I picked the keys up from the owner's mailbox (I still haven't either met or spoken to him) and got a chance to take it for a spin.
Keepin' the dream alive...
- The engine
fired up surprisingly easily, after about 8 cranks of the starter, on a weak battery that I brought. Considering it hadn't been started in over a year, that's not too bad. I was prepared with quick-start spray and everything.
- An alarming amount of
valve/lifter noise at first: hydraulic lifters devoid of any oil! It resolved itself reasonably quickly, and after that there was no ticking on re-starts.
- No unusual
exhaust smoke. Exhaust pipes/muffler are intact.
- I watched for
crank pulley wobble and couldn't spot any at idle or when revving the engine.
- Brake light on the dash was on (looks like low fluid level -- didn't have any to confirm).
Road test!
-
The engine stumbled a tiny bit when cold (missed a little), but was fine once it started to warm up. It pulled strong; no odd noises.
-
Transmission shifts nicely (the stubby shifter is so fun to use). Though it was a bit balky in 1st & 2nd for the first minute or two when cold. No synchro issues.
- The
clutch felt good; I did a number of full throttle accels in higher than normal gear to test for slippage.
- THE
GEARING IS ATROCIOUS 
and / or fun. 1-3-5 would be a very workable MPG strategy for this car. A taller final drive/rear end swap is an option. But why can't we just have fun 1-4, then a big overdrive for 5th?
-
Steering felt tight. I actually chuckled at how nimble it makes the car feel. Before I headed out, I checked for tie rod & ball joint play and didn't find anything significant. But once or twice I heard a mystery clunk in the front end on left turns. Control arm bushing? Shock mount?
- A bit more
body roll than I remember.
-
Brakes were very noisy, while progressively scraping a year's worth of rust off the rotors with each stop. But aside from that, they seemed fine: it stopped straight with a few hard pedal stabs from ~80 kph / 50 mph.
-
Tires were flat-spotted after a year of sitting with 20 PSI in them. I pumped them up to 40. They got quieter/smoother as I drove, but still weren't quite round by the time I got back.
- I put the top down on this grey but unseasonably warm (~10 C / 50 F) November day, and returned with a smile on my face.
Dun dun dunnnnnn... the only surprise discovery...
The temp gauge increased relatively quickly towards hot, and I found the coolant was very low. I topped it up, and when I got back from the test drive saw seepage from this hairline crack in the radiator top tank.
Other minor annoyances:
- Rattly exhaust heat shields.
- Ignition key/seatbelt/headlights buzzer was on CONSTANTLY. No matter what I did, I couldn't get it to shut off!
To sum up:
Honestly, I did not think it was going to start, run, shift, drive & stop as well as it did. I guess I was expecting a crap drive to match its crap cosmetic condition.
If I can get in touch with the owner again, I'm going to find out how negotiable his price is...
..