North American Turbocoupe Organization



Need some advice!
rkenist Offline
Junior Member
#1
Hello everyone, I've been gone for a long time. I lost my TC in a move 5 years ago and have been searching for a new one ever since.. and I think I may have found it!

Close to my house is an 87, black, 5spd TC with 57,xxx original miles, with every option except leather and the auto trans. Owner says it's in excellent condition, and he's been driving it almost daily for the last few months, but has a new car and nowhere to keep this.

He's asking $3,800 for it. Is it just me or is this a little high? I can afford to pick it up, and there's a chance I will anyway because I miss my TC so much.. but I figured I'd ask you guys what you think first.

Here's what pictures I do have of it:
http://s314.photobucket.com/albums/ll430...urboCoupe/

I'm trying to get out there this afternoon to see it in person, so we'll see what's up.
-87 Black Turbocoupe; all options except leather / auto
61000mi (February 2010)
Stock for now...
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Redbone Offline
Senior Member
#2
From what I can tell, that's a nice looking car with low miles. Sounds reasonable to me. I'd offer $3500 he'd probably take it.
All your boost are belong to us
1988 TC 5m 3" elbow back exhaust(with cat and muffler), Walbro 255, gillis mbc, airbox removed w/ K&N cone, A/C removed, Spec clutch, Ranger roller swap.

John A.
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Timmay Offline
Senior Member
#3
looks nice to me. As for price its just like any other car you go look at. Its only worth as much as your willing to pay for it.
1988 Turbocoupe- RIP in a place without rust!
1978 Mercury Bobcat super clean-2.3T, t5 trans, 8.8 rear 3.73 gears 31 spline axles,255 walboro in-line,MBC,3 inch exhaust,4 wheel disc brakes,5 lug
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rkenist Offline
Junior Member
#4
Well he did say it needs exhaust.. to me it's an opportunity to gut the cat and go for 3" straight through! No emissions here in Michigan, just have to find a shop willing to remove the cat.

I figure I'd offer him $3,500 if I get out there and it's as nice as it seems.. shaving 300 off for the exhaust doesn't sound like a bad deal to me..
-87 Black Turbocoupe; all options except leather / auto
61000mi (February 2010)
Stock for now...
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#5
Assuming it's as clean as it looks, (check underneath and the rails at the strut towers), I say it's easily worth that kind of money.
Pete Dunham


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lonstar7 Offline
Posting Freak
#6
I think I saw this one on ebay last summer. At that time it had a "Buy Now" price over $4000, but I seem to remember the seller was offering it with a 140MPH speedo, not installed, and a few other parts. I agree with Redbone and Pete D, if it's largely rust free, runs and handles well on a test drive, $3500 is a good price. Do a search on the forums for things to check when you buy a TC, someone recently did a nice summary check list for a newly bought TC.
Lonestar7

1988 Black/Red TC, 5 Speed, 92,400miles (on 4/14/2012). KYB Shocks And Struts, 140MPH Speedo, CHE Rear Control Arms, Otherwise Stock.

2005 Volkswagon Golf GLS 1.9L TDI Turbo Diesel, 5 Speed Manual, InMotion Stage II Chip Tuning

1998 Dodge Ram 2500 4X4, 5.9L Cummings Turbo Diesel, 5 Speed Manual

1988 Firebird Formula 350, 350ci Tuned Port Injection, 700R4 Auto
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Timmay Offline
Senior Member
#7
wonder if you could talk a muffler shop into installing a fake cat so it would still look like you had one? Like this one http://www.siliconeintakes.com/product_i...6b039cfa07
1988 Turbocoupe- RIP in a place without rust!
1978 Mercury Bobcat super clean-2.3T, t5 trans, 8.8 rear 3.73 gears 31 spline axles,255 walboro in-line,MBC,3 inch exhaust,4 wheel disc brakes,5 lug
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rkenist Offline
Junior Member
#8
I don't think this is the same car Lonestar, there's no aftermarket offerings, just the vehicle, 2 original sets of keys, it's original manuals, the 1987 motor trend magazine where it was named car of the year, and the original bad water pump that's been replaced.

Edit: That's a good idea about the false cat. I'm going to look into Michigan laws, and see if I can do without, but if not that's excellent.

Well I went out and looked at it, here's the good and the bad.

Good:

The body is in amazing condition. Appears to be original paint all around, and there's no rust on any body panels at all. Underbody is rustfree from what I could see, with small dings around the jack lift points. All lights are fog free with the exception of the fog lights, there's some fogginess there, but not too bad.

The engine runs and sounds fantastic from what I could hear. Took it on a short test drive, got it through the first four gears, it shifted well with no clutch issues. Turbo spools quickly, got it up to 15ish pounds of boost (on factory gauge). Alignment appeared good and straight.

The interior is absolutely in amazing shape for the age. No tears or stains in any seats or carpets, the back seat looks unused. The trunk compartment was also in good shape, with no evidence of hard use or water leaking. Dashboard has no cracks at all, and all trim pieces are intact. Shift boot and knob in good condition. Climate controls work well, factory premium sound in good working order with no blown speakers.

The bad:

Small dent on the passenger side quarter panel(roughly 2 to 3 inches long, 1 inch wide). No rust or paint damage. Sits on a body line, so tapping it out will not produce a perfect fix.

Passenger side taillight has a small crack in it. I didn't even notice it, the owner pointed it out to me.

Suspension needs new shocks/struts. Current owner replaced PRC with used PRC to maintain originality; while that's a good idea, the ones currently on the vehicle aren't the greatest.

Exhaust needs repair. After the Y, one of the mufflers has rotted and fell off the vehicle. Owner has the rotted muffler in the garage. I figure I'd just replace it all headers back with 3" straight.

Here's the potential biggie.. There's a slight oil leak somewhere. It was dark out so I can't confirm, but it's most likely a rear main. Where the transmission meets the engine is wet with fresh oil.


All in all it's an extremely clean car. I do worry about the oil situation. I've worked on my old TC lots, but I have no idea how bad a rear main leak will be to fix..
-87 Black Turbocoupe; all options except leather / auto
61000mi (February 2010)
Stock for now...
Reply

Timmay Offline
Senior Member
#9
Dunno if this helps but my car looked like the rear main was leaking and come to find out it was just a valve cover gasket. If you go look at the car again in daylight look at the back of the block/head above the transmisson if there is oil there then more then likly its not the rear main and its just a turbo line or valve cover gasket.
1988 Turbocoupe- RIP in a place without rust!
1978 Mercury Bobcat super clean-2.3T, t5 trans, 8.8 rear 3.73 gears 31 spline axles,255 walboro in-line,MBC,3 inch exhaust,4 wheel disc brakes,5 lug
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