Hello All. My name is Clay and this is the first time I have ever joined a forum and posted. But I thought it would be a good idea to start as I am looking to purchase a stealth RT/TT this spring. I am from the Toronto Area and have found a '92 with 230 000kms on it. I have not seen it yet but may go this weekend. The owner says it had a new engine put in around 200k by the owner before him and he is currently having the water pump and timing belt done. He assures me the body is mint and interior is clean aside from some tears in the drivers seat. It comes with a safety but its written buy his friend who is a mechanic. it listed for $6500. I have read this forum and made a list of things to look for, but I wanted to ask what people think of buying a vehicle with an engine swap done? Its a 26 year old car with higher mileage so Im not surprised the engine went but what could this mean for the tranny? Also I believe the onlyother mod is a high performance exhaust. (what ever that means)

I am excited about this because I have wanted one since high school so I am looking for a sober second opinion.

Thanks for any help.

 

Manual or automatic? That equates to around 140k miles, which really isn't bad. Auto trans might make me a bit nervous though.... Go have a look, and see what you think.

If it was a new (rebuilt) motor dropped in there, and done right, all should be well. If it is half-assed, stay away from it.

 

Might want to ask if they rebuilt or replaced the turbos when they did the engine? Find out the details of the rebuilt motor.

 

Thanks for the reply, I will see what he says about the rebuilt turbos but I doubt he will know as the previous owner did the work. I was considering another car with these details in the add: With all that work it doesnt soud like he did any work to the actual engine, just bolted a bunch of stuff on. Doesnt a block need different pistons/ring and stronger bolts on the head to deal with the added boost? This guy wants 12K which s twice the cost of the stock one.

Im just debating what is better, to buy a stock one and build it myself or buy a tuned one and fix issues that may come up. I have decent mechanical skills but not lot of free time (2 kids).

 

I would be more tempted to start with a stocker, and build from there. That way, you KNOW what you have, and that any work done was done right.

 

I recently bought a 91 Stealth ES SOHC. I'm having a starting issue that has got me stumped. More times than not it will start up just fine, 1 to 2 cranks and good to go. Other times it cranks and cranks but no fire. takes about 10 tries before starting finally and after starting it will idle at about 3 grand, again this issue is occurring maybe once every two weeks, it will do it a couple times on the same day or maybe two and then go back to being normal. So far I have replaced the Mass Air Flow Sensor, Ignition Control Module, plugs and wires, and battery. Any suggestions? its hard to diagnose when the problem is so intermittent.

 

Yeah, the intermittent problems are always fun.....

Are you getting any codes?

 

The previous owner tampered with the port (trying to "fix" and aftermarket alarm system) and my scanner cannot connect. Not like OBD1 was super helpful in the first place. Check engine light has been on but in a car 25+ years old I would expect that.

 

Does the 'key trick' work on a stealth??? Cycle the key on-off-on-off-on, and the CEL blinks codes at you??

 

I have not tried that. I will let you know.