$100 Sentra

recycled_toddler · Jul 9th, 2004, 02:11 AM

Was browsing through the local ads and found a guy up in 'the sticks' (Darrington, WA) who had a 1987 Sentra wagon advertised for $100! So I called him, got the addy, snagged the boy and screamed up.

Sure enough, it was $100, and my first thought was "Wow!" The body is flawless, albeit with faded red paint (Regatta red, if I'm not mistaken...nothing that some TR-3 can't cure); CV joints are good, wheel bearings are good, tires low on tread but wearing even, good brakes, good auto transmission...everything worked as it should, but the poor E16s (Yep, carbed) has a stumbly cylinder, so I'll rebuild a head and swap 'em. Paid him $100 without question and I drive it back Monday. And it's still got tabs and the title's clear!

I think I did pretty good; Sentra wagons of the B12 variety are real scarce up here, especially 4-wheel drive. I almost wanna hand Mel the '85 Sentra wagon and tell her to learn how to use the clutch correctly! Tempting to keep...but the auto tranny is what she needs, so maybe I'll score on an '87-'88 stick with injection! One can only hope...

Heck, and if that ain't a find, I managed to find 3 cans of Dupli-Color® spray paint in the hard-to-find "Hot Red" my Pulsar is cloaked in! Think I'll buy a lottery ticket...

Regards, RT

minute rice sentra · Jul 9th, 2004, 07:27 PM

That's definitely a good find, is it just gonna be a daily driver or do you have plans for it?

nickthegenius · Jul 9th, 2004, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minute rice sentra

That's definitely a good find, is it just gonna be a daily driver or do you have plans for it?

I'd go for a CA18DET, Subbie LSD, and a nice suspension

Actually, that would make a sweet daily driver. Very usable for hauling stuff with the wagon.

Gsolo · Jul 10th, 2004, 02:35 AM

while you're buying things you can have my pulsar...i'm getting tired of the damn thing

maybe i'm just losing faith

recycled_toddler · Jul 10th, 2004, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gsolo

while you're buying things you can have my pulsar...i'm getting tired of the damn thing

maybe i'm just losing faith

OY! Did you say "Pulsar"? What's the engine? How much? Tranny?

My wife will be using the '87 wagon for a daily driver...it's got an auto tranny, which is good because she's death on clutches. She can break a crowbar in a sandbox, believe me on this.

minute rice sentra · Jul 10th, 2004, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gsolo

while you're buying things you can have my pulsar...i'm getting tired of the damn thing

maybe i'm just losing faith

Don't give up!!! What's wrong?

Gsolo · Jul 10th, 2004, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minute rice sentra

Don't give up!!! What's wrong?

well, couldn't get the rear drum off for a few days, finally went down to sears to get a pick so i could pull the adjusting tab back to spin the star to release the brakes. somehow they had adjusted to far and i wasn't sure if the noise was bearing or brakes so wanted to take apart to make sure....a little of both. bearing is still good just a little noise which at right speed will echo through the rear body and shoes barely make dragging noise. shoes still good though, little rough...drum though i've discolored already within not even really a months worth of driving since replacing brake shoes/pads. i guess that says somethign about how hard i stop sometimes. i swear it does 60-0 better than a vette

haha, probably cause of that stanza wagon booster

haven't lost all faith yet, just had my moment. although i won't have it with me in phoenix so yeah. but not going to sell it. going to keep it til the rear frame rots off on me while going 80 down the freeway

minute rice sentra · Jul 10th, 2004, 04:29 PM

My driver's side rear brakes are making an awful scraping sound, I'm hoping it'll hold up another month or two.

Gsolo · Jul 10th, 2004, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minute rice sentra

My driver's side rear brakes are making an awful scraping sound, I'm hoping it'll hold up another month or two.

well i just took pulsar out for test run, no more noise. so i guess it was just the brake drag, and i greased the bearing up a little so that might have helped too. and i finally put my really cool steering wheel on my chevy

minute rice sentra · Jul 10th, 2004, 05:19 PM

I have to lay a rag on my steering wheel so I don't catch my hands on fire when I drive home.

Gsolo · Jul 10th, 2004, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minute rice sentra

I have to lay a rag on my steering wheel so I don't catch my hands on fire when I drive home.

lmao..my new ( well tome anyhow) steering wheel on my chevy will be like that in phoenix.

astreamk1 · Jul 11th, 2004, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minute rice sentra

I have to lay a rag on my steering wheel so I don't catch my hands on fire when I drive home.

My shift knob is the same way, even though I use a window shade while at work, I swear that all of the heat in the interior is absorbed by that shifter !!!

sometimes its so hot, it burns your fingers.

As for losing the faith in your car, try to hang in there. This is my second B12. The first was a $400 rusty wonder. Kept it for 3 years, toyed with it a little, but then the rust was starting to get the best of her. Finally found another on in NJ. Ended up buying it for $1200 through Ebay. The new one is the cleanest I have ever seen in these parts. It's going to get to the point where we are going to be a smaller and smaller group, and these cars are getting more and more rare. My local junkyard told me that the might be smashing their stock of these cars at the end of summer. I am almost half tempted to go up and drop a hundred or 2 and load up on some parts. maily like interior stuff and whatever.

Save your money, keep your eyes open, there are still a lot of these cars around in decent shape. Even here in PA, my first choice was a hatchback (with only 45K on it) almost mint, but the girl's father wouldn't sell it to me. She wanted to get rid of it, but he wouldn't budge...Oh well I still made out ok

Gsolo · Jul 11th, 2004, 01:05 PM

i thought about selling my pulsar then buying another one when i came back in a few years but i figured my luck of finding another one in good shape is rare. And i spent to much time cleaning this one up.

Gsolo · Jul 11th, 2004, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by recycled_toddler

OY! Did you say "Pulsar"? What's the engine? How much? Tranny?

My wife will be using the '87 wagon for a daily driver...it's got an auto tranny, which is good because she's death on clutches. She can break a crowbar in a sandbox, believe me on this.

if you're looking for a pulsar, theres a CA18DE automatic pulsar here in wenatchee for sale. He's asking 1600 but will go as low as 1000. Engine runs good...has a fart can though...interior isn't to bad. red paint is kinda faded