For Those Who Have Purchased a "Non-Running" Mopar/Other

Bought a '72 Plymouth Fury ex cop car for peanuts, owner was a co-worker. Said it needed a starter. Dragged it home and turned out the 440 heavy rod motor had tossed a rod. Surprisingly, no real damage, except for the rod and a small chip in the block, but I pulled the motor and junked the car. His wife came into work and actually asked me for more money for the car a couple weeks after I bought it.

Bought a '53 Chrysler Windsor with electrical problems. Mice had chewed up the cloth covered wire. Got it to start, but no oil pressure, so I tore the engine out. The oil pressure problem turned out to be a home made gasket covering the oil filter housing (flathead six) but what was scary was the engine turned out to swapped from an earlier car. They just tossed it in with 2 bolts to the bellhousing and a loose bolt or two to the fluid drive. I'm glad I had the oil pressure problem because if I had gotten it running, the whole thing would have come apart with disastrous results.