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Make sure it has a gas cap, or you will probably need to replace the tank and pump due to rust. The good thing is that those can be readily obtained from the salvage yard.
Body rust around the rear wheel arches, and around the windshield. Those are the hardest places to repair and will cost the most.
Rust at the bottom of the doors, but doors are easy to replace (junk yard).
Pull the radiator, coolant reservoir and oil filler caps and look for milky or coffee colored slime. That would suggest blown head gasket. Pull the spark plugs and check for moisture on the plugs and in the cylinders - head gasket.
With 300K, I would expect to pull the engine, but you might be lucky, and it is in good condition.
If it has not been taken care of with regular maintenance, you might want to go shopping for a low milage engine from your local salvage yard.
The interior head liners sometimes come down, and the dashboards crack, especially if it has been treated with armourall.
If the body and interior are in good shape, and you can get it for less than $500, the mechanical repairs might be worth it, if you can do most of the labor yourself.
If you need to pay a shop for the work, it might not be cost effective.
Get it started and drive it for about a half an hour to see if it overheats, if not, you might come out ahead.
Good luck.
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'88 Corolla, AE92 SR-5, 7A-FE swap/GT-S suspension
'87 Corolla, AE82 FX-16, 4A-GZE swap (autocrosser)
'03 Tundra 4X4 Access Cab, (FX tow vehicle/Home Depot runner)
Modification: Changing something to what you thought it should have been from the start!
Last edited by Donald; 07-07-2011 at 03:17 PM.
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