new from southern md/central va

[B00stJunkie]

Hello everybody, my names Dan. Im currently looking to buy a gn. I recently sold my 2003 cobra and miss it everyday. I was going to buy another until I found a 85 with a 87 drive train we2 for sale in my area. Im going to look at it tomorrow (1/7) but im a little hesitant considering it's stated that the head gaskets need to be replaced. I researched all night on this forum and another gn forum about reasons why this could happen, what could potentially have happened after (coolant oil mixture) they popped and what would need replacing other then the gaskets themselves. In my honest yet ignorant opinion, the modifications done to the car (all bolt on) was too much for an unsupported motor. Car is modded with a te-60 turbo with precision exhaust housing, 50# injectors, pte chip, 3" maf, 3200 stall, fuel regulator, double roller timing chain with sprockets, New aluminum radiator and underdrive pulley. Arp cam bolts oil pan stud kit, new oil pump gears and gaskets and gn1 oil cooler with biggie oil filter adapter. All this plus car (needs rear inserts) for 6 grand. so basically Im looking for advice as to what to look for to see if it is really just a head gasket job or a holy Crap you need a new engine job. Btw this would be a long time project car. But just wanna be able to drive it from time to time. Thanks in advance dan

Mods- sorry if in wrong place, can move to tech if need be

 

[TurboDave]

Welcome!! You could repost in the tech forum for better coverage, but IMHO, none of the mods you listed would be more than the engine could handle. As a matter of fact sounds well matched. The chip could probably be updated to newer technology for sure, but..... Two blown headgaskets could be as simple as just replacing them with new, if no coolant got into the oil. If coolant got into the oil then bearings would need replacing. Is the owner sure both are bad? It's rare for both to go.
Blown head gaskets are 99% of the time a result of mis-tuning or just plain running too much boost for the octane available.

 

[B00stJunkie]

Welcome!! You could repost in the tech forum for better coverage, but IMHO, none of the mods you listed would be more than the engine could handle. As a matter of fact sounds well matched. The chip could probably be updated to newer technology for sure, but..... Two blown headgaskets could be as simple as just replacing them with new, if no coolant got into the oil. If coolant got into the oil then bearings would need replacing. Is the owner sure both are bad? It's rare for both to go.
Blown head gaskets are 99% of the time a result of mis-tuning or just plain running too much boost for the octane available.

I'm going to call then owner today to find out more information about it. Thanks for the advice aboutt moving to tech. Ill be doing that now.

 

[esinger]

I would be very hard pressed to spend $6K on a non-running car. Especially one that has been butchered like this one has (85 with 87 drivetrain).
My take without seeing the car is that someone is trying to offload a nightmare, otherwise they would have spent the time to just replace the headgaskets.

It maybe a good long term project for $2K

 

[B00stJunkie]

I would be very hard pressed to spend $6K on a non-running car. Especially one that has been butchered like this one has (85 with 87 drivetrain).
My take without seeing the car is that someone is trying to offload a nightmare, otherwise they would have spent the time to just replace the headgaskets.

It maybe a good long term project for $2K

That's a very good point I hadn't considered. he stated that he just doesn't have the money to put into the car anymore and that's why he is selling for so cheap. maybe better to just pass on it huh?

 

[TurboDave]

85 to 86 conversions can be done very well, or VERY bad, depends on how it was handled.

BE VERY CAREFUL on this one.

 

[esinger]

Although replacing headgaskets isn't exactly fun, it's doable. The return on investment of selling a running car vs. a non-running car is substantially higher than that cost. If this person was capable of swapping everything over from 85 drivetrain to a 87, then headgasket replacement is a piece of cake.

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Yep!
I'm seeing some red flags on this one. You should be able to get a car like that running nice for that kind of money. It's not a car that will bring much resale. Take your time and find something a bit better. The fixer uppers will nickel and dine you to death. Let us know if you have any questions. Here's some good info to start with. http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/info-for-new-turbo-regal-owners.380856/

Welcome to the site.

Mike Barnard