the_fly

Newbie here in need of advice.

I went today and looked at an 83 GSL. The engine has been removed as it stopped running 5 or so years ago. He also has a 13B engine removed from an 84 SE. The body of the 83 is in great condition. No rust, hardly any scratches, and the original paint job (gold). The interior is tan w/leather seats and supposedly everything worked inside the car when the engine died. I would rate exterior and interior at around an 8.5 or 9. The body and original engine have 160k miles on them. Not sure of the mileage on the 13B engine.

Getting to the point. I have the option of buying the body and either the 12A engine which quit running or the 13B which would run when he bought it. I understand that there are some slight modifications to be done before dropping in the 13B. Not really sure what went wrong with the 12A but his wife said it gradually lost power and just eventually died. In fact, her exact words were "All I can tell you is that the engine gradually lost power over about a year, not much but you could tell - especially when the A/C kicked on. Then it died. It had a little less thank 170K on it. I loved that car, so I actually took it to the Marda dealer ship and they said it was dead (but sorry, I don't rememeber the technical terms they used - no compression maybe? Or is that just with pistons? ) and I should put in a new engine. " Her husband was out of the country when this happened so he couldn't describe what happened.

Whichever engine I buy I'm going to at least take it apart and put in new seals, etc. My question is, what do you guys think happened to the 12A? She wants next to nothing for the engine so I kind of feel I've got nothing to lose. She said the car never smoked or ran hot, so I'm thinking the rotors and housings should be OK. Or should I go with the13B which she doesn't want much for either? Both engines have been sitting around for about 5 years. I'm leaning toward the 12A as I'd like to keep the original engine type in the car.

Also, what is a fair price for an 83 GSL body in very good shape? It has been garaged most of its life. Thinking around $500.

Thanks in advance....

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

To install the 13B in a car 12A equipped car, you need quite a few parts from a GSL-SE body, if you want to run the original fuel injection. This would include the entire fuel system, from the fuel tank to the engine, the wiring harness and ecu and the SE engine mount. That's the short list, there is other work that needs to be done to mate the differences in the wiring systems. If you carb the 13B, then you will need the engine mounts, a carb, intake and after market fuel pump and fpr.

If the body is rust free and the interior/exterior as good as you say, 500 is a good price. Get unerneath and look for rust and pull the storage to check for rust there too.

At 160k, the housings are probably worn past the point of being used for a long lasting rebuild. If the 13B is cheap, pick it up and tear down, sell it for parts if you choose to rebuild the 12A, that will help offset purchase costs.