I found this sweet 87 camry dlx station wagon today:

http://www.50southautosales.com/mobile/detail.aspx?vid=1897_V20170323104634

I wish I took photos to share, but it looks in great condition. It has had one owner and 139k miles.

Now, the bad: Ive never repaired a car or even changed my own oil. There was black sludge on the underside of the engine (up front, when I lay alongside the car and look up). I took it for a drive and afterwards it felt kinda warm under the hood when I opened it and there was a tiny bit of smoke coming from somewhere. The temperature Guage in the car was normal. The seller wants $1,900. Should I buy it and have fun working on it? Or is it a disaster waiting to happen?

 

Sludge as in grime. Most engines leak some oil and over time this causes black grime.

What does felt "kinda warm under the hood" mean? The engine temp would be around 180F.

Smoke? What color, how much?

Is the 139K for real?

Is this a dealer or private seller?

See attached link:

https://www.edmunds.com/toyota/camry...sal-value/tmv/

Can you afford buying it, do you need the car daily for work, or is this a project?

 

Thanks for the reply. The 139k appears to be genuine based on the carfax. The smoke was minimal and I could only see it because the sun was hanging low behind the car enough to make it visible. Couldn't see the color, as the smoke was very light. In terms of the warmth under the hood, all I could say is that it was warmer than I'd expect from a five minute test drive. Like, imagine popping the hood after doing 70 on the highway, that's how it felt. But I never went above 40 mph. It is being sold by a small dealer, and I'll be using it as a project car, not a daily driver. In terms of affording it, I have the money...but is it ever worth spending $1,900 on a station wagon from 1987? That's something we could discuss all day.

 

For engine heat. If the coolant temp stayed OK then this leaves, exhaust leak.

For smoke check for oil leak on exhaust system or coolant leak evaporating.

Is this an All-Trac?

The station wagon has its own supporters.

My two cents is make sure the car is complete (finding body and interior parts may challenging), unmodified (no need to repair someone else's problems) and doesn't have rust issues (never good and very time consuming to fix).

I sent you a private message with a list of things to check on Camry.

Also check trans shifting for possible trans syncro ring issues. If bad, that's more parts to find.

 

Thanks, the PM was much appreciated! And your post is helpful, I'll go back and give her a look over again before I decide.