Hey all - I just registered here. I'm new to the rotary scene, and I'm looking at buying the car picured below.



It's an '84 GSL-SE, with 92k on the clock. I'm working on striking a deal with the owner right now. The car has sat outside for the past 3 years, and I'm dying to get my hands on it and restore it as my next summer fun car. The issues are as follows:

1) The car's been sitting outside for 3 years. It wouldn't turn over one day, and they parked it by the barn and left it. So there may be some underlying issue that will need to be resolved in order to get it running.

2) It was lightly sideswiped on the driver's side, and the door is a bit rippled, and the rear view mirror is missing. Also, where the paint cracked, and over the driver's side wheel well, rust is starting to take hold. Very savable though, and those couple small spots are the ONLY rust on the car.

3) The clutch hydraulics are leaking from somewhere, the previous owner never bothered to diagnose it.

4) The paint is starting to fade, most noticeably above the rear bumper.

Other than that, the car is straight, clean, low miles. It just needs saving. So my two big questions are...

1) What's a reasonable asking price for this car, with the potential work it might need to get the car running?

2) For a rotary engine, are there any things in particular I need to look out for, or precautions to take prior to attempting to start the car? I know the usual... drain the gas, change the plugs, wires, oil, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help. I look forward to (hopefully) cruising around in my new toy next summer!

Cheers,
Jason

 

I say make the guy an offer of 300 since the motor will most likely need to be rebuilt after sitting that long, but go up to 800 depending on how bad you want it.

Its a GSL-SE and in my mind those are very desirable cars, they came with the 13B and had fuel injection compared to the carb on all the other models. All of your questions can be answered in the FAQs though, so take a look.

 

Worth better then 1k as parts so somewhere around $500 is fair with it not running.

 

looks decent enough exterior wise for sitting 3 years...motor might need a rebuild as DriftFB said but I have seen a couple cars that have sat that long that start with alittle starter fluid and after a complete fluid flush they test near perfect compression...but I would definitly ask to take the bins out to look behind the seat...for that car I would pay $800 CAD at most cuse you just never know

 

$500 sounds reasonable, so we'll see what the seller thinks.

Lee, why take the bins out? Is there a common rust area beneath them or something?

 

yep. you got it.

 

Since you are trying to buy it and not sell it, I personally(sic) would pay up to $750. The gsl-se is rare. I'm from Abilene TX, and have only seen 2 other fb's in this area, and neither is a SE. By the way, the wheels alone are worth $60 each. I just bought 2 for my se. I've seen the wheels go for $100 each. Besides the door, the paint looks excellent for a 22 year old car (granted this is just from one pic). It looks as if the front struts need replaced, possibly the springs too. Also search for the atf treatment. And the ABSOLUT FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO WHEN (IF) YOU PURCHASE THE CAR IS DROP THE TANK AND HAVE IT CLEANED AT A RADIATOR SHOP. If you can break the rotors loose with the atf treatment (it may not be seazed, did they specifically say it would not turn over or just not start?) replace all rubber fuel lines and check the fuel pump. Ok thats enough rambling for now. Good luck

 

I'd pay no more than $1000 prices are a bit higher in Cali though. You should have about $5000 set aside for the project though.