High Millage Alltrac, What to expect ?

GTSfreak

New member
Hi there, its been awhile since i've been active on this forum. I used to have a GTS and eventually sold it, i recently came across an ad on craigslist of a 1992 alltrac with 232k on the odometer.

Now the owner does claim that the engine was rebuilt before he bought it but obviously when i talk to him more im going to try and find if he has any proof of that.

He does seem honest because he is listing everything that is wrong with the car.

He says its going to need a new throw out bearing so might as well include that i will need to replace the entire clutch. Also says one of the axle boots is ripped ( cheap fix ). Air bag light is on AND abs light, now this part is concerning. he says its never been in an accident but sometimes both of those lights on means an accident. He does have the nice RC bumper on it but its black so it will need to be painted. ac doesnt work.

Other than those things he says the car runs and drives fine with absolutely no issues what so ever. Im wondering if anyone has issues with abs and air bag lights in their alltracs and what solves the problem aswell ?

Hes asking 5k and he doesnt seem like he wants to budge. I've looked on here aswell ( i live in ca so there arent alot here for sale that are in running driveable condition ) I saw one on here for around 1200 but he does not respond. and another one i saw for around 3k had engine knocking problems which im not interested in having to completely rebuild an engine. id like to get one that i can just lay down a coat of paint, freshen everything up and get driving.

So is there anything else i should look for ? or any advice on the problems his car has to begin with that can be solved would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you !

Kody
 

Corey

Active member
Hey,

Not sure about the airbag system (my car doesnt have one), but the abs light might be caused by a missing or burnt out fuse. Its really easy to check - its located in the engine bay fuse box next to the battery.

To be honest, the abs system is pretty bad anyway. A number of owners (including myself) have found the parts needed to remove it. Saves 22lbs of weight and frees up space in the engine bay.

Id check the rear quarter panels and the pinch rails for rust. On the wide body celicas they tend to get rusty near the rear pinch rails.

Welcome (back) to the club
 

Magroo

New member
Oil leaks. Mainly from valve cover, distributor, and oil cooler.

Anything rubber is probably due for replacement. Engine mounts, bushings, hoses, intake hoses, cv boots, ac hoses.

Wheel bearings could probably use some love.

Engine wiring loom near the timing cover is probably cooked, hard, and brittle.

Ecu could probably need new capacitors since they are probably leaking by now. This applies to basically all the electronics in the car at this point.

HVAC system probably needs a good cleaning, at least drop the blower motor and clean what you can get to.

Cooling system may need a good flush.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head for immediate stuff to look for.
 

GTSfreak

New member
Corey":1np1xa15 said:
Hey,

Not sure about the airbag system (my car doesnt have one), but the abs light might be caused by a missing or burnt out fuse. Its really easy to check - its located in the engine bay fuse box next to the battery.

To be honest, the abs system is pretty bad anyway. A number of owners (including myself) have found the parts needed to remove it. Saves 22lbs of weight and frees up space in the engine bay.

Id check the rear quarter panels and the pinch rails for rust. On the wide body celicas they tend to get rusty near the rear pinch rails.

Welcome (back) to the club

Thanks or the response ! i'll forsure have to do that and see what i can do. maybe those lights are an easy fix. thinking about it now with the car having 232k on it probably is inevitable that those sensors go faulty or fuse as you mentioned after all this time.


Magroo":1np1xa15 said:
Oil leaks. Mainly from valve cover, distributor, and oil cooler.

Anything rubber is probably due for replacement. Engine mounts, bushings, hoses, intake hoses, cv boots, ac hoses.

Wheel bearings could probably use some love.

Engine wiring loom near the timing cover is probably cooked, hard, and brittle.

Ecu could probably need new capacitors since they are probably leaking by now. This applies to basically all the electronics in the car at this point.

HVAC system probably needs a good cleaning, at least drop the blower motor and clean what you can get to.

Cooling system may need a good flush.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head for immediate stuff to look for.

Forsure going to flush every fluid out of it if i do buy it. i just personally feel like its a bit high of a price but if i can manage mid to low 4's id be completely satisfied.

Also heres a pic of the car.
 

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Redrkt01

New member
If he won't budge from 5k, then move on. There are plenty of st185s out there. For 5k you could have a car that has at least been painted. The seller is most likely someone who isn't part fo the community and senses a "rare" or "collector" status to the car, thus asking way over what it should go for in an unfinished condition.
 

