My neighbor has a '75 164e. Says it ran fine, until he hit a deer. The front left quater panel is banged up pretty good and the left headlight is pushed down about 45 degrees. Anyways, He says it runs "rough" now and he thinks the "valve cover" (not sure. are these SOHC?) is leaking oil on the backside and dripping on the exhaust. so it smokes alot when you drive it. He's offering it for $1000. I figure that sounds good if it running. So...(sorry for the long post) what should I be looking at here. He said it used to run fine. ?????? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

Matt

'89 744 Turbo

Yup - way too much money. I bought a '74 that ran well, and a trailer full of parts, with an extra low mile engine for $1500. However, if the guy is going to junk it - pull the electronic ignition (ALL of the parts) since that is the only year that 164s had it and it is worth some bucks.

Kent

I think you need to know a LOT more about the 164 in general and this one
in particular before you buy one at any price.
My guess is that the manifold air pressure sensor might have
gotten damaged, since it is mounted in the right front fender, also maybe
the atmospheric temp sensor, which is mounted in the front panel between
the headlight and the radiator.

The 75 164 has both improvements and detuning (which can be overcome) so they
are potentially a neat car but you have to know them to appreciate them.
Your question about them being SOHC indicates that you don't. They are a
pushrod engine with electronic fuel injection and electronic ignition.
Either the valve cover or the oil pressure switch could be spraying/dripping
oil on the exhaust and is in itself not a serious problem but it only takes
a few seconds to tell. The fact that you haven't done this tells me you are
not ready for this car.

If you can find the body parts it would probably be pretty easy to fix. All
of them are bolt-on.

Depending on the condition of the body, interior and engine, as well as where
the car is located, I'm not sure that $1000 is a bad price.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

I have a '75 164e. I've been maintaining the fuel injection system for years. You mentioned something about "detuning (which can be overcome)" -- What did you mean by that? Do you know of a modification or tweak for this system?

Thanks,

Adam

I'm in Pennsylvania at the moment and don't have my stuff here but
the biggest difference between the 75 and some of the earlier, more
powerful models, was the compression ratio, which is rather easily increased.
I believe the 75 B30F used a combination of a thicker headgasket and
a thicker head to lower the CR. There may also be some differences in
some of the FI components but they are fairly minor.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

George where are you in PA? Do you have your 164 with you? I will try to email you I don't know if you have access to it away from home. I am outside of Pittsburgh by the airport.

I was near Wilkes-Barre.
I'm now in Augusta, GA and ready to start home.
No, I was not in the 164. I was in a 92 Volvo Taurus whose tranny gave out
in Fairmont WV (not too far from you) but have it fixed now
(Marvin's in Morgantown).
I just now started checking e-mail for the first time since last Sunday.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

What is a Volvo Taurus?
--
87 240 DL & 74 164E

i went to high school in burgettstown pa. and my aunt lived in coriopolis.

I went to HS in Imperial, PA. West Allegheny HS. Only about 10 minutes from Burgettstown. Actually I still live there. :)
--
87 240 DL & 74 164E

yep remember it well....my name is joe pribish and i grad in 1963....and my 1/2 brother lived in imperial his name was eugene levi,(we dont speak)he had a couple daughters, all i know about him. iam comin up there in sept, we got a 40th class reunion. that should be interesting....

Thanks for the info. I am interested in the details, when you have time to elaborate.

Cheers,

AJ

email me at gdowns@cableone.net in about a week and a half.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

First of all, thank you to everyone for the advice. i'm going to think a little more seriously about this one.
Although, some things to think about:
The interior is in great condition. I only saw one blemish on one of the door panels.
No rust on the body.
Solid floor boards.
The only body damage is on the front quarter panel and headlight.
oh, btw, the deer pushed the radiator into the fan. the owner says this has been fixed.

So, those are somethings for me to consider. but all of you are saying $1000 is too much? hmmm...the car isn't going anywhere fast, so i'll give it some more thought. thanks again, everyone.

I may be more generous than the others because of body condition.
I am not sure that $1000 is too large a price depending on the market
in your area. Body condition and interior condition are worth quite a bit
to me.

You MUST look in the engine compartment to see how and what was fixed,
what damage remains and where the oil to the exhaust is coming from.
It would also be a very good idea to see if there are other similar cars
for sale where you are. Finally you should see if he would take a lower
price for the car, but don't buy it unless and until you can lay hands on
replacement body parts. You will need the front panel that contains the
grille, in all probability, if the radiator was pushed into the fan,
maybe a grille and bumper, and possibly even a hood. Look for frame
damage also. It can be dealt with but lowers the value of the car further.

You're going to have to deal with whatever is causing the oil leakage
and it may be quite simple, but again it may not. Like the guy says,
one fact is worth a thousand expert opinions. If the valve cover is
damaged enough to make it leak, there may also be damage inside.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Too pricey. Agreed.

That's a crazy big price for a 75 164 that's smoking and was in an
accident. These cars are unusual but not *that* unusual that you're
going to want to take someone else's mess for more than a token.
chris

i got a very good 75 164E. runs, 2 small rust spots on the whole car, 4 good tires and the interior is near perfect....$1000 you can have it....pensacola fla. i bought it as a project car, since i owned 4 of these before. i just dont have the time to devote to fixin it up. i tryed to post a pic did seem to work.
its in the gallery #2290.jpg or the newest under 160.