I am looking at a 83 3.8 that's beer sitting for a decade. The inside of the radiator is rusted and congealed. The car looks intact aside from the windshield. The body looks straight and rust free. Is it worth $700 to purchase it?
Yes and no. If thats what the radiator looks like, the engine is likely as bad or worse. When a car sits, rubber especially wears out. Bushings, seals, hoses ect are all toast.
If your planning on an emgine swap and basic upgrades, it would likely be a good candidate. You might get lucky and be able to reuse a bunch of stuff, but I wouldnt plan on it.
What do you mean congealed? Do you mean the coolant has turned into something with a jello like consistency?
My crownvic did the same thing when I bought it. I drove it almost a year before I popped the radiator cap. My waterpump failed and was leaking coolant. When I pulled the pump off, the water vanes were all rusted off, as were the nipples for the bypass hoses. It didnt overheat till it started leaking.
I tried to flush it out with a hose and even through bleach in it for a few days and it still would randomly overheat. Several months in a row I could drive it several hundred miles a week without any issue. Then every once in a while it would start blowing brown rusty coolant. Id top it off, and it was fine again.
I basically traded the crown vic for my cougar.
Thanks for the responses. Yes the antifreeze turned jello like mixed with rust.
I was honestly thinking of passing on the car just based on the misleading advertisp00get. Although on all used vehicles I buy, I immediately change rubber hoses and filters. The sheer expense to get this on the road even as a back up car will be at minimum the asking price of it.
It is too bad the body, interior, and frame look great.
Is the "jello like" consistency a sign of a "stop leak" product being used sometime in the past? I have never used them, so I don't honestly know.
Could be stop leak/head gasket sealer, aren't those engines known for head gasket issues?
Swapped a radiator in my son in laws Silverado, it had stop leak in it and the radiator drain plug wouldnt even drain. It was filled with some thick sludge black that we eventually got through and drained and flushed the engine block.
Possibly. Depends on what product was used.
Is there any ethanol in your fuel there? (I'm guessing there is)
If so, it's sat since the introduction of it, and I'll bet the fuel system/tank has rust issues inside somewhere...