Purchased 1991 TC

So, I went to look at a 1991 TC today and thought it was really nice and a fair price, so I bought it. While not a low mileage collector's doll, it seems to have had good care. There are some things that need attention, but the engine is smooth and powerful, the transmission shifts very well and the anti-locks work well too. Those were my main concerns.

I even had to drive through a pouring rain and there were no drips! There is an air leak at the driver's left ear that I'd like to attend to though. Other things include a non-op tonneau, tonneau does not stay up on it's own and the marker lights on the front of the car will not light, but the blinkers work.

One question...how far are the seats supposed to fold forward? Mine will only lean forward a few inches, making it rough getting into the well behind the seats.

Thanks for all the help!

Tim Dasenbrock

Southern Illinois

Congratulations on your new, old car.

If your release latches are working the seats fold forward to about 45 degrees, odds are that with the big pillows and stiff leather that one or both seats will fall back into place before you can get the back bin open. Rather than run from one side of the car to the other, I usually use my forearm to hold both seats far enough forward to open and close the rear storage cover.

Back many pages of postings from this one you will find one for a supplier that has all the pistons you need to hold up the trunk, hood, rear storage cover and the tonneau. You can get a brand new reprint shop manual from rockauto.com for about $50 and it is well worth the money to have one handy. If you need something special, like a new piece of weatherstrip to get rid of that wind noise in your left ear best to get with Arizona or TC Parts, if your vertical window seal is the source a 4 inch sheet metal hand brake works great for getting the kink out and putting it back into shape.

So, I went to look at a 1991 TC today and thought it was really nice and a fair price, so I bought it. While not a low mileage collector's doll, it seems to have had good care. There are some things that need attention, but the engine is smooth and powerful, the transmission shifts very well and the anti-locks work well too. Those were my main concerns.

I even had to drive through a pouring rain and there were no drips! There is an air leak at the driver's left ear that I'd like to attend to though. Other things include a non-op tonneau, tonneau does not stay up on it's own and the marker lights on the front of the car will not light, but the blinkers work.

One question...how far are the seats supposed to fold forward? Mine will only lean forward a few inches, making it rough getting into the well behind the seats.

Thanks for all the help!

Tim Dasenbrock

Southern Illinois

Nice that you found a good car. Keep in mind that your car is a convertible even when you have the hard roof on, so there may be some air noises with the windows rolled up. The fact that there are no leaks proves there are no large gaps to create noise or leaks. There are struts located through the trunk which hold up the tonneau cover, they are replaceable. Are you referring to amber marker lights or the clear cornering lights next to the headlamps that will not light? These bulbs are all replaceable. When trying to fold the seatbacks forward, are you lifting on the release slide in order to to tilt the seatback?

NAre you referring to amber marker lights or the clear cornering lights next to the headlamps that will not light? These bulbs are all replaceable. When trying to fold the seatbacks forward, are you lifting on the release slide in order to to tilt the seatback?

The lights I speak off are the long amber lights in the bumper at the front of the car. It appears that it has two sections. One for the running lights, and one for the blinkers. The seats...well don't I feel stupid. I was pushing on the plastic piece and not lifting up. They lean forward just fine.

Tim Dasenbrock

Southern Illinois

Congratulations on your new, old car.

If your release latches are working the seats fold forward to about 45 degrees, odds are that with the big pillows and stiff leather that one or both seats will fall back into place before you can get the back bin open. Rather than run from one side of the car to the other, I usually use my forearm to hold both seats far enough forward to open and close the rear storage cover.

Back many pages of postings from this one you will find one for a supplier that has all the pistons you need to hold up the trunk, hood, rear storage cover and the tonneau. You can get a brand new reprint shop manual from rockauto.com for about $50 and it is well worth the money to have one handy. If you need something special, like a new piece of weatherstrip to get rid of that wind noise in your left ear best to get with Arizona or TC Parts, if your vertical window seal is the source a 4 inch sheet metal hand brake works great for getting the kink out and putting it back into shape.

The trunk struts work, the hood struts work, it's just the tonneau and the rear storage that need them. I'll look for that thread now. Shop manual has been ordered from RockAuto.com.

Thanks!

Tim Dasenbrock

Southern Illinois

Just replaced my tonneau struts today and the worst part is putting the new ones on because the new struts will be all gassed up. You need to compress them about 1/4 inch so that the second end will slip on to its proper location. The tonneau does work real nice with the new struts.