Unsure if you should congratulate me or offer condolences.

After almost 10 years since I sold the T2, I bought another roundy motor car. This car piqued my interest because it was mostly original, original body, paint, motor. Has 90k on the odometer. Even the AST seems original (the plastic looks like its turned to cheese). It needs love. The suspension feels like its disconnected from the body and theres a monkey banging hammers over every bump. The motor is original and never been rebuilt. Runs fine, but its likely not long for this world. The interior is in good condition, though the cabin temperature selector seems to be broken (does not physically stay in the same place after you move it). The a/c blows cold!

Not sure what I am going to do with it. I'm tempted to keep it stock, with a few small reliability upgrades. Going to start diving into the suspension first, driving home on HWY1, i nearly pooped my pants it was so bad.

Slightly worried that I've forgotten how to wrench on these cars :|

 

How much was the car?

 

Congrats!

You should probably call in a few local rotary buddies to take a look at it. Then you can develop a prioritized action plan to fix the most critical problems (and potential problems) first. There should be enough spare stock parts in your general area (San Francisco) if you know where to look.

 

KEEP IT STOCK.

With the exception of a handful of reliability mods... I would keep it stock.

Clean stuff, replace stuff, update stuff... but keep it as "OEM" as you can.

Just my .02.

 

9

 

Thats what I was inclined to do. Keep it as OEM as possible. I'm even thinking about keeping the stock exhaust, except upgrade to a downpipe. Amazingly, still has the precat, cat and original muffler on it.

 

Yeah sure... I think anything with "reliability" in mind (DP, radiator, AST, etc) is welcomed. If you get the itch to "do stuff" to it, maybe stick to only 99Spec / Mazdaspeed products? Again, staying true to the OEM mentality.

...and $9k is a steal. You did great!

 

Wow 9k, that is a steal...FDs aren't worth much these days.

 

The stock FD runs like a dream. Quiet, peppy, smooth, and is reliable (it is us the enthusiasts that really gave it the reputation). The only thing is that it just doesn't haul *** by today's standards but that is ok.


Agreed.


DP, Radiator, AST, coilovers and no more aftermarket stuff. If the AIT's get too hot then at most get A.I. but keep the stock IC and get a second piece (elbow, coupler) to tap into for the A.I. nozzle. As far as looks go keep the R2 lip (or go 99 if you really like them), Shine/Feed side steps, and some wheels. Can't never go wrong with that combo.


M-

 

For the temperature selector, you should be able to pull the **** straight off, and there will be a little nut there on the dial that you can tighten to pull the control tight. I bet that's the only problem. Potentially a 2min fix.

 

Where did you find the car? PM me up if you want to flip it...

 

Why don't I ever stumble across these deals? Womp womp. Congrats bud.

 

Huge thanks for the tip! Will try that tonight.

 

Was thinking the same. Upgraded radiator, AST, coilovers (undecided which flavor), maybe efini turbos and y-pipe. Spend the rest of the money replacing the old crummy bits with new OEM ones.

 

Good deal, you can always keep all the stock parts if you want to mod it.

 

Welcome to the club of SSM R2 owners.

 

Update! First week of ownership and the plastic endtank on the radiator split, dumping coolant all over the garage floor. Radiator is original too I guess, lol.

I feel initiated now

Need to lookup the p/n's for all the hoses. Should replace everything while I am at it.

 

The Koyo N-FLo made a 3-4 degree celcius difference in my personal FD over either the Fluidyne or standard koyo that was in it before.

 

Ive been reading about some of the differences. Im actually worried about fitment issues, want to keep the stock airbox, ic, etc. Or is the N-Flo the same core thickness?

 

No but I was able to run stock airbox and IC with the N-FLO.

 

Nice find. I bought my SSM FD for 10k about two years ago. Need any help, I'm local.

 

Congrats; that's a beauty for sure. I'm convinced my next FD should be SSM!

 

Thanks man! I'm going to carefully removing the original pre-cat tonight. If you hear screaming from half moon bay, that means I snapped one of the turbo studs. lol

 

last we ever heard .. its been 2 days now . man and machine are still in the epic struggle against rust !!

 

Congrats Seth. Nice to see you back at it. Guys, Seth is a great wrench and old rotary pro. Man, hard to believe it's been 10 years since you sold your FC. Looking forward to your renewed interest. Let me know if I can do ANYTHING to help!