The Life and Death of 87 Vert #022

[avmtdan]

One of our fellow members was kind enough to post the following link on Craigslist:

http://orlando.craigslist.org/pts/1972776600.html

THIS IS AN 87 MCLAREN
i have this vehicle up for parts or complete u tell me.
everything is there, pretty much in accesories,
the under carriage is pretty much rusted. me being a welder and long time restorer, i don't need to invest the time to get it done.@least for now
RAG TOP- GOOD
FRONT END -GOOD
REAR END-GOOD
MOTOR-STARTS UP AND SOUND GOOD,FOR A CAR THAT BEEN SITTING 14 YREARS
SUSPENSION -NOT SO GOOD,FROM A VISUAL POINT OF VIEW
INTERIORS-ALL THERE, SLIGHT WEAR AND TEAR
TRUNK LID WITH SPOILER-SPOILER,GOOD with working tail light,TRUNK LID HAS RUST

miguel 321-704-6627
DOORS-ARE SHOT,PANELS ARE OK
SEATS HAVE MINOR TEARS, MY POINT OF VIEW MAY BE ALL DIFFERENT THAN YOURS
taill lights are good,
there is a title to this car, if you want a neat project than here it is.
i know that i should be stating how rare this car is,and how parts are hard to find
but i'm not.. because the ones out there are in great shape and rarely driven,
THIS IS #O22 BUILT THAT YEAR, BADGED RIGHT ON THE DASH

or buy it whole and e-bay the parts,mustang forums,etc.
take it for 1000, o.b.o the rag top and tail lights are worth that, the rest is free,,and i acknowledge the fact of the time it will take to strip,catalogue andsell these items
thas why i selling cheap, jus put it in a garage for ten more yeaRS and watch it grow ur money back .

<END Craigslist Quote>

I was extremely curious on this one, so I contacted the seller and friday, I drove 500 miles from Atlanta to Orlando to see the car, and acquire some information and parts.

The earliest owner that the current owner knew of 022 was his cousin who lived in Michigan. I believe his cousin bought the car new, and drove it around for around 9 years. One day his cousin brought it down to Orlando, and essentially abandoned the car where it sat. This car sat under a tarp for the next 14 years until the current seller decided he no longer wanted the car, and that it was too far gone for rescue.

My original intention for this car was to purchase it whole and either save it, or part it out if it was not rescue able. I have not seen many other cars with more rust on them than this 87 Vert. I drove down and arrived at around 8 PM, it was dark, the air was moist, and the car was dead. The engine would crank, but all of the accessories were seized up. The doors are completely rotted through. The floors are gone to the point where only the carpet is keeping the contents of the vehicle from gushing out into the street. The supports for the lower control arms consist of a very small amount of flaky rust holding the car up. This cars entire bottom end is completely gone from around 2 inches above the bottom of the door down. Seeing this I decided that this car would not be a good rescue, but instead be a donor.

I purchased from the owner all of the ASC Mclaren parts that were still attached to the car. Missing from this list was the rear bumper valance, the spoiler with brake light, and the tonneau cover with the pull down motor.

The car is white with a blue top, and blue interior. The seats are in horrible condition, the bottoms taking the brunt of the weathering, the material is very brittle. The seat tracks were so rusted that they are missing the holes that keep the seats down, the drivers seat actually pulled away from the car with a chunk of the floor and carpet still attached to one hold down. The Drivers door panel is rough at best, with most of the blue worn off from elbow rub, the passengers door panel is fair. All of the badging remained with the car, and is in fair condition.

The rear interior boxes are in great shape, with no cracks in the plastic, and the fabric intact and for the most part clean.

The dash is in good shape, with some of the normal fading of the plastic parts, but overall cleaned up nicely.

Center Console is in very good shape, but is missing the tape holders and the hold down for the door is broken.

Steering wheel was leather wrapped, with not much leather left, the horn button had been replaced with a ford button.

Car was an automatic, the leather on the shifter was also not salvageable.

Tonneau cover springs have light rust, and one missing stud, I thought this was odd because the car only had 5 holes drilled in it for the cover, not 6.

Front bumper was dirty, but intact, along with its badging. Some scuff marks, but no major damage that could not be filled and painted.

Rear bumper also in fair shape, some cracking at the mounts, missing the rear valance, but also retaining the mclaren badging.

The top is oddly enough in very good shape, especially considering the rest. No tears, fabric is very plyable, windows have some fading/dullness but may buff out. One window has a hole that was repaired poorly, the other has some stitching that has pulled out. Mechanism is in great shape.

Doors are completely rusted out, glass is in good shape, I will be removing the mechanism soon.

Tail Lights are in good shape, one has a small crack but should be repairable, mostly just dirty, some fading.

I have (or will be) posting some pics of this poor car and its parts in my album.

I hated to see that the car has gotten this bad, I am glad I had the opportunity to recover some of the things that made this car truly great, so that others may live.

#022 RIP

Build 1/87
1FABP40F8HF16(remaining is illegible, trying to decipher)

[shelbyscarab]

no words. sad.

I really don't get how some of these cars get treated so badly and end up the way they do......

I know some were bought for kids in H.S. - this might be the start.....

[Kentennis]

We never put tarps over anything in Florida. The heat and moisture gather under the tarp and eat up metal and wood. (Some boat owners learned the hard way). There needs to be air circulating freely and not in direct sunlight, if it can be helped. The Vette and T'Bird have breathable covers, which are off most of the time and they are protected from direct sun. The McLaren reposes in our 2 car garage (Which only holds 1 car!)

