Going to look at 89 gt for son. Not really familiar with this body style, I'm more into the classics. What/Where are the problem spots that I should be looking at. He says there is no detrimental (sp)? rust on unibody and frame rails. What about strut towers or anything else I might be missing??
Lookin at 89 gt
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NKau
Founding Member
The biggest thing is to make sure the car is straight. Check panel/door/hood/hatch or trunk alignment. Crawl under the car and look at the radiator core support and subframes and look for signs of damage or repair. A big thing to check is the rear torque boxes (where control arms mount to the unibody); these will crack/rip if the car has been beaten on and are very difficult and costly to repair if it's bad. Heater core is another thing people gripe about; they are easy to replace, but it's easily a 6+ hour job because you have to rip the entire dash out to get at it; make sure the heat works (and doesn't smell like aunt jemima's when it's on), and that it hasn't been bypassed. For a 5-speed, check for grinding going into any gear which will indicate toasted synchros or worse; reverse will grind if you don't shift to another gear first, it's not synchronized in the T-5's.
Post up pics of the car you are looking at if you have questions or are unsure of perceived value.
Post up pics of the car you are looking at if you have questions or are unsure of perceived value.
Don't know how to post pics. Car has CAI, GT40 Upper Intake,Fuel pump by foxbody fuel injection, shorty headers, new flowmaster exhaust,3.50 gears, 4 xtra rims & Tires. Pics he sent me look good, but I was going to crawl under and look. Thanks for the heads up on the rear boxes, never knew that. He wants $2000 or best offer
Look past the mods and look at the car mainly. Milage? Do all the accessories work? A Gt-40 intake can be bought, but do you wannt want a car where the windows barely roll up and down?
Check for rot in the door jambs and around the taillights (pop the hatch and look)
Also in the engine bay look for rust and rot on the frame rails near the headers.
Check for rot in the door jambs and around the taillights (pop the hatch and look)
Also in the engine bay look for rust and rot on the frame rails near the headers.
Pop the hood look at the frame where the prop valve is bolted to it under the master cylinder. The are pron for rust in this area on both sides and you haft to pull the engine to fix it. For $2000 it is bound to have issues. It's just a matter of picking your battles.
MAC'n89Blckstng
Active Member
Not to rain on the parade or anything, just make sure your son can respect the power of the car. I know its not the fastest thing in the world but I've seen some kids do really stupid things with fast cars because they are young and stubborn about knowing when and when not to mess around with a fast car. A kid I know sold his 04 Cobra to an 18 year old kid and like six months later, the kid ended up showing off in front of his friends going over a hill in it and killed himself and the person he hit. The kid was going 110 when he went head on with the guy. Here's the aftermath of the accident.
black87ttop
Member
your a kid yourself, if i recall, so why are you trying to start drama where there is none. Every body who has a fast car as kid ,is gonna azzhole around on the street every so often, its when and where is what differentiates them from the rest.
well, one major thing you should look for is the tranny. if its manual check the transmission. those T-5's tend to go bad very often. My friends dad gave me the 87 stang as a gift and the tranny is bad, but hey, it was free. i cant complain. but his son has a '90 lx that hes selling which has a bad tranny too. look
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...viewitem=&item=320224028158&_trksid=p3907.m29
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...viewitem=&item=320224028158&_trksid=p3907.m29
MAC'n89Blckstng
Active Member
Im 22 in a month. I dont refer myself as a "kid" anymore. I did some stupid stuff when I was 17/18 but through college and other personal experiences, I feel I've matured a great amount since I first got my licence. I'm not trying to start drama at all, I just hate to see these 17 year old kids get a car and not respect the power and end up like the cobra.
KurtPB
Member
Went and looked at the car. Underneath was really solid, no badly rusted areas, no cracks around rear torque boxes, floor pans looked solid, No rust around hatch, But lots of bondo in rear quarters, starting to crack already, lots of cosmetic work to be done to get this car looking decent, motor ran fine, but didn't get to drive cause it had a flat tire, so don't know about trans(auto) or suspension. He wanted $2000 or best offer so I offered him $800 Car needs alot of work!!
I hear what you are saying about the kid being able to handle the car, he's 19 out of college and has 2 jobs, but then again we were all 17/18 once RIGHT!!
I hear what you are saying about the kid being able to handle the car, he's 19 out of college and has 2 jobs, but then again we were all 17/18 once RIGHT!!
MAC'n89Blckstng
Active Member
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