Is this 360 a good buy?

Post by **Pappa** » 30 Dec 2007 06:49 pm

Okay. I just got home from checking out an '86 360GL and it looked okay apart from some rust here and there, mostly where the leaf springs attach to the frame and some around the front where you put the jack (jack studs? please help me find the correct word for this, I'm from Norway). The rust near the springs wasn't too bad but there was some rust on the frame near the front wheel / front door on the passenger side that possibly could use some welding. Body, hood, trunk, doors etc. was 100% rust free, other than that there was some surface rust here and there on the frame and leaf springs and so on but nothing too bad i assume. I couldn't get a view from below of the "cups" that the springs / shocks mounts to but from above they looked fine.

The engine has clocked 55k miles and it seemed to run fairly smooth so i assume the engine and ignition is okay, but it wasn't exactly a race car.. it ran just okay but I'd assume it would have a hint more acceleration, and the engine didn't really come alive until high up on the rev-o-meter and then died off. Is this normal?

Also it ran a little dodgy when idling, but the seller seemed to fix this by giving it some gas. The exhaust system is brand new and was quite noisy when cold, but as the engine warmed up it got better. All electronics seemed to work fine and the brakes worked okay (obviously not racing brakes, but they weren't horrible).

Also, the most annoying small fault: The clutch is behaving a little weird and doesn't bite properly until you have released the clutch pedal all the way out, even just an inch in with the clutch and it's nothing. Is this fixable by adjusting a wire or spring or similar or do i need to replace the clutch? It didn't seem to slip at all once it was out all the way, i tried running around 4000 uphill in 2nd and clutching a bit and it didn't slip much.

I was wondering if this is a good buy for 600£, i know prices differ due to country differences but if you want something to compare with he paid 1700£ when he bought it last january, and if i scrap it it will net 180£ (from next year it might net as much as 600£ if the scrap rate is adjusted up for carb engines). All these are priced around 500£-1200£ depending on condition. Also if there's anything you find alarming or that would take considerable efforts to fix please let me know..

Thanks for any help, and sorry for the long post

Post by **petefarrell360** » 30 Dec 2007 09:09 pm

Hi,

The bit's where the jack go are the jacking points. They're a problem as they're attached onto thin metal and can trap water. It's not a huge job to beef them up and repair them. As for the rear leaf hangers, they might require some special fabrication to repair them.

I think you've covered most other things. As for the idling, it probably needs a bit of a clean up for the carb and some simple tuning. 55k isn't anything for one of these engines, so as long as it's been cared for pretty well should be fine or fairly easy to sort.

These engines aren't revvy as such, they've got a fair bit of torque, but come alive at about 3500 to 4000 rpm, but after that it's more noise than anything. Performance wise as standard, they aren't anything super special, but will last practically forever!

As for price, I'd have no idea, it's really if it seems a fair price to you for your needs. If it needs work doing, then take that into consideration and haggle a bit.

Pete

Post by **Pappa** » 30 Dec 2007 09:45 pm

petefarrell360 wrote:Hi,

The bit's where the jack go are the jacking points. They're a problem as they're attached onto thin metal and can trap water. It's not a huge job to beef them up and repair them. As for the rear leaf hangers, they might require some special fabrication to repair them.

I think you've covered most other things. As for the idling, it probably needs a bit of a clean up for the carb and some simple tuning. 55k isn't anything for one of these engines, so as long as it's been cared for pretty well should be fine or fairly easy to sort.

These engines aren't revvy as such, they've got a fair bit of torque, but come alive at about 3500 to 4000 rpm, but after that it's more noise than anything. Performance wise as standard, they aren't anything super special, but will last practically forever!

As for price, I'd have no idea, it's really if it seems a fair price to you for your needs. If it needs work doing, then take that into consideration and haggle a bit.

Pete

Hey there! Thanks for pointing out the correct word for the jack points, i wish i had a technical english dictionary, but i don't

I figure they won't be too hard to beef up, just some metal and 5 minutes with the welder and they'd be okay i guess.

I at least hope the rear leaf hangers will last a while more, it would be a disaster if they broke i guess

It would be "interesting" breaking those at 70mph in the woods.. ouch.

Anyway i guess the price is fair considering the condition, i've seen others at the same price that's clocked 150k+ with rust holes through the frame and broken body parts from all the rust

The body on this one is less rusted than my Audi A6, and the audi body is galvanized

Is cleaning the carb & adjusting the carb and ignition etc. hard or just tedious, and do you need any special tools to do it, or will standard tools suffice? Is there an FAQ on this written somewhere? I saw the one for the 1.4litre in the 340 but I'm gonna assume this is different..

As for the performance, I've invested in a "K"-camshaft which i hope will bring performance up some, and then i might change the carb and modify the exhaust some, hope that'll wake it up some.

Any inputs on the clutch?

Post by **petefarrell360** » 31 Dec 2007 01:21 am

Providing the clutch has plenty of material left on it, it should be adjustble from under the car, on a threaded section on the end of the cable to the clutch release fork....

One thing to do is pick up a Haynes manual, cheap as chips on Ebay normally. That's fairly good for such things as the carb. Yes it is different to the 1.4 carb, and shouldn't need many tools. Might be worth trying a carb cleaning fuel additive first, that might clear some grot out.

Pete

Post by **foggyjames** » 31 Dec 2007 01:53 am

The biggest problem with performance on those cars is the tiny carb. I'd sort that out first, then look at the cam and exhaust system.

cheers

James

Post by **Pappa** » 31 Dec 2007 10:58 am

How about the Weber 36/36DCD?

Post by **foggyjames** » 31 Dec 2007 12:22 pm

Still too small, I'd say. I'd look at a 38/38 as the absolute minimum for 'performance' usage.

cheers

James

Post by **Pappa** » 31 Dec 2007 12:38 pm

Oh okay. Do you happen to know what cars it came stock in?

Post by **Jason B** » 31 Dec 2007 03:39 pm

3.0l ford capri etc i.e. 3.0l "essex" v6. Whereabouts do you live?

Post by **Cornholio** » 31 Dec 2007 06:59 pm

Norway

Post by **Pappa** » 31 Dec 2007 09:25 pm

Yeaah.. forget this thread as i came over to the dark side and bought a 100% rust free '87 340 with 66k miles on the clock for scraps. No performer at 1.4 liters of displacement, but still fun. I welded the diff earlier today to make it a drift machine

Apart from the crappy acceleration it's a blast to drive and i expect it to run rather cheap, which is good. I'll make a project thread on it. It has a few engine quirks and the hatch is a little rattly but I'll fix that eventually.