Hello everyone. This is my first post to this board.
There is a guy here in my town who is selling his 1990 Turbo Grand Prix for $3000. I saw it while driving around in my beat up old '88 Mustand LX. It was gorgeous, and right away, I knew that she was something special.
Anyway, after work, I stopped in and talked to the guy, kicked the tires, and walked around her. The beast has 141,700 miles on it. The paint job (fire red) is only a year old. And everything works, except:
The brakes are shot. I think it might be the master cylnder, but all in all, there are no rear brakes at all and the front ones are weak at best. You have to STAND on the pedal to get any braking action whatsoever.
The air conditioner doesn't work. The unit blows, but only warm (hot) air. It probably needs a recharge. What type of coolant does it take? Don't tell me it takes freon, please. Does the 1990 TGP use the newer stuff?
The interior needs some serious help. Everything works, and I mean everything, but the drivers seat looks like it got chewed on by a Rottweiler. Seat covers?
The speedometer on the instrument panel seems to "stick" and is inaccurate as compared to the HUD display. The HUD is right, but it's very different than the reading on the speedo guage. By like 10 MPH.
Other than that, she's great. I took it out for a test drive and WHOA! What a beast! This car has serious power! I can hear the turbo whine, and the roar from the exhaust is awsome. The engine runs sweet and perfect. Handles nice, very accurate.
So, all in all, should I buy her? This is a unique car of sorts, and I really like it. Are the problems above easy fixes, or am I looking at sinking big $$$ into this thing? Please reply. I need you, dudes.
Welcome to the club, i can't help you with the brakes (i have noticed they tend to be expensive) but my ac did the same thing, it sat a year or more. Your refrigerant R-12 probaly leaked out of the seals, when they sit for a long time they dry up. If it holds a vacuum your probaly all right but you will have to sink 3-4 pounds in a $40-60 a pound, good luck with it
Sounds like a nice car but here is what you are up against.
BRAKES:
Powemaster is probably shot. You are getting front braking only! The PMIII is way different than conventional brakes. The rear brakes recieve hydraulic pressure from a pump, not a piston like normal brakes. So if the PMIII is shot, then the rear brakes won't work. There could be other reasons the powermaster isn't functioning, fueses, the pump motor relay, pressure switch. However, if it is original its probably not too good espeicially with 141k miles.
However, the rear brakes tend to seize up on these cars. The sliders get stuck in the bores. It happens alot, even when fixed properly it can seize up again. So you may have issues there. I would recommend upgrading to the newer style calipers in the rear.
A/C
The A/C takes r-12 $$$$$$.. However, if you have it done properly you can get satisfactory results from r-134a. There are other r-12 replacement refrigerants that work very well, but are harder to find. Be aware though, as it seems to be a common misconception, air conditioners are not like NiCad batteries. Recharging them is ignoring a problem if not repaired. there is a reason the system isn't working and adding refrigerant is only temporary and a waste of money. However, it could be a $200 repair, or a $1000 repair depending on why it isn't running.
If the rest of the interior is in good shape I wouldn't stress over the driver seat, its seen 141k miles of butt! Thats leather for you, it just doesn't seem to hold up, either because of lack of care, or it just doesn't wear as well as cloth.
You may also need to replace the crossover pipe if it is leaking. The original units all cracked, so its not a quesiton of IF its WHEN it will crack.
Then there are all the normal maintenence items, state of tune, fuel system, injectors fuel pump, brakes, suspension.
It can be a very rewarding car, but like many older cars that go fast can be in need of serious maintenence.
See my webpage for more info ont he things i've mentioned.
www.turbogpgarage.com
Good luck!
mine held a vaccum at 20 psi for a half an hour, my dad (heating and cooling guy) said that the seals dry out when not used, if yours hasn't sat for awile then its probaly got other problems.