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Car Buyer's ArtBy:Matthew N. Harwood 6) Interior. Is it clean, complete and intact? Do the gauges all work and in are they in good condition? Do the clock and radio work? Lift up an edge of the carpet and check for rust or rotted wood in the floors, especially above the exhaust system and in the foot wells. Upholstery can get expensive and it isn’t usually a DIY type of thing. A good interior is a big plus. Make sure the material isn't rotted or dry, check the seams for signs of splitting threads, sit on all the seats, front and back, and use your backside for checking for thin padding and broken springs. Check the headliner for crumbling. Check all the rubber seals around the doors and windows. Check the windows—are they clear and crack-free, or are they starting to bubble and get cloudy? Or, if your car is like mine, did someone shoot out a few windows with a BB gun? Think about replacing things like the pedals, steering wheel, gearshift, etc. and decide whether these are things for which you can realistically expect to find replacements. If it’s a convertible, make sure the top assembly is complete. You can replace the top fabric easily enough, but replacing lost bows and hardware can be impossible. 7) Engine. Does it run? Check for smoke. Blue smoke is oil consumption and indicates bad rings or valve seals. Black smoke is typically a poorly adjusted carburetor. Gray smoke can be anything from a cracked block to a blown head gasket to a cracked piston. White smoke, which is often water vapor, is normal until the car is fully warmed up after a drive. Just idling the car will not warm it sufficiently to get water vapor out of the exhaust. Get the car on the road and up to operating temperature to make a final assessment. Does the engine pull smoothly or does it stumble when you tip into the throttle? Are there any unpleasant noises? Frequently, old cars will have some valvetrain noise that is normal. Listen carefully for any knocking, tapping, etc. that might indicate a mechanical problem. If the car has functional gauges, monitor them closely to check for proper oil pressure and water temperature. After your drive, check the entire drivetrain again; a lot of bad things can happen when metal parts get hot. Check the coolant again—is it leaking anywhere? Check for oil leaks around the valve covers, the rear main seal, front timing chain cover, and anywhere else there’s a gasket sealing the inside of the engine from the outside world. A dirty engine is a sign of neglect, and probably indicates some leakage somewhere. Pull a spark plug or two: they should be golden brown in most cases. Black and oily indicates that the car is running rich or there's an oil leakage problem into the cylinder or that this particular plug isn’t firing properly. White might suggest that the air/fuel mixture is lean and because of that, there might be damage to the cylinder head, cylinder walls, head gasket or valves because of it. A missing electrode probably qualifies as VERY, VERY BAD. Smell the coolant and make sure it doesn’t smell like exhaust gasses. Pull out the dipstick and check the condition of the engine oil. Even if the owner just dumped fresh oil into the crankcase, it will have sludge in it if the engine's dirty, especially on an older car without an oil filter. Check the carburetor and make sure it isn't covered with sludge and doesn't have varnish inside the barrels. Pull the air cleaner and look down the carburetor’s throat. It shouldn't be black in there. Make sure the air cleaner has been properly maintained and is functional. Check exhaust manifolds for cracking, and make sure the exhaust is not leaking. If there are any heat riser valves, make sure they are functional (non-functional heat-riser valves can cause burned exhaust valves and other internal engine damage from backed-up exhaust gas). 8)Transmission & Drivetrain. Older manual transmissions that have received even cursory maintenance are practically bulletproof. Early automatics are often finicky, but the hardware is pretty tough. But you should always test all components to insure that there isn’t any indication of abuse or severe neglect. During your test drive, be very aware of the transmission. Does it shift smoothly? Are all the gears functional and quiet? You should probably expect some gear whine in first and even second on older cars, however. Are the synchos functional (most cars after 1932 or so have synchromesh transmissions) or do the gears clash? Go up and down through the gears several times to make sure there are no bad teeth, worn bearings or bent shift forks. If there's a dipstick, pull it out and inspect the lubricant: automatics should be clean. A burned smell indicates damage. On manual transmissions, it's tougher to look at the lubricant, so check the drain plug and housing for leaks. Clutches in older cars are marginal in most cases—the technology just wasn’t there to make durable clutches. Because of this, it’s doubly important to make sure that whatever type of clutch is installed in your prospective car is functioning properly. Check for a slipping or burned clutch—a slipping clutch often smells like overheated brakes. If you're on a test drive, put it in high gear at a relatively low speed and tip into the throttle rather aggressively—it should pull cleanly and evenly. If the engine speeds up without pulling the car with it, the clutch is slipping. Make sure clutch engagement is smooth and not grabby, and that the linkage moves smoothly without any lumps in the effort. Check the universal joints for wear (this is usually visible unless the car has a torque tube, in which case you can only check for leaks). On your test drive, try to see if the driveshaft vibrates. You can usually feel this through the seat of your pants more than through the wheel or pedals. Like the transmission, it’s pretty hard to break a rear end in an older car. Just to be sure, give it a thorough inspection as well. Make sure the rear end isn't leaking. Listen for any noises coming out of it. A clicking sound in turns can mean that a limited-slip differential is worn. Check the ends of the rear axle for signs of leakage and bad seals. Listen for bearing noise (a low-pitched rumbling hum). If you can, get the rear end up in the air and turn it manually to check for any rough feeling in the gears. On an open differential, turning one wheel forward will turn the other wheel backwards. On a limited-slip unit, both wheels should turn in the same direction and it should be difficult to do so. Check the axle housing for signs of damage, bent axle tubes and cracks. 