introduction Howdy! I'm About to Acquire a 2002

[69NEWCLASSNH]

we need pics!

[Rxforfun2002]

Great story, sounds like you both win...my two pennies:follow your gut-it's right; prior to a big purchase I set the ceiling where I will not lose sleep if I lose it; lastly-she's a co-worker you see regularly-that's good for you (if she likes you?). Good luck-send pics.

[2002Targa]

How sure is she that the engine is blown?  I'm not slamming women at all, but to someone who only knows where to put the gas in a car, a blown engine and a blown head gasket sound a lot alike.  You might get really lucky!!

[theNomad]

Go see it and really dig into it. How it was stored is of course a question. Stored near nice salty bay air? All those foggy mornings add up. Perhaps rust free, perhaps not. 30 yrs is a long time. Everything rubber or plastic may very well need replacing where it counts. Certainly still do-able, heck if anything its obvious from this forum that nearly anything is do-able. Just wonder about the budget. 

 

Keep a really reliable car to drive while you dig into it. I'd guess $500 could make it "run" but $3000 minimum would replace the basic perished bits back to stock glory, and that's on top of the purchase price. 

I read on the forum that there are a lot of $10,000 cars in decent enough shape, and a lot of $5,000 cars that will need $5,000 more to be in decent shape. It seems true to me so far. Unless you go "rat-rod" with it; once it's a $10,000 car in decent enough shape THEN you can start to spend real money on making it a high performance street classic.

[dasfrogger]

I'm glad to hear you're keeping the Automatic. They're better than most people think

 

[svgarage]

6 hours ago, 2002Targa said:

How sure is she that the engine is blown?  I'm not slamming women at all, but to someone who only knows where to put the gas in a car, a blown engine and a blown head gasket sound a lot alike.  You might get really lucky!!

You know, that has been one of the hardest things to ascertain about the car- what exactly is going on with that motor. I don't see her that much during the work week, so I don't want to seem like the only reason I talk with her anymore is to fish out details about the car. This is a very SLOW courtship. All she told me is that there is a lot of smoke coming out of the tailpipe. She confirmed that the engine does turn over. I'm guessing it's either the valve train needs an overhauling or it's got bad rings. I might be able to run some tests before it even leaves her garage. I'm still waiting for her to get all the stuff that's been accumulating on her car to be removed, so she can at least have a presentable car! 

[scabzzzz]

Go for it... Mine was automatic and was surprisingly very snappy under the M10. Like most here, mine sat for a long time and I'm finding that the engine and trans is the least of my troubles.

[dang]

On 6/2/2016 at 0:32 PM, svgarage said:

I like it! That's a great strategy! And it will actually be the truth of the situation. I'm sure that there's a large part of her that just wants to see the vehicle revived again.

 

This is what I was going to say also.  Its been sitting in her garage for that long because she's attached to the car, not the money it might bring.  Since you're a co-worker it would be easy to get the car back on the road and bring it to work as often as you can so she can see that its getting enjoyed.  I buy cars all day long at my job, most of the private party buys are vehicles that are closer to end-of-life than not, but the owners always feel better about the sale after I tell them that the car will be sold as a "mechanics special" and end up back on the road.  When its going to be a parts car I tell them it will come back to life as a toaster.  They like that too.  Go figure.

[svgarage]

So here's the latest update.... after spending near to a two weeks down in Ecuador, cruising around the Galapagos Islands, I come back to work last week all hot and heavy to get more details about this car that I might possibly be buying. (It's been a while since I've last seen the owner and I have no way of contacting her outside of work.) I was able to see her for about a total of five minutes in passing that day and I asked her when can I see the car. She told me that since she hasn't seen me in a while, she forgot all about it and that her garage was still all clotted up with crap, much of it sitting on the car. By the end of the day, my work schedule got slammed, so I sent my assistant in to shove my cell phone number and email in her hand, asking her to just call me or send me something!

 

I saw her today for a few minutes and actually had a calm minute to speak with her, explaining that I actually know no more about the car than I did after, more or less, the first day she mentioned it to me. She agreed that we weren't really getting anywhere on this and said that she'll be taking a week off of work over the upcoming Fourth of July holiday period and that she really did want me to see the car. I asked if perhaps one day after work we could just sit for some coffee or a beer and talk about the car a little.

 

So although these talks are far and few between and it seems that the trail has gone cold, the deal is still very much alive- she's a slow mover and I'm just going to have to be patient if I want this thing to pan out. I've still got my fingers crossed that this is going to be an awesome acquisition in the end.

[TobyB]

Thanks for the update!

 

Yup, patience is sometimes a virtue.

 

t

 

[roadhog0]

Might just work out. It took me some 4 or 5 months to get a price for my 2002 from the original owner (where it was sitting in a garage for 20 years with stuff piled on it). Got a price, came by that weekend with a trailer and took her home!

[ray_]

 

[rstclark]

Given the engine "blew" 30 years ago I would base any estimate of repairs on a complete engine rebuild or swap.

I had one that had a blown head gasket and was parked for 20 years  The car was nice, but rust inside the engine made many of the engine parts including the block unusable

You might find it better to just find a replacement motor if that's how it turns out for you  Just saying don't have an expectation that you can get this running cheap and easy

If the rest of the car is in good condition, a motor swap is not a reason to keep you from going for it.

Good luck

[svgarage]

Yes, I'm not expecting the car to fire right up and drive off out of the garage. I've already figured on pulling the motor and building it inside out, before seeing it start. Mechanically, it's going to take a while to get it safe and running. But if it's been sitting garaged for 30 years and it was in great shape to begin with, it might be like pulling it out of a time capsule. I'm hoping that the interior is pristine. I've got the patience and the funds to do this thing right. I'm just trying to get to the starting blocks first...

[Conserv]

51 minutes ago, svgarage said:

...But if it's been sitting garaged for 30 years and it was in great shape to begin with, it might be like pulling it out of a time capsule. I'm hoping that the interior is pristine. I've got the patience and the funds to do this thing right. I'm just trying to get to the starting blocks first...

 

Just to manage your expectations, the car is 42 years old.  Assuming the interior was perfectly cared for during the car's first 12 years -- and, of course, some were not -- the horsehair pads in a '74's seats will likely have turned to dust over the last 30 years.  It could be a pristine interior, but it might still need work!

 

My experience was that by ca. 1986, few '02's remained pristine.

 

Patience!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited June 22, 2016 by Conserv