I’m in the “use it or lose it” camp. Cars deteriorate just sitting in a garage, although in a different way. I live in a dry area and we see many vintage cars out on the street in spring and summer. A fellow down the street has a 1956 Chevrolet in like new condition, for instance.
Another friend is selling his 80 year old wife’s 1973 Mercedes sports car with only 80,000 miles on it.
Once it’s cleaned up and ready to go, you have the choice of selling it (I’m sure there will be an eager buyer) or keep it as a toy; a real nice toy, I might add.
Good luck!
It’s just a car…I agree, the fuel tank must be removed and cleaned out, the fuel lines, filter, flushed out or replaced, right up to the injectors…Then, after the engine is running properly, you can tackle all the other stuff.
If you get lazy and just try to install a new battery, add a little fresh gas and crank it up, you could easily destroy the engine by running that decomposed gasoline through it…
I am very partial to e-30 BMW’s (I have owned 5)Your car would be a jewel for a E-30 collector to find, now if only it was an M3(I think 88 was earliest for M3 E-30 they had a great 200+hp 4cyl) or a convertible. The M3’s went for 35K+ in the late 80"s, big bucks I would say.
I’ve been involved with bringing back vehicles that were garaged for years and years, and one thing that can really mess up a deal is the local DMV. They have rules about registering cars that can make the task really complicated, or really easy, and it’s impossible to know what might happen. I guess before I put a bunch of money into repairs, I’d take whatever title or paperwork you have and go there and see what it will take to get it legal on the road, or at least with a valid US title.
Many “Classic Cars” have had their paperwork run through the Alabama DMV, which will provide a current registration with little fuss…It can all be handled by mail through a paperwork broker…