Here's a link to the full album.
This is my second ST185. I had a modded '90 that I sold a while ago and well, as you can tell, I regretted that decision because I just bought a '92 project. It's not currently running. It's been sitting for at least 6 months. The previous owner said it had a vacuum leak last time it ran that caused a surging idle, but other than that ran well.
The body is overall in pretty good shape aside from a couple dents that look like they'll pop out (and other obvious/easy stuff like mirrors and grille etc). I don't see much rust to be concerned about on the undercarriage. It certainly looks better than my '90 did. There are a couple misaligned panels which usually indicates an accident, but I don't see any signs of bodywork. The out-of-place emblems and pre-92 license plate surround are suspect, as is the fact that the hatch is somewhat misaligned, but again, it looks structurally intact and completely stock. I suppose it's possible it got rear ended but the 1/4 panels were spared because it looks like if I took it to a body shop, they could line it up fairly easily.
Easily the worst thing on the body is the gash there on the right 1/4. Thoughts on that?
The driver's door doesn't open and I'm not sure why yet. I see the handle pulling the rod and the lock feels and sounds like it's functioning, so maybe the rod came disconnected at the latch. I've never taken off a door panel without having the door open before...I suppose it must be possible. The interior is a bit of a mess, but all the missing parts are in the back seat.
The motor...correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like an MR-2 motor? It's been a while since I've been in the world of 3S-GTE's but I do remember that MR-2s came stock with a turbo bypass valve. I don't see any sign of leaks anywhere on the thing. Actually, the only leak I could find was the rear diff, which is pretty soaked as you can see. How can I tell if it's LSD?
I'm waiting until I move somewhere with a garage before I really work on it, but I might try to put some fluids in it and fire it up this weekend to see what happens. Any advice in that dept? I've never tried starting a car that's been sitting for a while. The tank is empty.
