Is this a dent from a jack or jack stand?
03-11-2010, 04:39 PM
#16
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Thanks, Mark. Hopefully I'll find out more when I see the car tommorow.
Another novice question: to me, the gaps between this deck lid and body appear uneven. Is this typically an easily-managed alignment issue---the result of a tired hinge or support---or can it indicate more serious abnormalities?
Another novice question: to me, the gaps between this deck lid and body appear uneven. Is this typically an easily-managed alignment issue---the result of a tired hinge or support---or can it indicate more serious abnormalities?
03-11-2010, 05:29 PM
#17
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4-sure check the entire length of both sides' "underneaths"....As Bird mentioned, there may symetrical damage (lift indication) on both sides. look very closely at the ENTIRE oil line run front-to-back. Should have frequested a shop that may have lifted improperly, you may to look at it ON THE RACK (suspension, etc.).
Not sure what would cause the rear anomoly with the deck lid. I've never adjusted it,..but would guess that it somehow allows for lateral movement (insofar as adjusting). You're just gonna' have to dig on that one (or wait for the pros to chime). The gaps look strangely ok midrun,..but the bottom seems a bit out (photos can do weird stuff, however). Is the "outage" uniform through all edges of the decklid? Or is it ONLY L-R?
The guys on this board can fix anything,...stand back and watch......
Nice looking car, BTW.
Best,
Doyle
Not sure what would cause the rear anomoly with the deck lid. I've never adjusted it,..but would guess that it somehow allows for lateral movement (insofar as adjusting). You're just gonna' have to dig on that one (or wait for the pros to chime). The gaps look strangely ok midrun,..but the bottom seems a bit out (photos can do weird stuff, however). Is the "outage" uniform through all edges of the decklid? Or is it ONLY L-R?
The guys on this board can fix anything,...stand back and watch......
Nice looking car, BTW.
Best,
Doyle
Last edited by dshepp806; 03-13-2010 at 07:36 AM.
03-11-2010, 06:13 PM
#18
I haddah Google dat
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You can adjust the decklid by either sliding the catch left to right, or up and down by adjusting the rubber stops and adding or subtracting the shims between the decklid and the hinges.
03-11-2010, 08:29 PM
#19
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Baby, interestingly enough I'm looking at the same car. Seller seems like a decent and honest guy but he divulged quite a few things that were non-operational on the vehicle. None of them huge in themselves but made me question if he had been servicing and taking care of the car properly. I might be overly **** but if it was my car I would definately not have left it like that during my ownership.
I would be very curious to hear what you think of the car once you've seen it in person. It looks very nice on pictures.
I would be very curious to hear what you think of the car once you've seen it in person. It looks very nice on pictures.
Last edited by Swede_Matt; 03-11-2010 at 09:41 PM. Reason: Can't spell!
03-11-2010, 09:05 PM
#20
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Rus---that's good to know. Definately a closer look is in order.
Matt--I agree with your analysis. I'm guessing that he just didn't bother with the maintenance. In my hunt I've run across a number of owners who seem to believe that if they don't acknowledge maintenance issues then no such issues exist. In contrast, I've encountered owners who take their cars in every six months regardless. I'll post some impressions after I've seen the car and talked more to the guy.
Matt--I agree with your analysis. I'm guessing that he just didn't bother with the maintenance. In my hunt I've run across a number of owners who seem to believe that if they don't acknowledge maintenance issues then no such issues exist. In contrast, I've encountered owners who take their cars in every six months regardless. I'll post some impressions after I've seen the car and talked more to the guy.
03-12-2010, 03:20 PM
#22
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Looking forward to the "report" after you've seen it. It really does look like a clean car on the pics and I was tempted to drive up there to take a look. However, it's 2hr drive and with a 16 month old daughter a day in the wine country isn't as tempting as it used to be.
03-12-2010, 04:03 PM
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Matt, the owner is rescheduling for tomorrow or Sunday. Let me know if you'd like me to take pictures of specific parts of the car or ask specific questions.
