Stupid Impluse buy or lucky newb???

[OkieRA29]

I currently am restoring an RA29(1976 liftback celica) seen here

Right now she is running a slightly modded 20R with a weber sidedraft and headers. I had fancied dropping a 7M-GE/GTE in if I came across one cheaply enough. Last night my friend calls me about a car on craigslist and asks me to check it out this morning. Long story short, I saved this from the crusher this morning.


For my 200$ I got a fairly intact 87 N/A. The starter was broken off the engine. From what I can figure, the transmission was replaced and the starter was not installed properly. Eventually, one of the starter bolts backed out and the starter torqued enough to break off the other ear. the second bolt is complete, but the starter housing itself is broken. The transmission is unknown as to just how old it is. I can't see it having more than a couple thousand miles on it as it is still very clean in comparison to the rest of the car. The guy I bought it from said the transmission went and after replacing it the car never really got back on the road. The interior is trashed, console inserts in the back seat, heater/AC controls on the front floorboard, radio in the back seat, but a quick inventory lead me to believe everything is there, which is better than my celica. The windows(power) are stuck down at the moment. The keys are none existant, so I haven't even turned it on to see what happens. I located a new ignition/key and starter off of craigslist for less than 50 bucks combined. I hope to pick them up this weekend. The engine looks like a 20 year old engine.


I hope to get the new ignition and starter installed this weekend and then get it started to figure out the squawks. I know that I should expect the headgasket to be dead, but I am hoping not. If things go well, after some seat covers, she may become a driver