i saw that car for sale on norotor... sucks that it turned out to be a hack job.

i admit his ad and pictures were very enticing... i would post a review on norotor so people can know what kind of character we are dealing with.

surprisingly this isnt the first v8 swap hack job's i've seen.

lot of time, people tries to do the v8 swap, without realizing how much it ended up costing. they run out of funds and does not have the $$$ to do a proper job. so they neglect here and there... cut a short cut here and there... that's why you seen a lot for sale right after they are finished..supposedly.

im sorry you have to go through this, but thats the risk you take buying a car without seeing it first hand. i would have paid someone $$ to check out the car first.

 

Sucks about the rear control arms and body shape. A few of the other things aren't really a big deal.

The belts hop off the drive when you rev them over 6500rpm all the time, this is completely normal. Not a sign of a "worn out" belt tensioner. Most people just keep an eye on it or go with a aftermarket manual tensioner.

Oil leaks sucks but are VERY common with LS motors. The oil pans are a royal pain to get sealed correctly, they always leak at the corners. I had to redo a pan twice to get it to stop leaking.

The rear control arms are super expensive I'm sure the company would stand behind them and replace them for free.

Sucks about the exhaust and it sounds like it needs a tune.

 

Sorry to hear about the issues.

There are certainly some nice things about the car but if you are sold a peach and get a lemon I'd be pissed too. I can't say that I've ever had the belt of my LS1 jump and I take it to 6600 all the time.



You may or may not want to know but...He is in the Reserve and there are huge cut backs going on all across the guard and reserve with manning. I bet his slot was cut and hes getting the boot, hence the rapid sale aim to please pitch.

He was probably trying to ditch the car asap. It's odd though. Officers get paid more than enough.

I can get you his commanders information if you so choose. Respond in PM if you like.

 

Yeah LS motors are pretty notorious for leaking oil. I pretty much agree with everything the dude above said

You think the transport company could have f'd up that arm by using it to tie down? I doubt anyone would drive around a car with a control arm basically falling off.

 

I saw this for sale on Zilvia and had a little interest in it. Even when you see pics of a car long distance now matter how good it looks you should already be able to digest that it is going to come and not be up to par to your standards. I'm not to familiar with prices of Ls swapped fd I'm hoping you didn't eat it to hard but soon enough man you'll have the few things fixed and should be able to enjoy the car. Ever my work of art thats for sale has its nit picky issues. It looks great in photos though. I guess I'd feel obligated to make a list of the things that are on the back of my mind that I need to fix on my car. Doesn't sound like this guy did that. Sucks, but I'm sure you understood the risks. Give it some time and some work and it'll be up to par in no time.

 

Eh? I've owned several LS vehicles and worked on dozens more and seen maybe 2 oil leaks total. SBC motors leak like a sieve, but an LS seals up really well if you do a good job on assembly. Certainly it should never leak enough for a drop to hit the floor.

I will echo what RX7What said and note that if you do not follow assembly procedures right, they will leak at the oil pan (generally at the rear cover/pan point) but if you follow the build process and line it all up with a straight edge or bellhousing, it's a-ok.

 

I hadn't thought about that, but the circlips should not have popped out on their own and there should not be that much lateral force on those arms under normal circumstances. Additionally they are pretty hand for tying down a car in transport. It would be relatively easy to see if they had been loose for a while based on whether there was wear in the area that the ends were loose and there might also be some ear marks from any strapping tied around them, the car went a long way to get there.

 

very cool

 

a 2010 LS3 with leaking issues, nonsense. but still something minor imo. all the issues added up on the car really make it sound like negligence however, my .02

 

It still looks nice.. I know you were mislead quite a bit but the car will be good with those issues fixed.

 

Not that it's any consolation but for the cost of shipping it back to him at 2600 dollars you could have a really nice running car fixed properly for the same amount of money.

It sucks you got ripped off on the deal. I sold my FD, when I found it had some problems I was upfront with the buyer and knocked 5k off the price and I haven't heard any complaints from him since. It really pays to be upfront, especially when your commission as an officer depends on your behavior in and out of the uniform.

 

I visit Norotors regularly, you really should post about this. I had my car taken care of by PEZ. Who sells many of the harnesses for people on that site, and others (any LSX enthusiasts.)

It sucks what happened. I would recommend you contact PEZ, he regularly FLIES places to fix people's cars, does it for way better price than any shop, and is known for his repairs of HINSON cars that regularly get butchered.

Just a recommendation, I have dealt with Pez for a long while, he is honest, direct, does not rip you off, and will tell you the problem, and fix it for you within your budget.

For the 2600 you are paying to ship, he could fly (or drive depending where you are, he is in SC), and fix your stuff. Or if you wanted, you could ship it to him, and he can do it.

If you search on NR about him, he is known.

Just a tip.

real1st

 

In guessing you havnt been working on and fixing these cars for very long.
2600 is chump change. Add about $10k to that and you may be in the ball park of what this car needs. $15-18k to really make it nice.

The work isn't beyond me. Its just not the car it was represented to be.
That is where the rub is. I paid for a sorted car. I got a beat up half assed example.
No flaws were disclosed.
$2600 couldn't even replace the wheels on this car let alone everything else. Ive been doing this a long time.
Misunderstandings are one thing. Liers and cheats another.

I asked direct questions and was lied to by a scum bag. Its really that simple.

 

I may have missed it. What did you pay for the car?

It should not cost 10k to fix the car.

That's a bit high.

 

Every panel in the car including the roof is hammered. Had dents, holes including the floor pans from someone jacking it up without using lift points. Has half moon tears and upheaved floor pans from the jack.
The body work and paint alone is prob a 7-8k dollar job.
I could add the wheels and tires and we are there.

Interior plastics are broken or beat, none of the holes in the firewall have been plugged or have grommets in there, exhaust ends half way through the car. Smells like raw fuel in my garage so something is up there havnt even figured that out yet.

Car also smells like coolant when up to operating temp. Rear brakes were toast.
Has coilovers but he was not using spanners. He was using a screw driver and hammer to adjust them.
I bought spanners to adjust it. Not a big deal but it all piles up.
No hood rod or dampers. Had to sort that.

As stated the lower control arm was junk, wheels curbed, tires bald.
Leaks oil from somewhere. Hope its just the pan.

Car just feels like it shuts off at WOT.

Do the math. I don't think I am over estimating. That also doesn't account for the hundreds of hours that I or a mechanic has to spend sorting it.

The seats were garbage. Carpet, etc all trash.

Battery floating in a bin and needs to be secured. Hatch has holes in it and leaks, glass has fouled tint. Can barely see out of it.

I don't even know where someone could come up with 2600
Solving these problems lol.

 

Wow. I'm really sorry you had to go through all of this Mike

 

Well with all those issues. 2600 will be chump change.

 

So what did you pay for it?

 

very nice car! Lucky!

 

Terrible, this was a really clean car according to the pictures. It's very sickening to know that someone would sell someone such a piece without letting others know. Maybe because you bought it sight unseen him and his buddies decided to take whatever they could off the car for their own personal gain? Who knows, still would **** me off beyond belief.

 

That really sucks, and to get such a bad deal from someone in the military. I'm a veteran as well and If I got the **** end like this I would find out if this guy is still serving active duty, and then I would find out who his commanding officer is and tell him how much of a scum bag their officer is. He's a disgrace to the code of any military branch, you would think someone who is an officer at that would be honest and trustworthy. That's my take on it, he can be tracked through the military and at least his commanding officer will get to know the real guy that is working for him.

 

wow, that's rough, especially when coming from someone that's meant to protect our country.
hope everything else works out for you