found a local S/C: What all to look for?

DSM

Registered User
As the title states, I found a 1993 S/C for sale locally that is unmolested and has about 13x,xxx on the clock.

So far I've been over the car pretty carefully as far as the exterior goes, looked underneath it the best I could without a lift, checked for any rust on the fenders/1/4's, rocker panels, etc. etc. etc. So far, not one spec of rust has been spotted on it (pretty good for a midwest car) It's white, the paint is definitely a 20ft job, it's faded on the hood and the top of the door frames, I took my buddy who paints for a living and discussed it and looked over it again. The interior looks good, has the typical driver side bolster wear, other than that it's clean inside with no other faults with the int.

I'm a mechanic by trade, but if you all could tell me what to really look for/scrutinize when I go to look at it again/test drive it would be greatly appreciated. I probably won't be able to compression the test the motor as the owner isn't the most friendly person I've ever come into contact with (older guy, kinda a hardass) anything I should listen for, check out, visually inspect to know what's going on that would be amazing. I just want to make a little check list of things to know/see so I'm not getting shafted.


thanks everyone,


Brian
 
93 is a good year. just be prepared to do a little upkeep once you get it and so long as it doesnt fall apart when you test drive it, youll be fine.

how many miles on the ticker? is it that blue one in KC?

as far as trouble spots go, theres numerous sensors. (IAC, MAF, TPS, DPFE, o2, etc. etc...) that go bad in these and should honestly be considered scheduled maintenance items. an easy way to check the headgaskets is to performa leakdown test, and if the guy is interested in selling it badly enough he will let you do it. go to autozone and rent a cooling system pressure tester. put it in place of the cap and run teh car, if you see excessive pressure (above 15-16 psi, something is pressurizing the cooling system (i.e. exhaust gas leaking into a water jacket) the abs in the 93's is the revised system, less prone to failure, and if it fails you wont be stuck, you just wont have functioning abs.

93 also has the updated gastank with straighter exhaust, later spindles if you choose to upgrade your brakes later, and the wheels are the late style that are asymmetrical (but if its the blue one i'm thinking, they arent there, just the ugly chrome ones.
 
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93 is a good year. just be prepared to do a little upkeep once you get it and so long as it doesnt fall apart when you test drive it, youll be fine.

how many miles on the ticker? is it that blue one in KC?

I think 133k on the ticker, and it's in st.louis MO.
 
Just make sure the car doesnt have the headgasket problem, and doesnt over heat.

Im sure its goin to need a tune up when you get it. It should pull 20 to 18 inches of vacuum on the boost gauge in the dash to make sure there arnt any vac leaks.
 
<a href="http://knol.google.com/k/ford-thunderbird-super-coupe-buyer-s-guide#">Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe Buyer's Guide</a>

Checklist included...at the end of the article.
 
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