buying a 86 GT-S .. help needed!

[yooyoo]

Hey all
First of all am an amature.. when it comes to cars and engines and that stuff i don't know nothin.. wel a lil bit. So i need your help, am gonna see a 86 corolla gt-s hopfully soon, goin for a nice price. anyway i wanna know how could i know if it has no problems at all. the owner told me it runs great, but u have to test it on ur own. i'd prolly take it to a machanic to check it out, but time might not help, and i'd have to deal with him alone.. so could anyone give me advice on what to check, important stuff like tranny and oil burning and stuff and how to check each thing. Thanks in advance.

P.S when naming a part of a car to check, please try to indicate where its found, help a brotha here am just an amature. Thanks again.

[boroEF]

oh boy are u in for a ride

do a leak down and compression test... bluetop 4age should have 170 accross all cyls if it's healthy.

obviously check rust in structural areas.

[hachi_slow]

Check for rust in the following places:
- wheel wells
- around the brake master cylinder/brake booster
- in the trunk
- roof
- basically everywhere

Also check for any structural damage (creaks, sounds while braking).

[soulibrium]

yea, your in for a ride.

chk major rust spots. structual braces and frame ! before you run the engine chk if the hood is hot. if it is it means the engine was running before you came. a warm engine can hide alot of engine problems. rough idle, bad starts, weird noises. just alot !

look for rust on frame, sub frame and parts that you might not have money to repair !

ask for the car to be certified and etested. cause if there is problems at least you have papers to register the car. if not, then there might be problems.

chk for engine speed idle, chk if the engine is smooth. no clunks bangs and whirls. if there is might be bearings if its a whril or sqeak. bangs..err...dont get if there are bangs, unless you have money to make it go away. same goes for clunks.

tranny could really be chked by driving the car and shifting gears. you got a grinding feel to the shifter, might be sycros(again, more money to make go away). im assuming you have manual stick shift expereince. if so, then you can tell if the shift between gears dont feel rite !

suspension can be chked when driving. again, clunks and bangs and alot of road noise could be from bearings, bad shocks, bad bushings, broke stuff, or frame damage.

if you get a ae86, get ready to learn ALOT OF STUFF ! you dont kno much about cars, your about to get a taste of something nasty ! but all, in all. toyota corolla ae86 would prolly be one of the best cars out there to learn.

oh yea, ask your mommy or daddy for some money tree seeds. cause this car dont come cheap ! parts are very dated if you can find some. aftermarket demand not all there when compared to civics or hondas for that matter !

but if this car is good, then youll be a really happy guy ! of all the cars ive drivin' . the ae86 is the most FUN to drive ! oh yea ! but this car will suck all the cash you might or will have ! hahahha cause its extreamly underpowered ! its all about MORE POWER MORE POWER MORE POWER !!! muhahahahahhahahaa

[yooyoo]

thanks alot guys .. much thanks.. btw i intend to drive this for winter only..won't keep it much .. just till summer then i'll sell it.
oooh.. u scared me about the cash thing, its a winter car, should be reliable, and not so costy :P.
thanks again for the tips, it will really help me, hopfully the car is very well maintained too.

[Nick]

how much are you buying the car for? how many kms?

the car might make it though the winter, but shit happens (and pretty often) with older cars, you might get lucky, or not

[Deep]

WD-40 is your friend.

[soulibrium]

if you want to drive it in the winter and sell it through the summer. BONDO will be your new friend ! cause no one will buy a super rusty bucket ! BONDO POWER !

[Plex]

You cant 'play' with the meters on our cars... The only thing he could have done is replace the whole gaugecluster with another one..

RUST IS EVIL... luckily my car only has it on the fender I'm getting replaced

anyway.. if you get this car... dont sell it in the summer.. thats weak.. KEEP IT... maybe thats just me.

[yooyoo]

hehe, i have some feeling if i get this one, i'll love it and prolly keep it. you see what am lookin for for the summer is the skyline R31 GT-S (oldschool) hmm :p its rare i proly can't get one.. but! i need a car with more power for the summer, ya know what am sayin. anyway.. i know rust is evil, especially on old ass cars. i'll call the owner now, and ask where he lives, and ask about rust and all that shit

[Nick]

try cumberland auto parts, they got a good little network, and you can check what they got locally on the net

www.cumberlandauto.com i think

[yooyoo]

thanks man,,i'll look there. i went to see the car today, the body was clean.. rust on the body above the rear wheel, and one hole on the driver's door. don't think its that big deal, tried looking for more spots but it was dark. the thing is, it didn't start, the owner told me maybe bcause the gas got frozen, and the fact that it has like 50 ml of gas in it :P.. tried boosting it, but he said the gas ain't goin to the engine. so what ya'll think of this? i know that frozen gas in the engine is bad for the engine.. can it harm it??.. BTW the car has been parked for 3 months. what do ya'll think??

[Nick]

put a good 5 gallon jerry can in it, some gas line antifreeze, check the plugs, see if they fire

[hopeful]

it doesnt sound like its worth all the trouble for you...

how much are you getting the car for?

look on the ground for leaks, look for signs of leaks on the underbody.

look to see if the coolant is still green to find this check under the cap on the radiator, and not 100% water.

this is the funnest car to drive in the summer, to some in the winter its even more fun, but to others its frickin scary and dangerous, this car is not good for the winter. lack of posi and the fact that theres need for posi..

the cars been sitting for 3 months? find out why

theres two things that can happen, the cars gonna run like a champ and nothing major will go wrong with it, shit might break like exhaust and stuff (expect it to). Or everything will be wrong with this car, you will encounter major problems, and holes in the body dont pass safety (sounds like your biggest obstacle right now).

Got Luck?

[yooyoo]

got luck, lately nope.. hopfully this time yes.
seems that he stopped using it cuz he got a maxima.. !! dono why.. btw i think the radiator needs to be replaced.. can i put any radiator of a tyota car or a corolla or must it be the one for the 86? cuz they're hard to find.