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Thinking about buying this donor.


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This car is coming up on Thursdays auction. The car will not start.I am thinking that the engine was not hit in the crash and the harness got destroyed. I can't remember off the top of my head where the ECU is located in the Trams Am. It is an auto car also which should help keep the cost down. I will use the engine in my car and keep the ECU and auto trans for a future project for my dad. I am thinking I can pick up this car for a tops $3500. Anyone have any concerns I may have missed looking at the pics? I did buy a 98 Trams Am years ago hit much harder dead on up front with a cracked block. I know that engine is running around in another Z car in VA.

 

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Will post final sale price of this car.

Edited by EvilC
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I like the instrument cluster picture with the ironic "Service engine soon".

 

Looks like a pretty nasty hit, what I have found with accidents like that is there is a whole world of damage from the domino effect of different parts crashing into each other, that's what I would be worried about. If the transmission/engine was hit by anything else in an accordion style, it could have done some damage to who knows what on the inside of the transmission, and maybe the engine. At the least, a lot of the things attached to the engine might be toast. It's hard to tell until you get in there, though.

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Dave I remember. My first donor was was hit also but started. I can't comfirm why the car will not start....dealer auction. I was planning on the LS2 but for the 50hp difference, I will make the money back much quicker with the F bodies. Every donor I have had has the check engine light on. For around $3k, to me it is worth the gamble.

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I write purely from an Australian perspective but I honestly don't think it's that good a prospect. In my experience most of the salvage recoup comes from items forward of the engine and I don't see any on that car. You could possibly sell the doors and boot lid to a repair shop and there might be a bigger market for the seats, airbags and tail-lights. There is generally no interest in the suspension.

 

The engine should be okay as it doesn't look like a heavy impact (airbags not deployed) but I would check to see if the a/c compressor was torn from the block and if so, were the lugs on the block damaged.

 

There are plenty of LSx/t56 combinations down here so I would wait for one of those, but I don't know what the availability is like in the US. Either way, good luck.

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This car is down in MD, so this is going to be a bid I place online. I can not check anything and bidding based on pics. The interior is where I will make back most of the money - hatch - DS - keep in mind these engines are 10 years old, 35k miles is like new.

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keep in mind these engines are 10 years old, 35k miles is like new.

 

That's true! I got my motor with 28k on it and here are some pics of the motor when I broke it open to put all new gaskets in it. I cleaned the tops of the pistons in the short block and it was this clean inside. A few oil changes and the thing is pretty much new and just "broke in". :)

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