(I hear you about a day trip w/a toddler. My 13-yo is with her mom this weekend, and with her arm in a sling there's no basketball game in the city, so this is a good weekend for me to look at a car.)
(I hear you about a day trip w/a toddler. My 13-yo is with her mom this weekend, and with her arm in a sling there's no basketball game in the city, so this is a good weekend for me to look at a car.)
03-15-2010, 02:44 AM
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Checked out the car today. Felt solid, ran great, yada yada yada. Owner was asking 16.5. I offered 15 contingent on a PPI, figuring there may be some negotiation, and he told me to go suck one, he had better offers even without an inspection, and so on. The car seemed priced very well but for a potentially glaring issue that may have indicated some kind of accident or related issue. In fact, if everything checked out at the PPI, I would have paid asking price.
I had asked you all about the gaps between the deck lid and the body. I noticed that the black trim on the driver-side rear bumper was separated from the bumper by 1/2 inch or so. When I crawled around to look under the rear of the car, I saw a strange looking dent, like the car had run over or had been dropped onto something. See pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4672037...n/photostream/
Of course, it may be that this dent, the bumper trim, and the deck lid alignment are separate issues. I didn't want to take that chance without a PPI. After looking at the pics, any idea what happened?
Otherwise, the exterior, interior, and motor were clean and in very good to great shape. In general, the car looked nice, but it had not been loved. When I showed the owner the pictures I had snapped of the back bumper issue, he seemed unwilling to acknowledge the issue. ("Oh. Hmmmm." etc...)
General impressions and specific issues (for Matt):
Nice paint, couple stone nicks here and there, couple almost unnoticeable tiny dings, fingernail scratches in the door handle recesses.
That dent at the bottom of the driver side body had uniform gouges along its length. These ran laterally but at an angle, as if the car had been up on a lift or curb or something and had slid off. Looked like an easy fix, and no lines or anything were compromised.
Various trim was eroding: rubber rocker trim on both sides (where doors sit), some other minor stuff.
Some of the bushings underneath looked tired e.g., swaybar bushings. The car made a loud thunk noise when I pushed down a little on the rear end and the front end.
The bushings (or whatever they're called) at the top of the struts (visible from the front with the hood up and the carpet peeled back) were hard and deteriorating.
Car started well warm. (It was warm when I arrived.) But it was more like eee-eee-eee-Wuahummm. Most of the other cars I've looked at sounded better.
It drove well. Good pickup, brakes worked great, shifting was smooth. Steering could have been a little tighter.
Power seat did not move forward/backward.
One license plate light not working.
Brights went on intermittently.
Cruise didn't work.
Tires were about shot.
I had asked you all about the gaps between the deck lid and the body. I noticed that the black trim on the driver-side rear bumper was separated from the bumper by 1/2 inch or so. When I crawled around to look under the rear of the car, I saw a strange looking dent, like the car had run over or had been dropped onto something. See pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4672037...n/photostream/
Of course, it may be that this dent, the bumper trim, and the deck lid alignment are separate issues. I didn't want to take that chance without a PPI. After looking at the pics, any idea what happened?
Otherwise, the exterior, interior, and motor were clean and in very good to great shape. In general, the car looked nice, but it had not been loved. When I showed the owner the pictures I had snapped of the back bumper issue, he seemed unwilling to acknowledge the issue. ("Oh. Hmmmm." etc...)
General impressions and specific issues (for Matt):
Nice paint, couple stone nicks here and there, couple almost unnoticeable tiny dings, fingernail scratches in the door handle recesses.
That dent at the bottom of the driver side body had uniform gouges along its length. These ran laterally but at an angle, as if the car had been up on a lift or curb or something and had slid off. Looked like an easy fix, and no lines or anything were compromised.
Various trim was eroding: rubber rocker trim on both sides (where doors sit), some other minor stuff.
Some of the bushings underneath looked tired e.g., swaybar bushings. The car made a loud thunk noise when I pushed down a little on the rear end and the front end.
