captainOCD

Here's a quick drive in the car around the block yesterday. Camera was rattling around making that noise.

captainOCD

The car got some new tires today since the old ones weren't really safe. I was pretty deadset on getting firehawk indy 500s to begin with, but after seeing some tirerack tests where these general gmax rs did just as well in the dry, and far better in the wet, I decided to go with them.








Also made an attempt at a burnout on the old tires on the way to the tire shop. The car spun the rear tires, but was definitely not amused.

Majestic Moose

Nice perseverance giving this car a second chance

captainOCD

Maybe someday this car will see a full blown restoration, but for now reliable driver quality is what I'm going for.

captainOCD

Oh, and I found a junkyard with a good condition control arm for a whole lot less than a rebuilt one, so I'm gonna go that route for now. Eventually it'll get rebuilt ones, but for now this should do fine.

captainOCD

Got the new to me control arm put on the car this weekend. Only took a couple hours to get done, and I was able to get both bolts from underneath with a ratchet.



Old arm on left, and replacement on right.


Some fresh grease on the balljoint before putting the new boot on.


And everything back together.




So the passenger's side is all good now. I was going to put a new boot on the driver's side balljoint too, but as I was taking it apart I wound up finding that it also has a sloppy balljoint (I didn't feel the slop in it before), so I guess I need to round up another control arm for it. After that though, hopefully the car is good to just drive for a while.

The trans was shifting stupidly hard under heavy throttle, so I tested the vacuum modulator, and it has manifold vacuum to it, and wasn't leaking. I adjusted it 1 turn softer and took it for a drive and it's much better now. Still firm, but it doesn't feel like it's going to brake something or give me whiplash anymore. Also decided to give exceeding 4500rpm a try, and it ran great up to where it shifted at 5800rpm, so whatever gremlin was going on the other day seems to be passed. It seems like it's pulling pretty well too, and definitely isn't starting out in 2nd gear like I've seen lots of mention of.

It's probably got 20-25 miles on it now since I've got it, and so far so good.

Christopher Zach

If it's an 86 they start out in first gear. The whole second gear thing is some weirdness for those with 87 and up cars.

Glad yours is working better now. Mine threw the fan belt last week and it tangled up in the others. So I replaced 3 of the 4 belts (the AC one is fine) and will go from there.

Never dull.

captainOCD

I had a near catastrophe with the accessory belts last week too. I heard something clanking around up front and had no charging from the alternator when I fired it up in the garage. I looked around up front and found the crank bolt almost out and the front pulley only being held in place by the belts. Fortunately the ac pulley was still in place and it was only like that for a couple seconds running. I thought I had it tight enough before, but apparently not, so I made sure to torque it to spec this time. Crazy thing is I drove it up the street to the grocery store, took it home, and put it in the garage with no sign of any issue, but when I fired it up in the garage that next day it wasn't charging and was loose.

skpyle

Nice. Get ready to enjoy the fun of an 86.5 when it is playing nice. All kinds of fun to drive and wring out. Mine howled when I ran it up to 6000rpm. Lovely sound.

captainOCD

So far it's sounding pretty good. I snagged the rear muffler bypass/straight pipe section from the other cars exhaust and put it on. Now I can actually hear the exhaust and not just the fan.

captainOCD

Took the car for a ride last night, about 60 miles round trip, mostly highway. It cruised just fine down the highway. There's a slight vibration (not sure if wheels or drivetrain) at 75mph, but a bit faster or slower than that and it's dead smooth. It pulled pretty well on the highway too. I'm very surprised at how tight (there is no slop) and eager the steering feels given that the car has 230k miles.

AirtekHVAC

captainOCD

Here's a quick clip of it on the highway last night.

captainOCD

And here's my poor attempt at making a rear muffler bypass video.

AirtekHVAC