Sunday i went to check an FC. I had talked to the owner before and he described it to me. It seemed like a pretty solid car, just needed some tlc.

1. The paint is ok, but is pretty bad on the back right of the car. It actually looks kind of suspicious, like somebody welded on some different metal or something. Also has some rust on it, are these side skirts? If so i wouldn't be to worried, id just replace them. Anybody got any opinions on it?

2. The car has 177K miles, and the motor was rebuilt at 107k miles by a Mazda dealership. The owner says he has the papers, so next time ill ask to see them to verify this. He cranked it, it kind of idled low for maybe 2 seconds but afterwards idled fine. Is that ok? Im going to go next time early to see how it cranks with a definite cold start.

3. The interior was in fair condition. Looked like it had some staining in it. Not to bad though. Seats had some tears but i think its more like regular wear and tear. All the lights and switch's worked. Had an aftermarket steering wheel that was pretty nice. Otherwise it was ok. He smoked in it but that doesnt bother me to much. The shifter felt pretty sloppy, but i read that that was pretty normal.

4. The exhaust wasn't to great to me at all. Had a fart can on it, and the gasket between the exhaust manifold and pipe was crumbled so it had an exhaust leak.

5. Finally, the owner must of done some burnouts or something because the back right tire was showing metal, and the left one was bald-ish. Do these cars have posi-traction?

What do you guys think, should i trade my 91 Camaro for it? (165K miles, No OD and a funny acting tranny, just primered, runs good though)

 

To be honest, it sounds like a bit of a **** box owned by a kid. I'd stay away unless the price was very low and you're looking for a project.

Some models have LSD ("posi" is a GM brand name, "LSD" is the proper term). Check the FAQ for the model breakdown and how to buy guides.

 

Thanks, I kind of figured that it wasn't taken care of the best of all, but i'm looking for something that is going to be of equal trade value for my Camaro. I have another car so it being a project is OK

Sorry about the misuse, always been a GM guy.

 

here is a couple of pics of the rust spots and the cars.

 

Any more opinions out there? I'm still not quite sure.

 

how old is the guy that is selling it? Did you drive it?

 

The guy selling look to be early to mid 40's. His other car was a 93 Camaro Z28. I didn't drive it that day due to the tire, though ill be returning Saturday to drive it. I did sit in it and rev it for couple of minutes to make sure it didn't skip.

 

you got to very careful with the rust once it starts eating the metal is really hard to fix

 

Ive been desperately trying to find a way to Carfax the car but my lack of a credit card pretty much stomps any hope. The other info says carfax has 11 records on the car and im very curious to see what they are. argh....

 

Looks like that rust may have been previously repaired, improperly I might add.

You'll find much more rust if you are seeing it through the fenders.

 

If the car comes up with a good carfax, passes the compression test and i don't find any major rust, ill probably pick it up as my next project.

Hey aaron, do those side fenders have aftermarket replacements?

 

Did one more look over of the car, found some rust under it. Also had another pretty big dent in the back. It drove well and everything worked, but i decided to pass on it.. Too much rust/bodywork. Thanks for the opinions!

 

For the record, fenders aren't really that expensive at the dealer. I think last time I bought one it was around $150. That was many years ago, however.

 

That's good to know, currently I'm pursuing buying iamwutiam's 1988 FC. It looks pretty good. If it's free from any motor/transmission problems ill definitely pick it up.