>From: Richard Gosling <richard.gosling@exprogroup.com>
>
>Things to worry about if you find them on the car when checking it out:
>
<snip>
I would add
Rust: make sure the area where the radius arm from the rear
suspension bolts to the tub is solid. (Look for a metal bar
running forward from the rear wheel to the area behind the
seats.) Since the spit is body on frame, this is really the
only area on the body that is "structural" and weakening
due to rust can be disasterous (although quite repairable).
Engine: thrust washers. If these $5 parts wear and fall out,
the engine is probably beyond saving (short of heroic re-engineering
efforts). The thrust washers control fore and aft motion of the
crankshaft; their condition can be checked by levering the crankshaft
pulley back and forth. I'm not sure of the specs off hand, but
the rule of thumb is the thickness of a fingernail, e.g not much!
(when you do buy a spit, you might want to consider changing these;
it's cheap and can be done with the engine in the car with the
oil pan dropped fairly easily. Opinions vary as to the necessity
of this and how often, so ask around and make up your own mind.
FWIW, I personally don't like to run up too much more than 50,000
miles on a set of thrush washers.)
Good luck!
Greg Rowe
_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
/// spitfires@autox.team.net mailing list
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|