engine and drivetrain Car Opinion - Looking to Buy - Lots of Pics

[C13LucianF]

What do you think of this car? Checked it out today.

- 1970

- Originally Sahara

- CHEAP Silver respray

- Tii Distributor

- Tii Radiator

- Tii Tranny

- Tii Brakes (all around)

- Tii Springs

- Bilsteins

- Rebuilt Engine - Roughly 10,000mi ago

- Milled head for higher compression

- Replaced / patched rockers

- Heat works

- Only non-working mechanicals: horn / wiper motor

That's the gist. The car started right up and the engine seems very strong. Drove great, tranny was very tight, brakes worked wonderfully. The exterior is pretty rough. The drivers door doesn't quite align (see pics), the headlights don't sit flush (see pics), some panel gaps (see pics). Inside is just as rough, although I think a good cleaning would go a long way. Obviously the drivers seat doesn't match... Oh and he has all the trim, just not on the car.

The asking price is $2,200. I feel like I have some room for negotiation. Thoughts?

[C13LucianF]

(nt)

[C13LucianF]

More pics...

[C13LucianF]

Interior:

[Tommy]

I don't know about your local markets - what's available there. But I seriously think that you should find something better for that money.

Tii springs, radiator and tranny don't actually mean anything - they are the same as std 2002. Patched rockers and all the poorly made bodywork hiding under bad respray will be very difficult to make right. Milled head is not a good thing either. I wouldn't pay half of that.

Tommy

[jrhone]

in my opinion pass....Why buy a rust bucket project for 2k? It will costs you like 7k to fix the body properly...thats IF the structure is sound..That does not include all the mechanical stuff you will need...yeah they said the engine was rebuilt...do they have receipts of EXACTLY what was done? Did they blow a head gasket, replace the radiator, and then shave the head so it wasnt warped and call that a rebuild?? Who rebuilt it? Whats inside? The way to get higher compression properly is putting in the correct pistons, not shaving the head. If the head is shaved too much, the chain will have too much slack...and that will cause a whole lot of problems...

[Arshloch]

It is worth the asking price, even though it presents not well. At least that thing has round lights, and the chrome appears to be nice. In Vancouver we dont enjoy many rust-free 02s like people in Cali do, I am biased in that sense. But I no longer see people buying nice daily driving classics for peanuts. My bicycle cost me as much as the 02 -$4000 and it was not even a high end bike.

Could be a good driver depending on the amount of rust in there. Check the shock towers (seem rusty) and drive's floor and behind the front 1/4 panels, etc. There should be more rust hiding. Dont wanna deal with it, or have no means -buy a 75-76 car-less chance of rust, but with these babies the rust will eventually pop out here and there.

[FutureMan]

NOT WORTH THE PRICE*

*unless you can do the bodywork yourself

[Mike_R]

mmmm, interior, fully TRASHED, exterior, full rattle can paint job with no tape, rusty, no way that engine was rebuilt 10,000 miles ago (maybe 10,000 hours in a dirty garage). it will cost $10,000 to get that thing presentable.

RUN AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MrNvgtr]

Out of curiosity, where is that car located? Looks a lot like the place I picked up my first '76 2002. By the way, I paid $900 for that one but it was in much better shape except floor boards.

[c.d.iesel]

YIKES? a classic example of a $250 disposable car.

Offer the seller a bear fur pelt, 1 lb. of dope

with no stems, and you'll both be happy.

(have a good smoke after the deal)

Or maybe it's the high-Alt thin air

that makes people goofy?

this car might benifit from the TOYOTA

gas pedal RECALL program!

..........and say - is that melting snow on the drivers seat???

Seat Heaters must need fixing ?

[C13LucianF]

- Tommy: Agreed that the tranny is the same. I thought the radiator was a 4 core in a Tii vs 2 core in the std? I don't know about the springs, but I'll take your word for it.

- jrhone: I will certainly ask about documentation regarding the rebuild.

- Arshloch: I actually have a pretty rust free '75 already

- FutureMan: No bodywork skills here.

- Mike_R: No tape indeed, they even painted over the dealer sticker (Colorado car btw).

- MrNvgtr: This is up in Alma, CO (past Breckenridge) so it's actually quite a drive for me (Boulder).

- C.D.: I'll see what I can do!

Thanks for all the feedback. Here's where I stand. I have a very nice - unmolested- '75. I'm was literally ready to pull the trigger on removing the AC and emission gear (exhaust air pump), and having dual sidedraft 40s installed - then I saw this guy pop up. So I'm tore between leaving my '75 alone, or having at it. The seller lives WAY up in the mountains and just got an old Porsche 912 to tinker with, so the 02 has to go.

My thoughts are this car is mechanically sound (assuming the engine rebuild was for the RIGHT reasons - I'll ask about documentation). I would be fine with removing the trim (filling the holes) and having the body prayed Sahara again - not a super fancy paint job, just to hold me over for a few years. I also feel like I could live with the interior, just need a new driver seat, carpet set from Etsy, deal with that gas pedal, under column trim piece and a thorough cleaning.

Like I said, I definitely feel like I can negotiate. Doesn't seem like people are beating down his door - which is way the hell in the mountains. What are you thoughts for a reasonable counter price? My gut is $1,500 - tell him that he can leave it up for sale and when it doesn't sell talk to me...

Thanks again for all the feedback so far. Just trying to recuse a roundie from the mountains!

[Jim_75Sahara]

I am with c.d. on this one. The hidden and not so hidden horrors.... Mine presented waaaay better & it's cost me plenty over time. Neglected /poor maintenance costs a lot. Paint & body work costs a lot. Buy the best one that your budget can tolerate!

[dpecsok]

lucian, have you seen these ones?

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/1579212598.html

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/1576588291.html

not sure how they are but i noticed them a few days ago...

[JohnW]

The car is hiding a lot of rust. Those shock towers have been very poorly patched. Not saying you shouldn't buy it (although $2k and even $1500 is probably too much), but just be aware that the body will end up being disposable rather than worth the trouble of fixing or even throwing a cheap paint job on.