new to forum,new to me car

[dimerunner]

Hello i just bought a 1978 caprice classic sports coupe with the 2bbl 305. It has 17,000 miles on it,was owned by the local gas station owner and never left our small town till recently. Unfortunetly it sat outside most of the time so its been beaten by the sun,but since he owned a service station most everything still works( cig lighter,horn and ac compressor pulleys frozen). What should i be looking for in terms of common problems? The vinyl roof leaks and it needs new shocks so far. Heres a pic

[donmateo]

I'd remove the vinyl top and inspect because it may have some serious rust. BTW, Welcome to the forum!

[dimerunner]

I know it has serious rust issues on the roof,im afraid to pull the top because of that. I paid $300 for it and its just basic transportation after totaling my truck two weeks ago.

[Crime Scene]

$300 bucks????????????????????????????????


WOW........ Nice car.

[Bubble-94]

ooh man yea 300bucks?? i love 2dr caprices. cant find any around me. take care of it and welcome

[TSS]

I want to see the inside of this 17K mile car.

[dimerunner]

The insides not very impressive,it wasnt taken care of. The back seat is perfect though since it was never used. I'll get some pics up later.

[donmateo]

If I had to guess, I'd say you have a 117k or 217k mile car there. There's almost no way it's a legit 17k mile car. Too much damage, too rough condition. I'm not knocking it or anything, but it's important to get the facts right.

[dimerunner]

Its an actual 17k car,i have the service receipts and original invoice in the glovebox. It just wasnt cared for or garaged.

[kingnutin]

Rust everywhere! Not really any common issues to watch for, other than worn out parts from sitting. Change all the fluids before you drive it much, I would also do a tune-up, all that crap is going to be rusted and not working right. If you plan to keep it around, get rid of the 2bbl, they suck. Worse mileage and lower performance than a 4bbl, no upsides what-so-ever.

[TSS]

I am sorry, but I have to agree with Don, the scrapes on the ignition column give it away. Only happens from years and years of use over time. Not use at 17K miles regardless of time. I hope we are wrong. But just because the garage owner, who knew how to disconnect a speedo on a 78, gave you receipts showing the car only put on 17K miles over 34 years (500 miles a year) does not make it fact. Newer cars are tough to mess with odometer wise, not a 78 though, it used to happen all the time, really, trust me on this one. We are not calling you a liar and are happy to have you here, we just really question the representations that were made to you. And I will let it go at that.

[AlfredoSmith]

A big give away on mileage for 5 digit odometer cars is the drivers carpet and seat. if the car still has the original interior and theres not much visible wear from the drivers left foot, or creasing on the seats from sitting, then its likely that a 5 digit mileage is truthful.

Never buy a car with a 5 digit odometer for its low mileage... Buy it becuase its a great value... for 300 bux, Id say you did pretty well for yourself... You could probablly get that in mere scrap value.

[hotrodjunky1982]

i have the same color interior in crushed velour. por-15 or rust convert that baby.

[Stephen]

take off that germ collector on the steering wheel. if it has alot of miles or more than 17k there will be worn spots from the previous drivers hand location since people are a nature of habit and tend to do the same thing more than once. do not take the top off unless you plan on parking it in a garage or redoing it. rust will not go away and you have to sand it down until its gone and smooth. i blocked and wet sanded a old car once and then he got a 200 dollar paint job and after some other things he won a car show. if thats what you want it can be done but i would get the engine and trans squared away first. Welcome!

[hotrodjunky1982]

My car said 15k and i assume its 115 but i have no wear on the seat or the carpet and pedals and not a scrape on he column. Seems to me many a salty winter would explain that type of rust.