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I'll tell what you've gotten yourself into: at least 13 rusted-*** flare nuts.
Get a nice 10 mm flare nut wrench if you don't have one already. A 12 mm will come in handy too. And hit them with PB Blaster a day before you try to move them. The flare nut wrench and PB blaster have been the two most valuable tools for my 85 GS's resurrection. And I think most of the labor has gone into the brakes... at least most of the labor I can remember schlepping through.
First things first.
My old clutch disintegrated. Out comes the transmission and cleaning. In hindsight, I should have replaced a few things...shifter spring, etc. but I just needed it to move for now.
In goes new rear main, pilot bearing (which was a total bish) and seal. Yeah, I messed the seal up. oops:
New clutch and resurfaced fly:
Trans ready for install:
Trans is in:
New fuel line with old filter. Going to go through a few gallons to make sure it catches all the gunk.
Alright, the front steering and suspension is shot. It's definitely not safe to drive on. While I'm at it, things will be getting cleaned up and powder coated to look nice down there.
The rotors on this car are tiny. If carbon ceramic rotors are dinner plates, these are saucers. They look to be in good shape, I'll get them turned, paint(powder coat?) them and throw em back on. I bet they are higher quality than the Chinese replacements I ordered even if they are 30+ years old.
Calipers are getting rebuilt and powder coated with new pads.
Shocks(Strut inserts, technically) are going to get replaced with Koni Yellows from an MR2. Springs, TBD. Stock springs are way too soft for any performance driving.
Tie rods and balljoints are getting replaced with Sankei 555 components. I *think* that's the OEM supplier for this car.
Bushings are getting replaced with Energy Suspension...red color. I normally go with black, so switching it up this round. It should contrast well with the black powder coating. Since I'm dropping the subframe, now would be a good time to replace motor mounts. Thinking about going solid. I enjoyed the feel in the Prelude, this car should have even less vibration for obvious reasons.
Super nice FB!!! I really enjoyed reading through your thread! Keep the pictures and updates coming! FWIW, iwenr with all poly bushings on my 85 and I was very happy with the results. A little more vibration than there was originally but its livable with the mild suspension performance gain.
Let's start with a history lesson. I inherited this car from my cousin. His brother entrusted me with it. My folks wanted me to sell it, but I refused. Now I'm here lol. I towed it from my cousins house and it sat for a while in my driveway. I first started it sometime in December 2017 and realized that all was not well. I had serious vibration emanating throughout the vehicle when moving, tons of transmission noise, etc. I pulled it back into the driveway where it sat until April 2018.
I tried to move it and realized that the rear drums were seized. This officially started the build. I rebuilt the drums, wheel cylinders, etc. and inspected the rear end. All the bushings and leaks were as expected of a 30+ year old car.
Drove it around the block, she felt better, but something was still amiss. I barely got her up the driveway. I pulled the ebrake, put her in 1st and engaged the clutch...all the way...and the engine continued to idle...you'll never guess what I found next:
Possibly burned up what was left of a clutch disc that had a lot of miles on it already and wasn't 100% trying to move a car with seized rear brakes...
