should I buy it?

[stykthyn]

I am looking at a 91 LX convertible that my brother in law has owned for the last 7 years. the car has 140k miles on it and he knows almost nothing about cars so maintenance has fallen by the wayside. the car has 2 issues that I am primarily concerned about.
1) the doors are sagging badly. pretty much to the point that it is nearly impossible to open them. Is this just the door pins or the perhaps the frame rail supports for the convertible are giving in??
2) the transmission shifts smoothly through the forward gears, but there is a loud clunk when shifting into reverse. I am going out on a limb and saying that this is not normal.

I am fairly mechanically inclined so unless these are major issues I can repair them myself. I can probably get the car for about 300 bucks. Is it worth that much?

 

[4stanger]

IT's very easy to determine if the door pin/bushing are causing the problem. If you lift up on the rear side of the door it will have a lot of play. That's probably the problem although I don't have any experience with the drop tops. The bushings are a pretty simple fix, and the parts are about $5.00 per door.

I had a clunking problem and found it to be the bushings in the tranny cross member were shot. That's easy to check too.
If that's the only things that concern you I'd probably buy the car. My '88 has 172k and still runs great. While I work on the rest of it I have no problems with drivability.
Vince

 

[Pro-Hawk]

The only thing I can add to the above, is that clunking could be bad U-joints. They're not that much ( 10.00 - 25.00 bux I guesas) and sometimes not that hard to change but they shouldn't go unchanged to long if they're bad. As for the miles, the 2.3's are pretty tough and durable. Just keep up with the basic maintanence which includes a new gear box filter if it's got the A4LD.

 

[RustBucket]

Check the trans mount. They're famous for deteriorating and breaking. Fluid leaks accelerate the problem.

300 bucks for a running car with potential? I'd say go for it. If the top doesn't leak and everything else is workable, you could drive it while you fix it up.

 

[stykthyn]

thanks for the info guys, I picked it up today for 350.
the doors just needed new pins. This site is great, plan to be sticking around for a while.

 

[rd]

If you don't really want the car, just bring it by my house, I have room for a couple more.

 

[stykthyn]

too late RD, i have already dumped too much time and money in it to let it go. now I just gotta save up for that turbo conversion. gonna have a 12 sec vert, oh yeah

 

[Fast_Mustang87]

That's a pretty good deal and a steal for that price!

 

[brignutz]

i just did the same thing with an 87 lx convertible if you want a project it's not a bad investment