maybe this is not the right place if so please say somthing

OK for starters i have little knowledge about camaros but i have a good mechanical vocabulary about cars in general

so the car im looking to buy is an
87 t-top rednew paint is needed
caurberated V6 Runs well but wires and plugs are missing/unpluged
bad tranny no movement(also no fluid, supposedly leaks)
needs newweatherstripping round allwindows
both bumpers will need to be replace
hood and front quarterpannels(round the wheels) need replacment
back lights arecracked up but all lights work
soundworks well(says seller)
alternator works
no ac did not check heat
alloy wheels(i think)
carpet needs replcing
all seats need replacing sterring wheel works but is missing horn
car is high milage


i will be calling this guy tommorrow
and may make him an offer i dont think he knows what it is worht but i would like to

thanks in advance

PS i dont have any pics of the car but i will get some soon i hope


Edit i know this engin is swapped in because the condenser is present but no compresser is apperent in the engin

 

For starters, you should have posted this question in the 3rd gen (1982-92) section. Looking at all that this car needs...almost everything,I sure hope the guy isn't asking more than a couple hundred bucks for it! It sounds more like a parts car to me.

 

From what I've read this car has absolutly nothing to offer at all. Sounds like your offer should be, He pay you a hundred bucks to haul it off.

 

Concidering I just watch a darn nice looking all original 91 V8/5 speedwith 50K on it, garage kept, sold for $2700 on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991-...QQcmdZViewItem

The original engine inan 87 should be fuel injected 2.8 V6. Most of the wire you see laying around have no home. I would say the work required to get this back to a dependable car would cost more then the carwould be worth once done.Check your area emision laws. Many areas you can not just swap out a carb for fuel injection.

Here is a good fixer upper, Only 95K on it and only light repairs needed. already sold tho
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1988-...QQcmdZViewItem

I am not sure what your goal is, but I would offer about twice the scrap value for it if you really want it. But if you are trying to make dependable transportion that thing sounds like a money pit.

 

hmm i dont have the money to throw in for a good car i need one that i can fix myself
and until july of 08 the car has current tags
a few more questions how hard is it to reseal a t-top

ok tranny guys the car has an auto with a leak and does not move
ran the test and checked the fluid leval it was bone dry i put in half a quart and it moved i didn'tlet it go far but enough to see that it moved
any ideas or tips for troubkle shooting other then a full out refill and test

edit i heard the engin and tested it out and it worked fine so the concern is how much to fixt-top and pobably tranny

 

The only trannytests there is for a car sitting still is a stall test and a pressure test. I would assume you do not have the gage or the knowledge to do the pressure and I don’t think you or the owner wants you to do a stall test on a car in that condition. A stall test is when you press the brake hard and give it gas until the engine reaches it’s max RPM. With a stock converter that around 2K. By design the trans should not fail during this test. I have seen transmission blow out during this test. Clutch issues normally show up hot (20-30 minutes of driving semi-hard) seals normally show up cold. Pump issue show up in reveres. Starting a car that does not have enough fluid in it to reach the pickup system is not good. There is a delicate front pump that connects to the torque converter. When a car sits the oil (aka tranny fluid) runs off the gears. If you started the car and there was not enough fluid to reach the pump you could have damaged it. When a car leaks trans fluid and the driver continues to run it causing slipping, this slipping converts power to heat. Heat is a tranny killer. Dropping the pan is the next best thing. You want to look at the amount of clutch material and look for any metal.

To make a long story short your transmission repair could cost anywhere from $4.00 to replace a tail shaft seal to $1,200 for a complete master kit with new planetary gears. That is with you doing the labor. There is just no way of knowing what is going inside the case until you pull it apart.

T-Tops I think there is a seal kit available for the T-tops for around $200 but if there is any twist in the body or weak body mounts they will still leak. Some of these cars have had leaking issues since they where new. Many of the unrestored cars you see the tops are silicone shut and do not come off.

I am not a car snob. I understand cost issues. I am a 41 year old X GM master technician turned engineer. I worked as a mechanic in the depressed rust belt of PA. I have seen many cars with these half *** conversions done to them. Most of the time it’s not the engine that becomes the issue. Normally these cars are owned by the guys that did the engine swap. This guy did not bother to take 30 minutes and tape up the wires after his engine conversion. He just let them hang. Chances are he has let other things go. Condition of used cars is all about how it’s been maintained. Every time I have been involved with one of these Frankin-Cars the owners have regretted the purchase. Sometimes it’s the next day sometimes the next week but in every case where they where bought to “save money�. They end up leaving the owners sit and taking up room in the driveway.

I saw a 95 Old Cutlass that was an all original car well maintained with 118K sell for $500. That Car could give a good two to three years of service without any major repairs.

 

Serealport, unless I missed it, you never said how much the guy is asking? Quite frankly, unless this guy is giving it away I would keep looking, there are better deals out there. I don't know what your budget is, but you have to consider that you are going to have a lot more money tied up in this car to fix it than you would have by finding the "right one". Just this summer, for $1,000 I picked up a 91 RS 305 T-tops with 116,000 miles that had been sitting for a couple of years. I needed to fix a couple of things to get it running, mainly a new fuel pump and a tune-up, and I put on a new cat-back exhaust. But, it has NO rust, interior is mint, even has new tires! Sorry, but the one you are looking at really sounds like a money pit. BTW, I found mine on craigslist.org, and I have seen some more good sounding/looking deals go by since.

 

ok did not think to do a pressure test i may try that

second i have no capital butI can and have done most all repaires myself (because i have no money)
but with the poor condition of my current car (transaxle going out) i needa set ofwheelsthat has a tranny i am more familiar with
and the guy has no idea what to do about this car or what its worth

thanks for all the responses so far

 

Well If you looking for a project car well you found one but If I was you I would move on and look for something more better than the parts car.

 

ask him why he is selling it...be interestng to see what he says...no matter what he says, he really means...

"My god i gotta dump this thing before the city bylaw officer forces me to pay to have it towed away..or worse...the city pays to tow it and puts a lean on my mobile home for the difference...hang on now..i'm on welfare and don't actualy own the trailer I live in...but with that car in my yard I have no space for my used refridgerators, shopping carts and 6 breeding pairs of dogs..."

errr...sir, I jsut don't have the room, I could let you take it off my hands for $1500.00...as you can see she's in real nice shape (for my neighborhood anyway)

before you hand over your cash...make sure he supplies the vaseline....