[ImForReal]

Hey Guys,

It's been a LONG time since I've posted anything on this board. I got an email from Allpar.com the other night informing me that my account would be deleted if I didn't log in sometime soon. So I am logging in, but I also have a question. I will get to that in a minute.

First of all, I no longer have either of my EEK's. The Spirit had a lot of memories and I hated to get rid of her, but sold her to a high school girl several years ago who was grateful to have some transportation. I was in grad. school, and the car was beginning to need more maintenance than I had time to invest, or $$$ to pay someone else to work on it. I put over 100K on that car.

The Plymouth...I sold to my dad, and he has since sold it. I ran into some rust issues underneath from its past life in Minnesota, and it never rode as good as the Spirit for some reason. I don't miss the Plymouth, but still miss the Spirit from time to time!

I bought a cheap (Less than $5000) 2001 Hyundai Accent with a 4Cyl. that has served me well for the last 5 years. I got it with 48,000 miles on it, and it now has 115,000. Except for replacing 2 engine sensors, I have done nothing to the car other than normal maintenance including a timing belt. I like to think of it as the cheap Korean counterpart to the EEK. It was made in the days before Hyundai got fancy, and it's so simple, cheap, and easy to work on. Gets 36MPG on highway trips (and I have taken quite a few).

And the '94 Lebaron Convertible (from Valiant67) is still sitting in the barn awaiting a new top, transmission, and top motor.

Which brings me to my next question:

I may have found another EEK car - my dream car - Hypothetically speaking, let's just say that this car is a 1988 2.2L Turbo / A413 3 Speed that has.........less than 10,000 actual miles. Yes, these are verified, actual miles. It sat for so many years covered in a garage, and whether or not it was driven or started often, I don't know.

I do know that it has had a new battery and tires installed recently.

My question is...is this car a ticking time bomb? I have nightmares of purchasing a 25 year old car, and having every seal blow out from dry rot. Yes, the car is mint, but what's going to happen when you start driving it pretty reguarly. This would not be a daily driver, but would be a weekend car. The car may be mint, but all the parts are 25 year old vintage. Should I look into it more carefully, or run away from it. I know what most people will say...it's better to buy a car with high highway mileage, than one that's sat unused for so long.

What do you think?

And on a side note: How many familiar people are still here from several years ago?

 

[dana44]

I've been here a long time, sure I answered a question or two from you in the past.

As far as the car goes, depends on how well that 10K was driven, why it was parked, and how it was parked. Some places have rubber deterioration problems but rust is non-existent. Garage can be heated, dry but damp, a dirt floor barn, dry and concrete floor, again, still have to look at things, squeeze rubber hoses and see what the pinch difference looks. Cracks, crumbly, hard, or anything other than normal may be something to fix sooner than later, fluid changes of all fluids including brake fluid would be a good thing, grease everything up, check the brake hoses and linings, condition of the tires, and if the price is right, after the inspection, determine how much should be reduced in order to replace the rubber parts, fluids and tires out of safety if nothing else.

 

[valiant67]

On a low mileage car, no matter how well stored, I'd expect lots of things would need replaced due to the time in storage once it's placed back in regular use. The major components are always a gamble. Gaskets may leak or may stay sealed just fine, you never know.

And welcome back, as you can see I am still around.

 

[Doug D]

Still here.

If I were to purchase the vehicle, I'd plan on replacing every hose, belt, filter and go from there. Hopefully, the transmission seals haven't hardened up from so little use, but it is a possibility.

Good luck!

 

[John Wood]

Stored gasoline in the fuel system can also be an issue. That includes the tank, filter, and possibly the injectors. Is the vehicle running good now?

I agree that the seals, timing belt, and hoses may become issues after it has been on the road for a few months.

Personally, I'd have a blast fixing it up and getting it to run right, ...but that's just me.

 

[chuzz]

I'm still around. I would be checking the brake system first of all on a car that's sat for so many years. If you can get it for a "reasonable" price, just go ahead and replace all the brake components except for the steel lines. I'm talking about brake hoses, calipers, wheel cylinders, pads and shoes along with new hardware kits. I think the drums and rotors will still be good.

 

[ImForReal]

Wow, Thanks for all the responses, guys! I appreciate them. Like I said, I miss my Spirit from time to time, but it was time to let it go to someone else who could use it. I needed a car that I could just drive, change the oil, and do periodical maintenance, and the Spirit was starting to need more and more done to it. The AC had bit the dust (finally) and it leaked oil like a sieve.

The Spirit was 11 years old when I got it, and it had 57K miles on it in 2001. It had been driven regularly, but mostly around town. I replaced the valve cover gasket more times than I care to recall, and it was still leaking when I sold it. I think it was blowing out the engine, or through the rear main seal because it got to the point where it was using a couple of quarts between oil changes.

