Hi everyone. Im looking at buying a 94 z28 that has some problems and I dont know where to start. It was a factory A4 but now has a M6 in it. The current owner bought it that way and doesn't have a lot of info about it. Let me give a list of mods then some history and current state.

k&n
borla cat back
pacesetter long tubes
26lb injectors
brand new ecu and pcm
new msd cap n rotor
new plugs and wires .. Says he used 9mm wires.

Ok so the current owner has had it for about 2 years. for the first year it ran good then was parked around this time last year when he bought a newer car. He went to start it a few weeks ago and it did start but sounded like crap then died. He had it towed to a shop that told him the injectors and ecu where bad.. So he had 26lb injectors put in and had the ecu replaced/flashed.

He got the car back this past saturday and drove it about 7 miles back to his house. He said it wasnt running perfectly, but decent. He said it felt like something just wasnt right and the power wasnt all there. He did tell me that when the shop he took it to scanned it, it gave some kind of code for the torque converter. However since the car had been swapped to a M6 there is obviously no converter there?!?

As he got into his driveway it stalled, and would not restart. It has power and turns over but will not fire. He has pretty much thrown his hands up and is done with the car.

I can pick it up for next to nothing, but I do not have a garage currently to work on it. My association strictly forbids working on cars in the open lots.

By my description, does anyone have any sort of inclination of what the issue with this car might be? I want to grab it, but at the same time, I dont have the means to deal with a "nightmare" car.

 

You're getting a torque converter code because the PCM and harness obviously haven't been switched over to the M6 versions. I don't think that will affect the way the engine runs.

Are you sure there's no spark? Pull a plug after cranking it and check for gas. It sounds more like a fuel pressure related problem.

 

I would stay away from that car unless it is DIRT cheap...who wants to fix somebody elses mess? Sounds like the shop dude sent it to was full of BS...pcms very rarely go bad, it's most likely a ignition (coil or ICM) problem or fuel pump. Sounds like the car has had several owners and nobody knows what's really done to it....I'd keep looking.

 

Check for spark and fuel... sounds like one of those is the problem.... my bets the fuel pump since its been sitting

 

The car has 118k miles ss hood, and spoiler, and I can get it for $1,300. I just dont know.

 

A roller will run you that much. Def go for it.

 

Thats pretty much what I was thinking. I just needed some solid direction with the current problems. I am not exactly the worlds most mechanically inclined person and Im afraid of spending $$$$$ for a mechanic to tell me its dead. lol.

 

Well... even if it's dead... it's worth much more than $1300 in parts. The Borla, K&N, Pacesetters, and SS gear add up. Sounds like a minor fuel pressure problem that was misdiagnosed by mechanics. Run a few tests... You could have it running for less than $300.

 

If you have no place to work on cars, a fixer upper is not for you. You'd have to pay someone to take it apart (probably + storage) just so you could part it out.

 

On my way to pick it up. Anyone know a reputable lt1 shop in northern delaware?

 

figure out what youre going to do and where youre going to send it before you buy a $1300 problem. I wouldnt buy it unless it had a grand stashed in the glove box

 

Update: wtf.

Ok, so I bought the car, and somehow managed to pry it loose from him for $1,150. I didnt even try to start it when I went to get it, i just took his word for it that it wouldnt turn over. I didnt want to possibly break anything.

I had it towed home and its been sitting for a few days. I just got around to messing with it today, and decided to go ahead and try to start it. It turned and coughed and coughed and STARTED! Only 1 itsy bitsy problem however. It idles like CRAP. I had to feather the gas to get it to stay started then it idled on its own, but bounced between 475 and 550 rpms. Shaking like crazy. The car shakes roughly from side to side. And veeeery strong exhaust fumes. It idled like that on its own for maybe 2 minutes, then stalled. I restarted it, giving it some gas, and it started and did the same thing again.

Now, remember this car would not start for the previous owner at all. It would try and try but nothing. I give it one try and it fires up.

I tried reving it a little bit and it shudders hard as I gave it some gas.

It feels like a serious misfire. Im wondering if whoever did the opti, misplaced some of the wires? Is that a possibility? Does this description scream something obvious to anyone??

 

Middle 2 wires on the pass. side are easy to cross up. and it will run with #4 & #6 swapped.

 

Just went out and tried to start it again. No dice this time. turns like its trying to start, but wont start. Same as it did for the old owner.

Why would it start for me earlier, run like crap and stall, but not start now?

 

The car is most likely inhabited by the evil spirit of the former owner who died in it years ago...(ever see "Christine"?) causing the sporadic starting issues and violent outbursts of vehicular manslaughter. But seriously, do what everybody has previously said...check fuel pressure first since it obviously it had spark recently if it started...then go from there.

 

I bought a blazer with a 4.3 real cheap one time because they couldnt figure it out Long story short They had the plug wires ran like a 2.8 & the ecm fuse kept blowing I did a complete tune up with wires ran correctly & found the short with my power probe Spliced a few wires & it ran great So make a check list and go threw everything Usually if theyve sat for a long time the fuel pump & possibly injectors will gum up Fuel starts to go to **** after 30 days if you dont do proper storage Sometimes a double dose of SeaFoam will help things out I saved a guy about 1600 on a repair bill on his kawisaki jet ski with seafoam