9) Brakes. Before you take a drive, CHECK THE BRAKES! Sit in the car and push the brake pedal and listen—is there a squishing sound that would indicate a leak? Can you hear the mechanism working (squeaks, groans)? Is the pedal soft or firm (in cars with hydraulic brakes, it should be pretty firm)? If you feel confident, take the car for a drive. Do the brakes slow the car down? How well? Pre-1960s cars typically have terrible brakes, so don't compare them to modern brakes. However, they should still slow the car at a progressive pace in response to pedal pressure. The car should not pull to one side when you apply pressure. Listen for squealing and grinding that might indicate worn pads or shoes. If possible, pull the wheels and inspect the brakes. Check the drums and rotors—if they’re ruined, are replacements available? Look for fluid leaks, especially around the wheel cylinders. Check the wheel bearings and make sure they've been serviced regularly. If the car has cable or mechanical brakes, make sure all the levers and pulleys are straight and lubricated. Check all hydraulic lines for signs of rot, rust or leakage. Lines on these old cars often rusted before the fittings did, so make sure they are all intact and leak-free. Stick your finger into the master cylinder and check the color of the fluid. It should be clear and golden in color, though some older cars might use some special fluids. Just make sure it's clean. Black fluid is bad and indicates moisture and overheating of the brakes. Rust in the master cylinder indicates that the entire brake system is probably shot. Make sure the linkage from the pedal is not bent or damaged. If it has power brakes, make sure whatever booster is used is functional. Check any vacuum lines feeding it—if they're missing, they can be very difficult to re-plumb properly. 10) Suspension. Make sure there are no bent suspension members. Turn the steering wheel to check for play in the linkage. There will be some, but it should not be excessive. Sitting still, turn the wheel from lock to lock and feel for any unpleasant sensations coming from the steering box. It should be consistent and smooth. Make sure the car isn’t sagging and that the ride height is consistent from front to back and side to side. A low corner can indicate a broken spring or frame damage. Bouncing up and down on a bumper isn't really a good gauge of the shock absorbers' condition, but doing so can reveal any squeaks or groans from the suspension that you won't hear on the road test. Take it for a drive and listen for any rattles or groans from the suspension. Make sure the car rides properly—a Cadillac is probably supposed to float like that! See how it tracks down the highway and make sure it isn't the crown of the road causing it to pull to the right. If there's power steering, check the fluid to make sure it is clean and unburned. Make sure the power steering unit doesn't moan under load, and that the system has no leaks. Finally, DON'T FALL IN LOVE—be objective. Don't let one great feature overshadow a lot of shortcomings in other areas (“Wow, it has the rare knock-off wheels, but the engine’s missing! Heck, I’ll take it!”). A low-mileage car is nice to find, but if it's really low mileage, be concerned that things like seals, gaskets and other replaceable items might be shot anyway, just from sitting. Remember, unless it's a high-end classic, there are probably other cars just like it around somewhere, so keep looking. Plan to spend several hours inspecting the car—don’t make this deal on a 10-minute test drive. An honest seller will understand this. I know it's exciting, and any car you see in person will make it easy for you to imagine yourself behind the wheel. But there are a lot of amateur restorers out there (and I stress amateur), and they've done a lot of damage to old cars over the years. For example, I recall hearing stories about one old car that was restored by a plumber who changed all the threads on the car to NPT, making it impossible for anyone else to service it or get replacement parts. Make sure you don't have to spend your money undoing somebody else's mistakes just to get back to zero. The oldest advice in the hobby is the most seldom followed: It's always, always, always cheaper to purchase the nicest car you can afford rather than to restore a basket case yourself. It’s so easy to say to yourself, “I’ll just do all the work myself and save a ton in labor costs.” Wrong. A finished car is usually worth less than the cost of its restoration, so the seller's loss is your gain. And if you’re doing this for financial gain, I’d argue that your money is probably better invested elsewhere. Cars are notoriously poor investments, no matter what make or condition they are. In order of priority, I look for three things when examining a potential restoration candidate: rust & damage free body, completeness of the entire car, and condition of chrome. Mechanicals are easy to fix on old cars, and the costs of doing so pale in comparison to the cost of bodywork, chrome and replacement trim parts. Be a smart buyer—do your homework and be objective. It took me more than two years of searching before I found my '41 Century, and that’s probably about average. It is exactly what I wanted. Read my web page for my story, and you'll understand why you don't want to "settle" for a car that just isn't right. There are always other cars out there, I promise.
Matthew N. Harwood | ||||||||||||||||||||||
