David Fite

Well I've been on here for several months since I got my 92, figured it was time to start an actual build thread.

I traded my 2008 Harley Sportster for the car on 11-21-2015. The bike needed a few things, the car needs a few things... it's all a wash. I'm happy because now I have a vehicle that the family can enjoy with me. Plus it'll give me something to wrench on, learn a few things, and teach a few things to my kids.

More info forthcoming...

EDIT: FYI - this isn't my main vehicle, but I intend to drive it as much as possible. My plan is to fix things as I go but hopefully keep it on the road as much as I can (unless I reach a point where it makes sense to park it and rip a bunch of it apart...)

David Fite

Here are the pics from the craigslist ad.

92 25th Anniversary
305 with 350 heads installed (appear to be from an older 350 by the valve covers)
T5
Power locks/windows
T-Tops w/ bag
Cowl hood (original hood had pins installed, owner forgot to put them back in and the hood came open on the road, damaging it beyond repair)

David Fite

RPO Codes

shayapaula

iTrader: (1)

nice looks like a pretty clean car

David Fite

Thanks... it's a typical "20 footer". Looks good until you get into the details. Lots of oil leaks, engine bay is a mess, someone spray painted the whole bay black at some point (everything... master cylinder reservoir, everything...), the body paint was a quick job with little to no prep/sanding/primer (you can see the old teal paint in spots where there's chips), brakes were terrible, etc... A whole lot of little things.

David Fite

The first problem I fixed was a sticky throttle. It stuck so hard you had to MASH down on the pedal to break it free, every time you pushed the gas. Needless to say, this made it impossible to drive being a manual car. I was constantly having to push the pedal so hard I'd rev the engine way too high just to move 2 feet.

I asked around, went to a mechanic, read on here, and found a few possible issues. The pedal itself could be sticky, problem with the cable, or what most people agreed - the butterfly valve was sticking when it shut. So I took the whole TBI off (first time I ever did anything that major... mostly only worked on brakes prior to this car) and cleaned it out. I scrubbed and scrubbed with some throttle body cleaner/q-tips/toothbrush and reinstalled. Didn't fix the problem. At all. I took it off again, this time got some fine sandpaper (I think 600) and even tried to hit the walls of the TBI to make sure and get all the grit/gunk off so the valves would shut correctly. Reinstalled. Still didn't fix it.

Finally it dawned on me, there's a little set-screw that you can adjust that tells the throttle how far to close when you let go of the pedal. It was set all the way in (meaning the throttle was closing as far as possible). This was causing the butterfly valve to get stuck because it was closing farther than it should have been. A quick turn and bam - no more sticky throttle! I felt dumb after figuring that one out, but also dumbfounded that I hadn't seen that "fix" anywhere online or heard that from any mechanics I know.

David Fite

The next problem was a fuel leak. Ever since I got the car I noticed I smelled fuel a lot, but hadn't had a chance to diagnose it. Well, after fixing the sticky throttle I noticed my fuel inlet/outlet were both leaking where they attach to the throttle body. I realized that must have been the smell, and they were probably leaking beforehand. I took the bolts out and sure enough, the little plastic gaskets/washers were broken and old. I ordered a TBI rebuild kit (either advanced auto or rockauto... can't remember) for 25 bucks or so. The kit comes with like 30 different gaskets and things to replace. Most of mine were all good (except the inlet/outlet) so I just replaced those for now. Problem solved.

Also at this time I installed a rubber boot onto one of my fuel injectors. When I was cleaning my throttle body I noticed one of them was missing the rubber boot. I had to order a whole injector to get the boot. Easy peasy.

David Fite

A few newer pics I took a couple months ago

David Fite

First big project of the spring was replacing the rear drums. Eventually I'd like to put a new rear end under it with discs, but for now, just keeping it safe and in working order.

As you can see, the old brakes were SHOT. Leaking cylinder, rusty, grimy, everything. I could put the car in reverse, hold the brake down, and still back up without touching the gas pedal.

Installed new cylinders/hardware/shoes/drums. I threw a little primer on the backing plate after cleaning it up. Nothing major, just trying to keep it protected until I save up for the discs. Need to replace all the brake lines (getting rusty) but not ready to tackle that just yet.

Bled the brakes after that (first time doing that by myself), was definitely a time consuming piece. I still need to go back and flush the whole system because I couldn't get it all clear. Looks like they haven't been bled in forever.

David Fite

A couple days ago I decided to check out my light bulb situation. Went around the car and found a few issues. Replaced a couple bulbs, and found a couple problems. My backup lights don't come on. Hopefully the connector is just not plugged into the tranny. Will have to check on that this weekend. The other problem is my passenger front parking light won't come on. The blinker works, but the parking light won't come on. I've posted a thread on these problems. Hopefully will get an answer on them.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Nice car! I loved my 5 speed RS.

David Fite

Thanks! It's my first manual car (not entirely foreign though after riding a bike) and I think I'm gonna like it!

David Fite

My third brake light (light at the top of my hatch) wasn't coming on. Light bulb looked fine, no obvious wiring issues. Finally realized the contacts on the bulb itself were kind of mashed into the plastic base of the bulb, not "springy" like they should be. I pulled them out with pliers, reinstalled, and worked fine.

David Fite

Next problem is the hood latch. The safety catch (The "hook" part attached to the hood) is too far toward the engine and hits when you try to shut the hood. You have to depress it (same way you'd depress it to open the hood) to shut it. Looks like it was slammed shut really hard with it out of alignment and caused it to bend forward, bending the base of the safety catch and causing an indentation in the bottom of the hood. I took it off and slipped a piece of flat metal in between the safety catch and hood to build it up (basically like a big washer) and it works for now, until I order a new one.