As much as I loved my EEK's, it's been a joy over the last 5 years to drive a car that doesn't leak, burn or use any oil. My Hyundai has 115K and still doesn't use a drop of oil between oil changes. It's a very boring car, and has zero personality (unlike my EEK's). But it serves the purpose and provides simple economical transportation for me.

A year and a half ago, I purchased a 1988 Ford F150 XLT Lariat Long Bed from a family friend who was the original owner. I wasn't really looking to buy a truck, but this just sort of fell into my lap. It had 93,000 miles on it when I purchased it. It was a farm truck, and had sat for several years after the lady's husband died. I bought it, and immediately replaced all the brake hardware (except lines), put new tires on it, put two new fuel pumps in (dual tanks), replaced the TPS, and IAC motor, and a power window motor on the passenger's side. And that's it. Like the Spirit, I just knew it would leak all kinds of stuff in my driveway, but it's never leaked a drop of anything since I've had it, and now has 96K miles. I change the oil every 6-8 months since I don't drive it much at all except for occasional hauling or pulling a trailer. And it runs extremely well, though it can be a little cold natured in colder weather as most older Ford trucks are.

Case in point, it's an older truck that sat for awhile, but is still in good shape. The car I'm talking about is offered by a dealer who's asking too much I believe. Like Valiant67 and others are saying, it's a gamble. Everything could need to be replaced, or it could hold up for awhile. This car would just be driven a couple of times a month and not on long trips or as a daily driver. It's a beautiful car, but still a gamble at the price it's being offered for. I will just keep checking into it and maybe someday it will be in my garage!

It's good to see a few long timers still here!

 

[chuzz]

Just out of curiosity, how much are they asking for it?

 

[ImForReal]

$6900.00 ----------> Waaaay too much in my book. But...it does have only 8,500 miles on it. This is as close to a time capsule car as you can get. All original, and they have it priced as a classic car.

 

[John Wood]

$6900.00 ----------> Waaaay too much in my book. But...it does have only 8,500 miles on it. This is as close to a time capsule car as you can get. All original, and they have it priced as a classic car.

Yikes!!! That is the kind of car that is sold to a movie company for retro scenes.

Seriously, that is not the kind of investment you want to make for a daily driver (IMHO). As Mark (Valiant 67) mentioned, there will be things that go wrong with it on a regular basis because of age, not mileage. I think the seller is just waiting for some ardent collector to come along and buy it for a museum piece. Personally, I'd stay away from it from a common sense standpoint, even though I'd love to have it.

 

[TWX]

Heh. I bought a 6400 mile, seventeen year old car about a year ago, up to about 13K now. It's not a Mopar, but I went through and checked the coolant (looked good), hoses (firm but flexible), belt (no cracks when folding over backwards), transmission fluid (what came out on the dipstick looked great), changed engine oil/filter, lubed the chassis, changed differential oil, topped off mildly low refrigerant, threw tires on, and started driving it. Now, my car was in a climate-controlled garage, so there was less thermal cycling, but the basics still apply.

With this prospective car, I'd check the transmission fluid, change the engine oil/filter, check the belts and hoses, lube any grease fittings, check the coolant and if it's easy enough to, change it (on my car it's difficult to purge the system of air so that's part why I didn't bother), and that sort. Plus tires, obviously.

$6900 is not cheapcheap, but if you're going to drive it to enjoy it and use it frequently, as opposed to spending seven grand to let it sit, then it's a pretty good deal. A new car today is $20K out the door easy. This is about a third that.

 

[B10alia]

You might do well to use "high mileage" oil. I believe those oils have added seal conditioners to help engines that have older, less than perfect seals. I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but brake fluid is hydroscopic (soaks up water/moisture readily), so it might be a good idea to replace that and bleed the system out. The fluid probably will have soaked up moisture from the atmosphere.

 

[SGspirit]

And on a side note: How many familiar people are still here from several years ago?

I remember you well, with your Diamond Blue Spirit. We had ours until last fall, when I wrote it off due to sideswiping the whole driver's side after falling asleep while driving alone. I had just solved the paint matching problem - spending significant $$ to get a couple of spray cans of Diamond Blue paint made up. Just days before the accident, I'd repainted the faded/discolored/scratched black band around the car to the body color. Looked nice. However.... It had just reached 200,000km, and we'd had it since 82,000km. A good car.

Sad to see it end up that way, especially after putting so much handiwork into it. On the other hand, I was lucky I wasn't hurt badly in an old car with no airbags, and I wouldn't have ended up losing control if it had stability control. Best wishes returning to EEK land!