After many many years, I own a 3rd gen again! I found this one about 2 hours away in NE P.A I looked at it in February, but learned the seller had an issue with the title. After 2 months of waiting it was cleared up and I took her home today! It's in fairly good shape, the biggest issue is needing paint. However it's rust free, so I'll take it! Like all of them, there's a laundry list of little stuff to be done. I hope to chip away at the basics over the next few weeks so I can get her on the road.

 

That is a beautiful 1990 Formula 350. 1 of 838 1990 Formula 350s made.

It's the one I would have picked if it had a Beechwood or Black interior but Grey goes nice with the Maui Blue too.

Glad to see you brought her home on a trailer instead of a dolly.

 

Thanks! A dolly would have certainly been cheaper, but it was a 110 mile tow so I didn't want to go that route. It took a lot of searching to find a trailer that would fit within my 5k tow limit. The Subie handled it like a champ, the turbo 4 has a ton of torque. This was my first "real" tow with this vehicle and I had 0 trouble.

As for the car, I already have a short list of things to do in my head. I'll start to sort that out in the next few days.

For now, here's a pic in her new home. Sure wish we sprung for a house with a 2 car garage!

 

Excellent choice, I am happy for you and a little jealous if I may add lol. I absolutely love Maui Blue and Jamaica Yellow.

 

The color and Formula in general have really grown on me! The car needs some things, most of which I knew of, but as I've got it home the priorities have shifted a little bit.

Cleaning:

• First off, it needs a good cleaning, and it needs to start with the interior. I thought I could delay this, but the interior smells a bit more than I thought, and my sinuses don't like it. The day I looked at it and the day I picked it up were both pretty cool days, but now that it's warmer the stinkiness is a bit more amplified. The prior owner stored it in a trailer for long periods of time, so I don't think the ventilation was the best. I need to pull the seats and shampoo the carpets and seats themselves to hopefully clear this up. Otherwise, the interior parts are all in good shape and the dash pad is even free of cracks!
  
  
• Before I do a deep clean of the interior, I need to pull the headliner because there's no sense in cleaning it up only to have the headliner foam rain down into it. Shouldn't be much effort there, and I can install the replacement at my own pace.
  
• The exterior also need a good wash and crevice cleanup. Despite being stored out of the elements for most of the last 15-20 years (if the PO is to be believed), the car did sit outside this last winter so it's plenty dirty. This can wait until the interior is cleaned up.

On to the mechanical, just the basics to get it on the road:

• New trunk lid struts are on the way, that's an easy fix.
• I want to replace the brake hoses and go over the calipers before doing any serious driving. I have them on hand, but probably have the wrong fronts. For whatever reason the PO believed the car had 1LE front brakes, which I accepted and did not verify. But upon closer look, it seems like they are the standard iron caliper MKD-154 brakes. No big deal, I just need to get the correct front hoses now. I'll also do a complete fluid flush too.
• Tires are in need of replacement, this is going to be the biggest issue since the outgoing cashflow this quarter is less than ideal
• Fluid changes in order of priority (oil, trans, coolant, diff)
• Headlight motors need to be dealt with, as the gears are striped. The PO gave me a second set, I need to go over them and make sure they are the correct 2 wire and operable.

In the future, in no particular order:

• Get the headliner back in
• Fiberglass spoiler
• LS1 brakes
• Headers/full exhaust
• Other minor engine mods
• Paint (way out there)

No more pics yet, since I haven't had much time to pull it out of the garage this week.

 

Beautiful Formula. Congrats on the purchase!

 

Thanks! It's been killing me that every night this week has been a busy one, so I haven't been able to do anything with it. Hoping to get it out of the garage this weekend to pull the headliner, then start the interior cleaning.

 

Oh, I'm in the same boat. I can only get out to the garage once or twice a week of late...it's killing me.

 

Well today gave me an opportunity to get out there and do some stuff. I checked the last box I wanted to finish at work and decided to knock off a bit early. This decision was helped by a rock auto box appearing at the door with my new hatch struts.

I pulled her out of the garage and got started. This is a simple job, it blows my mind that people use baseball bats and the like to hold up the trunk. Got it all back together and realized I probably should have ordered the "no spoiler" version since the car does not currently have a spoiler. And when it does get one, it'll be fiberglass. So I may return them and get the lighter duty option.



Of course I templated the gods of fair weather by pulling the car out of the garage, because the moment I did so I noticed some storm clouds on the horizon. With the hatch struts done, I decided to play it safe and do something simple, so I started to vacuum out around the trunk and hood. As soon as I got to the front of the car I felt drops, so I put her back in but was able to continue my vacuuming adventure.

There was a fair bit of mouse evidence (cracked acorns and such, and a small amount of droppings) in some corners under the hood, on top of the battery, under the plenum. Since I discovered this, I've had a nagging thought that the interior smell might be rodent related. So, as I worked through it w/ the vac I kept a careful eye on what exactly I was seeing. Thankfully it was all organic matter, zero insulation or anything else that looks like it might have come from the car. And, I looked pretty close at the wiring and see zero evidence of any wires being chewed. So, I'm feeling a little better.

The sun came out again, so I pulled her out once more and decided to pull the heater box cover to make sure it was clean inside. I didn't get the cover off completely (There must be an upper left screw that I missed), but I was able to pull it back and take a peak into the bottom of the box. It was perfectly clean, and any other vent space that I was able to see into was also clean. While I was under there I saw no mouse evidence anywhere else, including chewed wires or insulation. I also looked in the spare tire well, coast clear there too. So, I'm feeling a little better about the rodent thing. I'm also going to pull the blower motor and take a peak on that end to be sure.

No pics of that process, but I did snap a few to show how bad the paint actually is. Also need to fix those fenders.





Next up was to pull the headliner. That was uneventful, and I think I avoided breaking any trim clips which is a bonus. The backing is in pretty good shape, so I think I should be able to re-cover it without issue. I juts need to source the fabric. I ran out of time to do much else so I went to take it for a spin around the block. Of course I killed the battery with the doors open all day, so I had to jump it. Still got my spin, then put it away and off to dad duty.






The next project will be an interior deep clean. I'll pull the console first, then the seats, and get the carpet cleaned. Then do the seats and get it all back together.

Those supplies also showed up today.

 

Love to see your work. You're doing a great job!

 

Sure do like that Blue

 

Me too. At some point I'll see if I can resurrect it a bit. The roof is obviously toast, but if I can get it looking ok at 10 feet that will hold me over a bit until she can get paint. That will be a few years away at best. She's staying Maui Blue though!