Faults:
Due to the car being sitting for 3 months prior to purchase, many things were replaced, but could have been left alone. Everything that has been replaced on the car:
-Oil and Oil Filter.
-Wipers.
-Air Filter.
-Thermostat and Thermostat Gasket.
-Spark Plugs.
-Interior Light Bulb.
-Miscellaneous Clamps.
-Radiator Cap.
-Distributor Cap and Rotor.
-Upper and Lower Rad Hoses.
-Rear Window Washer Pump.
-Anti-freeze and other fluids.
-Rear Brake Drums and Shoes.
-Front Disc's and Pads.
-Fan-belt.
-Ball Joints.
-Tie Rod Ends.
-Outer CV Boots.
-Heater Core Hoses.
-Fuel Lines.
-Valve Cover Gasket.
-Distributor O-Ring.
It's a lot of stuff, but that has been over the course of 2 weeks. Many of those things were about 75% and did not need to be changed, but they were inexpensive parts so we replaced them anyway. I just hope that the head gasket does not need to be replaced. It seems that there is sometimes a small amount of oil near the head. Yet niether the oil or anti-freeze have mixed.
I plan on taking good care of this car now, after all the hard work we put into it.
General Comments:
I know I haven't owned this car for long, but I had to contribute to such an awesome website.
For sitting for 3 months, and things being pretty stuck (e.g. nuts/bolts, and the rear drums) this car was very easy to work on. Without the power steering option, the engine compartment really opens up. My dad and I did all the repairs ourselves.
This car was mainly something for me to learn how to drive standard and is never intended to be a long-time runner, but I can just sense it might just last a very long time.
The engine is very nice and quiet at idle, and even at the higher rpms. However, the road noise is very high driving at 80km/h. I hate to see what it sounds like at even 100km/h.
For a small four-banger, the car is quite peppy. In first gear squealing the tires is not a problem. However, I wouldn't want to put a lot of weight in this car. I don't trust it as of yet.
The transmission shifts smoothly, and is an excellent car to learn the basis of a standard transmission on.
The seats are comfy, but the back seat is cramped. The hatch is very roomy, considering I can put a hockey bag in there without having to fold the seat down.
Overall this is a nice first car. On the inside it has nothing you would want to give a teenager, and on the outside it has a high workability rating and is one easy car to drive.
For $875 CDN purchase price, and $815 in parts, I am very happy with how the car is. Not to mention its oddly low insurance rating. 17 year old male, $1900/year.
16th Dec 2006, 12:39
Just a follow up to the review. Since I wrote the review I have driven the car up to around 215,000km, and now we give it about 6 months to live. We project a death in the family around August of 2007. However, I cannot complain. 20,000km later, we have only had to replace the front right wheel bearing as it started to growl really badly. In case you were wondering, the head gasket is pretty much gone. After driving the car for about a week, you can actually notice a difference in the oil on the dipstick. It's not much, maybe 100mL or so, but it's not good at all. After owning this car for almost 2 years, I would really like to purchase another 323. In fact I'm most noticeably looking for an '88 323 GTX. If you have one in the Ontario area, post a comment hear if you would like.