Draklore

iTrader: (1)

Hello
My name is Shane Drake, and I have been lurking on here for a little over two years.
I have a little bit of car history and am probably best known for my involvement in the Audi B7 communities, or across the internet for my V8 Volkswagen Caddy that was featured on Speedhunters among other things.

My Caddy in speedhunters


www.speedhunters.com The-Volkswagen-Caddy-From-Hell

Here is my old B7A4 and the one that replaced it.

This B7 went through a lot of changes before I unfortunately totaled it


The new Avant


I brought over my Honda Ruckus which makes for the perfect transportation, and its pretty heavily modified as well. I ride with some local guys and would highly reccomend it to anyone who moves out here.




My truck, Audi's and Ruckus all have pretty extensive build threads on their respective forums. If you are interested I'm sure a quick google search will pull them up

I had to leave my Audi and VW back in the states because the Air Force decided to send me to Okinawa . I have been living in Okinawa Japan for two years, and immediately started looking for the right FD. I have two years left on island, which means if I played my cards right and picked up a mid 93, I could potentially have the military ship it back for me SO after I noticed the prices for 91-93 FD3S' start to rise dramatically as they approach the 25 year mark, I decided to get serious about picking one up. I learned a ton of things about the import process and had to decline two heavily modded 93's because they would not pass the VRO import inspection from Tokyo to Naha. Mainly I just wanted a clean, rust free M/T model with clean interior. I found a black 92 and contacted the seller, which was a company called TCCars. after negotiating on a final price that included import to Okinawa, Shaken, and taxes, I secured the deal and it took about two weeks for the car to arrive, ready to drive. It initially failed inspection because one of the bulbs in the after market Bi-Xenon Kit was burned out, so they replaced it with a stock set and gave me the kit. The car has 80,000 Km and some light engine mods and a cat back exhaust. (they are noted on the title, so it is OK for import). The front and side Aero have been updated, and initially the car had a set of really bad Chrome Depo tails, and a badly sun damaged GT wing. Before the car arrived I went to Up-Garage and bought some Zenki tails.

The car before purchasing




Anyways the car has a few issues, but I am extremely happy! I will post more progress as I go in a build thread. I hope to make good friends here on the forums, and am excited to see other peoples builds and maybe meet some local FD guys here in Oki.

moldyviolinist

Nice buy! What are your plans for it?

Got a good buddy in Okinawa, he's marines though

SoulAmaZing

iTrader: (2)

Yo! Sick fd dude I'm sure you'll bring it back to its glory with your own touch. Sick caddy btw. I had a buddy stationed in oki and he loved it, the cars there were just a plus. Peace! -christian

Draklore

iTrader: (1)

So some of the issues range from minor to moderate.
Because of the language barrier I wasn't able to sort out as many details as I wished I could before purchasing, and the translated description on the site was hilarious to say the least haha





Like I said, the tail lights were horrendous ....



So before the car arrived I stopped by Up-Garage and found a set of original tail lights for 1990Y or like 18$



I might pick up a less faded set down the road, but I couldn't complain about the price.
I actually spent more on bulbs than the tails.


When I picked it up I noticed a few things right away, the front bumper had two cracks, one pretty large that had duct tape covering it. and one right in the center. the Fiberglass was also pretty cracked.
The rear wing had been removed so I could pass inspection and they had removed the Bi-Xenon kit.
The rear hatch had pieces of duct tape covering the original wing screw holes and surface rust was developing... this probably upset me the most, but I have been debating keeping the GT wing and maybe at some point I will remove it and get the holes, rust and paint re done.
The passenger door handle was snapped, which is common I guess (even on RHD ones :/ )
The engine had a rough idle, and the A/C didn't work. also the radio turns on but plays no sound.
other than that, I think the car may have been in a minor accident because the tails, and original rear bumper despite the front and side aero being updated. there is also a clear difference in paint between the shell and doors, with a visible blend line on one rear quarter.

So despite a long list of things, I am still extremely happy with the purchase, except I wish I would have known before hand to perhaps leverage the cost a bit more. I brought up a few of the issues and they are giving me a little bit back, mainly to replace the radio, which is honestly the last thing I care about.

In its new spot, wish it was covered but oh well for now




Should be easy to find a replacement



So after the first drive it was obvious it had a pretty major boost leak, which after a quick inspection, the charge pipe had two loose clamps. and the air pump had a clamp off and the connector was unplugged....


I tried to plug the air pump back in and unfortunately the connector disintegrated... lol
but luckily the car holds boost now and is quite snappy!

A/C issue-
The big problem I am facing is that after some diagnosing I have power going to the A/C compressor, and it is spinning. weirdly it doesn't make a loud *Click* when the clutch engages.. also the compressor does not turn off unless you turn the A/C switch off (not cycling) , and the air never gets cold. Worst yet, since everything electrically seems to check out for the A/C, this means the Freon is either not pressurized, or leaked out etc... because this is a 92, it is the R12a, and has not been converted, so now I must find someone who can convert the system, and dye test it.


sorting the loose clamps in this area, they must have gotten anxious when re assembling after compression testing?



