I can probably get a free Corolla..should I do it/

I can probably get a free Corolla..should I do it?

1990 or 1991 SR5 -- 175k, (4afe, I think?) - manual tranny, sunroof..some rust around the inner part of the sunroof and a ~5" rust hole under a fender (IIRC). Needs a steering rack and struts, possibly tie rod(s). A friend of mine is having no luck selling it, and said he might be taking it to a junkyard (they won't give him anything for it), so I have a shot at picking it up for free. Is it worth the trouble to fix?

That car needs a lot of work but if you have the time heck yeah you should pick it up.

I just looked up a steering rack..over $300!

Maybe it's not worth it..have to think about it.

Edit: ~$75 on car-part.com -- anyone know ifI can install a manual rack in a PS car? I'm not sure if this has PS or not..thinking about getting it for my 13yo brother to work on for a while so he'll have something (free/cheap) to drive when he gets his license..

Ouch...

If I can get a rack for 75 bucks, it's doable -- but $330 for a reman is ridiculous.

yea it is kinda pricey and old..but its free and a rolla. hmmm. Hard choice.

Assuming I can find some stuff used:

Steering rack: $75
Struts (GR2s would run ~$260/all, I imagine)
Body work: ~$40 (fiberglass and bondo..)


$375. Worth it? I dunno..that also assumes that the tie rods are alright. I'm not sure that they are.

its free...why not get it? i would if you dont want it, send it my way

I would take it IF it were a GTS. The SR5... ehh

i would take it for free.

just think, you can always give it away yourself. don't let it get away from you.

Leave it alone bro.

You can get a decent one for around $500-$600 without any of those problems, just check craigslist.

-Doc

Ah, thanks - would be easier to deal with that way.

yea but no car is free, there's the price of switching the title, then there's the old tag on the car, and sure its cheap but there's also insurance. ohh yea and there's storage, unless you have a huge car or want a car stuck in the drive way. But project cars are always fun and if you can afford it then by all means "drive it like you got it for free crapped out and then fixed it up and now its actually worth driving ".

whats the interior of the car like, and other regular maintenence for a 90-91 ish car, like water pump, starter, heater core, timing chain? It might be helpfull to get an idea of what may need to be done in 1k miles or so, Just trying to cover all bases.

I don't have any idea - it's a friend's car..ran into him today at a gas station & he mentioned giving it away.

No title required for a 15yo+ car in NH..just registration and insurance (not required either). It probably wouldn't be driven anyway..lol..

considering mine is a 90 'sr5' that outruns just about every other FWD corolla (minus boosted ones) i've come across..... i would say go for it.

were it me... that motor would come out, a JY rack would go in (cause how often do they actually go out? lol), and a 4age would go in.... then the interior would come out, possibly throw a cage in it.....

I wouldn't get it for a toy, though - would probably be for my brother eventually. I already have an AW11 to play with - I don't need another toy that takes up that much room..

Take it for free...try to sell for $50.

Get it, drop a 350 in and make the ultimate sleeper. :druel:

How would that work without converting to RWD? I'm not quite that adept mechanically..lol

ahhh nevermind, I thought that year rolla was RWD,