buying a '97 pile, thoughts
 

so im talking to this guy about buying his 97 blue pile. I say pile because:
-hasnt run in 6 months
-starts and idles, but it sounds rough. alot like an old volvo 240, you know the tracktor sounding idle. when i rev it it gives a knock and then revs rough. i let it idle for 10 min. and it didnt improve. valves TICK. i opened the oil fill cap and there was oil circulating in the head. engine has 116k on it.
-the trany is " broken" even though i drove it around the block. he says he changed the clutch just before parking it and then they discovered the trans was shot because "the wheels turn (when off the ground) even when in neutral". he claims this is what is wearing out clutchs prematurely. as i recall my honda did the same thing in neutral.
-its an STO edition

the price is right for parting out but ideally its fixable and drivable. ive looked online and apart from being the last 1500 NAs into the US, is there any significance to the STO plate? the main question is about the trany, do the wheels normally spin in neurtal (no i dont know how fast they're spinning in neutral)?

what are your thoughts (hes accepted my offer for $400)?

for $400 buy it, that's freakin deal.

sto = stuff taken off. no torsen ftl. but it's still a no brainer.

Don't worry about the wheels spinning. However, you should be able to grab hold of the wheel and stop it from spinning without exerting hardly any effort.

shit dude i'd prob pick up a Miata in almost any condition for $400 to part out...
1.8, even more so...

Might be able to get it running and really cashin as well...

Do not buy that, tell him I'm coming down instead to get it from him, lol.
Hell yeah, jump on it, the wheels are spinning probably because the clutch job was done improperly, search here, someone had this very problem just recently.

probably needs new plugs and wires and possibly a clutch job.