Well since so many people are reading this saga now, here's what I sent the guys on the Simon Says team about it
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Car was $575. Guy was basically a junk dealer and and imbedded controller programmer in a former life. Got the car as a project from someone he was picking up something else from. He or someone previously had disassembled the intake tract to get the bad starter out and never got back to putting the car back together. So I got the car minus a starter and with most of the intake sitting inside the car.
It's a 93, first year of vanos, 4-door 5-speed, non-LSD, 162k miles, NC car all it's life, no rust. Trans feels fine but shifter is sloppy, clutch feels fine, keep in mind I haven't driven it yet. Needs a radiator, the bleeder nipple is broken off. Brakes work based on rolling it off the trailer, and the wheels all roll fine.
Interior is trash but amazingly the car is straight as an arrow and I see no evidence of body or paint work except for a resprayed rear bumper. It also looks to be 100% original. The black paint will take on a pretty good shine, I'm confident of that. The right rear lower control arm is bent, apparently from a bad towing attempt.
So I picked up a starter from Jeremy for $35 and threw the intake back together. It runs but sounds like it's missing on one cylinder. It's also clacking/ticking loudly. Could be a bad valve, or a bad piston, or just a stuck lifter. Idles nicely and revs well. I took 1/2 quart of oil out of the pan and it's free of water or metal contaminants, so I think the bottom end is just fine.
All kinds of problems inside ... windows don't work, missing passenger seat, gauge panel is "flaking" (you'd have to see it). Mirror fell off, missing driver door panel, driver door handle doesn't work, etc, etc. But it's dry inside and all the glass is good, which is nice for a dev car.
Unless I find any show-stoppers I plan to restore it to street legal and prep it "on the cheap" for a track rat, then see where to go from there. No decisions yet on whether to cage/race.
Must do for test drive
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Rad
Must do for street use:
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Tick/running diagnose
Right rear lower control arm replace
Fix windows
Fix headlight switch
Oil change
Fix driver door handle
Glue mirror back on
Gauges replace?
Must do for track use:
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Oil cap seal
Tie rods + boots
Bleed / rebuild?
Track pads
Check rotors
Wheels and tires
RTABs
Front control arms
Trans fluid
Diff fluid
Guibo
Refill shocks?
Is the steering rack leaking?
Trans mounts (custom?)
Nice to have for street use
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Buff and wax
Kidneys
Radio fix
Driver door panel
Why is the key so hard to turn?
Replace seats
Lube throttle
Nice to have for track use
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Cut springs?
Shift linkage tighten
_________________
Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1
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Track, lemons and Spec3. Guess Mike doesn't sleep any more...
