A week after I got my beautiful '86 560sec, a random craigslist search came up with this post a few hours from my house. Nothing special, but the ad caught my eye. Is that what I think it is?
It's an '83 380sec, and someone added Euro lights at some point. Called the guy - car has been sitting, it run (lifter tick) and needs a good clean, and the headlights were uncracked. Guy wanted $750!!
I grabbed the car even as the guy was trying to tell me everything that was wrong (I didn't have the heart to tell him I was going to pull it apart!)
Turns out the car is actually pretty good! No rust, body is straight, and it runs pretty good. It needs some TLC and a good clean, but I've actually seen worse cars that wanted more $$ for it.
Good news is that the headlights are awesome - but it ALSO had a complete set of factory tools (mine was missing the tool kit), the original spare hold down (mine was missing), AND a original warning Triangle, with the mounts, in really nice shape! (which is going on my car too)
So I've for sure got more than $750 worth of parts from this, and I still have a running car.
Need to figure out if I'm going to fix the lifter tick of just leave it alone.
With these things getting as old as they are and more and more parts becoming obsolete or just otherwise difficult to find, if you have the room, a parts car is a very wise idea.
Toss a quart of diesel fuel into the engine. Start it and let it idle for 30-40 mins. DO NOT DRIVE or load the engine. Drain the crankcase and refill with 20W50 and a fresh filter. Might just make that noise disappear.
The only way you will really know is with a Go/No-Go gauge and a check of the running surfaces of the arms (rockers) and cam lobes when you remove the valve cover
If it falls outside the range (Static Clearance), then you need to adjust with little metal shims AKA "Thrust Pieces" to bring back within spec
It is an easy task to do once you buy the gauge from these guys Mechanic Tools | Body Shop Supplies - Handsontools® or from ebay and the shims from Autohauz or others
There's no need to change the arm (rocker) if the the surface is in good condition where it makes contact with the cam lobe, when you replace a faulty compensator which are cheap to buy new.
If the camshaft lobes are worn then you have a problem though and this can happen on the left bank rear where the oiler tube can get blocked up with gunk from many years of not being cleaned or replaced (another cheap item to buy)
Nah if you can store it and keep it for a parts car then worth far more value than selling it as is. There is just so much you can retrieve from having a parts car
Congrats! It might be a federalized euro car, check the vin; WDB is euro and WDBCA is US. I've seen euro cars equipped with US bumpers and headlights (And occasionally US exhaust manifolds). You can also check the manifolds, the euro has a log version going straight back to two downpipes while the US has a crossover pipe that are 2-to-1.
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Either way, thats a lot of car for the money, you have that in headlights and a grill.
so you bought H4 Euros for 600, and for 150 your got glass (about 1900 value) plus all body panels (1,500 value) all the fasteners you could possibly need. Not even sure the brakes are useable but they might be. So take your time and strip it down.
Good snag there. With these cars becoming (already being) on the rare side you might be doing yourself a favor (especially if you have a spot to park it out back), not only the Euro parts you snagged but also another complete set of glass with regulators, sheet metal including rear quarters and roof. Hopefully you'll never need to use any of it but it'll be there just in case, no searching for . . . . . . . Roll it to the back corner of your estate (or tuck it in the garage if you have room) throw a tarp over it and smile. I now understand why, when I was a kid, a friends Dad had three 57 T-birds out back of their house, only one was able to be driven. I'm keeping the hull of my parts car (wish I'd thought about this before pulling everything off it, storage considerations now for those parts lol)
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