$800 beater! any advice

bft450 · Oct 8, 2010

Well i have been slowly saving and looking around for a sn95 to fix up for a while. I got about a grand saved and stumbled across a 96 gt convertible today in the back of a little car dealership. I checked it from afar and asked the guy how much. He said "$1000, just took it on trade"

Well i got a little excited and walked over to check the car out

-ROUGH_

168k miles
original(i think) 4.6 2v
auto tranny
ugly battered tan top
destroyed leather seats
lots of little scratches and dings
2 decent dents from a fence(i think)
no rust
faded paint
worn tires with battered original rims
beat up rear bumper

So it took it for a test drive:
very slow
tranny worked good
minor smoke on start up
no major smoke during driving
motor was not running right-sounds like a a couple cylinders are not firing
brakes were not terrible but not very good either
needs shocks and a balljoints

So I talked to the guy some more and I can get the car for $800

Sorry! Here is my question

I am looking for a winter project with a low budget to do some cruising and street ET racing at the local drag strip. I am not very familiar with the new modular motors and systems but have been doing mechanical repairs since I was about 15 (17 years ago) I am interested in a mark viii swap and know where some used motors are cheap. I have wanted a convertible in this color(forest green?) since 1994 when I was 16 years old

Is this a good deal? should I keep looking? Is this going to cost alot more than buying a decent looker for 3 grand with 150K miles?

94 DropTop · Oct 9, 2010

Well if you want a project its not to bad of a price. you could find a complete PI motor if you want to replace the current one.

mikey94gt · Oct 9, 2010

I would grab it, the only real expensive part is gonna be the top replacement. all the other parts you can find at the junk yard, like the PI swap, new seats (sometimes), most of the parts to make it run correctly, a 5spd conversion if you want... etc.

You would be suprised how far a bit of elbow grease goes on a project like this.

Twista · Oct 10, 2010

$800 get it..

95gtdrop · Oct 12, 2010

go for it mang

RideThePONYgt · Oct 12, 2010

might as well. and if you decide to go a different route sell her for a few grand if you clean her up a bit

duff daddy · Oct 12, 2010

Go for it, this is why. Get a stock 2v Pi motor and be done with the engine. Trans, leave it till it breaks. As far as bad suspension stuff, who cares, your going to need racing suspension (or buy good stock stuff from people CHEAP!! ie from me) then most of the stuff you listed you can replace with performance parts or pick up used to make it correct.

Dont be scared fo mod motors, they are no more complicated then a pushrod when dealt correctly.

nicostang · Oct 21, 2010

i replaced the top on my gfs vw cabrio and it costed me $140(ebay)+40 for the tools i needed. If you are doing it yourself, do NOT be cheap on the staples. I bought staples approved for marine use so that i never have problems with rust.

Its a long project but it CAN be done, but be sure you will need a guide and to take a bunch of pictures before you start ripping things apart.

Be aware that it won't pass smog if its blowing smoke...