[bdamschen]

How it sits.

I did pull the rear bench and until I can get the seats redone decided to match the white leather to the black leather fronts I have. SEM Leather dye.

Modified B3/4 Passat Leather seats to fit the narrower seat rails.

Well mine went from a runner to a project. Going up to Whistler this summer and on the way back gonna snag a 2.0L ABA OBDII motor from a friend along with trans and full wiring harness.

What brought this on you say? Fuel Pump **** the bed, then put a new FP in and the car lost spark and fuel. Started replacing/diagnosing and nothing was making sense. Pulled the connectors on the fusebox and saw some crud. Decided to dump the fusebox and buy a new one. Opened the old one and saw lots of crud and rust.

Started sorting some of this mess. PO had wired a fuel pump kill switch (shadetree anti-theft)

Nice! Just picked this thing up on saturday, ****ty cell phone pic is the only shot I have of it right now:

Still learning about mk1's. It has a 2.0 16v swap, that I'm guessing is an ABA motor? (no idea on that yet).

Currently waiting on parts to make it a nice solid DD

 

[lovebunny]

My buddies uncle died and his aunt gave him a 1985 Celica. He just had to go to New Mexico and bring it back. The thing is mint and sick as hell. I did not realize that was a rear wheel drive vehicle.

celica is fwd. mkII celica supra was a rwd bigger more powerful version of the celica. mkIII supra was made from 86.5-92 and was its own platform

 

[bean]

celica is fwd. mkII celica supra was a rwd bigger more powerful version of the celica. mkIII supra was made from 86.5-92 and was its own platform

Celica was RWD until 1985.

 

[Ruffles]

We have a pair of Datsun 510 wagons that are running projects. May go to a Datsun 'car show' this weekend.

I'm in love with 510's!!! I've wanted a 510 since I could remember. I'd prefer the sedan but I'd take a wagon anyday as well!!! Sweet rides!

 

[Ruffles]

Celica was RWD until 1985.

^^This is true^^

 

[BUFFALO]

Thanks Ruffles!
I've loved 510's since I saw one for the first time in '95 or '96. I had a ratty 2 door for a while. Ended up selling it and then happened across these years later.

 

[lovebunny]

Celica was RWD until 1985.

ahhh, good to know

 

[blackohio]

Still learning about mk1's. It has a 2.0 16v swap, that I'm guessing is an ABA motor? (no idea on that yet).

Currently waiting on parts to make it a nice solid DD

The 2L 16V is a 9a (if I remember correctly) it could be the frankenstein 2L 16V which is the 16v head on the aba bottom end. The aba is the common 2.0 8v motor found in mk3 to mk4 cars. Not the most potent motor but 115-120hp in a 1800lbs package is plenty fun.

The first thing to know about mk1's is they've all been butt****ed by shadetree electricians.

 

[jdcamb]

Celica was RWD until 1985.

Its white.

 

[bdamschen]

The 2L 16V is a 9a (if I remember correctly) it could be the frankenstein 2L 16V which is the 16v head on the aba bottom end. The aba is the common 2.0 8v motor found in mk3 to mk4 cars. Not the most potent motor but 115-120hp in a 1800lbs package is plenty fun.

The first thing to know about mk1's is they've all been butt****ed by shadetree electricians.

Hahaha, I've been finding that out. Driving it home from SD to Monterey, ground wire for fuel pump (or at least something that keeps the fuel pump on) came untwisted.... That's right, I said untwisted.

Anyways, according to the previous owner- it's a 16v 1.8 scirocco head on a 2.0 passat block. I haven't got deep enough in to verify this yet. Still waiting on quite a few parts to show up before any real work can start. For now it's just a super sketchy DD(coil wire fell off the coil on a frozen yogurt run because the terminal on the coil was crumbling to little pieces).

 

[Ruffles]

Thanks Ruffles!
I've loved 510's since I saw one for the first time in '95 or '96. I had a ratty 2 door for a while. Ended up selling it and then happened across these years later.

Anytime! I'd be into the ratty 2 door haha. I'm a big fn of ratty automobiles, if you haven't noticed by looking at the Squareback!

