1: awesome idea about buying a beater or daily driver

2: please please please stop. The engine is the last thing you should concern yourself about with such old vehicles. But, at 18, the displacement and camshaft are mean to get you all honked up and maybe toss in a loud exhaust and cha-ching, another starry eyed kid buys a car.

fuel tank, fuel lines, brake lines, calipers, master cylinder, wiring, wiring, wiring, wiring, wiring, and wiring. The functionality or lack thereof of the accessories (don't say that you'll be OK if xx doesn't work because you won't be OK)

cooling system

condition of interior (and not does it have an awesome bumping system)

condition of body and paint, glass, floor pans, rot anywhere etc

it's not cheap to fix any of those things and please note I did not mention the tranny or engine................those should be the least of your concerns. You can get a SBC rebuilt for $1300-$1500 and that includes the cylinder heads. You can get a tranny rebuilt on the bench for around $400-$450.

Go price what a headliner, rug, sun visors, weatherstripping, seats re-skinned will cost you.

Go price a modest paint job with some body work

pretty soon a rebuilt engine and tranny looks real cheap.

 

i would advise you to stay far far away from this car. dont get too excited to quickly. Im 19, and i know how you feel. what you want is a stock 3rd gen that has simply just been driven, no monkey business.

 

also if you buy the beater, it will be hard to sell... you want to buy something that is in good shape, and will gain value with age!

 

Nothing does this any more.