Hello Fieroians! I am new here, but signed up after searching for a good forum for these wonderful cars.
I have come across a "garage find" 1987 GT. The car has been sitting for about 15 years in a garage in Cleveland, Ohio. The car looks very good and has only 983.6 miles...yes, less than 1000 miles...crazy! Anyway - I know the general things that should be done when bringing a car back to life, I have been doing that for nearly 35 years. My question would be; what woud it be worth? I don't want to cheat anyone, I would like to pay what it is worth, but not overpay. There is zero issues from a body standpoint, it is basically a new car that has been sitting for 15 years. I have done some research on it, and feel like $6000 would be a fair price, I will have to spend another $1500 to get it shipped to my location. The car is not mobile and seems to have the brakes locked up. It could be some other issue, but the guy who I am buying it from says it never had any problems, just been sitting. I am paying to have it shipped and will go over it before I pay for it, if there is any problems with the engine, they have agreed to allow me out of the sale.
Any advice? I would post a few pictures, but I am new and restricted as to what I can post currently. I will try to post a link to the photos later today if anyone is interested in seeing it.
D.
[This message has been edited by damittron (edited 05-31-2018).]
Sounds like you found a good one. It is likely that the brakes are frozen. A common thing on a Fiero when it sits for long periods. You might have some issues with oil pressure, depending upon whether the oil has eaten any of the babbit from the bearings. Oil becomes acidic after absorbing combustion blowby so it will depend upon how acidic the oil is. Hopefully, with only 983 miles, it won't be an issue.
The fuel tank would most likely need to be removed, cleaned and inspected for rust. If the tank is full, better for you. There probably won't be as much rust but either way, it needs to be checked and replaced if necessary.
Then there are the critter nests, especially in the HVAC system, even for a vehicle stored inside. Lots of info and stories about that on this forum.
Welcome, and hope you keep the car to enjoy after getting it fully resurrected.
May need a fuel pump to. Mine was locked up and the car only sat for around 10 years. You say the car sat for 15 years. Is it more like 30-31 years with those miles?
Where did you get a shipping quote of $1500 That seems high. I paid $950 for shipping 2 months ago from Alabama to Pennsylvania. Mine didn't run and the e-brake was locked up. But there was a fork loader at the sale site and we have one at my friends car lot. Maybe you want to hire someone to get the car rolling. It may save you hundreds on shipping. I'd start by looking at the E-brake. Have the rear tires pulled, disconnect the cables and tap the levels back. Maybe it'll be enough to get it rolling so it can be winched instead of dollied. Most shippers don't want to deal with nonfunctional cars unless there's a fork loader at both ends.
The $1500 is a single car trailer with them loading using dollys. I don't mind paying a bit more for it being treated with kit gloves. The car is going from Ohio to Florida, the lowest I found for a non functional was $1150, but not a single trailer.
I wish I had time to go up to OH and get it to roll, I would pick it up on a trailer myself, but it's not in the cards. I found the Fiero store and have been adding up parts that I have had to replace on other 20 year parked cars, not too bad individual prices for most things. I am worried about the fuel tank, I normally would just replace one that has been sitting this long, but it looks like they are hard to find, so I will try to recondition it. It has 3/4 of a tank of gas (if you can still call it gas after 15 years), so it shouldn't be too rusted...my main worry is the plastic baffles in it...hopefully they haven't disintegrated into injector clogging dust!
When it arrives I plan to lube up the cylinders and let is sit for a couple of days, then test to see if it turns over ok. Once that is done (if it turns over!) I will start dumping and replacing all fluids, fuel lines, plugs, wires, checking the wiring harness to make sure it is good, etc. Once I have a knonw good fuel, cooling and electrical system I will see about testing it out to see if it will run. It is an automatic, so I will change the fluid and filter and test that out as well. Hopefully have a running.driving car in about 2 months or so. I will try to post pictures as I progress.
Oh, and yes, it hasn't been driven much, but was started weekly until 15 years ago. The owner would back it out of the garage and run it through the gears, let it run for long enough to lube up the seals and gaskets, etc...repotedly.
May seem crazy, but check to see if the parking brake is set. It's such a weird arrangement that someone without knowledge might assume it is not set since the handle will be down.
