Where do I go from here?

[718Rogue]

ok guys, i need some help. so i bought a 3000gt (95 base model) today from a friend. i'm not the most mechanically inclined, and he's even worse, so all i really knew about the car was that it 'was running rough' and had been sitting since 2008. it did have a check engine light, but i havent checked the code yet. i think it was started every few months but not driven around; its been on nonop. once i drove it, i noticed that it had approximately the power of a vw bus (barely enough to get moving, definitely not enough to get up a hill), but being the poor college student i am i decided against getting it towed 80 miles back to my area.

i was planning to just drive it back from his house to my area, (about the aforementioned 80 miles) (in rush hour traffic... under the hot socal sun) and have a friend of mine who is good with cars look at it.

however, it broke down about 15 miles from my apartment. died while driving (about 10mph in 1st gear), and wouldnt start at all after. i got it towed to a friends place since he has a driveway and had the smart friend come look at it; we took off the timing belt covers and i tried starting it and the cams and crank are all just spinning freely. seems like no compression at all. also, the coolant seemed to all be burning off on the drive back; i had to fill it once and it looked like it was all gone again when i checked tonight.

we're both pretty sure that ive completely blown both head gaskets which were likely already leaking, but im wondering if anyone more familiar with these cars has a better idea. we're worried that something else major besides the head gaskets might be damaged as well.

anyway, right now im trying to decide what to do;

buy the tools and parts (i have absolutely nothing and my friends who do are all using them; cant really afford to lend me anything) and try to do the head gaskets myself

get the heads and gaskets professionally done and take my chances with the rest of the engine even though its been pretty much sitting for 7 years (relatively affordable)

try and find a new complete engine and swap it out which will likely cost pretty much all the money i have

sell the car as a complete project and probably just about break even

try to part it out, but the thing about that is i have nowhere to keep it in the meantime. my friends' garages are all full and the driveway it's currently in is only free because my friend's family is on vacation for another week. (body is straight, stereo works, interior is almost perfect)

anyone have any idea? what would you do?

thanks for reading!

[TT4ME]

Run away as fast as you can. Sell it!

[futurevr4man]

If you don't know what you're doing and you don't have the desire/option to fix it... get out of it. Parting it out will be a wash, and you will spend a lot of time for very small payback. I don't know how much you have into the car, but generally, a 95 base is worth next to nothing.

On the flip side, if you do have a desire/option to fix it, it's a simple engine to work on, and being a SOHC, it's non-interference... AKA forgiving. And they do last forever if they are taken care of.

[stealthee]

If you don't know what you're doing and you don't have the desire/option to fix it... get out of it. Parting it out will be a wash, and you will spend a lot of time for very small payback. I don't know how much you have into the car, but generally, a 95 base is worth next to nothing.

On the flip side, if you do have a desire/option to fix it, it's a simple engine to work on, and being a SOHC, it's non-interference... AKA forgiving. And they do last forever if they are taken care of.

95 base 3000GT is DOHC Gnater.

[futurevr4man]

Ah - you're right. What was it, 98 when they offered the SOHC?

Yeah, just sell the car lol. Unless you REALLY REALLY want to learn how to work on one...

[stealthee]

97 when base 3000GT went to SOHC.

[718Rogue]

yup it's dohc interference engine, i checked that. i think im gonna try and source a healthy engine to swap in. worst case scenario i cant do it and get it scrapped, make a few hundred back. would be a shame since pretty much everything else on the car works pretty perfectly... shifts smooth, new speakers sound good, stock stereo functions fine, interior only has one small rip, taillights look great, body's straight...

[BaadVR4]

This is the beginning of an automotive "black hole", into which you pour time, effort and money; out of which you get pain, misery and a lot of walking. Personal experiences from the last 50+ years tell me this. Just my 1.5 cents.

[TLVDoghouse]

Same as what does an old lady taste like? Depends......
If you don't have time money space and patience, get out! But if you have all the above, its a fun platform to improve your mechanical skills (and learning how to cope with frustration). I'll throw in a full OEM parts catalog if you take the keep road.

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk

[GTwizard]

I love our NA. But.... You really have to love your car. The cost of maintenance and service are cost prohibitive.
I build these cars for a living and most every car I build is TT.
Although we have a crazy NA. It's our race car and our love.
No one in there right state of mind would want 1 of these.
For sure not like mine. We built an assault weapon and is no longer fun to drive.
Fun as hell to race. But driving it is a full blown work out. The cost way too high to admit.
It is our R&D car for testing parts. PM for more info.
We built this NA just to prove something.
Does not matter if TT or NA. These car are weigh heavier than most cars in their class.
If you wish to bring her back to life? Find someone that will take you under their wing and walk you through the process.
You also will need to get a service manual to help you understand what the hell is under the hood and just how it works.
The vary worst thing you can do at this point is attempt to turn it over. That would be bad.
If you snapped a timing belt, and the cams fell to clearance positions, you might be fine.
There is a correct way to set things up and a wrong way. You must know someone that can take you from where you are now,
to a full understanding what went down. Only then can you make a fair assessment about weather to repair or not.
Do not go by what others tell you. You must find out for yourself how bad it is.
I have been told many time to find motors for customers only to find out I could make their cars run well with out a new motor as no damage was done.
It's not common, but does happen. So do not right it off yet until you know just where your motor stands.
Again, "Do not" crank it over.
I believe you lost every intake valve. And not having tools or knowledge of these motors. You sure will not be changing head gasket.
That is a BAD guess on your part. Guessing is not how cars are repaired. Just so you know.

[GTwizard]

You do have other options. Buy a JDM motor, give it a 60K or 120k service and drop it in.
Not many 3.0 JDM's left. But are still plenty of 3.5s that will work.
Both of these are cheaper than rebuilding, and in most cases the 3.5 is a really nice upgrade.