 

[BUFFALO]

I think messed up electrical is the worst part of old cars. Rust can be a pain too but at least you can usually drive a rusty car! My yellow car had a problem where the headlights would come on when the parking brake was set. Ended up re-wiring basically the entire harness that is under the hood. Granted, there isn't that much wiring in old cars. But one thing always leads to another!
There is definitely something to be said for old ratty looking rusty cars though! I like them too! Squarebacks were always something I wanted to have. Too many wagons for now though! (The 2 Datsun's and 2 Outbacks!)

 

[SkaredShtles]

I think messed up electrical is the worst part of VAG cars.

Fixed that for you.

 

[blackohio]

Depending on what fuse box is in the car, I might have a brand new one for you, paid $40 at junkyard for it. Take a pic of your box and I might have something awesome for you. These guys are always problematic as water from windshield or raintray/harness area seeps down and corrodes the crap out of them. You can usually just unplug each terminal and scuff with sandpaper and your better off, but corrosion still gets into the box (ie. see mine above)


Now regarding bad electrical in VAG cars, thats always made me chuckle as if seem some nightmares people have but in the last 15 years, i've owned 23 VAG cars, every chassis and model almost up to mk5 and only one of them had any electrical issues at all. G60 Corrado, which 1 month after I sold it I was informed by New Dimensions that it caught fire and melted the engine harness. Due to exactly what I told the girl the problem was and to fix it immediately.

 

[SkaredShtles]

You, sir, are either:

1) Lying
2) Delusional
3) Suffering early-onset dementia

 

[Uncle Cliffy]

Uncle Cliffy,
What year/years did you go to Shasta? I drove down in '02 I think it was. Saw some really nice cars.
The green car has coil overs in front and de-arched and stiffened rear spring pack. I want to add some 2inch blocks to get the back a little lower. The Z24 looks really nice for these cars. I'm running an L20B with Dellorto 40's now and it goes pretty well for an old beater!

I went to the 02 show also. 03, then I sold it at 04... (Last year?) Bummed a little selling the wagon, but at the time it was another money pit I didn't have room for.

Those Shasta meets we're awesome for finding parts, and drooling over those 2 doors with the SR20DET swaps. I still keep my eyes peeled for a 2 door. (might've found a good shell )

 

[KavuRider]

My GF purchased this after her van died in Albuquerque. First generation Miata. This thing MOVES.

Still a work in progress. No A/C, so its sitting for now (107 today here in Phoenix)

Still want to install the original soft top. And it has a leak behind the main seal for the engine - but the clutch is still good, so we are holding off on that.

HUGE thanks and props to Mike's Place here in Phoenix for being extremely helpful and patient! http://www.mikes-place.biz/

 

[kazlx]

 

[Potroast88]

I don't know if it's considered a project, but I've been sinking money into this........

 

[Uncle Cliffy]

I don't know if it's considered a project, but I've been sinking money into this........

Holy lightbars... Do I count 5?!?

 

[Ruffles]

Please tell me that's yours! I know I'm into alot of the cars on here but VW's and Porsches are it for me. In 2009 I bought an 85.5 944, just sold her last year. I'm diggin this beauty though!!! It's super clean and well done sir

 

[tingers]

This thread is weird cause when I was young they called me Ruffles and my first car was A 67 Squareback.

 

[Ruffles]

This thread is weird cause when I was young they called me Ruffles and my first car was A 67 Squareback.

"You're traveling through another dimension -- a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's a signpost up ahead: your next stop: the Twilight Zone!"

Haha, but seriously that is wierd stuff.

 

[?????]

Here is my project. I removed the suspension and axles a few years ago during college, ran out of money to buy the new parts and moved to Germany after graduating... sooo it's been sitting in my parents garage for a while. I feel bad about it just sitting there, but I'm not sure what to do with it at the moment. It has some high quality parts sitting around, but without me being there, I doubt anyone would know what to do with everything or where to locate all of the small parts around the garage. It would be useless here in Germany, but I love driving it and want to have it put back together if/when I return to live in the USA.