I would post a few pictures, but I am new and restricted as to what I can post currently. I will try to post a link to the photos later today if anyone is interested in seeing it.
You should try the Pennocks Image Poster at the bottom center of the screen. Just re-size your pics to suit.
So, mine had 9970 miles on it when I bought it about 18 months ago. I paid $7500, which might have been too much, but it was the exact model I wanted. Also, it was street worthy and had obviously been garaged. Looked brand new and drove like it to me. But . . .
I was under the mistaken impression I was buying a 30 year old new car. It wasn't. The more I dove into it, the more "refresh" I found it needed. Father time is a real jerk. To date, I have probably dumped another $5000 - $6000 into it.
In my experience, you will PROBABLY need:
Headliner, speakers, stereo, tires, brakes, rotors, wheel bearings, e-brake cables, plugs, all fluids, all filters, axle seals, distributor cap and rotor, shocks/struts (with alignment), oil pan gasket, sunroof gasket (if applicable), A/C recharge and/or components, clutch master (if applicable), and whatever damage potential mice have caused .
You MIGHT also need:
Axles (if they have pitted, making new seals useless), plug wires and distributor, coil, headlight motors rebuilt, brake calipers, clutch slave, alternator, springs, battery, various sensors (TPS, coolant, IAT, etc), and misc suspension parts/bushings.
Some of this, I didn't have to do and I didn't do. Some of it, I chose to do when I didn't have to . . . it's just my OCD. Obviously, much of your task will depend on just how nice you want to make the car.
EDIT: I recommend checking for rust, just in case it has not been garaged its whole life as you were told. I got lucky -- I have no rust and the original owner had actually undercoated the whole car at some point in the past. But, I should have been more careful. You should make sure yours has not been parked in a field at some point over the past 30+ years, you know?
[This message has been edited by USMUCL (edited 05-31-2018).]
So, mine had 9970 miles on it when I bought it about 18 months ago. I paid $7500, which might have been too much, but it was the exact model I wanted. Also, it was street worthy and had obviously been garaged. Looked brand new and drove like it to me. But . . .
I was under the mistaken impression I was buying a 30 year old new car. It wasn't. The more I dove into it, the more "refresh" I found it needed. Father time is a real jerk. To date, I have probably dumped another $5000 - $6000 into it.
In my experience, you will PROBABLY need:
Headliner, speakers, stereo, tires, brakes, rotors, wheel bearings, e-brake cables, plugs, all fluids, all filters, axle seals, distributor cap and rotor, shocks/struts (with alignment), oil pan gasket, sunroof gasket (if applicable), A/C recharge and/or components, clutch master (if applicable), and whatever damage potential mice have caused .
You MIGHT also need:
Axles (if they have pitted, making new seals useless), plug wires and distributor, coil, headlight motors rebuilt, brake calipers, clutch slave, alternator, springs, battery, various sensors (TPS, coolant, IAT, etc), and misc suspension parts/bushings.
Some of this, I didn't have to do and I didn't do. Some of it, I chose to do when I didn't have to . . . it's just my OCD. Obviously, much of your task will depend on just how nice you want to make the car.
EDIT: I recommend checking for rust, just in case it has not been garaged its whole life as you were told. I got lucky -- I have no rust and the original owner had actually undercoated the whole car at some point in the past. But, I should have been more careful. You should make sure yours has not been parked in a field at some point over the past 30+ years, you know?
This - Exactly this! I am a bit of an adict...I currently have 11 cars. I just finished a 2009 BMW 335i. Now, you might think, being a 2009, it wouldn't be in too terrible shape. Yeah, not so much! It had been sitting for 6 years. I had to replace the plugs, coil packs, fuel injectors, most of the engine wiring harness, brake pads, rotors and parking brake shoes. Had to have he intake walnut blasted to remove all the carbon build up, new tires and a lot of partially exposed to the elements rubber. I bought the car for $8000 and put another $5500 into it...yep, gotta love them.
Yep, if you like to make your cars nice, they are rarely good investments from a financial standpoint. But, at least I now have a piece of my teenage years that is in top shape.
