[blinky44]

So I had a 98 RBP RS years ago and want one again. I searched for one for years and found one which was a long way away from me so I bought it without seeing it in person and had it shipped to me.

It was rusted quite bad but I figured it could be fixed. Well, it can be but the cost of body work is more than the car is worth.

A 98 RS in RBP is my dream car. I want one with the original engine and to have the car as close to original as possible which is nearly impossible to find these days.

The body work cost so much because they have to make everything as body panels and floor pans are very hard to find. I know about subiesavers but it's there anywhere else I can look for body panels? I really don't know if/when I would find another one in better shape.

Fix it or scrap it?

 

[dtuyen]

Body panels are hard to find since most are now at the junkyard and you will have to go cut them out yourself or find someone parting a whole car and see if they are willing to sell you a panel. Might be cheaper to get a welder and buy sheet metal and make your own panels instead. I was in the process of doing a restoration project as well originally but as I continued to grind i slowly started to find more and more rust and eventually decided to find a good body donor L to move all the RS parts over to which is something you may want to consider as well.

 

[b2finity]

sell it and try to find a nicer one

 

[FXTrev]

I agree. If the interior is good in the car you have, I like @dtuyens suggestion to find a rust free L shell and swap everything over from the RS. You're going to spend more time and effort trying to fix a badly rusted out car. Hold out for a better one to come your way. It might not be RBP, but you can always paint it!

 

[blinky44]

I agree. If the interior is good in the car you have, I like @dtuyens suggestion to find a rust free L shell and swap everything over from the RS. You're going to spend more time and effort trying to fix a badly rusted out car. Hold out for a better one to come your way. It might not be RBP, but you can always paint it!

Body panels are hard to find since most are now at the junkyard and you will have to go cut them out yourself or find someone parting a whole car and see if they are willing to sell you a panel. Might be cheaper to get a welder and buy sheet metal and make your own panels instead. I was in the process of doing a restoration project as well originally but as I continued to grind i slowly started to find more and more rust and eventually decided to find a good body donor L to move all the RS parts over to which is something you may want to consider as well.

I wasn't aware I could swap over a different shell. What year L coupes could I use?

 

[dtuyen]

I wasn't aware I could swap over a different shell. What year L coupes could I use?

Could technically use anything from 95-01 (maybe even 93-94). 98+ would probably work the best if you want everything to bolt right up. 95-96 there are minor modification you need to do to get things to fit. Might have to fabricate a simple bracket here and there or nut-sert somethings but I’d say just about everything fits and bolts right up and swaps over. After you’re done you basically have an RS without the sunroof which you can also swap over if you’re inclined to do so.

 

[FXTrev]

Sunroof is a liability anyways, imo. Put a roof vent up top and you're good to go. If you want a coupe, you'll have to get a 95+.

 

[blinky44]

I appreciate the suggestions but I think I would be getting away from the originality of the car. I guess my best option is to start looking for another one.

 

[stalkergc]

Pretty much all of them you find will have some sort of rust unless it was fixed by the previous owner and at that point you're paying a high premium for the car. These RS coupes get rarer and rarer every year and the prices are starting to go up.

 

[dtuyen]

ultimately depends on what your goals are in the future. I personally didn’t mind getting an L since I will eventually be looking into a wrx/sti swap in the future. If you swap everything over than the only difference between an L and a RS really is the sunroof but as stalkergc said, expect to pay a premium for one. For a clean body RS you can look to california, Texas or any where there’s no snow to see if you can get one there and import it into Canada since they generally are rust free.

 

[vsp97]

As mentioned above, find a better body and keep the one you have to tranfer what you need. Most of the interior and exterior trim pieces, electrical components, if in good condition, you will want to save to transfer over or sell; most are discontinued and are like gold. All weatherstripping keep for the future if this is the car you want.