Thought this would be the best place to ask...tried searching the archives...but didnt find anything. Anyways....my gf and i bought a 92 RS.....very good body...pretty good interior...for $1250. This was without a motor or tranny. We wanted something that didnt require body work...and something that could be used as our project car (dropping a new engine and tranny into it). First.....is that a decent price? Second...we checked car fax...record was clean...we did however buy it at a Camaro/Firebird salvage yard in OK. It was originally $1600 i believe....but they took the price down to $1250 without the blown up engine (actually they didnt know for sure if it was blown up or not...but they were PRETTY sure it was no good). It was a 305..we wanted a bigger engine in it...so we were going to trash it anyways. Anyways...we go ahead and pull the interior...there is sand ALL over the place...in the apillars...under all the carpet...in the storage compartment...on top of the headliner...in the wheel well areas (where the storage comp. is) and underneath the tail lights. I asked my dad if he thought it was flood damage...he said it didnt LOOK like it...first of all there wasnt any rust anywhere (there is a little bit of rust like on the battery tray, and some light surface rust in a few areas..nothing major)...he also said that if there was that much sand all over the place...that the car would have had to have been covered in water.....but there is not very much sand up in front interior...and no sand in the engine compartment.....all of it is concentrated mostly from the shifter back....bottom and top...he said that the front should have the most sand if it were water damage because the front is heavier...so it would have submerged first. He also said the sand looks more like sand from a dirt road or something. I thought maybe they took it to the beach or lake or something...and were driving around in the sand with the windows down...but then today as i was gutting out the interior some more...i found something even more strange....behidn the rear speakers...there is sand concentrated in that little well....and then about a foot up...you can see where the sand stops...and then there are lines of sand like water was dribbling down it. There is also a little bit of rust on the ceiling in front of where the windshield is. But like i said...there is NO rust in the inside....but sand all over the place. We finished cleaning up the rear hatch area (sprayed it down with a water hose and soaked up all the water) and so now it looks pretty decent...but what the hell happend to the car????? I checked the wiring...and the taillight wiring...and it all looks fine...there was no corrosion where the bulbs sat (though the only way i could take them out was by breaking the bulbs off since there was that grease stuff to keep water out) but the connections all looked good. Anyone have any ideas? What else should i be looking for? Thanks in advance....ive asked a few people locally...and they all have different answers.

 

What did the carfax history reveal? Mainly where has this car been? Near the coast? I'm thinking it got caught in a hurricane. Just a thought.

 

been in kansas and ok all its life....no flood damage listed.

 

By sand do you mean like beach sand or fine silt? We had a pretty bad flood up here in Kansas in '98 from Wichita south along the Walnut and Arkansas rivers, so it's possible it could've been caught in that. Another possibility if the "sand" is more like fine dirt, is that's just what accumulated in the car from all the years of being in Kansas, and Oklahoma, the wind combined with the plowed fields create quite alot of dust and that stuff gets EVERYWHERE
so it may be just from the environment, and no it doesn't matter if it's in a garage or not. Did the carfax say where in OK and KS it was ?

 

its not beach sand (though i havent been at a beach in a long *** time...but no i dont think beach sand)....here is the car fax info...notice the info skips over 98...hmmmmmmmm..........

Date Reported: Odometer Reading:
02/27/1992 30

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06/01/1994 28,664

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05/31/1995 50,074

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09/12/1995 52,436

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09/26/1997 83,848

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06/21/1999 67,000

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12/12/2000 143,642

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01/05/2001 143,665




The CARFAX database contains a total of 11 vehicle history records on this 1992 CHEVROLET CAMARO RS (1G1FP23E0NL120565):


DATE
REPORTED ODOMETER
READING INFORMATION
SOURCE GENERAL
COMMENTS
02/27/1992 30 Kansas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Independence, KS
Title #D0567480
Title issued
First owner reported
First lien reported


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02/28/1992 Kansas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Independence, KS
Title #D0571527
Title issued
First lien reported


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06/01/1994 28,664 Service Plan Co.
Wichita, KS
Service Contract Issued


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01/11/1995 Kansas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Wichita, KS
Title #D3335622
Title issued
First lien reported


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05/31/1995 50,074 Kansas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
McPherson, KS
Title #E0155772
Title issued


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09/12/1995 52,436 Kansas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Wichita, KS
Title #E0420919
Title issued


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09/26/1997 83,848 Kansas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Peabody, KS
Title #H0157649
Title issued


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06/21/1999 67,000 Kansas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Peabody, KS
Title #J0811070
EXCEEDS MECHANICAL LIMITS TITLE ISSUED
First lien reported


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12/04/2000 Kansas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Title #L0210311
Duplicate title issued
EXCEEDS MECHANICAL LIMITS TITLE ISSUED
First lien reported


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12/12/2000 143,642 Oklahoma
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Oklahoma City, OK
Title #557900347009
EXCEEDS MECHANICAL LIMITS TITLE ISSUED


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01/05/2001 143,665 Oklahoma
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Oklahoma City, OK
Title #557900347009
EXCEEDS MECHANICAL LIMITS TITLE ISSUED

 

Well Peabody is north and west of Wichita but what puzzles me is the fact that it lost nearly 20k in miles from 97 to 99 (Maybe they drove it backwards ) makes me wonder if there was an attempt to rebuild/ change speedo in it or????? I myself prolly wouldn't be extremely concerned with the dirt/sand that you find, although I would check the electrical system out very carefully, especially the ECM (if you're going to use it), and the main dash and engine harnesses. Bear in mind if was caught in the flood of 98 it was all river and rain water, which is alot less corrosive than say salt water. Besides that, you appear to be dropping a new engine and tranny into it, so the only other concern is the rear end. Check it for water contamination, clean out the dirt/sand as best you can, and enjoy it

 

thanks for your input iroc..yes im putting in a new engine/tranny/rearend/ecm. Ive checked all the taillight and third brake light wiring...and it is all fine....im going to go ahead and pull out the dash and check what i can there...but it seems like everything is ok...however...there was a LITTLE bit of sand INSIDE the ecm as well...more like sand dust....no concetrated areas...weird huh. I just dont know.

 

Well from your description I would say it's just the normal airborne dust that's around in this area, and nothing to worry about. Glad I could help