 

[kazlx]

Please tell me that's yours! I know I'm into alot of the cars on here but VW's and Porsches are it for me. In 2009 I bought an 85.5 944, just sold her last year. I'm diggin this beauty though!!! It's super clean and well done sir

Yup...it's mine. It's a '70 911T. 2.2L of fury. It's fun as hell to drive though, although it's out of commission at the moment. The oil return to the sump cracked. I have the part but haven't had time to replace it. It's a '70 but has updated 930 bodywork that wasn't don't by me. I may either rebuild the 2.2 or swap in a 3.0

 

[Ruffles]

Once again, that beast is clean! I would swap the 3.0, if you had the money and time and all that! I bet this thing is amazing to drive! My 944 had the 2.5 in it and it was a blast on the street!
Here's the 944

 

[blackohio]

rolled her outta the garage to put the rear bench back in, installed brand nos fusebox, cleaned up old terminals and reattached new female spades where needed.

rear bench was white, dyed/painted with that SEM vinyl/leather paint. Not quite as glossy as the passat fronts, but it'll do until the interior re-trim.

 

[worship_mud]

this was in february, got it from a friend who just wanted to get rid of her...

so, today was the first mock up day, checking out the clearences. new rear fender with selfmade struts, new rear light, changed the rear indicator's location, 15mm longer rear shocks, new speedo with selfmade holder, clearglas front light, short front fender.
so far so good, saturday i plan to modify the rearframe and cut all unnecessary tabs off, drill and mount the fender, disassemble and get the frame to the painter.
but today was a really nice day, first time to see the beginnings of the final shape, still a long way to go.

 

[jimmydean]

My truck is on hold because I can't stop driving the Corvette donor car I bought for it. I need to either buy another Corvette, or rework the truck. The Corvette was a bit of a tangent, but it's so damn fun to drive.

I might build another R1 to replace the Corvette with, then I could justify gutting the Vette.

 

[jimmydean]

 

[jdcamb]

Is that your pussy? Never hesitate to show us your pussies....

 

[jimmydean]

Monday is a shop cat. She loves to hang out and nap in the garage while I work on various projects. She will ask to go into the garage to nap because she gets piece and quiet in there. She aint right, but I hear that a lot about gingers.

<edit> If it's not made for sits, why is it made of warm?

 

[duck]

Starting to re-re-do my 86:

 

[stevew]

your single

inspiration maybe....

 

[jimmydean]

And that's why I might build another bike before I finish the truck. I could build a bike for 1/3 of what the truck will run to build. And a lot less work, my R1 took 4 months, mostly waiting on parts.

 

[worship_mud]

inspiration maybe....

one mighty fine sr you found there, thx! when i started i was surprised how popuplar it still is... there are tons of really beautiful srs' out there.. and parts are really available and compared to DH biking it's ridicoulosly cheap!!!

mine has to be (as close as possible to) street legal, so i'm rather limited. the classic loop instead of the sh*t ugly rear subframe is impossible, but well, let's see what will happen back there...

 

[c101aviojet]

I've sometimes thought of buying an old bike, strip it and then rebuild it with some mods. Since a few people in this thread seem to have done it, let me ask...

- Is this a cost-effective way to have a bike, or will I spend more in the process than buying a 2nd hand bike in working order?
- What kind of tools should be in your workshop? I guess you need a mill, lathe and soldering equipment to do fancy stuff, but can you do things with less?
- Talking about the rebuild, does it consist basically in cleaning by hand every single bit and then build it again using parts bought online, or it's a bit more "creative" process?
- Any particular thing to watch for?

Sadly, I haven't the kind of friend that could give me their "old rusty bike sitting in the shed", or I'd have my hands dirty already. I'd love to find and old BMW or Impala and rebuild it with a minimalist "cafe racer" look.

 

[jimmydean]

It depends on how much effort you put in and what you know how to do. I am no mechanic, I'm a software engineer. But I built my R1 in about 4 month with a basic set of tools, a Dremel, a welder, and a lot of beer trough trial and error. But I knew what I wanted, just no idea how to do it until it was done.

The only things I didn't do to my R1 myself was the suspension install and tuning (Ohlins installed by GP Suspensions), the ceramic coating on the exhaust (Finishline Coatings), and the dyno map and tune. The internal engine was bone stock.

