What is this car worth / Is this car a good deal?

[Devilsfutbol17]

I found a 1996 Spyder GST for $4900. It is a 5-speed, 91,000 miles on it, white with black top, 17 inch rims. There is 80% tread left on the tires but the guy has a brand new never used set of tires for the car that is included in the price. He says the top doesn't leak, but it had a rip and was repaired, but he didn't like it, so he bought a brand new oem top that isn't installed and is included with the car. He says the interior is really nice, everything inside works, but you have to help the top up a little bit. He doesn't know if the timing belt has been replaced or not. It has a 3 inch cat back exhaust, 16G turbo, apexi intake and a greddy bov. He says it runs great and has no issues. He says he just wants to get rid of it because he doesn't drive it and its taking up space in his garage, which sounds good to me because he kept it garaged at least. he also said that the paint is good on it, no clear coat coming off, no body damage or dents. I'm going to check for crankwalk be looking at the clutch pedal when I turn left. I have been talking to the guy over the phone and I'm suppose to go drive for 4 hours to go and buy it if it checks out on Thursday. Does it sound good? Should I ask him or check for other things on it?

 

[kccombs]

if it has the 280 cams what else would be easy to look for turbo injectors? how do you tell if it has larger injectors? turbo should be pretty easy to tell. think i might go look at it about 40miles away and if worst comes to worst looking at Craigslist i should beable to get my money back selling the motor out and selling the chasis . picture he sent looked clean had a big front mount intercooler as well which really isnt that big of a deal i guess

also what kind of hp range are the 280 built for with suporting mods? turbo injectors tunes?

but like you said how do you put a new head on but no timing belt? the ad make it sound like he needs money though so it could have been a project that he has to let go of fast he seem like a eager sellers i asked if price was firm and he said yes but then he text me back saying if i was still intrested maybe we could work something out.

Well the size of cams really depends on what your looking for. Theres alot that goes into choosing cams. Not as easyas just throwing in a set and cams and going with it. Sound like a good deal to me. I mean. 1000 for a fwd tsi still isnt a bad deal. At the most a motor rebuild. How is the tranny? Stock turbo or upgrade. And i beleive the tsi stock 1g injectors were all blue top. Anything bigger should be a dif color. Not 100% positive so somebody correct me if im wrong.

This may help explain what i was talking about
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/221200-cam-basics.html

 

[Talondvr]

No matter what the price, If you can't verify a part is in working order you have to figure there is a chance its bad. Take what you KNOW for sure and make your decision off what you MIGHT have to do. No fun buying a car, fixing what the seller says was wrong, and finding out you have more problems after its running. Been there. Just look it over carefully and ask him to verify anything he says if possible.

From what you've said, needing a TB job (does it run at all?), there should be no reason he shouldn't let you pull the valve cover and check the head and cams out.

 

[evileagleawd]

A) Do a cylinder leak down test B) Take the cover off the ecu check the chip C) Take off the valve cover inspect cams, springs, and arp head studs! If all good whip out the cash!

 

[mx730md]

yea cams just move the power curve around i take it 280 are a pretty high rpm cams, going to call him tomarrow and hopefully look at it saterday and have it torn apart

 

[clipto]

Good deal get it, a little maintenance goes a long way.

 

[kccombs]

A) Do a cylinder leak down test B) Take the cover off the ecu check the chip C) Take off the valve cover inspect cams, springs, and arp head studs! If all good whip out the cash!

The seller most likely wont let him take the ecu out. Just for the programing. Tell him to show you how to run the program. Have him show you wire the connectors hook up for the program. Even if it doesnt have a timing belt once you turn the key to the ac position then you should beable to hook up the link and change your setings.

 

[mx730md]

going to look at it tomarrow.

got more details almost sounds to go to be true.

guy says alot of people have called but never respond after he tells them it needs a timing belt . he said he has the timing belt but was using his fathers garage to build the car and need to get it out of the garage his dad need space to work on his truck and never got a chance to finish it. he said he take 800 to get it gone this weekend. he scare the city is going to tow it since it been siting for a while with no tags on it. he has a clean title for it.


he rambled of this items on it

the complete stock head comes with it. cams and valves whole complete bolt on head

then a ported head thats on it with the 280 cams

650 injen injectors i think that the brand he said? is are they any good? sound big but im currenty into diesel and anything over 200cc are really big

tubular header

dsm link v3 lite he said he show me out to use it and it comes with a cable or something so you can do wide open clutchless shift i think he said or something along those line , is that right?

he said it need a turbo he bought it and the other owner had a cheap ebay one on it? he said he thinks it need a turbo cause it black smoke when it runs but to me that sound like its runing really rich right?

may have been more but im not 100% sure

he said body has a dent and a little body rust on front quarter panel .

may need tires stock rims.

anyone have any tips on what to look for or double check when i go to look at it? im going to look at it tomarrow and hopefully have my buddy drive out sunday and pick it up with his roll back

 

[duecevr4]

Even if there's something major wrong w/ this car (rustbucket, running issue, etc), it's an excellent donor car w/ all the mods, engine, tranny. Or just stripping the car and selling the parts...

 

[mx730md]

thats what im thinking

is it hard to set timing on these motors? or any special tools required to do it?

i hope it what he says it is but if i buy it im still pulling the head to double check . my plans for it is hopefully all it needs is a timing belt to get road worthly drive put some miles on it and sell it in the spring for hopefully 2000-3000 and try and find a awd or eclipse gsx 1st gen i love the older style body . 2nd gen are still sharp cars and i already had one so no disrespect to you guys

hopefully some of the expert can give me a checklist to take of thing to check when i look the car over .

thanks again everyone your help is much appreciated .

