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If the hg's are shot then consider swapping it lol, its your call in the end. Hg's are a pita to replace, but if u got a hardon for the stock 1.8 then keep it.

Either way, this is a cool find!! All locked up in a barn and dusty haha. I would love to buy something like that

Mississippi isnt the place for good auto repair... no ethics in most...
The best i can come up with is to Just have it towed home...
clean it up and sell it to someone who WILL do a swap.
Cuz come on... if the head gaskets r blown at 89,000 miles then geez....they ran it hot.
Probably has a cracked block like the last one. Is more then i can do.
It needs a motor just like every car i have looked at in the last 3 months.
If there was someone closer from the forum who would help do the swap... i'd do it.
But geez... ya'll are far from me. Lets get a show of hands to those in the south or close
enough to do or want to do a klze swap?

Thank you mx-3.com and everyone here who helps me make all the right choices.
Even if i dont always listen. I made a donation this evening to show my appreciation.
Hugz, From me (De)

Like I said in a previous post, the head gasket probably isn't blown due to neglect, but rather the fact it sat for 5 years, without running, and has dried out. When the current owner tried to start it yesterday, he could have very well blown it out then.

I've seen someone start up a car that was sitting for three, two of us were watching the engine for stuff while the third started it. When he got it started, we saw a piece of the gasket blow out the front.

I bet you dollars to donuts that if you did the work or had the work done to replace the gaskets, you would be more than ecstatic with your purchase, and would probably sell one of your other MX-3's rather than this one.

solo_ryder wrote:Hg's are a pita to replace, but if u got a hardon for the stock 1.8 then keep it.

Ha Ha, that was funny considering she's a she,,,,I think?

A car stored like that might have been ok if he removed the spark plugs, ran the engine over to bring up the oil pressure before starting it. If he didn't then ouch for the poor engine.

Well... today is the day. Im just going to get it home and go from there.
Who knows.... under all that dust might be body damage from that lawn mower
or maybe his kids let their friends smoke and carry on craziness in the interior.
I will keep ALL the posts in mind while im there. I wish one of you was here to do this with me.
Anyway... here i go. Stay tune for update and pics.

The new adventure begins. I'm sure the car will exceed your expectations.

MX-3 4U2NV is quite right.

So is Dan. Pull each plug and drop a teaspoon of oil in each hole. Then change the oil cuz there will be a fair bit of condensation collected on top of the old oil.

Just take it really easy getting home and then we can all help you figure out what’s what.

Ok... this is we are now:

He didnt start the car YET! He said he thought his son did when he told him i was coming over.
He couldnt because it needs a battery. ( So I asked him not to. )
He did show me ALL the repair history and documentation of oil changes
and a machine shop bill when he was told the car needed
a head gasket. The heads were checked for cracks and to see if they were warped.
This cost him 200.00 at the time plus the tow bill. All he wants is $300.00 for the car to cover
his loss. I will have it towed tomorrow (as my tow guy was busy today)

The car is filthy dirty inside and out. There was a wasp nest in the INSIDE by the back window.
The kick panel was removed and the tranny computer is exposed (under the radio)
There is mold on all the fabric panels and seats from years of hot to cold MS weather.
I lifted the carpet and no rust in the inside. I also looked in the spare tire area and no rust.
One bent rim from his son bumping into a curb and one ding in the fender on the same side.
One football size dent in the front fender drivers side and no lip.
Head liner is REALLY NICE, moon roof area REALLY nice. Carpet is good, all bottons and knobs intact.
(one broken window button on drivers side)
one palm size rip in the drivers seat side all others are REALLY nice.

His wife wants to donate it to some charity and he wants someone to drive it who will appreciate it.
(I gave him a thumbs up on that one)
nice dash:










What do u think? Take it and run?

I talked to the guy that works on the 454 in my catering truck and he said
it would be a cake walk to drop another motor in that thing. What kind of things
can i ask him to make sure he REALLY could do it?

I will have to pay the past 5 years back taxes on the tag for the car
But that wont be much. The car had 120,000 miles on when i looked.

He did have a repair bill for a clutch at 89,000....
so i think that is why he thought of that milage.

Back taxes on a tag? Whhaahh?

I wouldn't hesitate to buy that for $300! Do it!

I would do it - I bought my DD in MS for $500 and the engine was no good... and that was 7 years ago

Yes... Mississippi does this stupid thing: If the owner of the car does NOT keep up with the yearly tag and taxes
then it is up to the new owner to pay all back taxes in order to get a new tag with current taxes.
Is that a scam or what? It is to improve our streets and highways. I don't know if any of you have been
to the south.. but LA, MS and some of AL have some of THE worst roads and hwy's in the USA.
ALL have high car tag tax.

What if you were out of state? Like if someone were from NY would they have to still pay those taxes? NY doesnt have that law. Just saying, can you have someone from out of state take the car, then buy it from them? lol