so i grabbed an 86 GXL off a friend of mine for about $230. it was considered clean title through the dmv but has been into accidents. im currently in the position of restoring it just to get it's body parts straight, and then painting it. the motor itself is in poor condition. he told me that there was a coolant leak, so i figured it was a bad coolant seal after reading around. but it gets worst. i pulled the battery off of my daily beater to start the GXL because it didnt have a battery.

the car seemed to turn over quite fine but began to sputter and shut off.. i figured it was a little flooded.. i look back and my whole house was covered in white smoke. i started it again for about 2 seconds and the same thing.. so this is going to be fun to work with.

ive been tinkering with it all day, finding all the nitches and damages throughout the car. ive found tons , but somewhat minor ones such as broken plastic panels and cut wires here and there. i cleared all the excess wires and have seem to located all the broken plastic parts. hopefully i can pick up parts at a junk yard. would you guys recommend any places to look for restoration parts and other junk? i live in san jose, ca and there's plenty of pick-n-pulls around me. but i would rather go some where more resourceful. i also need a place that sells cheap seals and weather strippings. =]

any tips on just about anything? and is there anyway to source a rebuilt s4 motor? any information would be fine. i'll post pictures up of everything. im hoping to bondo all the small stuff and paint it with the $50 paint job technique.

 

places to get good engines are www.atkinsrotary.com, www.pineappleracing.com, www.mazdatrix.com. those are three reputable engine builders. you choose which one you want to go with. there are a lot of boneyards near me but only one with an FC. try the for sale/wanted section here for some parts. sounds like you may have a bad heater hose thats spraying coolant onto the exhaust. post some pics and let us know what you come up with.

 

hmm bad heater hose.. well when i start the car.. even for a second, white smoke just goes everywhere.. it covered my whole house within the 2 seconds i first started it. i tried driving it around.. if i let go of the throttle, the engine sputters and dies. maybe once did it stay on but once i hit the brakes, i suppose it was too much and died.. i drove it for a bit around the street and i pressed the throttle all the way to the floor. i didnt get much acceleration in first gear and i didnt get more than 15 mph.. so i suppose theres no compression either. so yeah.. i still have a while before i begin with the engine

also.. its been sitting for about 3 months with the same problem.. so yeah =/