Considering a 1987 mustang gt I need advice

[joey0480]

hey guys.
I am going to look at a 87 mustang gt this week and just wanted some advice ahead of time. The car looks great from the pictures. The owner says it has a rebuilt engine and tranny with 45K on them. It has a king cobra clutch, 373 gears, weld rims and mickey thompson tires with less than 200 miles on them, longtube headers straight out to flowmasters, AC eliminator kit, MSD, pulleys, intake, and a bit more.
It needs some interior work (headliner, carpet, panel parts)
My biggest concern is it is not inspected in NJ and does not have a cat. It is also tinted out all around so I would need to remove the front tint.
The owner is asking 3500 or best offer. Thoughts?

 

[5.0Torx]

I would do it but try to haggle him down a bit. itll need some money before its ready to roll

 

[justagt]

hmm

Kind of hard to tell from that pic, but it kind of looks like there is some rust under the paint above the rear wheel well.

Bring a flashlight when you go to see it and crawl under it and poke the floorboard area with your fingers looking for rust. Check her over real good and see what you think and go from there.

 

[cenok is family]

check for rust on the front frame rails, especially on the driver side below the brake booster/master cyl. check underneath for any rust. make sure the torque boxes are intact (the area where the rear control arms mount to the body). judging by the wavy side skirt, that car looks like the type of car that was beat on pretty hard with no subframe connectors...have him show proof of the rebuild. get in the car and check to see what all accessories still work; mirrors, windows, gauges, etc. make sure it shifts smooth. definitely talk him down, i wouldn't pay $3500 for it...it definitely needs some bodywork/paint and if you arent capable of doing that yourself, that's going to easily be another 2k for a halfway decent job.

 

[Coast2CoaStang]

bring a flexible refrigerator magnet, and place it in areas prone to rust. It looks like it has a quickie paint job, judging by the white engine compartment, and underside of hood isn't painted.
Body issues below the surface could result in expensive repairs.

The price seems high. I would look at a few more. But keep us posted. Good luck

 

[joey0480]

Thanks guys.
I am going to go Thursday to look at it. He said the driveshaft was also replaced with a steel one or something like that.
What would you guys think a good offerring price would be, pending I approve the body of it.

 

[GTOreturns]

You will need cats for the inspection. And if you use a state inspection facility you will need the "stock cats". You will have to remove the tint, (depending on the %)
The M/T r DR's, you will have to buy regular tires if you wanna drive in the weather. 3500 is too much for that car. I wouldn't go a penny over 2700. JMO

 

[Beasty306GT]

2 grand tops i would pay....ur gonna have to do a mass air conversion

 

[2000GTdriver]

For sure ask for documentation on the engine rebuild-some guys will just clean and paint the motor and claim it was rebuilt. Also emissions repairs can be very expensive and you don't get any fun for your money.

 

[2000GTdriver]

I would also check the trunk for spare tire and jack. Had a guy cheat me out of those before and you can check for rust at the same time.

 

[25thmustang]

Personally I would either run from that car or check it over with a FINE tooth comb... Not a penny over $2000 just judging by the looks in the two photos.

 

[GroverDill]

Keep looking.

 

[90topdown]

Based on those photos, I'd walk away from that car. It definitely has some paint and body issues which are expensive to fix correctly. Quality interior peices are not inexpensive either

Make sure that the smog pump and associated tubing, solenoids and vacuum lines are there. You will have to buy a catted h-pipe to pass inspection.

Car looks like it has been rode hard and put up wet. For $3500, you could do a heck of alot better.

 

[joey0480]

thanks
I think I might pass on this then and keep looking around jersey, but most of what I find around here are 6K plus so I was thinking it was a good deal, but you guys made many valid points.

He got back to me and does not have the paperwork on the rebuilds. He also said there is rust near the one rear tire and the hatch.
He said floorboards are fine though, you can see since the carpet is up, but I rather see under than over ya know.

 

[Coast2CoaStang]

thanks
I think I might pass on this then and keep looking around jersey, but most of what I find around here are 6K plus so I was thinking it was a good deal, but you guys made many valid points.

Yeah if you figure in the price of the car, paint/body, cats, street tires, etc, you will be close to the $6k price of a clean one in your area when all is said and done.

 

[joey0480]

there is a 1995 mustang gt convertible near me at a dealership, it has 72K original on it. The dealer wants 4500 but was willing to work with me.

 

[stykthyn]

you would be much better off with the vert

 

[Makdaddymac]

keep shopping...that is a spitting image (except mine was white) of my first 5.0 same asking price i got him dwon to 3k and thought i stole something, but that sobh wasnt worth a nickel over 2k....... if you can grab that car for 2k i would still say you got ripped,but i dont know the market in jersey and 5.0's are starting to get hard to find.....
all and all walk or your next post here will be something on the lines of this:
this thing is falling apart
Car wont start,every time???
My 3500 paperweight.....

j/k man, seriously kepp shopping....

 

[Boostedpimp]

I'd say 2k tops.. interior, body/paint and who knows what else translates into allot of money... and you have to completely remove any tint from the front windshield and side windows in NJ and about the smog stuff.. you just need to know the right people

Also.. a friend of mine is selling his 91 titanium frost gt with black interior.. Has a cobra rear bumper and cobra insert. Besides that completely stock and clean.

He's only selling to help fund his business he just started up and needs at least 3k for it I believe. It's worth more in my opinion but like I said he needs the funds.

If your interested let me know his zip is 08053

Ryan

 

[strtrcr50]

You will need cats for the inspection. And if you use a state inspection facility you will need the "stock cats". You will have to remove the tint, (depending on the %)
The M/T r DR's, you will have to buy regular tires if you wanna drive in the weather. 3500 is too much for that car. I wouldn't go a penny over 2700. JMO

Not correct. I failed for no cats at Baker's Basin state center when I had pypes catted x pipe. Went to the director, he gave me a phone number to call. I called and sent over a copy of the pypes website on the cats and pictures of the bottom of the car to compare to. He authorized it and I passed through a state center with 2 cats and an x pipe. It was a little hassle, but if I had a copy of the website about the cats I would have passed on the spot.
As far as paint/bodywork being done correctly, my car had surface rust on the rear 1/4's at the bottom, both doors were rotted out, and the paint was shot. With an employee discount, it cost me about $3500 and 8 months to get the body back to a new condition. My first mustang was like the one you are looking at. And it was constant problems.