rufrob

Oh boy. Here I go again gain.
89 15 years abandoned many parts missing, wild life habitat, burnt paint...Why do I do this to myself
The seller forgot to tell me he removed the steering rack.
Loading it wasn't so hard. It too 3 guys and 2 hours the wrestle it into my driveway.
Work begins on Thursday.

Gage

Rufrob, I really like the creative use of pallet racking for the workspace extension. Is that your work?

rufrob

Yep. I built it several years ago. I should have bought the galvanized type. It has served its purpose.

soontobered84

Rufrob,

Any ideas yet why this car was "mothballed" for 15 years?

I enjoy your "journeys" with these cars. Keep it up!!

rufrob

The story is the white manual and this blue auto were owned by the same guy. Manual for him auto for his wife. Then the Japanese bubble burst. Eventually he ran out of money and parked them. The white one still has a loan on it so no immediate takers. The blue one has the damage. There cars were both in middle of Japan where few people own imported cars. Throw in the notoriously expensive and complicated repairs these cars are known for.
I've heard from my P car friends that possibly 1 or 2 other people apart from myself are willing to work on these.
I put a hose to it yesterday. Yup it's a bad repaint hence the peeling. The color code is L37B Baltic Blue or Baltic Dove Blue Metallic so I'll need to wet sand it all down. Not sure if I'll have enough money for a professional paint job. Here they start at 3000 USD. Plus my rattle can skills are improving.
Found the right door handle
I have a used ABS pump
The rear carpet is moldy
It has 87,000km
Today I'll lift the front end to see what else is missing apart from sway bar and rack. They gave me a rack but no pinion nor inner/outer tie rods. I'm sure they have those parts still.
Check the TT/flex plate pinch bolt and crank end float
Remove the intake manifold and spark plugs and fill valves and cylinders with atf before starting to hand turn the motor.
I pressure washed the engine so it pretty clean now. The wash water should all be dry by now. I hate working on wet floors.
The seats are in good shape apart from the driver side upper bolsters. But they are dry so I'll clean and feed them some leather honey.
I powered washed the floor mats too.
Lots of loose screws, nuts and bolts inside so I need the carefully collect them. I basically know where they all. Or it might be easier to vacuum them all up and collect them from the canister.
Should be a fun day.

rufrob

I want the pressure test the cooling system. On a past project I had a trans cooler failure which destroyed a transmission. Don't want that to happen again. I don't have a pressure tester. Is there another way of testing the heat exchangers? Or do I have the physically remove them?

soontobered84

In the US, the local auto parts stores will allow you to "borrow" tools for a deposit. The deposit generally equals the cost of a new tool, but upon the return of the tool, your card is credited for the deposit you paid.
Maybe there is something like that in Japan?

karl ruiter

Worth it just for the paint color, which is somewhat rare and very beautiful.

Mrmerlin

use a bore scope on the cylinders before you add any oil looking for coolant traces or rusty plug tips,
goodluck it will be a fun project,
all it takes is money and determination

rufrob

Inner door handle is broken. I have a spare.
Seated cleaned and fed
All plugs have the same carbon buildup
The flex plate move less than 1mm when the pinch bolt was loosened. Barely detectable crank play. Engine turns smoothly and easily.
I plan to sell this car to pay for the white manual. So. Do I take a chance that the radiator is fine and punt it or replace the radiator?
The oil pan gasket is leaking and is pushed out at one spot.
I

rufrob

It appears radiator shops have gone the way of the dodo bird here. I'll try using my brake power bleeder to test the oil coolers. If they hold 6 bar or more I'll use the radiator.
The previous owners mechanic is looking for the steering parts. If he finds everything I'll try rebuilding. If not then I'll find a used rack.
Tried to remove the spare door handle hinge but the humidity was too much.

rufrob

Tested the oil coolers up to 25psi. No leaks so guess the radiator is good

rufrob

The 928 is coming alive. Installed the abs pump, got the power windows, lights, indicators, hazards, sun roof stuck but the motor works, drivers seat works. The right door inner lock disintegrated due to sun exposure happily I have a spare. The shifter went into park and the engine cranked. I just flicked it. Wipers and the washer pump works.
Guess I need to clean the fuel tank next when I'm done with the door lock.

rufrob

Installing the lock link is real PITA. Fiddled with it for 2 hours.
At least I got the power windows working.
Coincidentally this car is the same color as the 944 I restored and rattle can painted last year.

Can't seem to turn off the alarm. Both locks move when I turn either lock with the long key
One of the seat bolts stripped so that's going to a lot of fun to remove the passenger seat.

karl ruiter

The key on rebuilding your rack is whether or not there is pitting on the rack shaft itself. If so, then you would have to grind, weld, and grind. If not, you have a chance. I have a rack rebuild kit and rack parts in Honolulu, if you know anybody coming for vacation.