I am looking at a 1980 gs for parts. It has 120,000km(75,000 mi). The oil looks good, its been sitting for a few years without coolant. I was told that a water seal in the center housing was leaking and the guy just can't do it himself. I am worried that the housing might be corroded. The guy didn't have the plugs for it, so to check compression I just plugged one hole with my finger and put the gauge in the bottom hole. Crank it over and the needle barely moves, finger didn't pop off the hole. Cranking with the plugs out you could hear that it was moving a fair bit of air. Engine looks fairly clean and car was suposedly well maintained and never run hard. Is this a car to stay away from? Any advice is appreciated.
Kristian

 

How much are you going to pay for it? It is true that some corrosion may have busted the lip where the seal sits so you would need a new center plate but at the same time maybe it is just a bad seal so all you will need to do is rebuild it with a new seal kit. The compression might be low because it has been sitting so long and the seals are sticking down so you don't get much compression.

If the rest of the car is nice, i.e. you can see yourself driving it, and you don't mind opening up the engine to see what you need to fix it, than I would buy it.