Exemplary behavior, Floyd. When I sell my car I want you to buy it. On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 2:16 PM Floyd Thursby via Mercedes < mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote:
> I went yesterday to look at this car. The girl said it was dead by the > road about a mile from her house. So we meet where the car is. She > tells me she swapped her 05 truck for it 4 days ago, guy says it needs a > "timing belt." She drove it a ways to visit a friend and she says it > overheated then died right there close to the house. This girl is 22, > very sweet, the guy won't do anything for her, she is distraught, knows > nothing, loves the car, has no idea how to deal with it and no idea what > to do on it, just wants some money and to move on. She figured it was > driveable, so did, with this consequence. > > It looks really nice. Newish paint, a few little rust spots here and > there bubbling through but nothing major (but who knows what's under the > paint?). Interior very nice, looks like all the upholstery was replaced > or maybe just very clean. Carpets very clean, headliner good. Wood > veneer gone on some of the pieces but someone varnished the base and it > looks half decent. Original radio. Dash looks good. Glove box actually > latches. New whitewall tires of some off brand but they look OK. > > I pop the hood and notice the alternator/water pump belt is gone. > Hmmmm.... no alternator = dead battery. No pump = overheating. Engine > bay very clean, looks like new plug wires, etc. Rad was mostly full. > There is some kind of aftermarket K$N like round filter stuck on the > intake, original air filter not there. I see a bit of oil down at the > bottom of the head on the passenger side. No milkshake on the dipstick > so at least no water in the oil. Her friend goes and gets a jug of > water, we top off the rad, only took a bit, no oil in the rad, good > sign. Has a newish Sanden compressor, 134, hoses are new. > > I put in a good battery, crank a coupla times and it fires up but dies. > Crank again, it catches and sputters. Uhoh. Try again and give it some > gas and it finally catches and smooths out and is running well. Go look > at it and listen, I hear a bit of clatter from a back cylinder, not sure > if it is valves or what but it is running well and pretty smooth. I get > in and drive it to her house, gets to maybe 250 right at then, probably > OK. Trans shifting fine, brakes good, Shut it off and pop the hood > again, doesn't seem too hot but I notice a bit of spitting down at the > bottom of the head where that oil was, I guess the head gasket is > cracked or something. We discuss it, she is actually really happy I > know something about the car and some random jerk isn't wanting to buy > it, she loves it and wants it to be taken care of, she knows she knows > nothing, etc. We work the deal so we're good. > > Went back with the trailer this morning and got it, it was a little > unhappy starting again but once it lit off it ran well, idle a bit > high. I stopped at an auto parts store and got a belt, will go put it > on shortly and take it for a drive and see how it does. > > For $1200 I think it is a pretty nice car though it might need the > engine work. The guy at the auto parts I got the belt from was a former > mech at the Stealer up the road and said he had rebuilt a couple of > those engines, got his name and number. He says it is not a real hard > job, just have to watch the head bolt torques, etc. So I guess I will > see... I'm kinda happy with it, it's a pretty car. Looks like someone > put a fair amount of money into it so I'm hoping other stuff has been > dealt with fairly well. Worse comes to worse I can flip it to a FB boy... > > I'll put up some pics later on some site. > > Oh, so she says she needs another car cheap, if I see something let her > know, or if she finds something can she call me to help her since it > seems I know something about cars... I did tell her once it gets sorted > out I will come give her a ride in it, and she was really happy about > that! looks like I might have adopted another daughter... YIKES!!! > > --FT > > On 4/20/20 11:39 PM, Buggered Benzmail wrote: > > So I’m going to go get this thing in the morning. Details to follow. It > looks pretty nice, seems to run well but some strange aspects. I think the > head gasket is blown. Poor girl got taken on the deal. > > > > --FT > > Sent from iPhone. > > > -- > --FT > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
