Found a nice monte for sale. Im 19, looking for a fun summer car to mess around and work on a little.

1986 Monte Carlo w/ t-tops.
Body has 51,000 orginal miles
fresh 350 small block 4 bolt with only 32,000 miles
350 turbo tranny
fresh blue paint job
no rust - solid

car has been sitting for 10 years, barn kept
guy says it runs rough - needs a good tune up
only needs passenger seat and carpet

Guy is asking $2,000 for it. What do you think?

350 is from a chevy truck. never been raced

Let's say the engine was properly installed and all that, could I expect any major problems with the car sitting for so long? besides just the tune up

 

I'd check the brake calipers , and brake lines..sounds nice....

 

Welcome 2 the Monte Carlo Family...
It's difficult for me to advise with just your posted words.
Do you have mechcanical experiences ? Tools ? etc.

Do you have a family member/friends that know about cars ? If so, I would have them go with you & inspect this Monte & what the seller claims. $2K isn't a bad price if everything is in working condition, but it also can be a nightmare ? It pays to do your homework & research when investing your hard earned money....Do you presently have a car ? Parts are getting expensive 4-Sure...

Try to post pictures & additional infor OK.
Good Luck & let us know what you decide...
I do like 4th Gen Monte's : )

 

Whenever a car sits that long you have to inspect everything that is made out of rubber for cracks and dry rot.

Weather stripping, rubber lines, etc.

 

Welcome and good luck!

 

That a good deal , everything in that car is easy to work on

 

Wonder why it only has 51,000 miles on the body but yet it has a swapped motor? That would raise questions to me. In my opinion the odometer has probably rolled over once, $2000 is cheap for a car that sounds to be in great shape. Just remember if it sounds too good to be true, more than likely it is. Not saying its not a good buy, have you ran a CarFax on it yet? If not I would do that before you think about buying it. That will show if the odometer has been rolled.

 

While I do agree with jwjones that there are the mentioned things that need to be checked out, I wouldn't be too worried that someone swapped the engine. At best, an 86 Monte came with a 305 v8 which is a dog of an engine. 350 swaps are common with 4th gen Montes. But like jwjones warned, if it sounds too good...

It doesn't hurt to check it out though. You may have found a gem.

 

I'm reading up so I can learn how to fix it up myself in the future but as of right now I've got my dad and he's got a good mechanic to help me. As far as getting the car up to snuff and all tuned up, my dad's guy should be able to take care of it without charging an arm or a leg.

I'm away at college right now but I'm looking for a good summer car and this monte has some potential. I don't want some piece of S*** civic at a comparable price. I would sacrifice gas mileage to be driving around a nice classic like a monte.

The guy selling the car said he got the car from an old lady with only 50k miles so they're pretty easy miles. He did the engine swap a few years ago and has drivin it every once in a while so it hasn't been just sitting around. He claims the car to be completely solid with no body rust or anything underneath.

He has a guy to replace the interior that is missing so all it really needs is a good thorough tune-up. The 2k is right in my price range and it leaves me a little extra to take care of getting it to run good. I'm not really sure what these go for but considering the mileage and overall condition it seems like a really good deal. I know the ss montes can go for a lot but I don't think this one is an ss because it has no signs of the ss decals

I could still use a little advice on what to look for, what problems these cars have and maybe what could i expect to be replaced and fixed (fluids, plugs, battery, breaks, etc..)