1981 244 GL High MPG - daughter's first car

[Jack]

Good find! That was a real stubborn one. Sometimes the new intank pumps are super noisy. Can't wait to see that MPG B21F Roll!

Are these still 8.5 compression? Or is this a 9.3 compression car? I have a 78 lambda B21F and it is only 8.5.

Thanks, I was so perplexed when I first discovered that … for sure I thought I was reading it wrong! I wonder what weird readings it was sending to the computer(s)

See post #256 first picture for all the specs. Says 9.3

I’m so close!! next few days will be busy for me with other projects so idk how much I’ll get done on this

 

[Toybox]

started checking all the CIS per green book. Found that the yellow wire (what goes to the ignition switch) was in the wrong place. I never messed with it so it must have been some previous "mechanic"

Wow. That's an impressive catch!

It's hard to even imagine what would have compelled a previous owner to mess with that... other than swapping an entire wiring harness I suppose.

Just for giggles... I'm reminded of foolishness in a foxbody Mustang: there's a slight connector issue at one of the oxygen sensors that is wired one way for automatic trans ECU and a different way for manual ECU (they had two extra pins so they utilized it for a loopback for something that isn't even remotely concerned with O2 sensors.) Running a mismatched ECU/harness (that portion of it) either doesn't work correctly or fries an output transistor, depending on which mismatch you're dealing with. Who in their right mind thought that design was OK -- or who never anticipated transmission conversions -- I have no idea.

 

[Jack]

Wow. That's an impressive catch!

It's hard to even imagine what would have compelled a previous owner to mess with that... other than swapping an entire wiring harness I suppose.

you ground/disconnect the ignition signal for testing, I bet it came off during some adjusting and "ehh looks like it goes here"

last week or so
replaced the noisy main pump - took me like 3 hours, broke the original hard line between pump and accumulator, spent too long looking for replacements, turns out they were crap so I crimped on a high pressure fuel line after looking for the correct bin that has them

had to change the connectors

radiator that was came with car was leaking so I used one of my spare brass ones. Painted it

double checked my timing and crank pulley while the radiator was out because my timing was still off

installed the air dam

sitting on the ground for the first time since march

Italian tuneup doing it's thing

https://imgur.com/DNPRk84

got a new timing light, (today) turns out my basic one was just fine

distributor was off a tooth, washed it with soap for the first time. Any decent car waxes you guys recommend?

I set timing and drove it down the block and back
WOOP!

 

[302ftw?]

Congrats @Jack ! Momentous accomplishment.

 

[TouzinFish]

First drive must feel so good! Great work!

 

[dl242gt]

That's fantastic! Been a lot of work. Completely renewed everywhere. Amazing car. How many T shirts do you think it took to finish the car?

For wax try out Blitz wax made by One Grand. Easy to put on. Melts in your hand and lasts pretty long. Before wax I would polish with P21S gloss polish. Have to wax the car right after using the polish.

 

[Jack]

Congrats @Jack ! Momentous accomplishment.

thank you, finally

First drive must feel so good! Great work!

thank you! heck yes, but the real drive will come in a few days.

That's fantastic! Been a lot of work. Completely renewed everywhere. Amazing car. How many T shirts do you think it took to finish the car?

For wax try out Blitz wax made by One Grand. Easy to put on. Melts in your hand and lasts pretty long. Before wax I would polish with P21S gloss polish. Have to wax the car right after using the polish.

Thank you, It's super close to being done. I still need to button up the interior and recheck everything once I drive it more. I'll give those a try


speaking of interior..

Yesterday
I started to put everything extra away, did more cleaning, replaced few odds and ends

removed the "rear wash" button. Replaced bulbs in hazard and defrost. What was the first year of the late model switches? I cant remember

replaced the clock lightbulb

car was missing the key/seatbelt buzzer. Installed one

https://imgur.com/pGG8Zyc

today.

Driver rear door window seal had a big piece missing. I replaced it with a whole one but still not that great. rubber etc around here turns rock hard. It's been a while since I found some decent soft window guide seals. If anyone has a set LMK. Apparently they only make the rear ones new ?

