Hello fellow enthusiasts. New member here. Been working on my wife's car which she bought new in 1993, long before we had met. She loved the car and not knowing anything about it, I was initially inclined to dismiss it. The looks were great, and she kept it pristine, but at 144,000 miles on the original engine and tranny, and suspension, it was wobbly weak and sloppy, and certainly could not be driven in anything other than bright sunshine with those head lamps.
But the more times I got to drive the car, the more enamored of its "bones" and potential I became. When the motor finally failed, we sat down and talked about what to do with the car....and she agreed to let me get to work on the car and do a repair/upgrade.
So what has taken the better part of six months is now complete, and she is very happy with the results, as am I. It is not a restoration, so apologies in advance to the purists.
The work included a new/remanufactured engine and transmission, performance chip, replacement of the airbag suspension with coilovers, Adco sways front and rear, Kook headers with jet hot coating, K&N intake filter, dynamax dual stainless exhausts, high flow cats, AP Racing brakes up front and KVR in the rear, urethane bushings, Enkei LX 18" wheels with 255mm treadwidth tires, reupholstered driver seat (the rest was basically mint condition), and an XM satellite radio set up and GPS unit. The old amp was shot but I found one in a junkyard for less than fifty bucks and it is going strong. Replaced the radio/tuner with a new Pioneer unit with CD player.
The car runs like a dream and handles very crisply. The bigger footprint all around enhances corner turn in, braking and acceleration with much more grip, and the stiff sways coupled with the coilovers and shorter/stiffer tire sidewalls makes the car much flatter and stable in the turns.
Love the car, and can confidently say it outperforms most of what is available new in the market today, while staying a "sleeper".
But the more times I got to drive the car, the more enamored of its "bones" and potential I became. When the motor finally failed, we sat down and talked about what to do with the car....and she agreed to let me get to work on the car and do a repair/upgrade.
So what has taken the better part of six months is now complete, and she is very happy with the results, as am I. It is not a restoration, so apologies in advance to the purists.
The work included a new/remanufactured engine and transmission, performance chip, replacement of the airbag suspension with coilovers, Adco sways front and rear, Kook headers with jet hot coating, K&N intake filter, dynamax dual stainless exhausts, high flow cats, AP Racing brakes up front and KVR in the rear, urethane bushings, Enkei LX 18" wheels with 255mm treadwidth tires, reupholstered driver seat (the rest was basically mint condition), and an XM satellite radio set up and GPS unit. The old amp was shot but I found one in a junkyard for less than fifty bucks and it is going strong. Replaced the radio/tuner with a new Pioneer unit with CD player.
The car runs like a dream and handles very crisply. The bigger footprint all around enhances corner turn in, braking and acceleration with much more grip, and the stiff sways coupled with the coilovers and shorter/stiffer tire sidewalls makes the car much flatter and stable in the turns.
Love the car, and can confidently say it outperforms most of what is available new in the market today, while staying a "sleeper".
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