Battery dead (had to jumpstart)
Wouldn't start (would fire but then die)
No clutch (wouldn't engage)
On top of that, it had some rust bubbles behind the rear wheels and was an oily, greasy mess under the hood and underneath. (Only after buying it did I learn how expensive it is to properly repair those rust holes in the body. I might not have bought it if I knew!) On the plus side, it had a good hardtop, a pretty straight body, and new front fenders (previous accident; inner fenders might need a bit of work).
Well, it turns out the starting problem was a bad coil resistor, which we fixed in a couple of minutes. The battery was another, funnier story. Someone previously had packed aluminum foil in the negative battery terminal because it wouldn't stay on tightly. This caused a bad connection which was rectified with a $1.29 terminal from the local auto parts store. So far, I've put maybe $300 into this car, including $98 to transfer it into my name at the DMV. I'll add pictures, what I've done, what my immediate plans are, and what parts are on the way soon. Stay tuned!
Updated February 5, 2001