1983 moostang question

looking at that car.Says car runs and drives but heater core is disconnected, but he has a brand new one. Wouldn’t that mean the engine is overheating and is damaged. Selling it for 1500 so it makes me think car is on its last legs.

Heater cores can be difficult to replace as you frequently have to take the dash board off to get to it. A car worth $1,500 is going to need a lot of work If you are not able or willing to do the work, look for another car. If you are still interested, spend $100 or so for your mechanic to look the car over. I think you will find a long list of problems.

No, not necessarily. A heater core can be in need of replacement, and the engine could be okay–or as “okay” as a 37 year old engine could possibly be. A mechanic could determine this prior your purchase of the car.

+1
The labor cost for that type of repair can be incredibly pricey.

Absolutely!
If the seller balks, then just walk away.

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This car is ugly …the only place I would drive it is to the nearest scrapyard.

Pretty big $$ to get this in good enough shape.

I would not be seen in that thing . And Texas is right it will be a lot of money to make this thing road worthy . Plus it has straight pipes you could get a ticket just driving it home.

… additionally, it looks like somebody screwed-around with the suspension, based on the car’s “ride height”.
:thinking:

I bought a 1983 Mustang GT new. The heater core failed not long after the warranty expired. It cost nearly $400 in 1985 dollars to replace. If it does not have factory A/C it’s accessible through a panel in the firewall. If it has factory A/C the dash has to come apart to access the core.

If one is very handy it might make a fun hobby car, if not it’s going to be an unending money pit.

Ed

I have the gift of eyesight; or at least did until a moment ago so no way.

The only way I’d take that thing would be if the seller GAVE me 1500 to haul it off. On the way home (at night) I’d stop at Wal Mart and buy several cases of those 98 cent cans of foo-foo paint. Color doesn’t matter.

Since it’s FB one would hope the seller is not lying and the nose high stance is not due to the engine lying on the garage floor due to overheating. An 83k miles car for 1500 listed for 21 weeks and no takers? Paint, rust, and a “running” engine which could mean anything…

Well thanks guys. You see I’m not a mechanic, I’m a painter. I’ve replaced an alternator once and it usually takes a couple hours or so, it took me all day. But ya that worked just fine. I understand you have to take everything off for this. If this is an all day job and it took me a week w.e. I’m sitting around anyways. The thing is I wouldn’t know anything about ride height being off or other red flags.

I was thinking that weird cow convertibles don’t sell fast in Michigan winter or a pandemic so that explains the listing time. says runs but i guess that doesn’t mean drives. With the straight pipes, could i undo that?

*Seats are torn-throw whatever in there
*heater core disconnected but has brand new one- if everything goes according to a video, wouldn’t matter(but why would you disconnect it and not put the new one in. For that matter, why doesn’t any seller do fixes with the parts they have? Legit lazy or seriously scammin?
*straight pipe- how much would i be looking at?
*paint job- not an issue

80k miles for 1500 seems like a nightmare waiting to happen but maybe just no one likes the looks idk

Most people will reject the weird bovine customization, the paint, the nose ring and the oversized off-road tires on a mustang.

When I buy a cheap old vehicle I consider it a collection of parts and it is up to me to make them work.

Replacing a heater core requires a lot of labor and there are generally other problems on a car this old that are more critical. If you need a vehicle with a good heater you should buy a different one, this is a part time summer car.

Adding a muffler should cost less than $200 however if the catalytic convertors are missing and the vehicle must pass an emissions inspection the cost will be much more. You need to assess the sound level of this vehicle to determine if it is too loud, you may enjoy the way it sounds.

A vehicle that awful looking is not going to sell any where quickly. Add the lots of mechanical work it needs and the ridiculous asking price only someone who can do the work to make this thing presentable is only going to pay 500.00 at the most.

And what is the deal with that weird screenname ?

The best part of that ad- looks good while doing it. If you’re going to say that about that car, the picture should be omitted.

An 83 convertible in good condition (a subjective opinion) is certainly worth 1500. Just not that one as I simply cannot get past what someone was thinking when they started breaking open paint cans. I can do body and paint but I’d take a pass on that thing.

Kind of reminds me of several decades ago when Harley Davidson unleashed that black/white Evo with the Jersey cow black/white seat; the Cowglide or Mooglide it was called. At least the HD is collectible and worth more now than when new.