So I've had my ZX3 for 3 or 4 years, and I was just starting to do some things with it, when I came across this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v338/mikeb23ft/svtf.jpg

2002 SVT for sale in my area by a private party I just went and looked at it tonight. It's got some definite problems. Here's the basic rundown (in list form so I don't bore you to death with a drawn out story)

Bad-
Unknown white/gray smoke coming from tailpipe
power steering not working
paint faded on rear bumper
cheesy angel eye headlights that sort of work (comes with stock headlights)
drivers side door handle pulled off
two cig burns on driver's seat
audiophile sub is mysteriously missing
speedo and odo not working

good-
Motor has 40k on it, was pulled out of a wrecked SVT with 20k and has been in this car for 20k. I saw papers supporting this.

Clutch is one month old. Also have papers for this.

Tires are nearly brand new Yokohamas.

Says he's used Mobil1 and 93 octane.

Clean carfax.

The odo reads 105k, they said it stopped working last month and I believe them. I talked to the guy for a long time when I left the keys in it and closed the driver's door, he locked and closed the passenger's door, and we couldn't get back inside the car because the driver's door handle is broken. He's a nice dude, not really up on car stuff too much though. I think he's just tired of dealing with it. They want 3k as is but would take less I believe. Some guy offered them 2 and they turned him down.

As far as the smoke goes, I checked the oil and coolant and neither seemed to be contaminated with the other, so I don't think it's a headgasket. It could be rings, but that seems crazy for a motor with 40k on it. I dunno. The smoking situation is the only thing keeping me from buying this car for 2500. What's the opinion of the forum?

skip it. Looks like it was rode hard and put away wet.

Even for 2500?

Id do it for 2500. If its gray/white smoke its not a ring. Blown rings will usally have a blueish smoke. Go back and run it for a bit, see if it over heats, or buy a radior pressurizer.(sp?) But some pressure on the coolant system and see if its leaking. If he did rebuild the motor it could be something simple like a head bolt not torqued.


The other stuff would be easy fixes.

I'd do it. A little more $$$ in repairs and you'd still be ok. The smoke could be an easily fix that they think might cost another 1k.

If I had to guess anything, they probably F'd up and used the wrong rings. Could be bad news for the cylinder walls with 20k on motor.

i personally would get it for $2500. i highly doubt you will even come close to the true value of the car in mint condition after fixing everything. that is a steal dude.

The thing that is weird is that the motor wasn't rebuilt- it was swapped from a wrecked SVT. It had 20k on it when it went into the car. He changed the spark plugs a couple of weeks ago, said he got them wet when he put them in, and his wife is convinced that that's the only thing that's wrong with it...you know how women are always determined that everything is their husband's fault.

It wasn't really that hard to drive without the PS. I'd def want to get that fixed though, the smoke is the main thing. It was dark so I couldn't tell what color the smoke was. Worst case scenario I think it could need new piston rings. If it needs a rering, how much is that going to run me, would you say? A bajillion dollars or something?

For $2500 jump on it.

Or send me the info. I'll buy it. Not kidding.

For $2500 jump on it.

Or send me the info. I'll buy it. Not kidding.

If I don't get it I'll send you the deets, for real.

If I don't get it I'll send you the deets, for real.

Sweet thanks.

Going to look at it again today. Might take it to a shop and have somebody look at it and see if I can get a professional opinion. If it needs a rering I might not get it...

Id go for it. A little TLC and youll have yourself a nice SVTF for a great price. Id be concerned about the white smoke, though.

Gah I'm dying here trying to decide if it's a headgasket, something in the valvetrain, piston rings, or something else entirely. I just dono guys...I could be walking into a money pit.

I'd buy it just to have a parts car.

Yeah I thought about just using it for parts but it has less miles on it than my ZX3 and it's in better shape so...yeah. Maybe if I had a clean SVT already I could use it for parts but I want to drive it. I don't mind doing a ton of work on it but I seriously don't want to pay 1500 bucks (or more?) to have the bottom end torn out...

Am I the only one missing the obvious here? Motor swapped, broken handle, mysterious smoke, cig burns, broken speedo, cosmetic damage, unknown total mileage... yet it has a clean history? These things don't just randomly fall apart. At the very least it sounds like it was beaten around a lot. And granted $3k isn't a bad price for what it is, but you also don't know what else might be wrong with it beyond what you can observe from the outside.

Also busted PS pump.

Two more signs of mistreatment that I forgot to mention- ghetto ass SRI (consisting of airbox being replaced with no-name 3" cone filter) and the lunchbox is hacked off. All of the original parts come with the car though.

He said he beats V6 Mustangs in it, so he has raced it, which sucks. I just don't know here, they seem honest. He's sick of dealing with it, I could be getting a good deal or I could be getting shafted.

Well ask yourself if you're willing to deal with what he's dealing with. I mean you could always fix it up yourself... but at the same time you don't know what other problems might pop up later, because you don't know the complete history behind the car. So it could be a long-term miserable money drain in disguise.

