89 Fiji SHP

[87redcat]

Sux to find all the bad stuff Kane. If I didnt have 2 already and a house the wife and I are building I'd really consider it.

GLWS if ya do

D

[MainstreaM]

Sux to find all the bad stuff Kane. If I didnt have 2 already and a house the wife and I are building I'd really consider it.

GLWS if ya do

D

 

Thanks man. It's nothing that can't be fixed and I just can't sell a car with this many problems. Would rather divulge all known issues and lose a sale than to "pass the buck". I have all the necessary parts, just no time. I'm buying a house and land, that involves moving, painting, decorating, light repair, and since it has acreage and a barn, clearing fence rows, etc. After all that is done my current home needs to be prepped for renting. My F350 needs a total suspension redo, it's getting scary to drive there is so much slop in the steering. My Canyon LS2 swap is still about half done thanks to the new house. The real value in this car is the engine, starts, runs great, and despite being a G54, is reliable. lol. It'll get done eventually.

 

Kane

Edited July 24, 2014 by MainstreaM

[Minagera]

Kane, a buddy of mine, natedog, is picking up a Fiji tomorrow (I am helping of course). I saw this and I am super jelly of you both.

[helrazr70]

I posted a response to this thread last week while I was at the beach from my phone but it appears it never posted...

 

I think Kane is being a little hard on his car. Honest sellers tend to do that unfortunately and end up talking people out of the sale accidentally.

 

This car overall is not in bad shape. I am just very observant when checking out cars these days as I have bought a few lemons in the past and learned from my experience. This car is not lemon I am just very picky when it comes to SQs. Anyone who knows me or has been around a while knows I have had some of the nicest ones that could be found or made them that way with lots of work. So now when I search for one I either look for the best possible specimen or look for one that doesn't need a lot to get it there. Right now I am looking for the best car possible for the best price since it will likely be the last SQ I will ever buy. I have bought/built these things for many years and after taking a break from them for a few years I decided that I am done building these cars and chasing parts. I just want a nice one to drive, enjoy, and KEEP for a change. With that said, I really went over Kane's Fiji car to make sure it was the right car for ME.

 

As I said, it's not a bad car at all. I even made a point to talk to the man who did all the machine work on the engine in person before going to see the car to make sure all was kosher-and it was. (Randy Gaines aka "Dad" of EMS--Engine Machine Service)

 

Good points:

 

The value of the car is in it's drivetrain. There was as much money put into the engine compartment as what Kane is asking for the whole car.

Absolutley zero rust---none underneath or on the body

The front sheetmetal is amazingly straight and all the gaps are almost PERFECT

It's all there. No chasing missing parts

It's an SHP car. It's still got the struts, 9" wheels, and door plate.

It has a nice balance of mods so that you either have a solid, dependable drivetrain that will LAST or a solid drivetrain you can SAFELY mod.

It has mods that are getting hard to find these days with all the vanishing vendors

The cooling system is redone and works properly. With the A/C on it doesn't overheat in traffic on hot summer days. How many can say that?

It starts and runs nicely. It starts every time and he trusted it to drive on many long trips. He even trusted it enough to let his family to drive it.

It has a sunroof

It has lots of new maintenance parts

The header panel is ding and dent free. Amazing, right?

 

The VIN issue did NOT bother me a lot. Why? ...because not everyone knows what we do about these cars and would never figure it out anyway even if numbers had been swapped on the car. If they were swapped, chances are that it was done because of lost title or old lien against the old numbers/title. It will probably never be an issue. I applaud Kane for publicly disclosing that fact. That is a sign of an HONEST seller. If he had not said anything I bet it would be a long time before anyone spotted what I did.

 

The reason I didn't buy the car was that I am picky and I have a very high standard for these cars. To get this car where I want it to be would cost much more than the final value and that for me is a dealbreaker. I prefer to stay at or below replacement value with a car when it is of the quality I desire. With these and many other cars that's hard to do these days. So, I am still searching for that unicorn lol! A true enthusiast will continue to dump money into a car they love regardless of final value vs investment. I am a true enthusiast but I have multiple cars so I must draw a line somewhere.

 

The body is probably NOT bowed. There are a couple of tiny ripples barely visible to the naked eye at the rear corners of the doors at the roof. If I don't point them out I promise you won't find them. I was just being overly analytical once I saw the door/roof gap.The driver door sits lower at the roof but could be the upper door frame needs to be tweaked a little. ONLY a body man can make that call. The driver door's body lines match up perfectly with the fender and 1/4. it;s just the upper door frame sits about 3/8" lower than most at the roof. Could it have left the factory that way? Who knows?...

 

I weighed all the little things that I would want to do to the car. --not things that the car needs. The car needs VERY LITTLE to be a GREAT car for someone who wants to get onto these cars without all the headaches of a basketcase or a worn out car that are the majority of what's for sale out there. Honestly I DO want this car. I just couldn't make myself come off that amount of money for this particular car because of MY needs. I have turned down several other cars lately for the same reason. I am looking for something that's capable of resembling a museum piece with minimal work. (Don't we all?) What I deem unacceptable with some parts of the car will appear perfectly fine to someone else. trust me, it's a curse. It's automotive OCD.

 

The vibration could be from any of a number of locations. If it's not torque tube related I would bet on the drive shaft. I had 2 different SQ's that had unbalanced driveshafts due to minor damage to them that caused vibrations. Bad rear diff mounts will cause a vibration and clunk. Sticking clutches in the diff can make noises and vibrations too until you free them up with a diff oil change, friction modifier, and some figure 8 laps around a parking lot. Since it's at 65mph it's probably rotational like a bent wheel or out-of-round tire. I would start with those by having a "road force" balance done on the wheels/tires to rule out the rims/tires.

 

If you are in the market for a dependable Starion/Conquest, one that's solid, one that's a desireable color, one with desireable factory options, and/or one with potential, then this is the car you NEED. You won't get a more solid car than this one for the money. I promise you that much.

Edited July 31, 2014 by helrazr70

[TURBOPRO]

Nice

[MainstreaM]

Alright guys, closing costs were higher than expected thanks to homeowners more than doubling in cost when it came time to put pen to paper. Another victim of the insurance racket. I need to find this car a new home. This ad is very detailed so I'm not going to answer a bunch of questions. 3k cash, no holds, no payment plans, 3k cash and drive it home AS IS.

 

Kane

Edited September 3, 2014 by MainstreaM

[Xtreme Industries]

I was hoping to see this painted and repaired. nice car though.

[mrvwbug]

Nice Car and Good Deal!

 

SLim

[sfc711]

what happened to the one harry brought u from me?

[MainstreaM]

what happened to the one harry brought u from me?

 

Josh 88' has it. Not sure what he has planned for it but it is in good hands.