OK, OK I'm still orienting my head to be Rotary-Gearhead
I understand the 5 lug conversion kit, to have a large choice of rims, right????
Coil overs I assume are going to raise my back end
Walk me thru a little bit where you are heading here!
Thanks from a new owner

 

Ok, the vote is 11 to keep unmolested to 8 to modify.
Not an overwhelming mandate either way!
I'm leaning to keeping it basically stock on the xterior and interior (may break down for wheels and stereo)
So help me put me in order what mechanical mods I should do. I'm thinking exhaust first. The rack and pinion steering would be great but cost me about 1/2 of what I paid for the car!
I also appreciate the advice of the maintenance items I should do immediately since I've just purchased the car and would greatly appreciate advice there too. Thanks, this is very helpful to a new rotart owner with only some mechanical knowledge

 

the "rotart" above was a typo but probably is pretty descriptive of my knowledge level right now
Freud was right!

 

Well, after a month of ownership I drove my car for the 1st time since it was shipped from AZ. The snow melted here for now. That manual steering is going to take some getting use to! I think my arms are a bit sore!!
Since it's not a turbo I expected it to be a bit slow, but not slooooow!
So, I think the car HAS to be modified mechanically or I'll be run over cruising down Woodward here in MI. I'm leaning towrds keeping the exterior original.
I certainly would appreciate where to start, priority on what to do.
This Board is great. Thanks for all your help.

 

Stock Stock Stock! And MAINTENANCE is where to start, take care of that baby like it was your own flesh and blood.

Realize too that the 1st gen is a sports car, not a muscle car, it's not a third gen turbo-driven monster. It is light and quick and handles like a cat, even the 2nd and 2rd gen folks concede it is more fun to drive.

There may already be lots more stock HP under the hood, check the car over carefully and make sure it has been tuned recently (plugs, cap, etc; fresh oil chance; good fuel pump and carb functions; filters changed and NO vacuum leaks - there's a lot of plumbing you'll need to get used to on this pre-fuel injection car).

Man that thing is pretty, a pristine example, much more valuable if kept original. Unless it's broke, don't fix it, you'll save lots of money that can go into maintenance and more necessary things, like paying the rent and keeping the girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband happy (and an RB exhaust for you and the 7).

Also please don't drive it too much in that salty Michigan winter (a little on nice days, that would be hard to resist, but save it for the spring/summer/fall).

Except of course for a few conservative mods to increase horse power and performance, after you have driven it a few months and are sure this is what you want:

Full RB exhaust if you don't need to pass emissions. This alone will increase your horse power AND gas mileage 10-20%, should be all you need.

2GDFI (2nd gen direct fire ignition, a simple mod, just install a second gen leading coil pac, about $25). Fun to do, looks cool and more reliable direct fire ignition.

Maybe some nice tires but KEEP THOSE STOCK "X" wheels, they look mint and are perfect on the car!

You could also upgrade to some GSL features, like an LSD rear end, sound system, interior, etc.

Beautiful car, one of the most desirable colors in mint condition, welcome to the club!

Ray

PS, more photos, especially of the interior and engine?

 

Thanks for your suggestions, I am taking them to heart. The picture files I have are too large to be posted here. PM your email address and I'll send you all the shots I have. Interesting story, It's a one owner car from AZ w/ 53,000 miles.
The original owner bought it at age 65 and drove it until she couldn't drive anymore at age 88!!

 

Wow Matt, that's a nice one.



Here's what I'd recommend, in strict priority (I predict you will never even need to get to the second part of the list, do the first half and you'll have a perfect gem):

2GDFI, this is very inexpensive, lot's of fun and if you couple it with some really cool Magna Core 10 mm plug wires (total cost less than $100), it will be perfect:



Then satisfy that need to spend money with a full street RB exhaust system, this will include the RB header, presilencer and Powerpulse muffler and set you back about $800:





Find all the vacuum leaks and start having fun, you don't need to do anything to the steering, shocks, springs, wheels or any other part of the chassis to have one of the most fun, best handling cars on the road. With a car with that low mileage, you certainly will not need motor mounts and other "performance" chassis parts for a long time. But if you still need more, then start thinking about chassis mods, at least 6 months from now.

(And Billy is a good friend of mine, he'd love for you to have some respeed stuff, but be sure it's what you need first!)

For tires, I would recommend the Yokohama Avid Tourings in the stock size, these tires are very reasonably priced (half our Protege5 tires!) and come with an 80,000 mileage guarantee (although you won't need this, I've clocked 120,000 miles on my present set and counting). If you need to have come cool "performance" tires the Sumitomo tires in a wider size but smaller diameter is what everybody likes, although it will alter your speedo and make it harder to steer at lower speeds). Here's the set I currently have on my White One, they started out on the Brown One, then spent some time on the Tan One and have put out the last 80,000 miles on the White One:



And Keep the "X" wheels!! And the Auto Tranny!!!