Do you think this 97 gst is worth the money?

[whiskeyturbo]

Hello all, I have been away from the community for quite some time, the last dsm I owned was in 2007. I have had two eclipses in my time and I am looking for a third. I came across a 97 gst and would appreciate any advice on whether you think it is worth my time and money. Here is what the craigslist ad says:

97 eclipse is in alright shape and runs great, ac heat and power steering all work great. could use a decent paint job but its not terrible the way it sits. The car has a long list of aftermarket parts including:
big 16g turbo, forged wiseco pistons, forged scat rods, evo crank, 3g lifters, all arp hardware, greddy type rz bov, greddy turbo timer, hks super dragger muffler, the motor has 12k miles on it the body has around 135xxx There is alot more that im forgetting but ill remember everything over time. it has so much in it its not funny. The car currently has the black factory replacement bumper on it but i have 2 other front bumpers including a full body kit and even the factory stock bumper that came on the car.

I went to go see the car today and this is what I found. desperately needs a front motor mount, the interior is all loose and painted (needs to be fixed or replaced), the seat belts were removed and 5 point harnesses installed (I will probably put stockers back in). Passenger seat slide is broke so it slides all over the place when you are sitting in it. rear hatch release is broke, and body kit isnt in the best shape. Engine bay looks clean and well put together. In need of a tune and fuel injectors. From what he said it has a walbro 255 fuel pump and stock injectors. Also comes with a very short throw shifter that I am not to fond of but it shouldn't be much of a hassle to get the stock one back in.
Asking price of 3500 and he is willing to trade my motorcycle+$400 which would come out to about 3500.

From what I can see all in all it mainly needs all of the interior redone (including passenger seat and almost all panels), interior could use some rewiring, fuel injectors, front motor mount, body work/ paint job. Im not a big fan of body kits but it comes with the stock bumpers and everything so im not that worried about it.
Any comments or advice much appreciated. Planning on picking it up tomorrow evening.

 

[whiskeyturbo]

HA i actually asked him about the radiator when I went to go look at it. He said it was stock and not damaged... I was scratching my head too. Ill get a better look at it in the daytime. As far as the interior what makes you say $500? Sax man what brackets are you referring to?

Edit: after giving it some more thought, unless he gives me money+car for my bike im not making the deal. I was blinded by the first gst i found and could afford. Im sure I will find another one soon. thank god I came on here to ask about it. I mean the damn thing is practically falling apart i just remembered the door doesnt even close right you have to slam it! thanks for the input!

 

[etay89]

i dont think the radiator is upside down..in fact..i think its not even the right one!

brackets are circled in red faintly

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['97boostinGST]

HA i actually asked him about the radiator when I went to go look at it. He said it was stock and not damaged... I was scratching my head too. Ill get a better look at it in the daytime. As far as the interior what makes you say $500? Sax man what brackets are you referring to?

It's probably just my luck, but junkyards around here are crap and tan leather doesnt help finding interior pieces any better.
I've asked couple members here how much for ONE door panel and the rear big speaker covers, and they both said around $200 shipped. Unless you luckily have access to interior pieces then dont have to worry about that.
And sax man is talking about the bracket that are supposed to be holding the radiator in place. Maybe because its upside down the brackets are on the bottom??

 

[Tyeler18]

Radiator doesn't look upside to me? Both my 2g radiators have the bottom radiator inlet on the passenger side and the top radiator outlet in the middle like that.

My opinion, not at all worth it. It's hacked up and abused and he's asking more than book value even. Wait it out, you'll be happier in the end.

Also redoing the entire interior is going to be costly like already stated.

 

[etay89]

actually after looking closely..it IS upside.

as for interior pieces...jus search craigslist for someone parting out their car...easiest way...especially n/t eclipses.

 

[kidtsi]

Oh damn the radiator hose is on top of the exhaust manifold, wrong radiator for sure or upside down.

 

[gst2g4g63t]

Hey man like they are saying, its best to wait for sure and you can find a better deal later, i already owed a 98gst but blew motor and also blew the motor on my 04sti and i wanted a car quick to drive, i saw that white convt gst i have now the 97 and ya price was like 3500 also but honestly it was not a good deal at all, i was stuck on oh i want a 2g again and since i have my other 2g i can fix this one up etc. but ya i drove it and it needed the front motor mount replaced, etc, it was good that it was all stock exept had a bov and was VTA. but i wasnt too woried ### i was mindset i wanted it and ya after i got it and came to my senses i noticed i got screwed. i didnt even think to look underneath at the axles, one did not have the rubber boot my the rims and it was all jacked up and on the other side the rubber boot was torn and leaking P/S fluid so ya i was pissed. but i put the new rims and tires i had that i was going to use on my 98, put the CF hood off my 98, Apexi CBE, CXRacing FMIC kit, replaced the cheap BOV wanna be type S that came on the kit with a NRG type S bov, but my ebay intake hard pipe and recurculated it, put on my 16g turbo, fp manifold, the interior needs replacing seats are nasty but i was going to replace em anyway with some evo9 seats. uh idk what ealses but right now im deployed and car is just sitting there, so ima have a 6bolt swap and build in it, go bigger with either a fp3052, fpgreen or something like that for it, well point being on all this i was stuck on wanting it and was screwed but because i have my 98gst i was able to just swap parts on it and it worked out for me and i did all the work my self on it so ya JUST WAIT

 

[etay89]

actually i took another close look .. its the wrong radiator. here's how:

if you look at my radiator brackets...u see how they line up perfectly with the radiator?

if you look closely at the other dsm's radiator...look at the body..and you'll see the 2 holes are offset on the left side.

that radiator is too small.

 

[whiskeyturbo]

hmm... Ill definitely be looking at that closely tomorrow.. the interior pieces im not toooo concerned about, he said he had some of the stock pieces and as mentioned craigslist.. is there an adjustment on the doors to raise them up slightly? Right now they dont close correctly unless you slam them because the are drooping.. Why the heck would someone put in the radiator upside down????

Edit: So its the wrong radiator.. im thinking front end damage.. anyone with me?

probably wrecked, sat forever (possibly evidenced by shitty interior and bad overall condition of car), guy bought it because was cheap and he figured it was enough reason to build up an engine so he did and possibly put on a new front clip.
I also have a feeling one of the reasons the interior panels are all f'ed up is he did some ghetto ass weight reduction

We shall see tomorrow in the daylight. No wonder he was trying to get me to buy it on the spot without coming back tomorrow.

 

[FLASH1970]

It looks sketchy. I'd go over the car really well. Compression test, check turbo shaft play, get receipts for anything he did to the car...