Intro and question

D

djmarkc

Low Mileage
Hi everyone. Long-time lurker and first time poster here.

I live in Michigan and have owned 2 X's. My first was in the early eighties, a 74 that was often seen along the side of Michigans highways. The front end looked like someone had rebuilt it out of tin cans and the paint job looked like it was brushed on flat black with a big red stripe down the center. A real pos......I was in love!

It took me another 10 years before I was able to get another, this time a beautiful 85 Bertone, gold over brown but sadly while zooming home after work one day an suv decided no one was coming and pulled out in front of me and boom, totalled. Jerked the seatbelt out of the panel but luckily walked away without an injury.

I'm in the market again and have found an 83 Bertone in our area for $2500. My question is what should I expect for that price.

Thanks
 
Welcome Mark

You will get a lot of opinions on this, so I will offer mine. :)

At $2500 for an 83, I would expect the car to meet these "standards":

1. Mileage should be in the 50K to 70K range.
2. Engine should start right up, run pretty smooth and should shift easily into all gears.
3. Rust should be limited to surface only.
4. Interior should be OK.
5. Electricals should all be functioning. Is the alt charging?

The rust issue is the most important. If it has been a northern car it's whole life, it probably has rust. It will eat your car out from under you and it's very expensive to fix properly. Check the rocker areas and inside the trunks. In the front trunk, look particularly at the lower shock tower. The suspension pickup points are located there and have been known to rust through from the outside in. I the rear trunk, look for rust in the wheel wells. In the engine bay, look at the shock towers as well as in the side pods on top of the wheel wells.

It really depends on what you consider acceptable. While finding a car locally is optimal, shipping a car only costs around $900. If the choice is between buying a rusty local car vs a better remote car, balance the shipping cost vs the cost of rust repair. I have chosen to stick to "rust free" Xs, or as "rust free" as any X can be anyway.

Check with Matt Brannon in Columbus OH to see if he has any Xs available. His website doesn't always show every thing he has:
http://www.midwest-x19.com/cars-for-sale.htm

Got any pics? That would help us judge the car.
 
Welcome DJ... I think we had one other X-Head in Michigan...

... but do take LOTS of photos and POST THEM here BEFORE you buy.

I'll not contribute an OPINION and suggest you limit your listening to just the FACTS... but through it all... you'll get some great insight on this site!

Normally I'd say "welcome to the addiction"... but I can see you already need intervention. We have a 122 step program that can help...

HA!
 
Thanks for the input it is exactly what I was hoping for. I am well aware of the rust problem but was not sure what I should expect for $2500.

The car I am interested in is actually at a $2300 asking price and is a nearby CL listing.

http://annarbor.craigslist.org/cto/1036161153.html

I have not had a chance to see it in person but e-mailed and found that it is still available. I'm hoping for a good sunny day before checking it out in person.

Black-Tooth - I do have the addiction. I tried to relieve it with a MINI that I purchased after the crash, It's a great car and fun to drive, but still not the same, Too BIG :lol::lol:
 
Don't forget to check below the corners of the windshield, when I was searching I couldn't find an X locally without rust there. Mind you the majority of Aussie X's are 1300 vintage, can't expect a 30+ year old car to be rust free, even in our climate. The levers behind the left door for the rear storage and engine cover are another gotcha, always break and are frightfully expensive to replace (last one I saw available locally was on offer for $700, I decided to live with a pair of pliers to pull the cables instead, but I plan on fabricating a replacement sometime.). Rust in panels that are easily removed and replaced is less of an issue, granted it's money to spend but it's not going to cost you the same as getting the rot cut out of the main body.

Best advice is to get the nicest X you can afford/find and be patient, a perfect condition body is worth a hell of a lot more than all the engine mods under the sun.
 
Looking for a car

Hi,

I saw your post. The car you are looking at seems to be a nice candidate if it checks out and is not rusted or collision damaged.

FWIW, it's not an 83, it's an 82 Fiat version. Brown interiors ended in 82 (thank goodness) and 83s would have been a two-tone paint scheme, with Iron Cross wheels, and a black or red interior.

I have an 84 here at the shop with 65K, that may go on the market soon. It has been spoken for by a prospective buyer, but several reasons have come up why the deal hasn't been completed yet.

If your local deal falls through, give me a shout. I could probably even deliver it for you, as I make runs to Michigan frequently.

Picture of it here:

IMG_2477.JPG


-M
 
Paul,

I agree, a good body is most important, especially in Michigan. I'm very familiar with the latch release, had to use pliers on both of my past cars.

Mark
 
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