So I took the Integra money and part of last week's paycheck and turned it into a $1,200 1996 Prelude S. Not going full project mode, just going to fix and drive.
The good: Transmission is buttery, interior is mint. No cracks tears or otherwise anywhere. Everything is there. A/C and P/S work great. Underneath the car is very clean. Not a spot of rust anywhere, two small spots where oil has been. Car has spent it's entire life in the same family, has all the original papers. Clutch is healthy, motor revs out fine and drives very smooth.
The bad: 209,000 miles, body is pretty rough. Needs an axle. Owner was up-front about the axle, it drives fine I'm just babying it through turns.
Bought the car. Runs and drive really well but after about 30 minutes of driving it overheated. I drove it home, and it was sitting in the shop idling while I scanned it (only code was for a catalytic converter inefficiency) and it started to overheat. I turned off the motor, the gauge was at 3/4 temp. I left the key on so the fan would remain on, and it cooled down rather quickly. The liquid that came out appeared to be water, so i drained the system and refilled it with green antifreeze.
I drove it to the store, back, to a friends house, to the gas station, and then home for a total of probably 50 minutes on the road and as i pulled into my neighborhood it was starting to overheat so I got it in the driveway and again, coolant was slowly bubbling out from the overflow bottle and a smaller amount from the rad cap. It doesn't seem to have a leak and there's no smoke coming from the exhaust... if it drove fine for 30 or so minutes I think if the water pump was bad it would have overheated much faster. I'd certainly hope its not the headgasket but that seems like a possibility. I'll check coolant levels in the morning and see if the color seems off, but if it's drinking coolant I would expect white smoke from the exhaust.
If the overheating isn't a headgasket, I think I come out ahead. If it is, I can do all the work myself, provided the block or head isn't warped. At which point I'm only out parts and labor. For 1,200 it feels like a good purchase. Pictures to come
The good: Transmission is buttery, interior is mint. No cracks tears or otherwise anywhere. Everything is there. A/C and P/S work great. Underneath the car is very clean. Not a spot of rust anywhere, two small spots where oil has been. Car has spent it's entire life in the same family, has all the original papers. Clutch is healthy, motor revs out fine and drives very smooth.
The bad: 209,000 miles, body is pretty rough. Needs an axle. Owner was up-front about the axle, it drives fine I'm just babying it through turns.
Bought the car. Runs and drive really well but after about 30 minutes of driving it overheated. I drove it home, and it was sitting in the shop idling while I scanned it (only code was for a catalytic converter inefficiency) and it started to overheat. I turned off the motor, the gauge was at 3/4 temp. I left the key on so the fan would remain on, and it cooled down rather quickly. The liquid that came out appeared to be water, so i drained the system and refilled it with green antifreeze.
I drove it to the store, back, to a friends house, to the gas station, and then home for a total of probably 50 minutes on the road and as i pulled into my neighborhood it was starting to overheat so I got it in the driveway and again, coolant was slowly bubbling out from the overflow bottle and a smaller amount from the rad cap. It doesn't seem to have a leak and there's no smoke coming from the exhaust... if it drove fine for 30 or so minutes I think if the water pump was bad it would have overheated much faster. I'd certainly hope its not the headgasket but that seems like a possibility. I'll check coolant levels in the morning and see if the color seems off, but if it's drinking coolant I would expect white smoke from the exhaust.
If the overheating isn't a headgasket, I think I come out ahead. If it is, I can do all the work myself, provided the block or head isn't warped. At which point I'm only out parts and labor. For 1,200 it feels like a good purchase. Pictures to come