tooTiredtooDie
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2025
My ultimate goal is to learn how to rally in this car but it's going to take a bit. I first found this car in November of last year and thought it was cool looking. At the time all the money I had was supposed to be towards next semesters rent for college. I decided it couldn't hurt and went to go take a look just for the price and gawk.
I left with the car and 1500$ poorer (too much I know of now, but I left the parking brake up during the test drive.) Also learned DO NOT go look at a car when it is dark outside. I drove it home in pouring rain with bald tires, bad front wheel bearings, steering rack, and a very spongy brake pedal. From the history the previous owner said they bought it from a single owner and got it for their daughter for high school. I thought it felt really slow for an 80's car, but I was just a dumbass and forgot the parking brake. I think I'll get a Carfax report to check if it actually has around 450,000 miles, it didn't look like it was messed with when I tore apart the odometer to install a new gear. Came with a b23 with a weird head I don't know a lot about and an aw70. Fast forward a few months, switched colleges, moved back home, and got a better job. Did a once over during the daylight, body wasn't bad but mechanically it was rough. I started plugging in things I couldn't see, and the dash started to light up. Most noticeable the brake failure light was always on. Drained practically muddy water. Don't have any pictures of this one because this is the first of 5 brake bleeds in a month. I then blew a brake caliper in the rear, replaced it. 2nd brake bleed and new tires.
By this time, I could drive it places. One day I drove down a hill and tried to stop at a redlight, but the pedal did not react, brake failure light flashed and drove toward my impending doom, but they eventually caught. One of the front calipers had blown. Still one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. 3rd, 4th and 5th brake bleeds and a new look on life
. I converted the fronts to vented rotors and replaced both calipers and a couple lines. Twisted a few brass lines off and bought a proper wrench for these lines next time. It was running pretty rough, so I decided to do an intake job/flame trap job. I didn't expect there to be a long tube that went into the oil pan it broke apart into a million pieces when I lifted the flame trap.
I then had to an oil pan job because of how much had broken off, I didn't think an oil pan job would be too bad until I saw you needed to lift the engine. I think this is the hardest job I've done to date, I would recommend pulling the engine instead of having to deal with twisting and crawling, and head banging against the engine hoist. I joined the forum around this time and looked at what other people had done (thank you). I read an instruction the wrong way and pulled apart the oil pump to free it from the oil pan baffles and dropped one of the gears onto the concrete floor I was working on. I had worked on cars and built engines before but learned you can still find new ways to mess up. I thought I took pictures of this, but I really just wanted to get this done and over with. I also broke a motor mount in the process, but the oil filter was getting close enough to the frame. Drove it for maybe a day and felt like a million bucks. Then heard a loud scrapping sound and part of my tailpipe rusted off.
Luckily, I pulled off the road pretty quick and tore it off and stuck it in the trunk. I was planning on going on a road trip with the car but got an alignment and they quoted me for new front bearings and a steering rack which would be twice the cost I bought it for. I installed a new rack from fcp euro and some SKF bearings that failed me later. Take that with a grain of salt because this was my first time with that style of bearings. I also did water pump around this time. It was super simple. Block definitely had just water in it at some point and I want to get it completely warshed.
Test fit for a "hood ordainment".
I left with the car and 1500$ poorer (too much I know of now, but I left the parking brake up during the test drive.) Also learned DO NOT go look at a car when it is dark outside. I drove it home in pouring rain with bald tires, bad front wheel bearings, steering rack, and a very spongy brake pedal. From the history the previous owner said they bought it from a single owner and got it for their daughter for high school. I thought it felt really slow for an 80's car, but I was just a dumbass and forgot the parking brake. I think I'll get a Carfax report to check if it actually has around 450,000 miles, it didn't look like it was messed with when I tore apart the odometer to install a new gear. Came with a b23 with a weird head I don't know a lot about and an aw70. Fast forward a few months, switched colleges, moved back home, and got a better job. Did a once over during the daylight, body wasn't bad but mechanically it was rough. I started plugging in things I couldn't see, and the dash started to light up. Most noticeable the brake failure light was always on. Drained practically muddy water. Don't have any pictures of this one because this is the first of 5 brake bleeds in a month. I then blew a brake caliper in the rear, replaced it. 2nd brake bleed and new tires.
By this time, I could drive it places. One day I drove down a hill and tried to stop at a redlight, but the pedal did not react, brake failure light flashed and drove toward my impending doom, but they eventually caught. One of the front calipers had blown. Still one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. 3rd, 4th and 5th brake bleeds and a new look on life
. I converted the fronts to vented rotors and replaced both calipers and a couple lines. Twisted a few brass lines off and bought a proper wrench for these lines next time. It was running pretty rough, so I decided to do an intake job/flame trap job. I didn't expect there to be a long tube that went into the oil pan it broke apart into a million pieces when I lifted the flame trap.
I then had to an oil pan job because of how much had broken off, I didn't think an oil pan job would be too bad until I saw you needed to lift the engine. I think this is the hardest job I've done to date, I would recommend pulling the engine instead of having to deal with twisting and crawling, and head banging against the engine hoist. I joined the forum around this time and looked at what other people had done (thank you). I read an instruction the wrong way and pulled apart the oil pump to free it from the oil pan baffles and dropped one of the gears onto the concrete floor I was working on. I had worked on cars and built engines before but learned you can still find new ways to mess up. I thought I took pictures of this, but I really just wanted to get this done and over with. I also broke a motor mount in the process, but the oil filter was getting close enough to the frame. Drove it for maybe a day and felt like a million bucks. Then heard a loud scrapping sound and part of my tailpipe rusted off.
Luckily, I pulled off the road pretty quick and tore it off and stuck it in the trunk. I was planning on going on a road trip with the car but got an alignment and they quoted me for new front bearings and a steering rack which would be twice the cost I bought it for. I installed a new rack from fcp euro and some SKF bearings that failed me later. Take that with a grain of salt because this was my first time with that style of bearings. I also did water pump around this time. It was super simple. Block definitely had just water in it at some point and I want to get it completely warshed.
Test fit for a "hood ordainment".
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