I've been out and about, messing with the car lately, so I figured I'd post a thread about the car, showing what I have. It's an 86 NA 5-speed. I'm not sure where I'm going next with the car, but I definitely want to fix it up, starting with engine/powertrain first.

The car looks a little ratty, with a few rusted through spots and a hood that appears to have been poorly primed. The interior was completely stripped, carpet and all, so it tends to get kinda hot when I've been driving for a while. (Isn't there a heat shield for the transmission? It gets hot as hell by the shifter.) The doors don't open from the outside, so I have to crawl through the hatch to get in. Everything appears to be intact there, I just need new door handles, which seems to be a common problem. Random little things are wrong, such as the speedometer not working. I pulled the old cable out and installed a new one today, but with no results. I think the gauge itself may be bad. I need new power window switches, for both sides, though I tried to consolidate the two window switches so that at least the driver side would work both windows, but then the driver side worked and the passenger side didn't! I noticed the other day while I was driving back from picking up something for a friend (I had the hatch tied down, since it wouldn't close) that the car runs really rich. Rich enough to burn the eyes. Is this normal? From what I understand, rotaries naturally run rich, but I dunno...

Here's a list of things that have already been done to the car:

HID headlights
Aftermarket radiator w/ electric fan
Front and rear strut tower braces
MSD plug wires
New engine mounts
Aftermarket steering wheel
SAFC-II
Possibly a new clutch
Adjustable coilovers
Catback exhaust

I seem to find new things that have been done every time I look. It runs strong and doesn't seem to have any major issues, other than general maintenance and upkeep needing to be done. I plan on making this car run well first, THEN doing cosmetic work. Where should I go next with the car? I don't want to dump any serious money into it, but a few grand is definitely ok. I'm looking to build it up some, but nothing too crazy. It's also a DD. (If you call living where you work, and driving for pleasure a DD. I don't -have to- drive anywhere. Everywhere I need to go is within walking distance.)


Pics are coming tomorrow! Suggestions/comments/etc appreciated!

 

Run a search for jrat door handle fix.....it worked really well and is damn near free + you get training on the innerworkings of the door.

Safc II on an na? To lean it out slightly while professionally tuning it with a wideband?

john ny

 

Sweet. And I don't know why the safc II is there. Maybe the guy was planning to turbo it? I have no idea really what to do with it. I'm trying to learn, though. And thanks on the door fix!

 

Ok. So pictures are overdue. Haha. I finally got out and took some earlier. Here they go! I apologize in advance for the mess. I was attempting to square it away as best as possible the other day, but forgot about some of it, hence the random stray wires here and there.

 

Yes. Sleepy eyes. Personally, I like it.

I know the engine bay is nasty. Haha. And yes, those ARE zip ties holding the radiator fan up. I'm working on finding another way to mount it. That's obviously only a temp fix.











Well there it is. My FC. She definitely needs work, but that's being taken care of. Comments, suggestions, etc?

 

So glad I do not live in a state that has a rainbow on the license plate...

 

we have teh same suspension setup =)

 

Haha. I'm not crazy about it either.

 

What is it? I'm completely lost on that one. I know the springs are Eibach, but that's about it.

 

^^^ you have Tokico Blues Struts.

 

Sweet. Thanks.

So I'm not sure where I want to go with the car from here. I was considering working from the inside out, doing interior work first, starting by putting in carpet again. I'm not going to worry too much about investing a lot in performance at the moment. Though she's nothing special now, I'm satisfied at the moment. I want to get her looking nice. In her current state, I still get compliments and an occasional buyer's offer. One of the guards at the gate here on base gawks every time I drive by. haha. Any suggestions?

 

better pics of the door panels?

 

If you're going to start with interior I would definitely go with a carpet and at least make everything match, then maybe look for a pair of Vert rims or other wheels? The exterior of the car actually looks pretty good in my opinion other then the red door handle, i think wheels would really set it off. Or a turbo

 

That big *** hole (that's what it looks like) in your passenger side fender wouldn't be **** to fix with some fiberglass mat, resin, glazing compound and a couple hours of your time.


I never understood why people hack the living **** out of their speaker towers like that. Could be worse. I have a bar some asshat migwelded between mine that does absolutely nothing as far as reducing chassis flex.

 

Both of the door handles are broken. They won't work from the outside, so I'm considering shaving the door handles, but I'm not sure yet. Black carpet with rubber matting is on the way soon, so it shouldn't be too much longer for that. I'm starting a custom gauge setup as well, so we'll see where that goes. It's a triple gauge set with oil pressure, water temp, and voltage right under the CD player. I just have to find a way to make the temp sensor fit in the radiator, seeing as the stock radiator is no more and the threading for the new one won't fit. It's too big. A turbo has been considered, too.



Lol. I know. I'm going to patch it up this weekend. I've had the things to do it, just not the time. As for the rear towers, I don't know why. It looks bad. Hopefully the carpet will cover it up. I'm attempting to start collecting random interior pieces to put the car back together. I'm also considering removing the sunroof seeing that it's rusted through, and replacing it with a sheet of plexiglass, but I'm not sure if I'll do that yet.

 

New pictures!

Pictures of the door panels are coming.


This is the new gauge install in progress. Speedo, tach, and fuel level gauge are next in line.



The gauges at night



Sleepy eyes at night!