All the power windows are SUPER slow to go up/down. I pulled the driver rear window regulator. Cleaned it all up and regreased it.
caked in old grease

I forgot to take a picture of the window regulator transmission with old grease. Unlike the older regulators that unscrew the newer style access cover is pinned on

old
3 screws

new
4 hammered on pins? I broke those off

cleaned off most of the grease, put some heat and lube where the pivots are, then worked it until it all started to feel smooth. Picture shows all the dirt/old grease coming out

I added more grease later (this is me working with a drop light)

I drilled for self tappers, I didnt feel like making a legitimate thread. pressure washed the inside of the DR door, installed the regulator, "new" seal and glass. This window now goes up and down properly. I just need to do the same for the 3 other doors. DF is painfully slow going back up ... like takes 3 min with some help to fully close.. It got dark so Im done for today

 

[Jack]

pulled the driver front door panel off, it's wasted from years of rot. I got a front set coming via @Khrrck

window takes FOREVER to go up and down

https://imgur.com/L0WQpOa

I pulled the regulator off for cleaning/lube

transmission was pretty bad, even after cleaning it I couldn't spin the gear by hand (like you should be able to) so I attached an impact driver and sprayed it with lube until it all loosened up.

bonus - looks new power door lock actuator

after I put it back together

https://imgur.com/TyqSyjo

driver rear door panel had some water damage but for now it will do. I like to apply epoxy paint to the cardboard backing to make it waterproof. It takes about 2-3 layers of paint before it's sealed.

bottom was distorted so I placed some weights while the epoxy dried

final layer

refreshed the front side (before)

after

installed

 

[fatcatbestcat]

Man, now I gotta find myself a wagon in this spec with the MPG motor.

Great work! Beyond the scope of anything I'm ready to do to a car

 

[Jack]

Man, now I gotta find myself a wagon in this spec with the MPG motor.

Great work! Beyond the scope of anything I'm ready to do to a car

I still like the lh 2.2 the best with ezk.

Thanks. I really want to take out some of the pains that come with owning an old car where everything fails all the time because no one bothered to fix anything

I got it registered yesterday, got all the fees waved but still came out to be $216 for reg and title transfer. Ca is the most expensive state to register a car. Now I can start driving it and work out whatever junk still needs to be addressed.

I got my replacement door panels in the mail yesterday too, first coat of epoxy is on.
Vp finally shipped out my front seat back foam - ordered it back in july?

I repainted the silver lettering and master switch surround

after

 

[Jack]

@Khrrck front door cards arrived SOONER then what he promised...
painted the backs (2 coats over 2 days)

installed clips

Spies everywhere around here

Car came with these spacers to screw the speaker to it instead of all the weight being supported by the door card. I trimmed it to size prior to installation. I have never seen (or paid attention) to these before but I like them.

door card installed. Speaker installed behind stock grill would hit the window and Im not installing the aftermarket ones

Today at work I cut spacers out of 10gauge on the plasma table, if anyone wants some I can make many more. I checked for any installation issues and they'll work great, tomorrow I'll coat them and be done with DF door

Yesterday I took the PF door card off. looks like it hasnt been taken off many times before

 

[Khrrck]

Good to see em in their new home! I dropped em off on Friday and the guy said Wednesday, no idea why they arrived faster. XD

They actually were in my closet for years even though I only ever had crank window cars... I think my younger, noobier self got em for a song off a guy at IPD that I also bought some other interior bits from. The grilles maybe were what I wanted? But then I discovered they were held on with those awful plastic push pins and just made my peace with the HT-204s.

 

[bobxyz]

So, is your daughter going to get to drive this over-the-top restoration any time soon, or is dad going to hang on to it until the "break-in period" is done???

 

[Jack]

So, is your daughter going to get to drive this over-the-top restoration any time soon, or is dad going to hang on to it until the "break-in period" is done???

I just got it registered Monday, still need to smog and align it. I want it out of here so I can move on to fixing my broken cars!

I actually feel pretty terrible it wasn’t ready for her birthday… but she says it’s not a problem.

Good to see em in their new home! I dropped em off on Friday and the guy said Wednesday, no idea why they arrived faster. XD

They actually were in my closet for years even though I only ever had crank window cars... I think my younger, noobier self got em for a song off a guy at IPD that I also bought some other interior bits from. The grilles maybe were what I wanted? But then I discovered they were held on with those awful plastic push pins and just made my peace with the HT-204s.

That was a big hookup. I appreciate it!