Well thanks for all the advice but the car turned out to be somewhat of a turd. The seller told us where to meet him, it was on the side of a frontage road and hours drive from home.
As soon as I pulled up alongside I noticed several things before I even stepped out of my car: 1. The paint didn't look like it did in the ad, it was chaulking. 2. Although it was 104 degrees out, he had the window rolled down and his small dog was very hot and panting, so much for the "cold AC" the ad bragged about. 3. The exhaust was going "POOM POOM POOM" and there was a distinct misfire, enough that the car was shaking. 4. The tires were bald in front and thin in back. After I got out I looked inside at the undamaged but filthy interior, then I popped the hood after pulling the release then the baling wire sticking out of the grille and found the 2.5 covered in grease and shaking badly. POOM POOM POOM. The AC compressor was not turning and there was grease. oil and dirt packed onto the refrigerant lines. The only clean spot was the IP which looked like it had recently been worked on, maybe delivery valve seals as there was some yellow marking paint on them. He said the AC had just quit.

Didn't really want to drive it but what the heck I drove an hour to get there so I did. Drove kind of nice, steering and suspension felt tight, slow off the line then wound out pretty good with a fairly harsh 1-2 shift probably because I had it floored. The miss went away on acceleration but returned immediately at idle. Brake booster light was on the whole time and it did have a sun roof much to my disappointment, I was crammed in there. After I got out I noticed the dent and chipped paint around the right rear tail light where someone backed into something quite a while ago as evidenced by the rust. So much for the "Body and interior like new" that he told me on the phone. Maybe it looked good to him but if you saw this guy you would understand, not to be unkind but he was a real slob. I guess I just expect everyone to take care of their cars like I do. It was not his car anyway, he is a broker.

Told the guy I didn't need another project car thank you very much. Pulling into our driveway at home our 1987 looked nicer to us, even with it's clear coat peeling off. I guess I will see about getting the AC fixed, it has a leak and needs to be changed over to R134. The compressor is around 10 years old but still works.

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Brian
87 300Dturbo 180K #14 head still running R-12 SOLD 12/2017
02 F350 Powerstroke 180K
05 Chevy Express 1 ton w/Royal Utility box 120K
08 Infiniti FX-35 40K
15 Golf Sportwagen TDI 35K
10 Sprinter 3500 chassis with a Class A Winnebago on it. 56K