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slowbird
slowbird UltraDork
11/16/22 5:19 p.m.

PRICE CUT

$500 that's right five hundred US dollars (or best offer)

 

Yes mine, totally affiliated. I bought it as a salvage title from Copart, bolted on a 1993-style bumper and tail lights, got it inspected and tagged as rebuilt, took it to the Challenge, drove it around for a while, and eventually got overwhelmed by some of the deferred maintenance it needs and parked it. It has the GTS side markers but not the GTS stripes so I don't know if someone removed the stripes from a GTS or added GTS stickers to a regular GT. (GTS was just a graphics package)

Let's start with the good:

2.5L Mazda KLDE V6 factory rated for 170 hp
5 speed manual transmission
non-interference engine design
Great exhaust note (in my opinion)
Fires right up even after I let it sit for months
Some kind of Eibach springs on it, sits a bit lower than stock height
Drove it from PA to FL, ran the Challenge, and drove back in 2019
New alternator installed Jan 2020
New plastic air intake tube thingy installed at some point after the old one cracked
A/C and heat still work as far as I know, aftermarket radio works
Southern car up until 2019, doesn't seem rusty although it sits so low I can't see much of the underside
a few random spare parts are included

Now the bad:

Rebuilt title (rear impact of some kind, bumper and taillights were gone when I got it, I put that back together, no effect on straightness of car just a small crack around one of the bumper mounting holes)
Engine makes a rattling noise, my belief is that the timing belt tensioner is worn and needs replaced and/or the timing belt is worn and stretched out (but hey, non-interference design, so just drive it till the belt fails I guess)
Two flat tires (Mustang wheels/tires not included, maybe I can find some tires that hold air to get it on a trailer)
Rear bumper not color matched, scuffs on front valance, other minor scratches/flaws
Someone removed the spoiler and filled in the holes but not very smoothly so you can tell if you look close
The suspension rides really firmly, might not be great for daily driving if you have potholes around you
After the alternator was replaced, the tach doesn't work for whatever reason
Shifter bushings are worn, it still shifts alright but replacing them would be a good idea
I can't remember for sure but I feel like the synchro on 3rd gear might have been starting to go
Passenger headlight mechanism failed, I tried putting a new motor in, it didn't seem to fix it
Challenge stickers are still on it and who knows what they'll do to the paint if removed
Fog lights and brackets are missing, but the plugs are still there; I figured out that some kind of Chevy S10 fog lights use the same connector and tested them out and they work, just need brackets made up to hold them
I might remember other stuff wrong with it later

This may be way too much money or it may be perfectly reasonable. I don't know. I would recommend to Probe enthusiasts who are willing to accept some of the flaws and know what they're in for, or Challenge competitors who like taking chances. If I wasn't scared of working on engines, I would replace the timing belt & tensioner and keep driving it. But I have too many E36 M3boxes to keep all of them.

 

Stampie
Stampie MegaDork
11/16/22 5:24 p.m.

I remember this car.  Sad that you're selling it.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
11/16/22 5:42 p.m.

i owned a couple of second-gen PGTs and loved them.

is this one cloth or leather?

slowbird
slowbird UltraDork
11/16/22 6:09 p.m.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Gray cloth.

stan
stan UltraDork
11/16/22 6:26 p.m.

 Where in Pa?

karplus2
karplus2 Reader
11/16/22 6:48 p.m.

I'm glad you're far away. I had a 97 for a short while that I loved. I agree the exhaust note is amazing. GLWS

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish)
SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) PowerDork
11/17/22 6:31 a.m.

With proper rubber on the front, how "drivable" is it?

fusion66
fusion66 Reader
11/17/22 7:32 a.m.

Seems like an interesting start to a budget endurance racer or a cheap path to track time.  Anyone have insight on the durability of the Mazda/Ford 2.5l V6 when used hard for extended periods of time?

Current mileage? 

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish)
SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) PowerDork
11/17/22 7:37 a.m.

We have some of them in Lemons.  They do OK...not great, not tragic.  Endurance racing is an entirely different kettle of fish than a track day.  Track days are 4 sessions of 20 minutes each.  Endurance racing is 8hrs per day for 2 days, pretty much non-stop.  Far more stressful.  If you don't bounce it off the limiter and show it some sympathy, it should do alright.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
11/17/22 7:47 a.m.
SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:

With proper rubber on the front, how "drivable" is it?

