Please help. I am looking at an 85 GSL-SE/160K to purchase for about $1,100. I was able to look the car over real good and I am going back in three days to test drive it. The owner did not have keys at the time so we were not able to start it. The car just needs paint on the outside and tires, the inside was near perfect. I looked for rust in the usual spots and found nada. I looked at the fluids and they all seemed okay. What should I look for on startup? What is the easiest thing to look at, besides a compression test that will give me any indication of how much life I can get out of the 13B? Also I came across a paper that showed the car failed the sniff test due to high hydrocarbons, I was told the car has a new cat, does this mean it just needs a good tune-up? Any help on the matter is appreciated; I did do a search but did not come up with anything.

 

make sure it has good compression. if it does, then it seems like a pretty good deal. i would try to get him down to $900, or at least $1000.

 

Did you look at the storage bin rust in the rear wheel wells? If there's no rust there, than 1100$ seems like a good price if everything else is good, 900$ would be even better.

Check for smoke on startup. A little white smoke is normal on startup but shouldn't lastmore than 2 minutes (condensation in the exhaust). Black smoke is FI related, like running too rich. Blue smoke means you're burning oil and need an engine rebuild. Continuous white smoke means you're burning coolant and really need a rebuild.
An engine compression test would give you a better idea of the engine's condition.

 

A little blue smoke on start-up with a rotary is common.

 

Thanks for the advice. I will take a screwdriver and check under the bins when I go. When doing a compression test, which spark plug do you use, the bottom or top 2? I know the readings should jump three times, but would should it be? 70psi?

 

you really want 90psi or higher. 105 is average. Anything lower than 85 and I personally would balk on the deal unless he was throwing in an additional engine

 

I dont know what these people are on, but to me from the description you gave, that sounds like a $1,500-$2,000+ car in the right market (IE - This one). I would buy it for $1,100 with no regrets whatsoever.

As advised, check for the rust under the storage bins, and peek inside the rear wheel wells. If that all looks decent, then all the better. I personally wouldnt worry too much about it unless its really severe (like rotted through). Maybe tap on any you find to see how bad it really is.

When doing the compression check, hold down the release pin on the tester so it doesnt measure the overall pressure, but the spikes from each chamber. You can use either spark plug hole, it doesnt matter. Do one plug at a time though. Start with the front rotor, and put it in one of the holes. I personally would use the leading or lower hole (bottom left spark plug). Have someone turn the engine over with the ignition disabled while you watch the tester. It should spike 3 times as mentioned, and they should be around 80-90 PSI if I remember correctly. Obviously the less pressure, the less life you will get. After you do the front rotor, repeat the process on the rear rotor (lower right spark plug). Once again, watch for three spikes. When youre watching, you need to try and look to see that theyre all roughly within the same area, and when comparing the front to the rear, look to see that theyre similar as well. Youre basically looking for nice even compression across all three seals on both rotors, as well as both rotors compared to eachother.

As far as disabling the ignition, you can unplug the two plugs on the side of the distributor, and that will stop the coils from firing while you check the compression.

I hope that help, and if anything is wrong, Im sure someone here will let me know .

~T.J.

EDIT: On startup, the car should start fairly easy with no help from the gas pedal. It should idle high for a time while its warming up, and once warm, the idle should drop to roughly 850 RPMs (factory spec). It should run smooth without much missing, and rev smoothly without any hesitation. It will also smoke white for a few minutes while it burns off the condensation as it warms (not much more than an average car on a cold morning), and a bluish tint isnt too uncommon as well. The amount of condensation smoke is really dependant on the atmosphere at the time. On a cold morning, it will smoke longer than on a sunny afternoon when started for the first time, so keep that in mind as well, and expect less smoke on a fairly warm day.

 

Thanks, I just find it kinda awkward asking somebody if I could wrench under their hood before I purchase the car.