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the things to look for are rust, suspension "short cuts" and scary FI/ignition repairs.
Rust, under the car matters, since this is a unibody car. You might easily find it with the car on a lift. You might find evidence of it by finding evidence of body repair with bondo on the lower few inches of the car (the rockers under the door, the lower parts of the trunk, especially the part at the nose that holds up the bumper). I got a good laugh at car that somebody fixed up the rockers using pop rivets rather than welding the parts back in. You want to see welded seams and clear delineation of the floor, inner and outer rockers.
On the suspension, there are dozens of spots to be greased. Find them make sure there is evidence that it was done. Not just to make sure it's good, but to make sure the guy getting the car running knew enough to do it. There are some key rubber bushing in the rear that just get tired with age. The keep the rear attached to the car, and even when old are usually safe, but when they are new and if they are the correct factory parts, the handling of the car should be surperb. Look for receipts and talk to the guy about it. Many folks go with the "ain't broke, don't fix it rule". Others go for the "make it ride right" way of doing things.
With the wheels off the ground, there are simple things to check to ensure the steering and suspension is tight. This car has vintage 50s technology (king pins rather than ball joints) in the steering. A good mechanic who's touched older cars should hopefully know what's up. A visual inspection of all the bits should reveal that all the parts are in place (little things, like the steering damper and stabilizers that can be removed and not put back matter).
Somebody suggested swapping out the factory EFI system, which is delicate, for a more modern system. If the seller has done that, it's fine, if he did it well and documented what he did. If he didn't do that, make sure he put the old system back so it looks right and doesn't have a dozen splices in the wiring and slipshod parts held down with zip ties. Note that doing it right is expensive these days. The correct ignition system has a little silver box and a pair of balast resistors and a blue coil. If all the parts are correct and the distributor is in good working order and the hoses are new, you should be able to hook up a meter and read precisely the right dwell. Hook up a tail pipe sniffer and see the correct level of CO% at the right idle speed and as you push it through different RPM ranges, you should see the right timing. All of that means attention was paid to the details to get it right.
Variations are possible of course, but the more deviations from the book you find, the more worried you should be. Also, the fewer variations you find, the more green will be slipping through your fingers.
-CTH
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