So.... Kid down the street has an 85 Corolla GTS he's trying to get rid of. It's pretty ratty, no rust though. Flat black Krylon paint job, hit a dear needs a hood and front bumber. Interior is fairly intact, dash is cracked of course. He claims 12.5K miles on the 4ag in it and says that it was just a basic rebuild no performance changes or anything like that. 500 miles ago he put a low boost turbo kit on it but is running on stock ECU he says it's never gone over 5 psi, this is the part that worries me though as i'm a carburetor guy and have never really messed around with any turbo or fuel injection stuff for that matter. When I asked him how much he wanted for it he told me to make him an offer as he had just bought a 350Z and this is just taking up space in his driveway. So anyway, is this just a terrible mess and I should just walk away from it? If not what would you even offer for this kind of pseudo project?
Ehh.... From the sound of it, i might offer $1000, tops.
I wouldn't walk away from it, though.
I'd agree -- no more than $1000. But I'd start with an offer much lower 
Yeah, an AE86 for under a K is not a bad deal. But based on your description it's going to be a project; I wouldn't consider it a daily driver.
hmmm yeah all these kids with these corollas seem to think the values on them are so high i'll just have to talk to him some more
Offer him $500, and consider it a platform to learn about injection, ECUs, MAFs, throttle bodies, turbocharging, etc... and other aspects of today's cars you haven't dealt with--it's MUCH easier to do it on a "I don't need to drive it vehicle" than ah, "Oh, nuts, how am I going to get to work " vehicle. Oh so much easier. And cheaper.
yeah unfortunately my gut instinct is to sell the turbo kit and throw two webers on it haha
Huh, doesn't sound as bad as all that to me. If it is a rebuilt engine and seems to be sound, yeah, that's worth something. I kinda agree that the easy thing is to pull the turbo off. Sell it and recover some of what you spend on the car.
Dunno, it's tough to get a deal on an AE86. Drift tax and all. Someone will pay him more than it's worth.
