How to convert beaten-up old ghetto car into new.

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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Every one talks about buying a car or fixing a car but no one talks about refurbishing an old car. Since car repair and car reconditioning is dirt cheap in this country, so why not buy an old car and make it reasonably new again? This could be used as a cheap alternative to buying a nicer expensive car. For those of you folks who are tight with cash, maybe you should look into this thread to gain ideas into how to convert an old beaten up car into a decent car.
My story begins with my old concho type Toyota tercel 90. This car was old and ugly, not to mention parts falling off and endless series of dents from parking on the street. The seats were ripped, color of fabric turned grey from dirt and carpet changed color, not to mention huge holes in it. The bumper was falling off and lights were all bent and twisted out of alignment. The car was a total shame and embarrassment. I was simply going to give it away to a friend when I bought my camry. Then one day I crashed my new Toyota camry and got the bumper all broken up. I was directed to see a guy near my neighborhood who had opened up a new paint shop. He looked into my car and gave me a good estimate. Then the same day he gave my car back with bumper totally repaired and painted. As if I never had an accident. When I went to see him in the afternoon in my old car, he offered to renew my car for only 12k pesos. He told me he would take out the dents, repaint the whole car and repack everything into nice alignment. He would fix bumper and repair everything. Then the guy next to him offered to rip out old seat covers, repack them with more foam and sew on new fabric like new seats. He even offered to change my carpet and steam clean the roof. Total cost 8500 pesos. It seemed like a lot of work for such little money so I left the car to them on the spot. No money was given in advance, only when the work is finished to my liking. When I came back to take before / after picture of the work, I was shocked to see they had totally stripped off my car in just 3 hours. I mean everything, carpet, seats, molding from everywhere, bumpers and even panels from inside out. There was nothing left but a metal skeleton. Here are the pictures below.

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Notice: lights, grill removed and the lower metal protector is all twisted.

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Everything ripped out, even door panels.

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Old ripped out carpet

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Old seat, all worn out and damaged from sides.
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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Now the paint was selected to be a little light blue because the car title says the car is blue.
In this case we could have put on any blue, so I chose a very nice blue but the chopo mechanic messed up and put on a purple blue instead. I was very upset and demanded that he would change the color to my liking. Since the color he put on was dark so we settled for a Honda 2005 metallic dark blue color. Of course I didn?t pay extra for the new gallon of paint. The paint was painted from inside and out to cover every little piece of metal from inside so there would be no trace of old paint anywhere. Here is the car after 2 weeks.

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Seats totally redone, front and back with nice fabric.

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New carpet, perfectly fitted to the floor with all contours and curves.

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Nicely refilled with foam back seats. The car practically looks new from inside.

So there you have it, an old rotten car coming back to life. The car was mechanically fit from inside but ugly from outside. For 20.5 thousand pesos (600 dollars), the car became decent with new seats, new carpet, new quality paint and parts fitted and realigned to factory specs. Now I love this small car because I fill in 500 pesos gasoline and I go up and down all over Santiago. I only use my camry for evenings and weekends.
Hope some of you folks have found this post informative. If you need the number and address for the workshop, send me a PM.
Happy holidays.
AZB
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
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AZB, I love your blog! :D

What I can't get over with you boys is that with all your gadgets you still can't manage to re-size photos!

The colour is similar to my Chirimobile. I call it "Tory blue".
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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Chiri, we know how to resize the photos but you are missing the point. With men, its always "the bigger, the better". hahahahaha
AZB
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
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AZB, you're losing your touch. No sarky comment about girlies and car colours?
 

GringoCArlos

Retired Ussername
Jan 9, 2002
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Now AZB, if they could only work this magic on old, beat-up ghetto chicas ! If they could, I doubt that it would only cost $20k though, eh?
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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I am still upset over the color. This color is for young boys and too dark. I wanted a different color, a bit lighter blue with gray tint to it. The chopo painter didn't write down the code of the color so he decided to take the liberty into choosing a color of his choice, which was purple blue. I was then compelled to choose this one which is on the car at the moment.
Oh the car is no "baja panty" but at least people won't confuse it for a concho as many did in the past. The car actually runs better and makes less noise from the body. i guess there were many loose panels and things in the car before.
AZB
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
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What about the mechanics? Were they refurbished? Or did you just put really nice lipstick on a pig?

Nice cosmetics, though. Well done!
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
12,290
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over the years, the engine has been rebuilt, the transmission has been resealed, the power steering pump has been rebuilt, the seals on drive shafts have been changed, the water pump changed, the belts changed, the bulbs all around have been changed last week, the tires have been realigned, the rims have been fixed and straighten out (were bent from pot holes), the tires balanced, shocks and and supports have been replaced, the bushing have been changed, radiator have been unassembled and cleaned, every coil cleaned from inside by a metal strip and reinstalled, etc etc etc. believe me, my cars are mechanically sound. I don't wait for them to break down on streets. My both cars can be driven to Alaska right now (well, figuratively speaking). i always keep my eyes and ears open when I drive my car, to hear any noise and defects in engine etc.
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
5,808
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Antenna

No matter how long you make that radio antenna, it's just not going to pick up your U.S. rap stations AZB.
 
C

Chip00

Guest
AZB

Apparently the color is hot in the US, my 40 year old brother just bought a Benz convertible with the same color.
 

Squat

Tropical geek in Las Terrenas
Jan 1, 2002
2,239
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-What is the name & address of the "taller" or the "maestro" ?

I am thinking of renovating my "camioneta"...
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
12,290
519
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squat, you live in santiago? The taller is in padre las casa, santiago. I will send phone # later.
AZB
 

RandyE

New member
Feb 4, 2002
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Stripped down, painted and interior reupholstered for about $700US? Very good deal AZB. Now go to your local paint distributor and get a bottle of Mar Hyde (or similar brand) trim re-new for the bumpers. Product is an actual coating (NOT like Armor-all)) that will keep the exterior vinyl/plastic areas looking good for up to 6 months. Maybe the Dupont store near Hillbilly has or can get it.