STARS: 0

Also, you are better of with a Legend. The Sterling/Rover 800 is a less handsome Acura with the traditional 80's British build quality

Kinja'd!!! "Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
04/26/2017 at 21:35, STARS: 0

Well, that looks like fun... What kind of project did you have in mind?

Kinja'd!!! "Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
04/26/2017 at 21:36, STARS: 2

Depending on pricing the Vette might be mine as well. Still runs and interior is in good shape. Paint is in awful condition though. One of the pop-ups is a little loopy as well.

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Kinja'd!!! "HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
04/26/2017 at 21:37, STARS: 0

Broken bits of dried out plastic everywhere.

Kinja'd!!! "DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
04/26/2017 at 21:39, STARS: 0

A total engine replacement would be the least of your worries.

Kinja'd!!! "Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
04/26/2017 at 21:39, STARS: 0

C4 Vettes cause a lot of heartache and wallet ache, though.

Kinja'd!!! "smobgirl" (smobgirl)
04/26/2017 at 21:39, STARS: 0

10/10 would drive.

Kinja'd!!! "Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
04/26/2017 at 21:41, STARS: 0

I would say it is, but the other side had what I thought was rust until I realized it was smooth and the paint had quite literally been sunburned off.

Kinja'd!!! "RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
04/26/2017 at 21:44, STARS: 3

I’m usually one to encourage bad project ideas floated here, but this is all bad. Bad bad bad. Doubleplusungood.

Kinja'd!!! "RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
04/26/2017 at 21:45, STARS: 1

That’s not an original Mary Kay Corvette, is it? Pretty sure those existed. Or maybe it’s just horribly faded red.

Kinja'd!!! "Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
04/26/2017 at 21:48, STARS: 1

While I would normally concur, I have a friend who had a totaled ‘68 Mustang sitting overgrown in his back yard for about 8 years with cracked-open windows and he somehow got it back to drivable condition, so I feel like my naïve optimism from his story is silencing my common sense.

If it doesn’t work out LeMons will definitely be on the table though.

Kinja'd!!! "Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
04/26/2017 at 21:53, STARS: 1

Preferably, amateur restoration or sleeper racer.

If not, LeMons.

Kinja'd!!! "Die-Trying" (die-trying)
04/26/2017 at 21:53, STARS: 0

ex-barbie pink corvette........

Kinja'd!!! "My citroen won't start" (lucasboechat)
04/26/2017 at 21:55, STARS: 0

Yes, but a 68 Mustang is desirable, even a BMW 525i is kinda cool to revive. But a Sterling? A good condition Sterling (if such thing exists) is worth 2000 bucks and some pocket lint if that.

Kinja'd!!! "Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
04/26/2017 at 21:57, STARS: 1

Eh, I have weird tastes.

Plus, given the prevalence of Acura Legend parts it’s pretty cheap to replace certain bits. It’s likely just gonna be something for me to wrench on for a while.

Kinja'd!!! "Die-Trying" (die-trying)
04/26/2017 at 21:58, STARS: 1

i would shovel money at the corvette long before i would the sterling. the corvette at least has some downright good suspension to work with, and you can do a whole lot to one of those small blocks........ i would probably ditch the barbie pink color, but its kinda cool in a really tacky trailer park kind of way........

Kinja'd!!! "EL_ULY" (uly)
04/26/2017 at 22:03, STARS: 0

Hello and welcome...well re-welcome but this time to OPPO.

Don’t worry, you’re among insane automotive friends

Kinja'd!!! "Die-Trying" (die-trying)
04/26/2017 at 23:16, STARS: 1

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Kinja'd!!! "Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
04/26/2017 at 23:31, STARS: 0

You get a star for the 1984 reference.

Kinja'd!!! "pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
04/27/2017 at 07:27, STARS: 1

do it!

;)

Welcome too.

Kinja'd!!! "Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
04/27/2017 at 12:17, STARS: 0

I am (also) usually one to say “If you like it and want it, buy it” but this one might be worth letting go.

Can you get it running? Yes. Will you learn a lot? Absolutely! Will you want to rip your hair out more often than not? It is a project car, after all.

For reference, my 84 Saab sat in a mechanic’s lot for the same length of time and it isn’t nearly as hopeless as this poor beast.

That said, I guess I am not familiar with these even a little. What makes it worth saving?

Kinja'd!!! "Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
04/27/2017 at 23:56, STARS: 0

My weird tastes, combined with cheap parts from the many Acura Legends still out there, a desire to have a car I can do quite a bit of wrenching on, a need for a more useful hobby than my current ones, and (worst case) the fact that if it doesn’t work out I can probably sell it to a junkyard for as much money as I paid for it (if not more).

Plus it’s a bit of a unicorn; there aren’t many left in the USA.

Kinja'd!!! "Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
04/28/2017 at 10:11, STARS: 0

Fair enough. Then I go back to my default: If you want it, buy it.

Kinja'd!!! "Amoore100" (amoore100)
05/21/2017 at 03:53, STARS: 0

Can you just get a nice Legend and swap all the interior and exterior panels? It would run a whole lot better, even new those Sterlings didn’t have a sterling reputation for reliability despite apparently using Honda mechanicals from the bulletproof Legend.