Posting for a friend: 99'NB Parts car

[Vashthestanbeto]

Update: My friend can be contacted via this email:
[email protected]
Hello everyone.

As an attempt to help out a friend in need, I am posting her 99'NB here on her behalf for your consideration.

To start with, I wish to make clear that the vehicle in question has a salvage title which the owner has subsequently lost. She have no intentions of applying for a new title. The car's registration/ inspection also aren't current. The car is thus being sold as a parts source only.Or, Perhaps not a bad starting point for a track-only autocross or track car too? Just an idea

I went to give the car an once over and below is a summary of what I found~

It's a 99' NB8C with 16" Stock wheels. 170k on the clock. The paint has faded from most of the body but there isn't any rust anywhere including the dreaded rear quarter panel. The only exception was the passenger side door which has a big ass dent on it with multiple rusted out holes in an failed attempt to pull the dent out. I believe that and high mileage was the reason for the car's salvaging title. the door opened and closed just fine and there were no other body damages worth mentioning( mostly little door dings besides that)

Moving onto the engine bay, The car's fuel pump has failed and isn't running. My friend said the car ran fine until the pump crapped out. I confirmed the engine running perfectly fine with a can of starter fluid , the car started right up and settled into a stable idle as long as I kept a small but steady supply of starter fluid sprayed into the intake. The car also have a new starter put in recently( I love NB starters! I put one on my NA when it needed one as well) as well as a new battery, Both items are less than two month old and sat mostly unused since my friend purchased a new car very soon after.

Now for the issues I have found: the most glaring was one of the valve cover bolt having snapped and the stud is embedded in the head, appearntly the last owner F-ed this up. This will need to be extracted.(the rest of VC bolts loosened just fine when I tried to loosen a few, I tightened them right back) The rest are mostly maintainance/age related issues: I found the clutch fluid leaking from seemingly where the coiled slave cylinder connecting line meets the master cylinder hard line which crosses the engine bay. the passenger side brake caliper also appears to be leaking, and the fluid has ate away some of the NB stock 16" wheel's finish. A shame. Back to the motor, the NB crossover tube+airbox has been replaced by the previous owner with a AEM intake kit(stock MAF is retained) which seems to work fine. The crank seal is definitely leaking oil but I am not sure about the cam seals. I also saw the water pump leaking coolant from the weep hole. Nothing a through timing belt/water pump job won't fix.

The interior is in not bad shape except for the torn seats. Same can be said about the trunk, where the brand new battery resides.

Since we have no means of parting the car out in situ, she is selling the entire car as a whole, you are very welcome to come over and look it over for yourself, I recommend the buyer to tow the car away, but if you insist on driving it back, my friend has a spare fuel pump that hasn't been installed but can be put in by me( if I got time) or the buyer. Allow me to repeat that the car isn't road legal and buyer will be solely responsible for any consequences that arise from it. Once again, the car is being sold as a collection of parts or a potential track only car. Please view it as such as you consider the purchase.

She is looking for $950 for the car , and given how much 99-00' BP 1.8 motors has been fetching these days, I don't think that's unreasonable. But all offers, as long as reasonable, will be considered and potentially entertained . She can use the cash to help make a dent on her new car's loan. I will provide her contact info to interested parties and let you sort out the purchase with her.

I gtg at the moment but will update this thread with pictures when I get back!

Thanks for your time and interest!

~Vash

[OZMDD]

$500 would be a reasonable price, since the car has no legal proof-of-ownership at all, in addition to being DOA. Whoever buys it cannot scrap the chassis after they pull whatever good parts are there, since Texas requires a title for a salvage yard to take it. Your friend has a large paperweight.

[AnthonyS]

This could easily be a title loan scam too. I lost the title..... get a replacement cheap, install fuel pump, get car inspected and sell for $1500-$2000 in two days. Will your friend sign a request for lost title in front of a notary and a letter stating the title is free and clear of any lien?

[Vashthestanbeto]

It appears I did not make myself clear enough,for which I apologize.

This car IS NOT mine. I do not know anything about the vehicle's history and am simply repeating what I was told. I would respectfully ask all interested parties to direct all non-mechanical related inquiry to her directly. My role in this is limited to providing evaluation of the car's current condition as well as posting it here for her.

I will ask her for a means of contact she would be willing to make public here ASAP and update this thread once she replies.

Also, Mr. Anthony, would a car that's pissing clutch as well as brake fluid pass a legit TX inspection process? This is a genuine question and not meant as a snarky reply. I personally could/would never allow such a condition to develop in any of my cars without repairing it immediately, therefore I wouldn't know . Please enlighten me.

Mr. OZmod, I had no idea about the scraping laws in TX since I never scraped anything here (currently I own/upkeep two beaters aside from my NA. both are well past 200k and I actually am the sole owner of one of them , since new-I believe in mending rather than ending), Thank you for that.

[EricJ]

PM'd

[CosmosMpower]

Spec miata!