I am hoping some of the gurus here can tell me if this is a good deal or not.

I found locally that seems like a good deal to be a donor for my 3800SC swap. What should I check? I barely know my way around the GTP mods, so I can use all the advice I can get.

Car has clearly been in a couple accidents over the years.
Body is pretty rough (3 out of 10)
Interior is fair condition. (4 out of 10)
Coolant is a little low and looks kinda "Gunky". I pulled the cap and I couldn't tell if the sludge was just kinda dirty or if it was oil sludge and indicating a blown head gasket.


155,000 miles
Modular ZZP pulley (small one installed and a 3.25" in the trunk)
Stainless headers (unsure of brand)
Aftermarket boost gauge
ZZP. Cold air kit with the clear air box

Not sure on the ECM

Owner doesn't know much about it as he took the car in a trade for labor.

What else should I check? Is it a no brainer purchase at $1,200??

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86 GT: 3.4 V6, Auto, Lowered
88 5.0 Mustang

I would be a but iffy on it. If premium gas was not used and it has a smaller pulley you could be in for trouble. The headers and CAI are positive signs they may know what they were doing. With the strange coolant tho.... I would walk.

Grand prix gtp seem to mostly be beat on their whole life and that's why I got my 3800 from a buick pa ultra. It could have been beat on too but in my mind it's less likely

Good luck

check the supercharger oil level ,there is a screw plug on the snout housing. also remove the belt to it and check for any gritty feeling while rotating the pulley. if the coupler is bad you will hear it clonking during a rapid change in rotating direction of the pulley no real big deal as those are easy to change out. you say there is gunk in the coolant, does the oil look like chocolate milk, if so it will need a total rebuild. General automatic trans checks for fluid color, smell and level.
being a beat up as you say I would offer $900 and see what happens. you can pick and engine with wire harness, ECM and tranny combo from a junk yard for about 400-500 and likely have just as good engine.

My plan is to go back and look at it again. No one was around so I could only scope out the car as it sat unlocked.

Hearing it run and checking other fluids are things I plan to do at my next look at it.

I am also trying to track down the previous owner as he might be able to provide a thumbs up or thumbs down on the condition and other mods.


Any other key things to check out? How to tell if it was tuned correctly (ZZP ECM)??

$1200 seems a bit steep in my opinion. You can get an engine for around $500 from most junk yards.

I recently purchased a 3800 Series III for $1,000 that he is including the PhoneDogz wiring harness and programmed ECM, Series II Throttle body, adapter plate, 2 pulley's and the pulley tool.

Sure, this is not an every day deal, and what you find will vary. I have been looking for a few months, and this opportunity just turned up a few weeks ago.

Here is one on eBay for $495 (Plus shipping of course) with about the same miles as the one you are looking at.

Here is another great place to look. Check often, as the stock continually changes.The engines average from $600 to $1000 for the most part.

Lastly, post in the mall here on the forum that you are looking for a 3800SC. I have found a lot of people, why I do not know) that have started to do a swap and abandoned it. Many times most of the needed parts are gathered and ready for install.
Good Luck!

[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 01-16-2016).]

Estimate what the used mod parts are worth and see if that makes it worth your while. The crud in the coolant could just be typical Dexcool mud. Doesn't mean something was abused or faulty, but it would still need to be cleaned out. Low coolant could also mean lower intake gasket leak. I believe it was common on that engine as well as some others. With that mileage, I'd definitely take the intake off and replace the gaskets.

Are you planning to pull the engine down at all or just looking for something to drop in? Are the mods stuff you would buy anyway, or just a bonus? You won't get much for the hulk after stripping it for the swap, so consider the rest of the car worthless. Anything you do get would be gravy.

As with any old car, I'd suggest a compression check and a through test drive.

Hey neighbor.

I own an 2000 GTP, so I might be able to help out a bit.

The coolant should have a orange look because it uses Dexcool.

Which looks like this.

I would try to talk him down to about $700-800. I wouldn't go anymore than 9.

Also, you mentioned that some after market parts were on it. And as mentioned above, if the previous owner didn't put premium in you could be looking at an engine that is getting ready to go.

I got a letter from GM saying they have a recall on all series 2 3.8's. The valve cover gaskets leak oil and if you push hard on the breaks, oil can seep out and cause a fire. I haven't heard back from them yet on what they are going to do to fix this. But I figured that should be info the whole community should be aware about.

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Every fiero has a story, It's our job to keep that story alive.

Owner thinks engine is worth $1200 as is. I am guessing lowest he will go is 1,000.

The aftermarket parts as best I can tell would cost somewhere around $750 brand new. I doubt the cold air or the headers will be items I can use in the swap.


I will check out a couple things and if it seems to be in good shape I will shoot for $1,000. If he doesn't budge, then I will patiently look for another swap engine... Maybe something in the mall will pop up that already has the harness and other pieces.


Thanks for all the advice and help.

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85 Fiero GT -- 3" stretch, F355 kit (far from completed)
88 5.0 Mustang

quote Originally posted by blue88mustang: I will check out a couple things and if it seems to be in good shape I will shoot for $1,000. If he doesn't budge, then I will patiently look for another swap engine... Maybe something in the mall will pop up that already has the harness and other pieces. Thanks for all the advice and help.

Yea, if he doesn't budge I wouldn't be eager to buy it. This website is great for parts

You can also keep an eye out on CL for a donor. I found a cherry Riviera that had been T-boned in the passenger side, 90K miles, one owner. He was asking 1200, but I waited a few weeks and then offered $400, and he took it. Parted out most of the car on Ebay and made over $1K on the parts, plus took everything I wanted from the vehicle.