The tarp did more damage than good, and if the car was from Michigan there was probably salt residue under it too. Might as well have bathed it in acid!

[86capri62]

Ken, also you forgot NOT to park in the grass. There is nothing worst espicially in combination with a tarp. I see so many cars for sale parked in the grass, if they've been there for a while don't even stop.

[Sandy]

It takes a whole lot of work, to keep a car, any car, but especially a convertible showroom new, after being twenty years old as my 2 'Verts are, and 24 years as in my '86 Coupe.

I would like to drive them, but the risk (spelled: worry) far excedes the pleasure. I am in N.J. and everyone drives like their Mother has just had a heart attack, in at the hospital, and are calling, pleading for her only Son, that that be YOU! You can imagine how this person would drive, Yes? Well, that is the way ALL N.J. drivers drive to go to the 7-11 for a pack of cigarettes, and have no other place to go ! Therefore, my Silver Anniversary Edition has 10,000 miles, my Azura Blew has 2,400 miles and the '86 Coupe is with 700 miles.
But thhey need MORE care than a daily driver. My oil get too thick and I have my dealer change each car's oil 2 x a year, checking tranny fluid, radiator anti-freeze/water mix, Chassis lubes and door striker grease, and what ever else they suggest. Alot of schlepping of 3 cars 16 miles each trip for each car. I try to lower the roofs on the 'Verts 2 X a year to keep them working (I have done that, this season). Run ther Air Conditioning system a couple times, like once in May, July & September, each for like 30 minutes.
Sometimes, when I am not too tired, I will set alarm clock on a Saturday to ring on Sunday morning, around 5:30 I can have pills, O.J. and little coffee, and be dressed & out ny 6:15 AM That is when I take them out. NO TRAFFIC on a Sunday AM at 6:20! Juat stay away from the routes to the Jersey Shore. Go North, not South. I have had them up to 70 MPH when conditions are good, but try to vary the speeds.
Then when the ride is over, and they are hiome - they get damp wiped to take off road grime, then put away, and covered with car covers.

It's alot of work...to really go nowhere!! I try to get back home by 7:40AM beating the Church goers for 8:00 AM First Mass.

[86capri62]

Sandy, you should move out of large town. Buy a nice place where you can use your cars and enjoy them instead of beeing fully stressed driving them.

[Sandy]

" beeing fully stressed driving them "
Terrific short, nail-hit-on-head explanation of how I am, driving them. However I like were we live to much to consider that.

[86capri62]

Great Sandy ! Well at least we know there is a man in NJ that has nice driving sessions on early Sunday morning. Keep taking good care of your toys.

[Sandy]

You are NOT nervous driving your GTB?

[03Mach1]

Sandy I just non-oped both of mine because I am afraid to drive them so I agree with you. Got them both parked on flat stoppers to keep the tires good which I highly recommend.

[86capri62]

I have to admit that sometimes I am. I went for a little holyday cruise of 1400 miles a month ago with it and when I was in downtown Montreal in bumper to bumper trafic I was a little bit nervous. My GTB is nothing rare and it is in driver condition and by no way a show car. I LOVE to drive this car. If something happen I will live with it and the car can easily be replaced because the market has many for sale at very affordable prices. In the case of YOUR CARS it's a very different story. I easily understand your fear to drive them as they are unreplacable by their low milage and rarity.

[Sandy]

I'll take them out - but the stars all have to line up just right, and THAT does not happen very often.
1. I gotta feel good. No affects from Chemo infusion, so that right there elimenates 26 weeks of the year.
2. No threat of rain (Don't even think of snow)
3. Nice sunny day, not too hot. April/May & September/October
4. Early AM - between 6AM & 7AM.

[86capri62]

Well that is extreme care. Many humans are not treated like this. BTW Sandy, is Ken Block a member of your family in some way? Same last name but he sure doesn't pamper his cars as you do. If you don't know who he is, type his name on youtube and look.

[RareFox]

This thread precisely explains why I intentionally bought a 'driver quality' car rather than a showpiece garage ornament. Been down the road of 'Afraid to drive or ride it' wayyyy too many times with nearly flawless collector motorcycles, as well as several very nice automobiles over the years.

One particular car I hung on to for a decade was driven on average about 200 miles per year... and by quick calculations factoring in insurance, registration, maintenance, etc. was costing roughly $5 bucks-per-mile to "enjoy" it. Even sitting carefully covered in the garage, things 'happened' to it. A pressure washer wand fell and dinged the front fender. A carelessly moved lawn tractor scratched the bumper. All incidents were caused by others and completely beyond my control. At some point it's difficult not to feel like I didn't own the car... the car owned me. Too stressful as a whole and definitely no longer made fiscal sense... so after some mental tribulations, I finally sold it and purchased something I can actually drive with minimal concern.

No, I don't drive my McLaren with reckless abandon, and the days of 200-yard burnouts for me are certainly numbered, but I've found this isn't the type of automobile that requires going out and pushing it to 140 to enjoy. On the contrary, top-down I rarely exceed 60mph and generally only drive the car on bright, sunny afternoons. These cars are phenomenal backroads cruisers with good handling, manageable size, boatloads of torque, and a light, nimble feel. Never fails to bring a smile every time. Most collectors insurance policies allow up to 3,000 miles of pleasure use (some have no limits at all)... and time/weather allowing, my intention is to use each and every one of them.

[Sandy]

.....and you are in my state, Zoo Joisey?

My insurance is CHEAP! Check out GRUNDY CLASSIC CAR INSURANCE !!
My BIG bill is storage ! $ 375.00 @ month ! The insurance is EL CHEAPO

What county R U in ? Your car looks real nice.