I have been looking at local ads/online classifieds for a 89 or 90 GT. Haven't really found anything or seen any good deals. Anyways, the other day I had to drop off some parts to a customer. On the way over there I saw a 5.0 parked on the side of a house, so I decided to leave a note saying if your interested in selling,etc to please give me a call. About a week went by and today I got a call from the guy and I went to check the car out. I didn't have a chance to see it when I left the note. I could just tell it had been sitting, saw some rust, and it was way dirty.... So I went to take a look. It turned out to be an 89 GT, 5 speed. Clean title. The exterior is two tone- grey and silver. The clear coat is peeling in places and as I said before, the car has surface rust in many places. Im a little worried about the rust issue but none of the areas appeared to be more than surface rust. Car also has a sunroof which is cool. The guy said the car has been sitting for 3 years and that they did have a cover on it off and on. The car windows were pretty dirty so you could barely see the inside, so I was expecting a trashed interior. He opens the doors, and wow- cleanest cloth interior I've seen in a long time. Everything looked perfect, minus floor mats. The center console even has the ash tray door and it works. I was thinking I would be redoing the entire interior but I guess not. So, then I pop the hood and I was surprise how good the engine bay looked too. As for the engine, the guy said that the car was a daily driver and then was parked and started up every once in awhile but it has been a long time since it was last fired up. He mentioned that its probably best to change the plugs and add some oil. As far as that goes, whats the best thing to do before attempting to start an engine after its been sitting for so long. Cause I know just tryin to crank it can be bad right? Guy said the orig speedo was broken and they fixed it, so actually ileage is about 140k, it was a daily driver. Well, after checking it over a little I asked what his ball park price was. He threw out 1500. Sell it as is, wants it out of his drive way, etc. So, I think about it... calculating in my head- the car will need paint, not to mention a lot of sanding and prep, the body is straight with no dents, etc. Engine condition- besides looking clean its basically unknown. So I mention these things and I fire back with a 900 offer. He thinks about it and says well I have to talk to my brother cause we are selling it together. He calls his brother, and says how about 1200. I say I don't think I can go more than 1000. So he thinks about it and says well I don't want to store this thing anymore and I want it to go to someone that will enjoy it and work on it. So 1000 is the deal. But, his brother lives about 4 hours away and has all the paper work, pink slip,etc. So, he said some time this week we can all meet and finalize the deal if I still want it and I can arrange a tow truck, etc... I think its a good deal for a 1000 bucks, what you guys think? Also, what kinda steps do I take for working on those rust areas? All of the areas felt solid so I think its just some surface rust. I know I will be sanding the entire car anyways. And what suggestions do you have for starting up a car after its been sitting for a long time? Thanks!
awesome sounds like you got a nice project As far as starting it, I would pull the plugs out, and put a little bit of oil in each cylinder and use a big socket on a wrench on the crank pulley and rotate it over a few times. That should do the trick, aside from checking fluids, fresh gas, new plugs, cap rotor etc. For the rust, sand it down as much as you can and use some kind of metal prep on it. Usually a brush on liquid. Then spray a little bit of can primer on it to seal it while you work on the other spots.