Redrkt01

New member
Here's one in CA: viewtopic.php?t=52655

Spend $1000 on the car itself, $500 (or less) on shipping it to your home, and then spend between $0-$3500 on repairs.....

That would be better than the 232k craigslist car.
 

GTSfreak

New member
See the thing is about that car in that link, im not interested in doing body work and buying an engine and trans aswell as re doing the entire interior to make it look nice.

The one thing i do like about the one i posted is that the interior is actually in great shape. and i could drive it home and have a running driving vehicle. Then spend a few days sanding and laying down paint and it would then look like a nice car inside and out.

But i do agree he is asking high.

The only issue im finding with some of these cars for sale in ca atleast is some of them either have rod knocking, no engine, needs body work. There was one in the market place but the guy wont respond and other people have said the same thing.

Its just difficult to find an st185 here in ca thats running, driving, little to no body work and fees all paid which his car is all caught up on fees and currently registered.

I'll continue to look though, maybe im asking for too much but i just really want one that i can drive home and enjoy and eventually get it to where i want it.
 

underscore

Well-known member
These cars can have high labour costs because of the complexity, and most mechanics haven't even heard of them let alone worked on them. These two things typically mean maintenance of some kind has been neglected. With that in mind I'd be driving any car you get for a while before worrying about stuff like body work or ABS. They may be Toyota's but they're 25 year old turbocharged cars, they're going to be hard to find in general let alone in the kind of condition you're looking for.
 

Redrkt01

New member
Underscore is right. Which is why I said you should buy a cheaper car and pay to have it delivered and do the work yourself. To own one of these, even one in top-notch condition, requires a level of commitment which includes working on the car. And if you think you'll be daily driving this car, you're dreaming. Daily alltracs have a lot of time and money put into them. Their owners can do pretty much all the maintenance required. Owners that can't/don't end up selling their cars. Perhaps the one I posted is a bridge too far, but trust me when I say you're better off getting a cheaper car and putting the time/money into it from the get go. Buying a more expensive car will nickel and dime you after you spent all your bank on it.
 

GTSfreak

New member
understandable.

And i don't necessarily plan on dailying it. i just want another project car but not something that requires thousands of dollars in repairs just to get it driving.

I already have my supra im in the process of building its engine so i really don't want to have another engine in pieces trying to get them both in.

But im getting mixed signals here because im being told that thats too expensive but then on the other hand it seems to be rare to find an alltrac thats running and driving and doesnt need a ton of work at the moment. so wouldnt the price be justified ? it seems like they arent that common as far as one thats running and driving. so naturally owners will supply and demand.

I mean i get it, they arent exactly the most reliable cars in the world. but that doesnt affect my desire for one the slightest.

i guess the way i see it is these cars that are selling with no motor i noticed most of them have beat up damaged interiors so it would be alot more than just buying a motor/trans and dropping it in.. if i can manage to get this car and leap ahead all of that wouldnt that be the easier more logical decision ?

Its like lets say i buy the 1000 dollar car.. spend money on motor/trans, doing body work and repairing/replacing interior and then there is finding out how much money is owed on backed fees if any after brought out of non op. id probably end up spending more than i would this car.

Maybe im over thinking it, but i feel like getting the car if i can for 4k wouldnt be a bad deal and it would skip all of the time it would take to get one with out an engine going. is it really that bad of a deal for 4 k ? apparently the motor is rebuild but if he didnt have papers to prove that id low ball him at like 3500.
 

Redrkt01

New member
I think you're comparing apples and oranges. The rarity and functional aspect aren't what dictate the price. Yeah, alltracs of all years rare compared to most cars, but you don't see $25,000 asking prices. What you should be comparing is one alltrac against another. There is a thread that just got started here attempting to track and make sense of pricing because it's all over the place....mostly because of people like the craigslist seller....seemingly making a number up. If you dig enough you'll find current or former listing for $5000 and find that those cars are better off than that pic you posted.
 

GTSfreak

New member
I guess im just looking at my current situation and what i've seen from searching around online.

I mean even one on here thats also red hes asking i believe 3300 but says its burns coolant fast and over heats within 10 minutes. then he also goes on to say that its been sitting for roughly 8 years before he tried getting it all running and smog legal. so with that in mind.. if a alltrac of condition like that is around 3k that for 2 more a running driving one seems within the right confines of the prices they're averaging currently.

The car im interested in does have some minor things like ARC intercooler, Tom's c3 evolution wheels, whiteline rear strut tower bar, exhaust system and has minimal body damage. i don't personally add value to a car based on its modifications but im sure hes also using them as a means to attempt to increase his asking price.
 