 

[duecevr4]

Timing belts can be a wee bit tricky, but no special tools are needed, just checking & rechecking before you put everything back together. Any1 w/ a descent mechinical skills can do it i think.

 

[mx730md]

yea . i rebuilt alot of 250f and 450f mx bikes they are easy as pie since it just one cylinder.

im going to search the fourm for info on how to do it i assume there is marks on the gear on the crank you line up for top dead center and they just setting you cams to the right position .

cant wait hope i dont buy someone elses junk but it on the phone he sound like he just need the money and scard with it being in town with the tags that they are going to tow it. and he needs money just bought a house and 2 kids ...

 

[eric72549]

idk whats your budget do you really wanna buy it then have to dump a bunch of money into it.. look for a better one for a few $ more if you can. or try and get it for cheaper. is the body interor clean??

 

[eric72549]

aww man whats up yea i live in omaha too. yea that eclipse was right across the bridge it was a pile man i just wanted it for parts. u still drivin your gsx around the O.

 

[WES_393]

yea . i rebuilt alot of 250f and 450f mx bikes they are easy as pie since it just one cylinder.

im going to search the fourm for info on how to do it i assume there is marks on the gear on the crank you line up for top dead center and they just setting you cams to the right position .

cant wait hope i dont buy someone elses junk but it on the phone he sound like he just need the money and scard with it being in town with the tags that they are going to tow it. and he needs money just bought a house and 2 kids ...

You can buy kids now days?! Lol. Jk. Timing belts on our engine is nearly the same thing as the chain on a DOHC 450f. One reason I went with Honda: Unicam! Just search for a how-to and you'll find everything you need.

I say the car is a good deal but only if the engine isn't completely thrashed. A leak down test would tell you a ton of info. And just make sure your getting everything the guy says the car has. Does he claim it has an aftermarket turbo?

 

[duecevr4]

Buy it already. You won't lose money on the deal. I'd say it's more more than break even if the engine is good.

 

[duecevr4]

he says it runs for a bit then starts to knock also it needs paint but he only want 900 bucks should i buy it for parts for my 97 gst or buy it and rebuild the motor and have two dsms.????

Got a gf? Got a wife? Don't do it!!!!

 

[4Lurker4]

Got a gf? Got a wife? Don't do it!!!!

Very true I'd say wait until you find one in better shape, there are some out there. Although I could see the potential as a parts car.

 

[mx730md]

it suppose to be a cheap godspeed turbo i think he said ebay turbo and pretty sure and the name he said was godspeed. he said he bought the car with it on it . i think he said it was a 20g. so that would be the first thing to go if i get it hopefully find a good used turbo on here for sale.

he also said he did put i think he said super tech valve spring in it?

i dont have the leak down tools, i really should though i have a compression gauge but i would need the timing chain to be on to turn the motor over. he said he had no proablem if i pulled the valve cover to check the cams he said aslong as i put it back on.

how hard and how much time to pull the head if timing belt isnt on? it it just a couple nut on the head studs and i guess disconnect the down pipe or turbo on the header? and the intake elbow and plugs

he sound like he honest on the phone just need money guess i see if i show up with a 10mm wrench to pull the valve cover. it 10 mm right?

 

[duecevr4]

If you have a compression tester, you've got the tool for the leakdown test.

 

[kccombs]

Buy it already. You won't lose money on the deal. I'd say it's more more than break even if the engine is good.

X2^^^ really good deal. I mean come on guys. A fwd turbo... 800 bucks. Good deal in my eyes. I would say go look at it and take the roll back with you at that point. Id try and play around with him and hand him 700 right then and say ok it will be gone today.


And the timing belt... Yes there are marks to line up. Its not hard in my eyes anyways. Can be tricky. But also changing spark plugs in some vehicles could be a real pain in the butt as well. You will do just fine. Im sure of it. And all of us are here to guide you along threw your journey as well.

 

[mx730md]

got it for less then the agreed price on phone but i think i should have looked it over harder now at home i think i may have got hosed

i post pictures later on going to need some work if i pull head and all is good i might just get it running and sell or part out depending on what all it needs hope i can break even.

 

[kccombs]

got it for less then the agreed price on phone but i think i should have looked it over harder now at home i think i may have got hosed

i post pictures later on going to need some work if i pull head and all is good i might just get it running and sell or part out depending on what all it needs hope i can break even.

How low did he happen to go on it? Whats going on that you think you got hosed?

 

[mx730md]

i got it for 750 including the rental price of trailer.

idk runing it threw the pathern at home it feels like reverse it gone or sycro is really tight but the motor isnt runing so hopefully once runing it will open up.

 

[kccombs]

Good price still i think. Hopefully its just really tight than out completly

 

[mx730md]

well i got valve cover off of the head that is in the motor. it does have studs and it does have both crower cams part #64414

Mitsubishi/DSM Camshafts

have still going to pull the head just to be sure. the body needs paint bad look kind of like they spray painted have the car hoping with my high speed buffer and some cutting compound i can remove most it

are the stock valves steel? can i wire wheel the dome of the spare head and clean up that valves? want to do a leak down test with some diesel in the port and see if they leak.

posting a few pictures shortly . its not much to look at

link to a few pictures

https://picasaweb.google.com/mx730md/Tsi

its not a pretty car but so far the motor is what he said i just hope that when i pull the head there isnt any signs of piston to valve contact . and if not when i get it back up and running i hope the trans is good cause im a bit upset that i didnt notice that it wouldnt go in reverse up there are trans expensive or are tehy hard to rebuild for the fwd?

also do you have to pull motor for timing belt or would it be faster to pull it vs trying to replace it will the space that your given keep in mind i never pulled a motor but i have a few friend at work that proable could kelp if needed

top of injectors are blue is that stock?