Personally I'd take a slightly slower, more reliable car than a used beat up, faster (when it works) car. You could save up your money and get something better later on (or mod your own ZX3). At least in those scenarios you'll be the one in control and you won't run into any nasty surprises.

I mean yeah sure, you could have a prize on your hands if you work with it and have the patience to do all the repairs. But the chances of that sound pretty slim. I know that a $3k SVTF sounds amazing, but this one looks seriously trashed. Even though he's a nice and honest guy, I personally wouldn't respect him for the way he treated that poor SVTF. I just hate to see such a beautiful and fun car get abused like that in the hands of an irresponsible owner.

I HAVE A POWER STEERING PUMP FOR U 40SHIPPED
id buy it for 2500

I'd keep my ZX3 if it was in better condition, but the reality is that as much as I love it, it's seen better days. The car has sentimental value to me, it's been in my family since it was brand new. But it has some fairly serious bodywork issues, the seats and carpet are done for, and it has 145k on the original Zetec. Also it doesn't drive right now because it needs a throwout bearing. It kinda sucks knowing that even if I fix the little things that are wrong with it, it's still got a bunch of wear and tear on it. I'm sure I could get it to at least 200k, though.

Buying an SVT for 2500, then selling my ZX3 for 2500 seems pretty logical. Even if the SVT needs as much as 2k in work it still wouldn't be a bad deal in my opinion.

good parts car. You could swap the motor,brakes, tranny and interior stuff into your ZX3 but sounds like the rest is about gone.

i would buy it if i didn't have too many cars already

i had power steering rack and pinion, and ps pump replaced in my old zx3 last novemeber. cost me lot of money.
Refurbished power steering rack from ebay- $200 (free shipping)
ps pump- $70 from advanced auto
$400-500 to get it replaced at my garage.

i wouldnt buy it. our ps racks are know for a seal to go bad on them, making the fluid leak out and drying the pump. that's what happened to me.

I would try to drive the price down a bit. I would buy it, it doesn't have as much problems as the cars my friends buy (for WAY more).

And if it doesn't work out, you could get almost all of the money back by parting it out to us folk.

UPDATE.

I went and drove it again today. I took it to a local hick garage where they told me that they think it's burning coolant, not oil, and it is probably a head gasket or a valve.

After looking at it for awhile I convinced them to sell it to me for 2000. I know I could be screwing myself over but it's a chance I'm obviously willing to take. I put 200 down on it and I'm going to go pick it up Monday. IDK about making the 30 minute drive back to my house in it, I'll have to figure that one out- coolant in the oil is not a good lubricant.

If you have AAA have them tow it.

Rent a truck +dolly from uhaul.

Sweet! Congrats bro. Id def get a uhaul or AAA as ah1f39 said. Maybe post in the rengional area to see if another member would have a truck and tow it for ya for the price of gas.

UPDATE.
I took it to a local hick garage where they told me that they think it's burning coolant, not oil, and it is probably a head gasket or a valve.


Obviously the hick garage doesn't know what they're doing. A valve would have nothing to do with burning coolant. My recomendation: Test compression- will be low due to VCT but can at least check to see if all cylinders are even. Do a leak down test- Will tell you if you have leaking valves or rings. Do a coolant system pressure test- Will tell you if you have a head gasket issue. Best to do the pressure test with a cold engine and then again with hot engine as coolant leaks may not appear until warm. Then you'll have an idea of what to do to correct problem.[wrenchin]

Did the car throw any CELs when you drove it?

Poor SVT....adopt it before it gets used for target practice or set on fire in their backyard!!!

It throws a CEL and idles high (like 2500) when it's started up. I'm trying to find a way to tow it.

I had to save it from it's eventual fate of being riced to the point of extinction. If I can get it running I'm just going to restore it and maybe do some really minor mods.

Check the MAF and for a vacum leak. You may find the cel is connected to the smoke.

Yay, and SVT being saved from an abusive environment! Hope all goes well.

So what should my checklist look like for initial tuneup when I get it home? I'm definitely putting new plugs in it, checking for vac leaks, looking at the MAF, and having the CEL checked. Anything else I should look at before I take it to a shop for a compression check?

damn that was a real chance for me to pick up a lexus steering rack...

So what should my checklist look like for initial tuneup when I get it home? I'm definitely putting new plugs in it, checking for vac leaks, looking at the MAF, and having the CEL checked. Anything else I should look at before I take it to a shop for a compression check?

Plug wires, air filter. Check cam timing. Run injector cleaner through it. Put in 92+ octane.

If it's not a head gasket I bet the smoke clears up.

Plug wires, air filter. Check cam timing. Run injector cleaner through it. Put in 92+ octane.

If it's not a head gasket I bet the smoke clears up.

Agreed. I'm going to drive it to Autozone and give it a tuneup in the parking lot before commiting to rent a tow dolly to pull it. I will be a happy camper if an easy tuneup clears the smoking. [wiggle]