The bushings (or whatever they're called) at the top of the struts (visible from the front with the hood up and the carpet peeled back) were hard and deteriorating.
Car started well warm. (It was warm when I arrived.) But it was more like eee-eee-eee-Wuahummm. Most of the other cars I've looked at sounded better.
It drove well. Good pickup, brakes worked great, shifting was smooth. Steering could have been a little tighter.
Power seat did not move forward/backward.
One license plate light not working.
Brights went on intermittently.
Cruise didn't work.
Tires were about shot.
03-15-2010, 02:35 PM
#27
Instructor
Thanks for the detailed description!
The dent and gouges look like he got the car stuck over a curb or something. If nothing else has been damaged this might not be a huge issue. However, I agree, I would definately do a PPI before proceeding any further.
Your observations matched with my notes from talking to the owner so at least he was honest about that part. Strange that he wouldn't acknowledge the back bumper issue. A PPI should give you the facts about that issue.
Are you taking it in for a PPi or did you decide not to pursue it any further?
I had a time schedule with a guy in the South Bay to look at his '79 911. Called me and said he would be late. Then called me to cancel the appointment due to the battery being dead. I wonder when he started the car last??
The dent and gouges look like he got the car stuck over a curb or something. If nothing else has been damaged this might not be a huge issue. However, I agree, I would definately do a PPI before proceeding any further.
Your observations matched with my notes from talking to the owner so at least he was honest about that part. Strange that he wouldn't acknowledge the back bumper issue. A PPI should give you the facts about that issue.
Are you taking it in for a PPi or did you decide not to pursue it any further?
I had a time schedule with a guy in the South Bay to look at his '79 911. Called me and said he would be late. Then called me to cancel the appointment due to the battery being dead. I wonder when he started the car last??
03-15-2010, 03:05 PM
#28
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Matt, No, I'm not getting a PPI at this point. The owner told me he had better offers. If he ends up not selling and getting back to me, I'll probably have it inspected. The cosmetic stuff doesn't bother me much. Whatever happened with the rear bumper on the passenger side looked like it MAY have been traumatic enough to misalign other things; however, I don't really know how this chassis is affected by stress, which is why I asked for input here. Seriously, that piece of metal looked like it had been bent around a pole while the car moved forward.
I spoke with the owner of a silver 79 in the South Bay last week. He described some cold starting issues i.e., he starts it, it turns over, it sputters, he shuts it down because he's afraid the motor will get damaged. Repeat process for 10 minutes until the idle evens out. He was going to show the car Saturday morning. Too far for me to drive to chance the car wouldn't start. Same guy? I wonder why a seller wouldn't resolve that issue. It's probably not that hard to diagnose and address. Anyway, I hope you get the chance to see it. Could be a nice one.
I spoke with the owner of a silver 79 in the South Bay last week. He described some cold starting issues i.e., he starts it, it turns over, it sputters, he shuts it down because he's afraid the motor will get damaged. Repeat process for 10 minutes until the idle evens out. He was going to show the car Saturday morning. Too far for me to drive to chance the car wouldn't start. Same guy? I wonder why a seller wouldn't resolve that issue. It's probably not that hard to diagnose and address. Anyway, I hope you get the chance to see it. Could be a nice one.
03-15-2010, 03:45 PM
#29
Instructor
It sure sounds like the same car...owners name is John?
I agree, if you put the car up for sale and you can't even make sure it runs when you've made an appointment...that makes me concerned. I think he told me he took the car to Kragen to have the "battery charged". Makes me a bit suspicious if he really is having cold start problems rather than battery issues.
If I ever get to see the car I'll post up a little review here for you. I'm local so it's not a big deal for me to pop over and take a look at it.
I agree, if you put the car up for sale and you can't even make sure it runs when you've made an appointment...that makes me concerned. I think he told me he took the car to Kragen to have the "battery charged". Makes me a bit suspicious if he really is having cold start problems rather than battery issues.
If I ever get to see the car I'll post up a little review here for you. I'm local so it's not a big deal for me to pop over and take a look at it.
