I'm "about" to buy a 72 1.7 w/83000 miles.... I'd like some assurances, such as they may be in this setting, that I'm not entering into a major boondoggle...
It's Florida car (at least it is now). No rust. Well a very minimal amount at the battery plate,, but not into the body or otherwise... Interior clean and in "very good" condition. No rips, tears, cracks, etc. on the seats, center console, dash or door panels. Doesn't seem to leak oil. Does not smoke. All electricals work. No A/C. Paint is good. It's lookin' like I'll be able to get it around the 4000 number give or take. Any opinions would be apprciated... I've been lookin' a while, but this one seems to be pretty darn solid & straight... I'm in no rush so if the advice is walk away,, i will... Oh yeah,, it's still got fuel injection too... thanx in advance,,,
ron (the very new guy and prospective member)

Get Qarl to come and help you look at it. He knows what these things look like when they are apart.

with Paul. Ask Qarl or another local member to help you check out the car
The description and picture sound promissing and if it is as described, 4K should be a good deal

Oh, and welcome to the club!

cheers,

Jeroen

welcome to the insanity, run, run far away. dont look back

if your discription is accurate, i would try for about 2500 to 3000. because you will want to update several things, or thing you will want to do just for your safety. like go through brakes, bearings ( wheel ), oil change, tranny fluid, basicly change all fluids. the above stuff is things you should do before you drive it, and can be done in a day if you have the parts on hand. by the time your done with this stuff you will spend another 500 bucks. although you might not need it right now at least when you do you will have it on hand.

BTW pull the rockers and stab the longs with a screw driver, and dont be gental, just spray paint when your done

Thanks for elaborating on that for me Jeroen.

Yes, welcome to the club.

Do you have any more pictures of the car? If you do, post them. We can pick anything apart with just a couple of pictures. It's kind of like a sport around here.

QUOTE (Paul Heery @ Dec 22 2004, 05:56 PM)

We can pick anything apart with just a couple of pictures. It's kind of like a sport around here.

lets see new door panel on passenger side, new rear bumper rubber, and what up with the rear fender looks like some body did a bad fender rolling job

sorry could not resist

actually have a number of pics... what sort would you like??
oh yeah,,, sorry about the size of 'em....

interior.. such as it is...
btw,,, i really don't think there's an issue with the fender... think it's just the camera reflection? that said,, thanks for pointing it out for closer inspection...

looks like the heaterblower and hoses are missing in the engine compartment
also looks like the car's been green originally
the firewall has been painted black, so check the "hell holes" for crappy repairs
the seats have been reupholstered (non stock)

man, y'all are goooooood..... got me leaning back and clearly i have my hand off the checkbook at this moment... i knew the seats were redone, but i don't think i'd've clicked on teh green paint at all... anything else? 'cause if nothing else, these points become very strong negotiation items...

He lives in FL- he don't need no stinkin' heater!!

dude you are soooo screwed.......KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She looks sweet to me, but listen to the experts here. But remember, none of them are perfect (at least not for under $5K)

so welcome to the club.

QUOTE (Jamie @ Dec 22 2004, 06:30 PM)

He lives in FL- he don't need no stinkin' heater!!

that's fairly true, but didn't wanna mention it in mixed company... i mean i DO watch the weather reports from up north..

The things metioned aren't necesairily (sp?) bad, just be cautious and pay attention

I see the red valet key, also it looks to me like the upper dash has a crack or it is about to above the ashtray to the right.

Beware...

(of crappy hellhole / battery tray repairs)

The ECU (computer) is kinda crammed in there (not mounted like it should be).

The "hellhole" is just beneath where the computer is currently crammed.

I would be suspicious of that area. It may be ok, but it's better to check first instead of getting a pleasant surprise later on....

I HATE (strong word) RUST! Look long and hard for the beast. It lies beneath the rockers, the hell hole under the battery tray, inside under the mats and dont forget the trunk or around and under the head lights. My guess is you arnt lookin to resto this sweetheart. Take time to compression check the engine at least.

Now you know why we live these things. They take gentle caressing, a light touch and a soft whisper that only you and her share.

Come to the our side Mr. 407. Feel the love.

Tim

QUOTE (ablose58 @ Dec 22 2004, 07:38 PM)

looks to me like the upper dash has a crack or it is about to above the ashtray to the right.

i got the same damn dash crack. the red valet key matches the bright red shift knob.

BTW, red stuff on your car makes you go faster

Welcome. Get the car on a rack and check underneath. You need to look at the shift rod bushings, the 72 has the tailshifter trans, not everyones favorite, especially after drivng a sideshifter. (73 on)
You need to look in the front and rear trunks, pull up the mats and sparetire check the floors and look for rust. Alos check around the outside edges of the front and rear trunk lids, if they are rusty it won't be long before it comes through the outside paint. Feel arond the sail panel vinyl, roughness could be rust bubbles underneath.
Good luck and let us know which one you end up with.
CCLINPPI

Nobody noticed the black plastic sill plates. A 72 should have aluminum door plates.

Somebody has disconnected and/or plugged the auxilliary air regulator hose and the inlet air boot and air cleaner are missing. Looks like an el cheapo distributor cap, zoomie wires, etc. Might have other crap generic tuneup parts as well. That leads me to wonder if the valves have been done at the correct intervals and to specs. Might want to carefully inspect the vacuum capsule, the breaker plate, and the ground wire inside the distributor. Matter of fact, it's more than interesting that the car has 83K on the odo .................................... It's 32 years old and looks like it's had substantial cosmetic doctoring. Wrong wheels, repaint (color change ?), and the deposit (console) doesn't look right in the picture. I dont see the vapor recovery hoses, either. There's rust inside the rear bumper pad, and the door latch has been painted, a clear sign of paintwork by someone who didn't give a sh*t. Get some help when you get down to the bucks. The Cap'n

It has non-retracting seat belts. I bet it's not a 72. I bet it's not 83k miles either. I'd would definitely take a compression check on that engine before laying out any $. I would think an 83k mile engine would be in the 110 psi range on all cylinders.

Maybe they painted them, Dont listen to these guys, get someone to look at the car with you that knows them pretty well. The way these guys are talking, you would think there were millions out there to choose from. If it is a solid car and you like it, then go for it. Anything you need to know about how to work on it is here. If you want to change something about it, come here and ask how. If you want ideas on what to do to it, come here. Check the car out and if you like it, buy it. But dont give up on it because of a color change or different seats than stock. You wont find very many out there with factory interior that is not torn up, and very few that have not been repainted and repaired. The average price now for a fair car is upwards of 4k and if it is really nice, it will be up around 7 to 10k and thats for a 4 cylinder car. The 6's will start around 10 and go upwards of 25k. Use your best judgement and dont be scared off by guys who own cars that are less than the one you are looking at.