So here is the deal...
The other day I was mulling around on the internet slums (Craigslist) and I found this ad... http://cnj.craigslist.org/pts/2745842094.html
So I took a shot in the dark and asked if the guy would be willing to trade for my 94 GT. We talked back and forth for a day or two and he tried every trick in the book to try to have me add on $1000 on top of the trade. I shut him down every time. In the end it was my car with my uninstalled Cobra intake and gt40 heads for his car. I was pretty happy with it.
So I load my car on the trailer and start on the hour ride. He tells me the car does not have headlights in it and that he will not buy bulbs for me to take it around the block... fine. I am familiar with the area so I figure i will just take it to a strip mall parking lot down the street and play with it there. Then he keeps telling me that he is really taking a loss on the car because my car is worth far less and that I am really getting a great deal so on and so forth.
When we finally get there and I start inspecting the car the guy is literally on my shoulder. Every time I reach for something or notice something there is another excuse or disclaimer attached. He tells me he bought the entire car from South Jersey two months ago for just the front brakes and spindles for his notch but ended up getting a better deal somewhere else etc. He says the entire time he has never done any work to the cobra at all.
So I start looking over the car, the second I open the door it hits the fender. The interior is a mess and damaged, but complete so I was not too worried. Under the dash there is a hacked in remote starter/alarm system deal so I dismissed it. Then I started looking at the front end. Both fender liners were missing and I could see where they pulled the rail from the crash, nothing crazy. The fuse box on the driver's side is broken and missing its bracket but oh well. Under the front bumper I find the impact foam missing and the crash bar all bent up, but the frame and the rad look fine. I check the dipstick and the oil cap and the oil looks to be in good shape... still I am not deterred and feeling positive.
Thennnnn I get to the passenger's missing fender well. Over there I find multiple wires, plugs, hoses, and panel boxes zip tied together in bundles. And I don't mean zip tied to things, I mean zip tied to zip ties to make string in order to reach something to hang on. Everything is missing their brackets and I didn't even know where to start re-hanging things. Then I spy under the car near the drive train another bundle of wire all zip tied together so god knows what. When I stand up again and look back into the engine, I notice that he has cut the wires that run onto the hood for the hood light even, the headlight harness has been tapped in at least 4 places with speaker wire that was never even so much as taped so its all corroded. He has carriage bolts holding on the front bumper and coiled up 8 gauge stereo wire shoved in the corner of the bay.
So now I am thinking OK... this is alot but I can figure out the puzzle and get that all taken care of or replaced... if nothing else is wrong I can still save this car. So I climb under the back and the first thing he starts pointing out is the Magnaflow mufflers... whooptey do. Under the back i notice the gas tank is seeping and the rear is leaking pretty bad, but it has not been hit in the rear. So I figure ok, lets see how she runs and maybe I will take this home like I planned.
I sit in the torn leather seat which instantly bounces around on the one loose bolt that's holding it in, and start the car. I walk to the engine bay and start hearing the problems. I start hearing what I can only describe as a muffled backfire inside the motor, smoke starts pouring up from under the car as the exhaust leak starts becoming loudly obvious, mixed with the sound the tap tap tap we all know and love.
I shut the car off, handed him the keys and walked out. The only inspection he did to my car was check the paint and look inside and then he was right back on my shoulder. I hate people that know they are trying to dump crap but don't want to just come clean and get what they can get. If he was asking $1000 for it and I had the room I probably would have taken it, but I want a project I can build AND drive... not just stare at in pieces for however long before I can take it out. I dont have the room to do that at my house right now.
Just thought I would share.
The other day I was mulling around on the internet slums (Craigslist) and I found this ad... http://cnj.craigslist.org/pts/2745842094.html
So I took a shot in the dark and asked if the guy would be willing to trade for my 94 GT. We talked back and forth for a day or two and he tried every trick in the book to try to have me add on $1000 on top of the trade. I shut him down every time. In the end it was my car with my uninstalled Cobra intake and gt40 heads for his car. I was pretty happy with it.
So I load my car on the trailer and start on the hour ride. He tells me the car does not have headlights in it and that he will not buy bulbs for me to take it around the block... fine. I am familiar with the area so I figure i will just take it to a strip mall parking lot down the street and play with it there. Then he keeps telling me that he is really taking a loss on the car because my car is worth far less and that I am really getting a great deal so on and so forth.
When we finally get there and I start inspecting the car the guy is literally on my shoulder. Every time I reach for something or notice something there is another excuse or disclaimer attached. He tells me he bought the entire car from South Jersey two months ago for just the front brakes and spindles for his notch but ended up getting a better deal somewhere else etc. He says the entire time he has never done any work to the cobra at all.
So I start looking over the car, the second I open the door it hits the fender. The interior is a mess and damaged, but complete so I was not too worried. Under the dash there is a hacked in remote starter/alarm system deal so I dismissed it. Then I started looking at the front end. Both fender liners were missing and I could see where they pulled the rail from the crash, nothing crazy. The fuse box on the driver's side is broken and missing its bracket but oh well. Under the front bumper I find the impact foam missing and the crash bar all bent up, but the frame and the rad look fine. I check the dipstick and the oil cap and the oil looks to be in good shape... still I am not deterred and feeling positive.
Thennnnn I get to the passenger's missing fender well. Over there I find multiple wires, plugs, hoses, and panel boxes zip tied together in bundles. And I don't mean zip tied to things, I mean zip tied to zip ties to make string in order to reach something to hang on. Everything is missing their brackets and I didn't even know where to start re-hanging things. Then I spy under the car near the drive train another bundle of wire all zip tied together so god knows what. When I stand up again and look back into the engine, I notice that he has cut the wires that run onto the hood for the hood light even, the headlight harness has been tapped in at least 4 places with speaker wire that was never even so much as taped so its all corroded. He has carriage bolts holding on the front bumper and coiled up 8 gauge stereo wire shoved in the corner of the bay.
So now I am thinking OK... this is alot but I can figure out the puzzle and get that all taken care of or replaced... if nothing else is wrong I can still save this car. So I climb under the back and the first thing he starts pointing out is the Magnaflow mufflers... whooptey do. Under the back i notice the gas tank is seeping and the rear is leaking pretty bad, but it has not been hit in the rear. So I figure ok, lets see how she runs and maybe I will take this home like I planned.
I sit in the torn leather seat which instantly bounces around on the one loose bolt that's holding it in, and start the car. I walk to the engine bay and start hearing the problems. I start hearing what I can only describe as a muffled backfire inside the motor, smoke starts pouring up from under the car as the exhaust leak starts becoming loudly obvious, mixed with the sound the tap tap tap we all know and love.
I shut the car off, handed him the keys and walked out. The only inspection he did to my car was check the paint and look inside and then he was right back on my shoulder. I hate people that know they are trying to dump crap but don't want to just come clean and get what they can get. If he was asking $1000 for it and I had the room I probably would have taken it, but I want a project I can build AND drive... not just stare at in pieces for however long before I can take it out. I dont have the room to do that at my house right now.
Just thought I would share.
