What do you think?

http://desmoines.craigslist.org/cto/1464470776.html

I went and looked at this car about 2 months ago but didnt do a very thorough job. Mainly what I noticed is that this gentleman's ad was incorrect due to being posted by his caregiver. The car has been sitting since 1988 as implied by the plates on it and his direct word.

Heres how a brief convo went with him:

"So how long has the car been sitting here?" I asked
"Well since 1988, so about 10 years now" he said...

This is obviously contradictory and no doubt some of you will check to see the date this is posted and make sure your not reading an article of the past. You are not. You see, this gentleman lives in the middle of nowhere Iowa, in the woods down a long and whinding gravel road, nearly 100 miles from where I live in Des Moines. He may just have no idea of the time or date since he is blind and lonely and only has a caregiver come 2x a week.

I am new to this car thing and just purchased my first Maverick (Blue 76 2 Dr) less than 2 weeks ago. While giving this car my attention I cant help but think back to this chance at a 74 grabber - almost certaintly origional paint and miles - showing about 87k on it -easily doable in the 14 years it could have seen road action.

How difficult do you think it would be to fix this bad boy up?

Here is what I did when I went with my dad to check it out.

We brought a charged batter and popped it in to see if it would crank. Engine isn't siezed up which is definately a good thing. It turns over but there was no spark to any plug. After examining the distributor it looks to be newer along with a couple hoses. Perhaps someone was trying to establish whether or not they could get it running? Anyway asides from that....we traced the cause further back to what my father called - a coil? Does that sound right?

Anyway, there were two wires coming from this "coil", 1 of which was connected to the distributor and the other one which was either frayed and disconnected from its rightful home. My dad said that was most likely the cause of not having "spark". We weren't trying to run it, just see if it would fire with some gas down the carb.

Unfortunately I previously didn't have the knowledge what what needs to be checked rust wise so I didnt examine the body thoroughly.

I peeked at the underside on the rear end and didn't any rust really, and if you cannot clearly see in the picture, which I know from experience you cannot, there is seemingly no significant rust on the car. There are dime sized spots of rust on a few points but nothing major as far as I can recall. The roof from midsection back is one of those vinyl scaley type roofs which as 1 small half dollar sized tear in it.

The interior is another story, it is trashed but complete. The guy installed some troll doll hair style carpet on the driver and passanger front flooring. I was thinking he might be fruity, but I wasnt alive in the 70's and 80's so maybe that was just a fad? There was a prehistoric hardees cup (fast food restaurant same as star burger or Carl's Jr. in the backseat....) That is a testament to how long its been rotting away.

On top of that, time has taken its toll on the ground the car has been setting on. The wheels have sunken at least 4-6 inches into the ground so it might take some effort getting this car out of the ground.

After all of this info here is what I need to know...

1. How much $$$ do you think would have to be invested in making this a decent car.

2. Do you think that if I purchased it, but it became a financial burden I would be able to reclaim initial purchase price from a resell or part out?

3. Would you do it given the chance?

4. What should I offer for the car? $500 regardless of what it is seems a bit much considering the hassle with title I will have to go through, effort to get it running if possible, and how much it will cost for a trailor to move it back to my city.

Here is further info. Gentleman being blind he cannot find the title which will require further hassle driving him to his county title clerks office to file for a new one. This is followed up by a 1 week wait for it to be mailed to him. If I did purchase would a bill of sale be sufficient until he recieved this title, do you think its worth the wait? Keep in mind it is a nearly 100 mile drive each way to his residence and I dont wanna make more trips than necessary if I did buy this car.

 

Sounds about right for an original grabber, ide give him 500 but i would check the quarter pannels if i were you, looks rusty. If you can get less, try it. If its not worth it, you could always part it out. Also take a cup of water and pour it down the cowl (area between hood and windshield) and see if the water enters eatherside of the interior.

Does it have disk brakes?
How is the trunk?

 

Didn't check the trunk at all first go at it
Didnt check for disc brakes - what purpose does that serve again?:16suspect

If I go check it again I will definately check out the cowl thing you mentioned...I live in Iowa, we constantly have rainstorms and harsh winters...The carpet didnt appear wet and it was sprinkling when I was checking it out so hopefully no issues there.

