I might... as a Christmas present to myself..
superhead's super-slow wagovan build
- Thread starter superhead91
- Start date
Well, I discovered my Amazon card's limit isn't enough to buy the coilovers since I never use it. Bleh... Looks like I'll be waiting then. In other news, I want this hatch.
http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3488467063.html
http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3488467063.html
don't know much about Mazdas, but that WAS a decent looking car
I like protege5s, and that one has a good looking V6 swap. Anyway, I've had this sudden urge to own a W123 Mercedes lately lol. I just love older cars. They just seem so much better built and so much easier to work on. There are so many older cars I want. First gen camaro, Beetle, E30 or E28 or E24, an old 911... Lol
Want in one hand and s**t in the other...
Lol for real
Been a while since an update. No new parts, but my taillight that I had replaced a couple months ago went out. I replaced it and noticed some water in the taillight housing.
I took the taillight out to see what was going on. Like all the bolts holding the taillight on were loose enough to take off by hand, so I think that was the issue. The gasket looked fine.
Also got a nice tool set from my dad for Christmas.
I took the taillight out to see what was going on. Like all the bolts holding the taillight on were loose enough to take off by hand, so I think that was the issue. The gasket looked fine.
Also got a nice tool set from my dad for Christmas.
NICE! New tools are always welcome around here as well
Update time. Nothing big. Decided to work on the car some today with my free time. First I washed it. It was 43 degrees and I was out there in shorts, a tank top, and flip flops washing. Neighbors probably thought I was crazy. Anyway, after washing I ran to the store and got some iron on patches for my seat. Not terribly awesome looking, but it's better than giant holes and always having seat cushion dust all over the seat.
Also "fixed" my seat release. I ended up having to break out all the plastic where the bolt is, but at least now I can get ahold of the bolt with some pliers and actually put the seat down. You can't see the bolt from the angle I took the pic, but it's down in that hole. I'll see if I can find a replacement for that plastic thing online somewhere. If not, oh well. It's more important that I actually be able to put the seat down if I need to.
Also "fixed" my seat release. I ended up having to break out all the plastic where the bolt is, but at least now I can get ahold of the bolt with some pliers and actually put the seat down. You can't see the bolt from the angle I took the pic, but it's down in that hole. I'll see if I can find a replacement for that plastic thing online somewhere. If not, oh well. It's more important that I actually be able to put the seat down if I need to.
That car looks really clean aside from the patches and what not!
Thanks man! I try to keep it in good shape.
After doing some searching, it appears that the grommet that goes in that hole is discontinued... Judging by how easily the plastic broke when I tried to take it out, I doubt even if I were to find one at a junk yard I could succesfully remove it. I think I'll just find see if I can find a cabinet knob that fits and sits flush with the seat to cover up the hole.
Long time no updates. Got married in June so I haven't really had any extra cash for upgrades, just trying to keep the wagon running. I'm in the process of replacing the valve stem seals cuz it was burning some oil. Bought OEM valve stem seals and a tool to take the cotters/keepers out. Started getting them out, but realized putting them back on wasn't gonna be so easy without a valve spring compressor. Also the gaskets between the rocker arm assembly and the spark plug tubes needed replacing. Ordered those and finally got them about a week later. Today I went to finish, and my friend freaking lost one of the keepers. Now I have to order more of those. A Saturday job is now turning into a two week ordeal. Can't wait to get it back on the road. Next up, passenger side axle replacement. The joint is making noises when I turn. The boot is torn, so it's not really a surprise.
Got some Energy Suspension poly shift linkage bushings and installed them.
The shift linkage boot looks like it needs replaced. The steering rack boot? behind it is torn too.
Got the old bushing off
Old next to new
Front bushing is all one piece, so how to get it out?
Just used my knife and cut the lip off.
I forgot to take a pic of the new one installed in the front. It was a bit of a pain. The replacement was two separate pieces, so putting it in wasn't too bad, but it didn't want to go all the way in, which meant I couldn't fit it back into the bracket. I ended up using an adjustable plier wrench to squeeze the bushing in and kinda hammered it into place. Then getting the holes to line up was a bit tricky, but it didn't take too long to get hooked back up.
Here's the back bushing installed
It took me a second to figure out how to get it on since the end of the rod thing it goes onto is flared, but I got it on and bolted up.
I definitely notice a difference when shifting into gears. It's a lot crisper and I don't have any problems with it "sticking" when I'm trying to get it into gear. All in all, $15 well spent.
The shift linkage boot looks like it needs replaced. The steering rack boot? behind it is torn too.
Got the old bushing off
Old next to new
Front bushing is all one piece, so how to get it out?
Just used my knife and cut the lip off.
I forgot to take a pic of the new one installed in the front. It was a bit of a pain. The replacement was two separate pieces, so putting it in wasn't too bad, but it didn't want to go all the way in, which meant I couldn't fit it back into the bracket. I ended up using an adjustable plier wrench to squeeze the bushing in and kinda hammered it into place. Then getting the holes to line up was a bit tricky, but it didn't take too long to get hooked back up.
Here's the back bushing installed
It took me a second to figure out how to get it on since the end of the rod thing it goes onto is flared, but I got it on and bolted up.
I definitely notice a difference when shifting into gears. It's a lot crisper and I don't have any problems with it "sticking" when I'm trying to get it into gear. All in all, $15 well spent.
got those bushing on my car as well. very cheap effective upgrade. good stuff man. and if you find some rear seats and you want that pull tab thing. you have to do it from under the fabric behind the metal seat back.
Lol thanks. The cabinet knob is working for now. I can actually still buy the OEM knob from Honda..... in black. Blue and brown are discontinued.
So I'm considering ditching the wheel covers and plasti-dipping the steelies white. Something similar to this:
I'm not usually a fan of doing things the cheap way, but I honestly don't think it looks bad, and I can't really afford real wheels at the moment lol.
I'm not usually a fan of doing things the cheap way, but I honestly don't think it looks bad, and I can't really afford real wheels at the moment lol.
that doesn't look bad at all