If the rattle is indeed coming from the timing belt tensioner (I had that failure on my 96 at 140k), the timing belt could jump. I wouldn't run it that way.

KyAllroad
KyAllroad MegaDork
11/17/22 10:07 a.m.

They do OK at TT racing.   There is one called Cold Lotion out there that embarrasses a lot of much more expensive machinery.   (It helps that for that cheap a buy-in, going 11/10ths seems more reasonable)

stan
stan UltraDork
11/17/22 10:43 a.m.
stan said:

 Where in Pa?

Never mind. I guess I could have checked your profile and found Sarver. Duh. Only 5-ish hours from me, but thankful it's 5-ish hours from me....  wink

Cooper_Tired
Cooper_Tired HalfDork
11/17/22 10:44 a.m.

That is a really great price. Had I not bought the challenge integra I would be all over this. Loved these cars, owned 2 and spent a ton of time in a 3rd 

GLWS!

Datsun310Guy
Datsun310Guy MegaDork
11/17/22 11:17 a.m.

About 50% of your comments under "bad" can be answered with......

yup, but it's a $1,000 car.  

(once I sold a car for $400 and the dude kept pointing out faults - it's a $400 car......)

slowbird
slowbird UltraDork
11/17/22 11:19 a.m.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Yeah I probably wouldn't encourage a road trip with it.

To answer another question, current mileage is like around 130,000 I think.

Let me see if I can find the video I made of the rattling noise...ah, here we go. Maybe more of a clacking noise. Shrug.

 

 

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
11/17/22 1:13 p.m.

In reply to slowbird :

That sounds exactly mine did when the TB tensioner strut failed. Strut seal leaks, strut oil escapes, strut operates undamped until internal spring fails, then clack clack clack as the tensioner bangs against the block. It is a cheap fix, but that engine compartment is pretty tight. I spent a full weekend replacing mine when I bought it at 140k, Then paid a shop to replace it at 200k Because they said they could do it in four hours. I said "get the berkeley out of here, I'll pay you four hours just so I can watch how it's done lol". Then I didn't watch.

RockAuto has the TB/WP kit for $225

Stampie
Stampie MegaDork
11/17/22 2:07 p.m.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

You know you being slow working on a car isn't surprising. 

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
11/17/22 6:01 p.m.
Stampie said:

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

You know you being slow working on a car isn't surprising. 

QFT

slowbird
slowbird UltraDork
11/18/22 11:46 a.m.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to slowbird :

That sounds exactly mine did when the TB tensioner strut failed. Strut seal leaks, strut oil escapes, strut operates undamped until internal spring fails, then clack clack clack as the tensioner bangs against the block. It is a cheap fix, but that engine compartment is pretty tight. I spent a full weekend replacing mine when I bought it at 140k, Then paid a shop to replace it at 200k Because they said they could do it in four hours. I said "get the berkeley out of here, I'll pay you four hours just so I can watch how it's done lol". Then I didn't watch.

RockAuto has the TB/WP kit for $225

Yeah, tight is a generous descriptor of the engine bay. laugh

I jacked up the car and took a wheel off to look and see if it was something I could even conceive of replacing on my own, and well, not being able to see anything in there isn't the kind of feeling I want when attempting something I've never done before. And I figured, better to let it sit and not get fixed than to take it halfway apart and never get reassembled due to my incompetence.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
11/18/22 2:56 p.m.

in 2006 i drove my bone-stock (plus hoosier A6's) '96 PGT to the challenge and placed 31st out of 62 cars.  went 15.1 at 89 mph with a full tank of 87-octane because i'm a dumb-ass and filled up about a mile from the track.

Blunder
Blunder New Reader
11/18/22 8:48 p.m.

Does it car have to be towed or could it make it a few more hours running before the timing belt is done?

Stampie
Stampie MegaDork
11/18/22 10:32 p.m.

In reply to Blunder :

Blunder
Blunder New Reader
11/19/22 12:58 a.m.

In reply to Stampie :

First on race day or found on road dead. Decisions decisions. 

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L)
wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) PowerDork
11/19/22 8:18 a.m.

Does the Millenia "Big Block" Just bolt in? Edit: this is the big block. I was thinking of the 1.8 from the MX3. Do carry on.

Fine styling on these cars.

rustybugkiller
rustybugkiller Dork
11/19/22 11:10 a.m.

If this is rust free, probably be worth it to drop the engine and tranny and update TB, clutch, etc. I wish we were going into spring instead of winter.

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