Schmitty

iTrader: (11)

I'm looking to get an FC for a summer ride/ auto-x car... I went and looked at one but it was a POS and the guy wanted at least $1000 too much for the car. I kept looking around and one has recently come up but its like a 2 hour drive away and I don't want to drive all that way to see another car that is over priced... I haven't seen pictures of the car yet and I haven't gotten specifics from him (I emailed him but got no reply yet and I'm waiting to call him when I can get some time off to go see the car) The deal is its a 1987 Turbo II Black 5-spd, nice body (Cept for a dent in the quater...not sure which one) it has a blown motor but he has a spare that he says runs "good." He wants $1300 but I think 10 C-notes may take it... is it a fair price if it's in decent shape other than the motor? Then if I get the car how involved is the engine swap? Should I(or someone else) rebuild the spare engine before I put it in? How much will a basic freshen-up/rebuild run me? And What else do I look for when buying a car that doesn't run?

Thanks for your time,
Rob

Ronald E. Jacques

I'm not the expert here but noone else is weighing in so I'll give it a shot...
Without seeing pictures you are only taking his word for condition.
The spare motor he has is an unknown. If it was working and he thinks the swap is easy he could just swap it himself, and make alot more for a car that is running. I would not trust that it works.
Atkins Rotary does good quality rebuilds with warranty at very reasonable prices, or there may be a place local to you that is worthy, you can ask your local club members.
With the car not running god knows what else is not working, and there is no way to find out most of it if it doesn't run.
If you see the rest of the car and its in good shape, inside and out, you could offer him $500 for it not running, otherwise you are taking a chance. It just depends on how much you want to buy a 'project' instead of a 'vehicle'. That part is up to you.

I have no doubt anyone who disagrees with me will be sure to tell you so.

Good luck!
Ron

cds00bsmg

iTrader: (1)

What kind of a price range are you looking to getting into? If you only have say 1000-1500 right now, keep working your *** off and saving, it is still winter after all. Do you best to try to save at least 3k-3500k, this way you can get a pretty nice Turbo II that probably has most of the bugs worked out of it.

IMO purchasing a car sight un seen is a no no. Also, the car is not running, so you don't know what other kind of gremlins your going to run into. The wheel bearings could be shot, bushings junk, etc. Also, who knows what condition the spare motor is in, you could always compression test, but this would still be more work in the long run posibly. If you can snag it for say, $500 like Ron said, do it. That is if you can get it transported cheap. If the car is mostly complete, you can part it out for profit, and then put that towards purchasing a car that is more complete and reliable.

Good luck,
Chris

Schmitty

iTrader: (11)

I was going to take a trip down to see it before I offered him anything. We have a truck and trailer so transporting it is no problem. As far as it not being perfect... its not really a problem if it needs constant work since I'm looking for a project... I have no plans of getting rid of my daily driver. This is pretty much the cheapest FC that has been with in a reasonable distance and if the body is in good condition then I might be able to get it back into shape for less than $3500... the next cheapest FC around is $4500. My grandparents may be getting a lift and we have all the tools to do the engine swap so the rebuild and possible gremlins seem like the biggest obsticle. I can also try to part it out if I can get it for under $1000. I'll go and see it and then makes some decisions. I'll try to get pics too.

yearrgh

You lucky SOB. :P

Anyhow, don't pay more than 6-700 for it.

BklynRX7

Yea, i bought a absolutey mint (besides rusted sunroof and faded paint) 86 body for $500. You shuld go higher for a shell.

jhammons01

So far I have about $700 into my vert. The guy I bought if from was giving it away. I am going through the motor now.

Pulling the motor is a bitch. There are about 70 steps you have to go through unbolting this and removing that, before you even get to taking the motor out. I have no clue what the actual rebuild is going to be like but I would wnat more that $1000 credit for doing this job myself.

TII '87

The price of the wheel bearing is absolutely astonishing on this car!!! as far as I'm concerned, the front wheel bearing were crap, Thanks the my part car that made me save 2 wheel bearings and 2 wheel hubs... It would have cost me around 800$ canadian.

you definitely have to inspect every aspect of the car and hook a tranny+starter to that " working engine" to get COMPRESSION NUMBERS!

this " good deal " may be a money pit... be careful

Schmitty

iTrader: (11)

Can't be much more of a bitch than the engine swap that my bro and I did on a front wheel drive Alfa Romeo 164. It took the whle day to take all the s*** off the engine so we could drop both engines and another week(working for a few hours here and there) to get the running engine back in and functioning.

I guess If the body isn't absolutlely perfect or he won't come down enough then I'll have to walk on this one.

Hows the reliability on a running turbo? Would you trust one to make a cross country trip? If this falls through and I can't get one in the North east I may go to California with my brother(hes going to pick up a 280Z) and find a cheap one out there that won't pass emissions...

Thanks for the advice,
Rob

gerbraldy

Removing the engine isn't that hard. Theirs always one little thing that snags you up at the end for another 20mins.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

The bearings are $50 at any auto parts store. Mazda will try to sell you the entire hub, which is why the price is so high. Mazdatrix has a FAQ on this.