Whats up guys- first off, you guys kick ***- i've learned so much about my car from this site, it's a dream come true. However, i'm having second thoughts about buying it (salvage title) in the first place, probably just nervous, but i got lots of questions, if you could answer a few of them. Sorry about the length. I bought a 94 silver fd with a Maryland salvage title and 100k for 10,500. The front end was rebuilt, and everything is stock. Since it still has the salvage title and i live in PA, its been in my garage for 3 weeks while i get it switched- yes i'm going insane not driving it- anyway, the guy who rebuilt it delivered it to my house, and thats the only time i got to really drive it- wow- the engine is strong- a lot stronger than i wouldve expected w/100k- the dude said that he couldnt contact the orig owner since he got it from the insurance co, but he said the engine could've been rebuilt, he didnt know- later, when i looked down into the engine bay from the drivers side closely w/flashlight, i noticed the (block?), at least the part i could see, was the cleanest looking thing in there- the mazda and 13b were clear and clean as day- could it be a new engine without the rebuilder/seller knowing it? thats almost too good to be true.
now onto the body- this is where my concern is- the front bumper is used, very slightly wrinkled, but doesnt fit exactly right, also, the rear hatch doesnt line up snugly along the tail lights- could this mean a bent frame? please say no, please say no! I'm currently in the process of getting all the info on the front end parts that were used etc., but the seller has not returned any of my phone calls, (he's was a shady bastard), and i guess thats why i'm nervous. I basically bought the car blind (ebay), which was pretty stupid, i know now. any info on any of the above would be great. thanks

Andrew in philly

 

my car is about the same. i dont like it either. if youre worried about the frame, then go have a 4-wheel alignment done on it. if it is bent then they will not be able to align it. cheap check. remember that if a frame is bent you can always put it on a frame stretcher and have it straightened. its not the end of the world. . . even thought it feels like it. just look for bondo. i did and found 2 bondo cracks. . . then i found the entire d-side had been covered with bondo. not fun.

 

has the car been modded?
if so post what you can find about it here looking for the old owner.

I bought a salvaged car from INS myself and was able to track down the old owner right here. That was very very good.
My car had some unique mods though (rims, no ECU, pulleys, exhaust etc. ) any how you may get lucky. try and figure out where it was last registered to narrow down where the old owner lived.

as for the quality of the rebuild, take it to a good trustworthy shop and have them look it over for you. there is a mitchells book out there that lists measurements for the frame. It is used when body shops have to do some pulling. When the measurements all come out especially the diagonals, you have a straight frame again. hell you can do diagonals without even having teh numbers from the book. just make sure the car is level. I suggest using 4 jack stands on a concrete floor but just a nice level flat area will do.
like rotor brain said the frame is easy to fix.. it's the other stuff like poor body work that will cost you. see if you can get photo's from teh rebuilder and ask what exactly was done? Im sure he'll be honest.

also do a search on salvage title and read the other things I and others have posted in the past 7 mos.

 

so even the worst case scenario, a bent frame, can be stretched out- i def didnt know that, thanks.

Anybody have any guesses about the engine? I know just looking clean doesnt mean much, but everything else is dirty around it. I think i read something about checking under the alternator, but it dont really want to take it off cuz i'll probably screw something up.

Oh, the car is definitely stock- i got a dp, cb, but they're not on yet- dave at kdr perf. is doin the dirty work for me.

 

Well you can always get a compression check when you take it to Dave. If the compression is good, who cares ? I'd just hand it over to Dave and ask him to check everything over and do whatever he needs to, KD has an awesome reputation and won't do unnecessary work. He can also tell you what he thinks about the rear hatch if you don't have chance to take it to a collision specialist. As long as the car drives well its doubtful the frame damage (if there is any) is too much to repair.

 

It's ok dude,
The front bumper not lining up and being wrinkled is normal for a car with that mileage. I have the exact same problem.. You see that front bumper is made from urethane and the heat from the sun over time warps it.
The backend I have the same problem also, I was told before I got the car that the back end was in a small hit and had a new bumper installed. I took the whole rear end apart with the tail lights ( to do the 99 mod) and that alignment is really more due to the way you line up the tail lights than anything else. At least it was in my case, your results may very.

 

m snoby- yeah you're right, i think it is the installation job on the tail lights for the most part. I'm scheduled at KDR on the 5th, so we'll see. thanks guys, appreciate it.