Now back to the air pump///
I went to test the relay and it wasn't there. so I replaced it and the air pump cycles on. this lasted about 30s before blowing the A/C fuse which it gets its power from. so I tested the resistance between the pump and relay and it is good. and same with between pump power and A/C fuse. So I believe either the pump is shorted internally . or the leads for the pump coming from the main harness have a short. I will have to pour over the wiring diagram some more tomorrow.

regardless I am lucky that parts are relatively cheap here, especially aftermarket parts at Up-Garage. I will post some updated pics as I make progress. thanks for watching.

Draklore

iTrader: (1)

Well Right now my biggest priority is getting the A/C working! later on, I have some ideas, I really want to do a deep purple vinyl wrap, and I am on the fence for the motor plans when it gets to the states. I guess it depends. right now i just want to enjoy it

There are some awesome cars here, and the island has been a fantastic experience for me and my family. I have a seven year old and I hope she is able to remember her time here.

unfortunately the biggest problem for cars here is the humidity, I see rotted classics in the scrapyard, and driving around every day!

Draklore

iTrader: (1)

I am not sure if I mentioned it above, but prior to the military I went to Ford School and got my degree and was a dealer tech for a few years.

So my biggest priority is the A/C, and I was honestly hoping for an electrical issue that I could easily sort.

Unfortunately, once I saw that the compressor turned on, I am guessing that the issue is either line pressure or lack of freon. I only ever recharged systems in the dealership, but never converted a system from R12a to R134.. I assume you can adapt the connectors, and flush out the old stuff, and just use the newer freon?

I assume that the compressor isnt cycling because the pressure switch or Thermo switch are not reading a drop in temps etc...

If anyone has extensive knowledge about this particular system, and if its different than modern/other systems I would appreciate it. Going over the wiring diagrams it seems pretty basic.


While I was looking around I noticed some indications that at one time the car had a power FC installed. so I pulled the kick panel off to see if by some stroke of luck there would be a nice shiny after market ECU for me to play with... what I found made me feel pretty ******* sick....





ok, stock ecu.. but is that a scotch lock?




Mother of god...




I pressed on the harness and the car stalled, upon further inspection it was because the awesome crimp job seen here...




I can't even... I think I'm going to be sick...

So obviously not all is as it seems... I am guessing that at one point the car either had a huge gauge cluster, or a power FC

regardless, I dont even know what to do because most of the scotch locks are done millimeters from the main connector... I may just re pin them, IDK


So I moved on from that mess, and will have to revisit it,
I decided to strip the ugly GT wing of its Fake Carbon fiber paint job and paint it matte black. I think I will keep it until I can get the hatch re finished. It is growing on me.. but I think the car really needs to be lowered. I am already having a tough time on these roads. I have owned plenty of lowered cars in rough roads, but this car rides the stiffest out of anything I've owned besides my drift truck.

The wheels are Work CRKAI 18x8.5 et28
I am not sure if the suspension has lowering springs or is stock?
My buddy at work wants me to trade wheels, but I dont think so... I like the 18s for now.



I am also realizing the terrible gas mileage, and expensive prices per liter here...



But still, for all these surprises. I am extremely happy with my purchase. I really am enjoying it, and so is my family

H_M

iTrader: (7)

There's enough wire left on the connectors that you can solder them. Use heat shrink to cover the solder joints. It'll look good when it's done.

Draklore

iTrader: (1)

True. I will more than likely de pin the wires with the connectors and pull off the scotch locks. For now I am trying to find a local place to give me a quote on converting my A/C. If not than I will get some o rings and adapters, unless anyone knows if the stock o-rings in the AC can handle the 134?

vorsprung

Surprised to see a familiar name from audizine haha. Looking forward to see what you do with the FD!

Draklore

iTrader: (1)

Nice white FD!
Wasn't expecting any Audizine guys here, too cool! I wonder how many of us there are haha

And same to you, can't wait to start making progress myself

Mps_hell

Your in Japan. drop that harness in the bin and save yourself about 3 years of gremlins and get a new or one that hasn't been messed with.

Draklore

iTrader: (1)

True, I haven't seen too many donor FDs on island yet, but that would be the preferred route. Albeit a lot more work.

Today I went to upgarage and ordered some HKS Hipermax Performer Coilovers.
The price was extremely fair and there is just a bit of rust and scratches on them. They just got a set of HKS Hipermax Pros in, but they were about 100$ more, and the spring rates had me wondering if they would be right for the roads around here. Ultimately I am happy I went with the Performers, most of the Coils they had available had really stiff spring rates. these are 8K front and rear.

I am going to have to roll the front fenders, and possibly remove the fender liners.
I put my wheels up for sale or trade, mainly because I do not like the Chrome.
They are Work Emotion CR-Kai 18X8.5

I am debating if I should pick up a non FG front bumper to roll around these bad roads with for the next two years. I really love the look of the 99 Spec bumper, but it cracks far too easily.

TomU

iTrader: (11)

OEM 99 spec bumper is not FG

You should pick up as much JDM and 99 spec goodness as you can while you're over there, including tail lights

7krayziboi

iTrader: (15)

Don't tell him that , we don't need more hoarders Jk

Draklore

iTrader: (1)

Well its been quite awhile since I last update this thread! I certainly have a lot to add.

I will try to compile pictures and pick up where I left off soon
in the meantime I have a lot of videos updated on my YT channel.


/shanedrake2

Ceylon

iTrader: (3)

I don't even like bikes but that Ruckus is properly awesome .

Nice FD too btw . They always feel a little like going backwards when you're used to the vag build quality & electrics but they've got something else .