So I'm the guy who bought Mazdave's 1980 LS. I've been cruising this forum for advice since I got the car and just wanted to thank all of you for the advice I've gotten. The stuff I've done to the car since I purchased is:
new starter
new battery cables
new battery
Racing Beat springs and sway bars
KYB shocks
New suspension bushings all around
new sunroof visor
new tie rods (inner and outer)
Racing Beat muffler (old one was too far gone)
Flushed and replaced trans and diff fluid w/ Royal Purple
new ball joints
adjusted steering gear (no more wonder steering)
Replaced middle section of exhaust and lower thermal reactor shielding
flushed clutch fluid
replaced shifter bushing (huge difference!)
replaced rear hatch struts
switched A/C over to R134 (no leaks and blows ice cold)

All that's left for me is getting the seats re stitched, replacing those front defroster vents, resoldering the rear defroster tabs, and getting the golden waffles refinished. I'll try to post pix, but honestly looking at the car it hasn't changed since the prior owner posted pix. Thanks again!

 

glad to see you are still improving on the car man! i still have to get that speaker out to you trust me guys, this car is in great hands and it will only get better with the time and money Josh is putting into this LS!

 

Glad to see this car is in good hands! Have fun with it

 

Yeah I tried replacing the Watts linkage bushings yesterday but need to build a jig before I can press the old ones out. I think it was frozen before though because when I put everything back together the car was a lot more lively. I read over some of the other posts about the car and I didn't know the decals were a dealer add on. I'm still tempted to keep them though; I have a thing for vintage ugly decals. (see my other love - vintage 70s Jeeps)

 

I envy you, sir... enjoy the car mightily. She's a gem!

I'll be interested to hear of your satisfaction with the Royal Purple. I had initial good results with it in my '80, but found over the course of a couple hot months that it made for harsher shifts and more engagement noise. I ended up going back to Castrol.

Welcome to the SA brotherhood.

 

Haven't had a problem thus far, and this has been one of the hottest summers on record up here. I've been a huge fan since I started using it on the Jeep. I did the fluid change at the same time as the shifter bushing so there was no way for me to isolate what helped the most but the tranny was definitely more crisp.

 

Any pics of the car since you picked it up?

 

I bought a starter from O'reillys, three of them have not fit. Did you have this problem? Where Did you buy a starter?

 

Cos-
I think he has sold the SA (was listed on Craigs last month)
Starter:
you know the 79/80 starter is unique right? Someone correct me but isn' the 81+ FB starter different?
So maybe your supplier is getting you a later starter.
SA starters avai on ebay pretty regularly. Can your starter NOT be rebuilt by a local auto electric shop? Most repairs pretty easy to do locally...

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

Agreed Stu, when it comes to alternaters and starters, I have my original ones rebuilt locally. I'd only buy one off the internet or the local store if I wanted a spare.

 

How much did all of those parts cost? I'm looking to do almost the exact same setup to my car. I have already replaced the suspension setup with RacingBeat sway bars and springs, and kyb shocks and struts

 

i would like to see some intieror pics if possible.