Feroza/Rocky engine rattle (To buy or not to buy...that is the question)

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Greetings from Australia... I'm looking at buying a 94 model Feroza II SX (5sp manual) in great condition with only 50,000kms on the clock. But while test driving I noticed a faint metallic rattling from the engine which can mostly be heard when flooring the accelerator to travel up a hill in 3rd & 4th gear. Does anyone out there have an idea what it might be, if it's normal or if it might indicate anything serious? Cheers Scratch one-s head

Ideas.

Not a diagnosis. A metalic 'rattle' when flooring uphill could be 'pinking' - the engine timing might be too advanced or the fuel could be octane low.

"Pinking"... it may well be

Thanks for your comments Mace & Assassin. Can't check the engine's bits & pieces just now, but when I looked earlier the engine itself seemed completely clean and clear of any oil leaks. The coolant looked clean and was at the correct level, and the oil level was normal.

I just did a google search on "engine pinking" and there was a youtube video by some dude demonstrating pinking. The sound in the background was similar to what I was hearing in the feroza. From what I just read it sounds like it can be a problem if left unchecked. I might add the engine did feel like it was lacking a bit of power during these up hill stretches when I was flooring the accelerator, which was also when I was hearing the pinking.

Some sites on "Pinking" for anyone else out there who might be interested:-

YouTube - Engine pinking
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9d6gMYcrFk

Pinking
An ignition system fault is one of the most likely causes of the engine pinking.
If the vehicle has covered a lot of miles, then carbon build up on the ...
www.diyfixit.com/motor/faultfinding/pinking/pinking.htm

Engine knocking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Knocking (also called knock, detonation or spark knock, pinking in UK English or
pinging in US English) in spark-ignition internal combustion engines occurs ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_knocking

Metallica

Check the obvious first, metal protection plates, exhaust mountings, exhaust heat shields, and any other thin plates could give this noise.
Clamp plates such as the battery holding bracket, and any other bracketry should be checked, as should any ancillary components mounting bolts.

Check or have checked, the engine; oil leaks, compression checks, and just removing a spark plug will reveal a lot, start the engine from cold and check for exhaust smoke, and check the engine coolant.