Redrkt01

New member
He definitely is. Which is another reason to buy a car that doesn't have that built in as a markup. Build it yourself so that you know both what you have invested in it and what work you have done to it or has yet to be done. If you're to be a committed owner, then you're gonna end up doing a bunch of work and making lists of things that need to be tackled as well as making upgrades at some point. I just don't know why you'd throw 5k at one to start. 3E5 paint alone is $1500 per gallon. You have to do the whole front end and blend it into the doors. That right there should be a deal breaker. I'm urging you to look at prices all over the country....even if you're not willing travel for one. You gotta see what's out there. Nobody buys a 232,000 mile unpainted alltrac with ABS and SRS lights for $5000.....not even if it's running.
 

GTSfreak

New member
All about the situation you're in though. i mean i cannot try to buy a car out of state. i have looked but even then i don't see many listed to have much to compare on.

I guess its just a matter of waiting and looking more. but the message im getting here is its better for some reason to buy a shell than to buy a running car.
 

GTSfreak

New member
I've been talking to him and he is willing to go 4000.

*EDIT* also looking outside of state. in the market place section and someone wants 3k for a shell. still seems like its leaning towards around the right price. i havent yet seen one thats running with out issues for any less than 4k.
 

underscore

Well-known member
I wouldn't really consider a car that needs a throwout bearing a running & driving car, in my mind that's a project base just like most of the ones that are for sale.

As well I'd definitely want details on how and when the engine was rebuilt, and how thorough they were. If they were in that deep but didn't replace the throwout bearing that would be a red flag for me. When I got my engine rebuilt I had the shop replace absolutely everything, a fair bit of it was extras that most people don't normally do but the resulting bill was higher than the asking price for this entire car and I shouldn't have to dive back in again because a part was skipped over.

As for daily driveable ones you can try to have one but they're still old cars with quirks. I've thrown far more than my asking price into mine and gone through it front to back but things can still happen. It all depends on what you want out of it, but the old saying "The most expensive Porsche you can buy is a cheap one" applies to Alltracs as well.
 

GTSfreak

New member
i rarely have ever had newer cars. my current daily is an 86 toyota pickup. and my supra was my daily before the truck. it had 240k on it.

Im not sure if they can be considered as reliable as a typical toyota but maybe not.

The throw out bearing apparently is just making the sounds which would be its on its way out. But i'd imagine it was probably just some shop that rebuilt the engine and still and put on all the old components. I doubt it was any sort of specialty shop or place that is known for high quality work.. its like how alot of average shops are these days.. they tell you, you need a rebuild and they don't do anything else. even using old gaskets and parts just to get the car back together and out the door.

But if i can find an alltrac thats got minimal body damage and minimal interior damage than id be more than willing to be open minded and look at my options. im just being straight forward, ive looked for quite some time and most of them that are complete cars are rarely going for any less than 3k let alone if they run or not.

I wouldnt mind a shell but the one for a grand just has too much body damage for me. im not a body guy and taking it to a shop to have deep dents pulled and then filled can be upwards of a thousand dollars or more if you want a quality shop to handle it.
 

silverarrow27

New member
Be patient, if you really want a driveable All Trac for about $4-5k that needs minimal restoration/work. There was a red one in Tucson, AZ a few months ago for $4k, I was tempted to pick it up since I was down that way for a work conference the week I saw it on Craigslist also. It appears it was well taken cared of, completely stock, interior looked excellent, body just need a detail or a new coat of paint. Red just isn't a color I want though.
 

GTSfreak

New member
silverarrow27":1vv56ymc said:
Be patient, if you really want a driveable All Trac for about $4-5k that needs minimal restoration/work. There was a red one in Tucson, AZ a few months ago for $4k, I was tempted to pick it up since I was down that way for a work conference the week I saw it on Craigslist also. It appears it was well taken cared of, completely stock, interior looked excellent, body just need a detail or a new coat of paint. Red just isn't a color I want though.


Sounds like a nice option for the price.

Well that car was sold so its not happening, before he sold it i did get him down to 4k but someone snagged it. i'll continue to look. some how im having a very difficult time finding any on craigslist. and id contemplate a shell if it was a clean one inside and out for around 2k.

Im probably going to look at neighboring states but its just the whole traveling and checking out the car and shipping etc.

I have looked on auction sites and they actually seem to be worse deals. and then some of these sites called classic cars for sale seem to have some good deals. but when you contact the seller you don't get a response atleast from my experience.
 
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