Possible purchase of a 1976 2002

[Goog2002]

I’m look at purchasing a 1976 2002 with 84500 miles. The body is in excellent shape as-well-as the engine. According to the owner, he replaced the coil and shortly after that it began to backfire out the tailpipe. The owner feels it is caused by the catalytic converter (it came from CA). The mechanic working on it said the values need adjusting. My concern is the valve issue; is it a sign of other issues yet to be seen or just a result of the coil replacement? Anytime you purchase a 43 year old car you accept a level of risk but I always like to ask others their opinion…thanks

[Mike Self]

First thing:  there's no catalytic converter on any 2002, unless a previous owner bodged one into the exhaust system.  They did have a thermal reactor that's actually part of the exhaust manifold.  Hope you're not in CA, as '76 cars are still subject to emissions inspections--with all their original emission equipment, and they're becoming increasingly difficult to pass.

 

That being said, the backfiring could be mis-adjusted valves, from a misadjusted carburetor or an ignition problem (timing off, point gap wrong, etc etc).  Although it's hard to judge via long distance, there's a good chance that the backfiring isn't a symptom of a serious (i.e. expensive) problem.  

 

Ask the owner what kind of coil he used to replace the original--there are several different flavor, some of which require a resistor, others which don't.  Lots of info about coils on the FAQ archive--check it out.  But I don't see how a coil replacement by itself could cause the backfiring

 

Do your due diligence--compression/leakdown test on the engine, check running gear, look for rust in all the common places and look for serious accident damage...then make your decision.

 

mike

[esty]

i wouldn't expect the true mileage is 84500 miles...it most likely has rolled over at least once or twice and or may have a cluster from another car that rolled over

[D Seattle]

4 hours ago, esty said:

i wouldn't expect the true mileage is 84500 miles...it most likely has rolled over at least once or twice and or may have a cluster from another car that rolled over

 

What??????  You mean my car does not have only 25,000 miles on it ?  ?