new to the board, but need some advice from the board
09-13-2006, 09:40 AM
#1
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new to the board, but need some advice from the board Hi everyone, my names steve and i live in the rochester ny area..
i am looking into the purchase of a 99 formula hardtop but there is a grocery list of things that are wrong and im wondering if its worth the money to buy
the guy has this listed in the paper for the first 2000 taking it
heres the bad news
tranny (t-56) is shot- how difficult and expensive is the rebuilt on one?
engine has a slight knock (with 176,000) on it
driver door was hit
leather interior is ripped in places
help me out and give me some kinda direction with this..
thanks in advance,
steve
i am looking into the purchase of a 99 formula hardtop but there is a grocery list of things that are wrong and im wondering if its worth the money to buy
the guy has this listed in the paper for the first 2000 taking it
heres the bad news
tranny (t-56) is shot- how difficult and expensive is the rebuilt on one?
engine has a slight knock (with 176,000) on it
driver door was hit
leather interior is ripped in places
help me out and give me some kinda direction with this..
thanks in advance,
steve
09-13-2006, 10:23 AM
#2
Hi:
I know the Rochester area- grew up in Hamlin..
As for the car, here is my thoughts on it (doesn't mean they're right or wrong, but it's my opinion)
I had the t-56 transmission rebuilt in my '95 Trans a few years back. It cost me $1,600. Not including clutch or flywheel, etc.
As for the door and seat- i'd look into used parts. The door is plastic so chances are it'll be easier/ cheaper to just replace it with a used one from a wrecking yard or ebay. I'd do the same for the seat. (I just had my wife's leather seats in her Mustang recovered, and it was $1,100!) Or, you could go real cheap and buy seat covers.
With the LS1 they normally have noisy valvetrain anyhow, so be sure you're not confusing these sounds. Assuming the engine is going, it'll cost some $$ to rebuild it whether you do it yourself or farm it out. Of course, anything you can do yourself will save some $$.
If you're patient and can do most the wrenching yourself it's proabably an Ok deal. If you have to pay someone to do everything I'd move on.
I know the Rochester area- grew up in Hamlin..
As for the car, here is my thoughts on it (doesn't mean they're right or wrong, but it's my opinion)
I had the t-56 transmission rebuilt in my '95 Trans a few years back. It cost me $1,600. Not including clutch or flywheel, etc.
As for the door and seat- i'd look into used parts. The door is plastic so chances are it'll be easier/ cheaper to just replace it with a used one from a wrecking yard or ebay. I'd do the same for the seat. (I just had my wife's leather seats in her Mustang recovered, and it was $1,100!) Or, you could go real cheap and buy seat covers.
With the LS1 they normally have noisy valvetrain anyhow, so be sure you're not confusing these sounds. Assuming the engine is going, it'll cost some $$ to rebuild it whether you do it yourself or farm it out. Of course, anything you can do yourself will save some $$.
If you're patient and can do most the wrenching yourself it's proabably an Ok deal. If you have to pay someone to do everything I'd move on.
09-13-2006, 04:31 PM
#4
Launching!
Still sounds like a good deal to me. Hardtop Formulas are pretty desireable. I say get it shouldn't be more than 2-3k to make it nice, and then you're still ahead of the game. Tim.
09-14-2006, 07:09 PM
#5
TECH Junkie
Different opinion I'm going to offer a differing opinion. That beast sounds BEATEN!! Yes, you can rebuild everything and probably be in real decent shape for under $8,000 or so. If you are not into waiting or doing things yourself, pass on it and look for a decent runner for that same $8,000 or so. Good luck!