Mike89lsc

I must admit I am impressed. For 470.00 I am damn impressed
The car has 150k.

The body is in nice shape, color grey has a couple of dings the worst is what looks like someone tride to break into the trunk and that is not so bad The paint is in very good condition a couple os scuffs on the drivers sid I will buff out. Brand new tires, Wipers, fresh oil change.

The interior is pretty clean but was a smokers car so I wil need to get that smell out. Nor rips or tears the factory radio is just thrown into position and there is no plastic trim to go over it. The shifter is nice and tight shift slick!! P win, central locking, ac, pw mirrors, cruise control (are you kidding me??)

Engine Idle is a little harsh there a seems to be a miss somewhere. I was doing a quick one over of the engine baay and put hand near the module that plugs into the distributer and ZAP!! I will need to look at that later and see what is arching. PS belt will need to be changed or tightened up at the least. I could see no other problems jumping out at me.

Driving wise the car made the 60 mile trip at speed in excess of 80mph without a complaint just sligh vibration over 80 and a lot of wind noise around the windshield. The steering is dead on center without a hint of fade, Brakes stop sure and true no pulse in the pedal. The clutch is pretty high and I did notice some slippage making a hard 1-2 shift so i will need to take easy on that until i can fix it. The suspension feels tigh but there is a bit of a thud in right rear foing over rough pavement.

How do I post pictures?? I would like to put a couple of up.

Thanks

Mike

protejay

congrats!
just curious...how'd you pick the protege? were you specifically looking for one on ebay or did you just happen to come across it and decide to to go for it?
anyways, have fun with it! the BP engine has a lot of factory goodies in it - and a lot of potential.

to find out how to post some pics, do a search for 'posting pictures' and you should find plenty of info

Mike89lsc

I was looking for a cheap dependable winter car and price is a definite consideration. So just kept an eye out on Ebay for something that filled the bill. No one was bidding on it So i did some limited research on the model and decided to go for it. I am glad I did.

Mike89lsc

Pulled off the tires checked brakes, almost new!! very little rust underneath

Picked up basics 4 new plugs new air filter fuel filter wires forgot to Grab a pcv valve though. And off to the insurance company tomorrow. I will tune her up tomorrow.

I just shut off the air suspension. added some "stable" to keep the fuel from going bad and put the Lincoln up on stands for its winter hibernation.

Mike89lsc

Checked for burning oil via primative means so far. Drove behind it And had it taken through some paces and not a hint of smoke blue or otherwise. Car does not appear to leak any fluids either.


As for the suspension noise I cannot look at that until warms up a bit. it 16 outside and it snowed last night !!!

2young2retire

Be sure to check the hose between the air cleaner box and the throttle body. They are notorious for cracking in the expansion joint and will make the car run bad. No big problem just get some radiator hose repair tape and tape it up.

Mike89lsc

Well day one no major problems. Passed state inspection. The guy let me thru with one of my brake lights out, now thats a first.

It was nice to fill up a tank for $17.00. Usually its like $30.00. The one problem I found for sure is the rear right strut is collapsed. I will drop it off in a couple of days and get the rears done.

I must say that I am very suprised by the trunk space as well. The pass thru the rear seat is nice as well. I am just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit clean and tune her up.

Sorry to sound like a cheesy columnist

MIKE