Just wanted to touch real quick on what I will be attempting with this car and my expectations.
First and foremost has got to be reliability. There is some sort of electrical problem that has plagued this car since back when it belonged to my dad. It drains the battery to the point where I can never actually be certain it will start at any given time regardless of how well it has been running; the number of replacement batteries this car has been through is absurdly high. That is the main goal here and I know it will take time to sort out and resolve. This is will be at the back of my mind as I go through other fixes and modifications.
Next on this list will be to do appropriate maintenance. As I said previously this car has not always seen the best care and is in real rough condition at best. The rust in certain parts is getting to be a concern and there are a good number of squeaks, creaks and groans all over the car. Changing of fluids and worn parts would go here: oil, coolant, brake fluid, trans fluid, bushings, bearings, etc. Where I can I will replace with (hopefully cheaper and easier to find) aftermarket parts.
On that end, performance is next on the agenda. I love cars mainly because I love driving them. To me there is little else as relaxing and thrilling. While numbers are nice, feeling to me is paramount. I often have said that "any idiot can go fast in a straight line" and while drag racers will be up in arms over that admittedly over-simplified statement, that is where I find most car idiots. I guess one could say that I better respect the skill it takes to tackle a more complex course while also maintaining precise control of your machine. Whatever anyone feels on the topic I would welcome an intelligent debate; take your flames elsewhere. Back on topic, handling upgrades will obviously be at the top of the list for me. I will likely stick with a good spring/shock setup rather than going to coilovers, though I won't rule them out. Brakes, wheels and tires, sway bars, braces and the like will go with those and intake and exhaust upgrades to get things started. Chip is also likely as I'm sure there is a good bit to be gained there with proper tuning with whatever else I may have.
Last consideration is styling, both interior and exterior. I'm not going for anything wild, of course. One, the style of the car doesn't lend itself well to too much and two, I greatly dislike things like obnoxious bodykits, slammed suspensions, "lambo doors" and all that other garbage. My style is more of an OEM plus, a look that might have been an option from the factory. Outside the only thing really on the list is to fix up the rust, which is a job in and of itself on this car, and to freshen up some of the chrome and plastic trim. Maybe euro bumpers and air dam. It has been repainted at least once that I know of but the current condition of the paint is not great, even minus the rust. There is a good number of scratches along side swirling and some nasty orange peel. Most looks like it could be fixed easily but I think it will depend on what happens with the rust areas. If it ends up more efficient to respray the whole car then polishing out swirl marks is a bit moot. Tinting is a good bet. Nothing real dark, bust enough to block some sun and keep it cooler inside.
Speaking of the inside, I think it needs a priest. It is definitely dead. The leather is severely cracked, there are stains all over, the plastic looks fatigued and it even smells odd. Not moldy necessarily but for sure a bit....stale. I'm undecided if I will try to restore the seats I have, get a set from a different car or newer model or go with aftermarket racing-type seats. I am going to attempt to cover the dash, door panels and console areas with some sort of micro-suede or something similar looking. The carpet may or may not get changed depending on whether I radically change the color of the interior. It seems in good shape but I haven't really looked at it in detail. The current floor mats will definitely go with the fading and staining. I don't think it is worth trying to save them at this point, especially when there are so many other options available. As far as electronics, I took out the aftermarket head unit my dad and I put in way back when and got the stock radio back in and working. I'd like to give it something with navigation, if just a standalone unit on the dash, and also CD/MP3 options.
That's about all I can think up off the top of my head without really digging into specifics. I'll save those for some smaller future posts.
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