How important is it to start out with a clean car?

[whiteboy]

Hey Everyone,My name's sam and i'm looking at buying a 240 as a project car that i'll do an engine swap on pretty quickly. How important do you think it is to start off with a really clean car versus a not so clean car for a couple grand less? Take one car i've found for example. 92 fastback with 152k on it, with an immaculate engine bay and super clean interior. he wants 5 grand for it. There are also several ones with asking prices half as much as that but have dirty interiors and messy engine bays. What do you think?Thanks,Sam

[Get240DiZzY]

It depends on what you can afford. If you have the money to get the clean one, go for it. Means that he probobly has changed the oil on time, done all the mantinance, etc.

However, since you're doing a swap, It's probobly not as important, since you're going to be getting rid of the engine anyway. And, you'll have more money to play around with for mods and stuff.

I, personally, would go dirtier if I was for sure doing the swap, but if you're going to use the 240 as a daily driver for awile before that, I'd go clean.

Just my $.02

[whiteboy]

Alrighty, i'm definately looking to do the swap, i already have a plush daily driver so i'll check out some rougher ones too. Thanks.

[huckedup16]

I just bought my swap car for 700. The engine sounds like it is ready to die but a) i have a daily driver and b) the car is getting a swap eventually. Until then its gonna sit in the garage uninsured and unregistered.

[krazy skwerel]

id look for a relativly clean interior. but 5 grand seems way too much for an s13 with that many miles. I gave 2700 for mine with 100k and a clean interior, except for the *** rip.

[whiteboy]

I'm not planning on paying 5 grand, i'd give him blue book for it and be ok with that. I'll just probably have more wiggle room on price with something not so pristine.

[APEXi240]

"Clean" doesn't really matter.No rust and everything in working order is whats important. The fact that it looks ugly is irrelevant...as long as the chassis is in good condition.

[lilaznvietboi]

I paid 2k for mine. I had like $300 on engine work and now my cable line to my gas lid and the trunk is not working. LOL

[U12 2NR]

you can always have the interior shampoo'ed and it'll look good as new. Don't spend money that you don't have to. Why do you even want to look for a 240 that's running when you're planning to swap the engine anyway? Junkyards are your friend, check em out, they can have complete cars with trashed motors, but the car for the body, not working engine. Beware of rust!

[Holisticbeatz]

As far as clean goes, you can always buy a not so clean car and have it detailed so it'll look as good as new. Usually that'll run about $50-$80 for a thorough cleaning inside and out. Also, some TLC would go a long way too.

When I see the word clean referring to a car, I think of salvage titles. Be sure to get a "clean" not salvaged car. Because a salvaged car is never the same after a major accident.

The saying goes, "you can never bend a paper clip back into it's original shape."

-kenny

[drift-sx]

if its a clean car i would bet that the previous owner took better care of it as opposed to a dirty car which the owner probably jsut bagged and now wants to sell, but if its gonna be a swap car i suppose it doesn't matter

[C-Kwik]

Depends on your overall plan. If you plan to repaint, just look for straightness and good over all metal condition. If you plan to retain stock pain, dirt is ok, but make sure there is not paint damage. It will be quite easy to clean the engine bay when you have the motor out. As far as interior, make sure there are no odd smells, water damage or stains, and no broken or heavily worn parts. Unless they are items that you are planning to replace.

[JESTER]

If it has a clean engine bay, it is because the owner was in there with the steam cleaner, making it appear that it was taken care of. just my .02

[gore]

everyone will hate me but I got my 1993 fastback for 1000$ needs a new clutch fan and new tensionors for the timing chain but other than that it runs great! 164k though, but like I said it runs great :pface

[Fawaz]

gore you are a b@stard. LOL

The rule with looking for a project car is always to not pay for things that you are not going to use. If you want to put in a set of brides then look for a car with a shredded drivers seat, If you want to swap in an engine then find one with a blown engine. These things would turn away most potential buyers but not you since you wanted to repace it.

The only thing you should really look out for if you live in the north is rust. 240's rust like nobody's buisiness and a rusty one is worth squat, since they tend to have soft floors, broken frames, etc. One rule that I picked up on is that if the seam on the rocker panel below the back of the doors has rust on it then that usually means that the car has rusted everywhere else important as well and should just be passed up.

[FTRS14.5]

Hey, lilaznvietboiWe got the same avatar.....hmmmmmm

[Spoolin95GSX]

Just as long as it isn't rusty and doesn't smell excessively bad on the inside I'd say you're good to go. Rust is hard to get fixed correctly, and you'll always know it was there. Other than that; if the interior sucks, get it detailed and shampooed and be ready for the swap.

[IveBeenBad]

the rust comments... any decent welser can fix rust damage to the point it looks like it was never there.. its a process of cut, form, weld, it may take time but it can easily be done.

[IveBeenBad]

also, if it is on the rocker panel, after a welder fixes it, you also have the option of covering it with sideskirts (gp sports mmm....) and it will look thrice as good

[PGZX3]

like they said, the most important thing, IMO is getting a clean car that is complete as possible, I got a pretty good deal on my car but it is a little more work than I wanted and the further I get in the project the more it seems that things are missing and need replacing which is costing a grip more than I thought it would.....:thinker

[Fawaz]

the rust comments... any decent welser can fix rust damage to the point it looks like it was never there.. its a process of cut, form, weld, it may take time but it can easily be done.

Fixing rust is not easy and i'm not sure what gave you that impression. Chances are that if a 240sx has rust on the seam under the door on the rocker panel everything is rusted to hell already. This would mean that "any decent welder" would have to replace the floors, and parts of the frame (unless a decent welder is one that considers patching a frame a decent job, which it is not) The seam itself is not all that hard to fix but it is an indicator of a 240 with severe rust issues that should be avoided if intended for anything but a parts car. There are cars that have clean seams and still have rusted frames and floors so a clean seam is not a green light to go ahead and buy the car, just that a rusted seam is a red light.

Seeing as how the person that originally posted is in texas rust will not be an issue, but this might be useful for any of you guys in the north.

[Bubba1]

My feeling is the cleaner the better. Accident/flood free IMHO is the biggest factor for a project car, followed by rust free. the problem with rust is not the job you do fixing it, it's the previous repairs. If they weren't done right, it comes back. The extra few hundred bucks you spend on a unmolested, hi mileage rust free runner translates to tons less hours/money/aggravation/hassle doing repairs/rust removal, leaving you more time & money to building/modding.