Major Service/Preventive Maintenance

Full service with your belts and bearings,all fluids, and do all your fuel and oil lines brand new.

New tires, and a new battery while you are already there, and I would change the brake pads even if they are thick given they are 30yrs old.

Then I would drive it a bit , not long distance drives see what little things creep up as you drive to shake the bugs out it.

Sounds like a perfect car.

Set aside 20k for what I suggested to be on the higher safe side.

Congrats and welcome to the Chat !

 

Make sure you have all the fuel and brake lines checked for condition (dry rot), this could potentially pose a serious problem if ignored.


Wade

 

Do you (or him for that matter) have any idea what you are in possession of if every bit of this is 100% accurate?

I would service it, put it in the next big auction detailing this history. Take the lottery money you will get, buy a great driver 3X8, and travel Europe with my (big) profit for a month.

 

Dr. Tommy has a point. You could potentially pocket a six-figure premium over a "driver" car, unless your partner gave it to you or has some expectation that it stay in the proverbial family.

 

Also, have someone do a quick check of the fuel tanks and replace the filter. If it sat with gas in it, gas can go bad and turn to varnish inside the tanks. You don't want crud gunking up your fresh fuel lines.

Lastly, POST PICS!!!!

 

If it were me, I'd save the original tires on the rims and get a replacement set with newer tires to drive it. Sounds like a very well preserved car that would show very well.

 

The good news is, you have a great car. The bad news is that driving it will dramatically reduce it's value.


So...decide if you want to DRIVE the car or sell the car. If you want to sell it, don't do ANYTHING to it. If you want to drive it, then do everything as suggested and use the car!

 

Back to the top of the thread, even the most coddled 30 year old car has a lot of parts that will be fragile due to old age.

Perhaps the most important items are inside the engine, especially the rubber timing belts. If one of the belts breaks then you are looking at $ five figure costs to repair. Flush and replace all the fluids, and pay attention to all the rubber lines and hoses. I speak from experience. Also, brittle tubes and hoses with small cracks can have big consequences (e.g. an engine fire).

From a safety standpoint, your tires are probably 2x-3x their safe life. You might be okay for short distances at low speeds (e.g. driving it to a local concours), but it would be a roll of the dice if you take it on the freeway. The braking system is another safety area that will need some attention.

Having said all of that, there are a bunch of people on this site that would be thrilled to have the opportunity before you. These cars are only clean and original once, and most have seen changes over the years... changes that often cost a fortune to reverse.

Give some serious thought to how you want to enjoy this car. That will inform how you spend your money. If you want a pristine show car that is driven infrequently, then you will make different decisions than you might if you want to drive it 5K-10K miles per year. There's no wrong answer, it comes down to your preferences.

One more thing... it sounds like you have a pristine example that is much like it was when it rolled off the dealer's floor. There are a lot of conversations on FChat where people are trying to restore cars to their original lustre, and need help in finding examples of how it should be. Your new car may provide useful evidence that helps others... but you will get a lot of insight in return so don't be a stranger!

Congratulations... and be sure to post lots of photos!

 

Hit the "manage attachments" button, scroll down from the usual chat reply box and you will see it in the additional options section for making a post.

One thing the VIN freaks (I am not one of them) would like to see is the last 5 digits of your VIN. For example, I have an '86 GTB and those numbers for my car are 61327.

 

Looks good. My first 328 (the one in my avatar) was an '86 GTS Red/Black with Boxer trim. Get the major done and enjoy it.

 

Please take a little better pic of the radio. Some guys here like to re-install the same that the dealers used back in the day.

You have a surviving example of one of the ones they used.

 

Looks great!

Like others have said, a belt change is in order, also new tires, and new fuel hoses. All this will probably cost close to $10,000 (there will be a lot of "while we're in there" work) but you will be good to go, aside from typical fluid changes, for several years.

-F

 

20K is about right. Pick your shop wisely making sure it is one who knows what to look for in re-streeting a survivor.

You have a really cool set of paths in front of you.

1 - Drive a really fun car as if (and one could argue) you are her first owner. Enjoy it and forget about anything else.

2 - As mentioned, ride the low-mileage wave, get something else, and bank the extra$ in her maintenance fund so you NEVER have to worry.

 

Actually, low mileage cars can keep their value even if they're driven the same number of miles as every other 328 (2000-4000 miles per year?). If this car is at 7000 miles today, it will be at ~47,000 miles ten years from now while all the other cars are at ~70,000+ miles. See what I mean?

Low mileage cars don't pose quite the dilemma some of you are asserting. Now, cars that sit do tend to need a bit of work to get them up to a proper mechanical level.

-F