I sold my last car, looking to buy dsm now!

[blazer316]

I finally sold my firebird formula and now I am looking to buy a turbo dsm. I found a nice looking gst spyder that has low compression in 1 cyl which would seem to be a valve issue because the coil,plugs,rings are fine. He said he is going threw another head and putting new valves in it. He said it still drives fine, just has a cel on cyl #1 that comes on for awhile and goes off for awhile. What do you guys think? Anyone on here know of a good one in nc?

 

[slowasdsm]

I finally sold my firebird formula and now I am looking to buy a turbo dsm. I found a nice looking gst spyder that has low compression in 1 cyl which would seem to be a valve issue because the coil,plugs,rings are fine. He said he is going threw another head and putting new valves in it. He said it still drives fine, just has a cel on cyl #1 that comes on for awhile and goes off for awhile. What do you guys think? Anyone on here know of a good one in nc?

How much is it?

 

[13b Bro]

How big's your bank account and how much patience do you have?

 

[FLASH1970]

We need pics, price, and mods to help you out. How does he know the rings are good? Did he do a leakdown test?

 

[tweek814]

Sold your formula for a dsm!?!? Sorry I'm a big f-body fan...

But as for the buying scene.. I don't know if your looking for a 1g or 2g, and depending on your bank account, I would go with a 1g awd. The 1gs are DIRT cheap around here. The 2g N/Ts are all riced out and asking like 3-4k.

 

[blazer316]

It is listed for 2500 and has a pretty fresh evo16g,catback exhaust,and aftermarket filter running stock boost i think. He did a compression check and they are all great except for that 1 cylinder. I got like 2550 or so to spend.

this is the car 97 eclipse gst spyder

If it seems alright i hope he can meet me somewhere because it's to far of a drive, unless you guys could hook me up with a better deal and or closer.

Yea I like those cars Tweek814 but, I just want a change of pace.

 

[ryguy86eklipse]

Seems like a good deal, but unfortunately unless you are there while he does the leak down or have a second professional opinion (assuming you aren't familiar with mechanics), there's no way to be sure if you're picking up a bigger project than what you're expecting... either way, best of luck!

 

[BigBeans]

For the same money you can buy a much better 6-bolt (no crankwalk issues) 1G with AWD.

I guess it comes down to what you want, but i wouldn't touch a car with low compression unless i had the coin to do a full motor rebuild.

This is a guy selling a car...of course it's just a valve...until you take it apart and there's a chuck of cylinder wall gauged out by a damaged piston. This thing could be a can of worms. You've been warned.

 

[asb2106]

Ill have to agree, buy a 1g AWD thats in good running condition.

IMO the 1ga is the best looking DSM.

 

[FLASH1970]

The Spyder doesn't sound too bad if all it has is a valve problem and you're mechanically inclined. Offer him 1800-1900 and see if he bites. But before you buy it, get a tank of compressed air or small air compressor to bring with you when you look at it. Get a compression tester and needle nose pliers too. Take the valve out of the compression tester hose, hook up the hose to the #1 cylinder and the tank/air compressor and listen/ feel for where the air is going. Make sure that the piston is at TDC. If you hear or feel air coming from the intake or exhaust then it is a valve. Throw a new head on it and away you go. If air is coming from the crankcase or valve cover then the piston or rings are bad and it'll take a bit more money to fix. Also check for end play in the crank, strut tower rust, spare wheel well rust, wheel bearings, tie rods, turbo shaft play, make sure the turbo is not an ebay knock off turbo.

Hope this helps.

 

[blazer316]

this one is in the best shape i've seen. I also found a 1992 1g 6bolt/4bolt awd 5spd but, the paint is ruff around on it and the drivers seats tore up. I don't think he would sell it low enough to leave me enough to fix stuff. I am open to anything you guys may find or if you know someone in the area mabe with one for sale.

thanks for the help thus far too

 

[two-step'n]

Be carefull and don't buy chit at night I bought a 1ga and got burned pretty bad cause I really didnt inspect it like I should because it was dark and rainy. Who really wants to do a compression test in the rain? If your goals are high for it in regards to HP, I would deff. get an AWD. Ive never had an FWD but have heard that they have severe traction problems once you go over a certain HP. Just do your research and inspect that thing from top to bottom. Think about things like inspection and emissions if you have them in your area. I bought a 1ga about 6 months ago and havent drove it once. One good thing that came from my situation is it gave me a chance to learn all the ins and outs to building a 6 bolt. Oh yea..also this chit is not cheap building these things to handle some power. Think about the entire situation. Good luck.

 

[Jimmer307]

I'm here in St. Louis, Missouri and had to drive 400 miles to Wisconsin to find a DSM in great shape worthwhile. Most of these cars have been run into the ground and there is no telling what is really wrong with them. I have learned the hard way that you can't trust anyone anymore now adays. I wouldn't buy a DSM that isn't running well unless you are seriously mechanically inclined. Expect the worst, pray for the best.

BTW: Depending upon your budget, buy an AWD, you won't regret paying a little extra. GST's are a waste of money unless you buy a spyder, those have some value. GST's have pretty bad wheel hop unless you throw a good amount of money beefing up the front end. My choice came down to a 1997 Eclipse GST Spyder w/ 100k miles for $4k about 2 hours away or a 1995 Talon TSI AWD w/ 130k for $4.5k about 7 hours away... My choice was quite easy AWD FTW