So I guess thats a yes from Justin?

 

Yes for me, but if you find disk brakes (good for stopping) then thats like a 200 dollar setup so then it would be an awsome deal

 

I say go for it, an absence of spark can only be a couple things, and if it was turning over, that's a good sign!

 

Hows the battery tray?

 

I'd buy it. However, I'm probably not the best person to talk to when noodling this stuff out.

To get that thing road worthy...hhhhmmm... I'd say $5k.

Brakes, tires, gas tank, fuel lines, carb rebuild, engine rebuild, trans ????, interior, wiring. Who knows what that roof looks like under the vinyl. I hate vinyl roofs... Also I'd be concerned with the condition of the floors beneath that carpet. My cowl didn't leak either and the floors were in a world of hurt.

Anyway, that's my high ball estimate. If it were me, I'd just go ahead and ditch the engine and tranny that's in there and replace it with something more respectable, but that's more work and money than you're probably wanting to do.

You will not get your money back out of this car.

 

I think $500 would be a good gamble not knowing the extent or any rust repairs that might need addressed. You could probably recover that (and more) if you decided to part it out, just keep in mind the hassle of having to take it apart and store the thing until it's nothing but a skeleton. I thought I recalled seeing somewhere that scrap cars are about $7/100#.

Look for any water spotting on the headliner. That tear in the vinyl top could have wicked water between the vinyl and metal roof trapping the moisture and causing problems.

Try at if all possible to get that engine to fire. It's a good sign it's not seized up and it's surprising the number of these things that are dug out of the barn or field still run! Use fresh gas somehow.

 

I agree....you would be looking at around $5000 to get that car "decent". That car, having sat so long, will need everything. Are you prepared to do "everything"....or are you prepared to pay somebody to do "everything". I am talking it will need all new brakes (calipers, wheel cylinders, more than likely all steel and rubber lines, all pads, shoes, etc), the tranny will work for a short while, but will need rebuilt. The list goes on and on.

The car, having bucket seats, is worth the $500 for a parts car.

 

If the guy is blind just tell him that the whole car was stolen with the exception of one tire. Then buy the tire off of him and tell him you need a full trailer to take it home...

 

I would go at this as looking for a reason not to buy...this way you want let anything slide.

you need to get under this car...
if it's sitting on the ground....
chances are everything under the car is...rusted away...
pull the carpet back and look for holes by poking a screwdriver...everywhere..
look at the frame rails where the spring hangers connect for rust.
rust repaire will be your high dollar repair item.(and will not be a return on resale value)

JMO...Frank

to drive this car, all this needs to be replaced...

 

From what I can see in the photo`s,the car looks very rusty. The firewall seams,inside the wheelwells. Sitting in grass will have kept the underside moist for years,which is no good either. If you get the car expect a lot of professional bodywork to have to be done. I personally would keep looking and possibly pick this car up for no more than $200 for parts. Good Luck on your search!

 

$500 doesnt seem like too much money. It just seems like too much project for someone who is "new to the car thing". I recommend you save your money for a working car. Even if you get yourself a decent car, at 35 to 40 years old, you will find plenty of repairs and modifications to keep you busy. Thats the nature of owning an old car. Get a runner and learn a little bit at a time. That grabber is a major project and you will end up in over your head and discouraged.

 

Well,,,, If you have time an really interested, take a day, see if you can find someone here an go visit the guy! All above info is good. Gallon jug of water for the cowl, jack car up an look good underneath, Take air cleaner apart to look for mice (maybe why coil wire was frayed-ate up-) Give a good going over and think what YOU n Dad can do, what you will have to pay to be done.

This doesn't have to be a show car first time around! Scratch your chin and think, let Dad bring you back to earth, scratch your chin again!

I say you will have a great day no matter which way you go on car! That gentleman will more than likely enjoy your company, take some coffee an Bagels (may not be allowed to have my favorite- donuts) Talk to him and listen to his stories! He may go off route with story telling, but, YOU'LL MAKE HIS DAY! The car is worth 2 trips if need be in my opinion.

This will be a great start for you either way you go! Gives some insight to what is ahead in older cars and the things to do. I've passed up cars, never regretted looking at pure junk! Just filed the info under my hairline.

Good Luck

 

Very insightful outlook...thanks