Yes, I have a powdercoat oven and a sand blast cabinet, but no lathe, no mill, nothing special.

You could build a bike like stevew posted for about $4k and have a top notch bike. You could also build that same bike for about $2k if you know where to look for parts and start with a solid donor. Or you could pay someone about $10k and have them build it for you.

Question is, how much money do you have and how much is your time worth?


<edit> For a first bike, buy something like TN did. A solid running bike you can ride. Then go about replacing/chopping/customizing what you don't like, keep and either replace or rebuild what you like, and make sure to use quality parts.

When my R1 was done, it had all new bearings, seals, bushings, hoses, basically all wear items were replaced. It was a new bike.

There is a sign in the shop. "It's not what you bought, it's what you built." I can't leave stuff alone, it's my nature.

 

[worship_mud]

I've sometimes thought of buying an old bike, strip it and then rebuild it with some mods. Since a few people in this thread seem to have done it, let me ask...

- Is this a cost-effective way to have a bike, or will I spend more in the process than buying a 2nd hand bike in working order?

well, it will most probably not be more cost effective, than buying a bike in working order (talking about an unchanged / unpimped bike here). if you want a modified bike it depends on your abilities to do things yourself. from my own experienced i must say, that knowing how to handle an angle grinder and a welding machine will get you pretty far. i would buy a technically ok but optically neglected bike would be the most cost effective way to get a solid base to do some customizing. try to avoid heavy rust, as it is a PITA to weld on tubes, sheet metal is much nicer in this regard. but in most cases it's that when a bike is optically neglected, the owner in most cases didn't care about the technical maintenance too much which can also cause trouble on the technical side. it's a bit of a lottery, you never know exactly what you'll get.

- What kind of tools should be in your workshop? I guess you need a mill, lathe and soldering equipment to do fancy stuff, but can you do things with less?

while i am lucky that i work at a company which produces welded and machined components for the machine building industry and i could use these resources, most people will most probably depend on friends with the technical equipment. i did some brackets, struts and spacer on my own, but there's a huge aftermarket scene for the SR, so i didn't have to manufacture everything on my own. the dude with the laser cutter and the folding machine was a big help. be prepared to buy even more beer than you ever did in your live before... depending on the bike you can get along with aftermarket parts (again: the SR scene is huge in this regard!)



- Talking about the rebuild, does it consist basically in cleaning by hand every single bit and then build it again using parts bought online, or it's a bit more "creative" process?

this is again depending on what you actually want to do, it gets creative pretty quick, to be honest. as soon as you touch the fenders and the seat you will most probably have to find your own solutions, this means brackets, struts, attachment points etc etc etc... and yes, i recommend to take it completely apart , clean everything and put it back together. you WILL encounter things that will have to be adressed (rust, broken screws, broken threads etc etc etc ), adress them, you will be sorry otherwise.


- Any particular thing to watch for?

have someone on hand for the electricity and the engine (presuming you will not do that on your own), i tried it myself, but i'm only semi solid at wrenching bicycles, which is not enough (at least for me) to get in depth on the electrical circuits and the engine. also knowing someone with a painting boot will safe you some cash.

also be prepared to spend some substantial money on the engine (if it's an older bike) and be sure you choose a bike for which you will get parts at all (BMW is a good choice, at least here in europe) i did the same as jimmydean, changed EVERYTHING that had the slightest signs of use on/in the engine. i don't want to start that sh*t again in half a year...

older bikes tend to have problems at the main pivot (bearings) and a 20 year old shock is most probably also way beyond it's glory days.... i have encounterd problems with the rear hub, which lead to massive pains in the rectum area and subsequently the wallet.



Sadly, I haven't the kind of friend that could give me their "old rusty bike sitting in the shed", or I'd have my hands dirty already. I'd love to find and old BMW or Impala and rebuild it with a minimalist "cafe racer" look.

feel free to ask, i'll try to help!

 

[c101aviojet]

Thanks, that was a lot more detailed than I expected. I wanted to have a rough idea of the "ideal settings" to start such a project.

I used to build model airplanes. You could either buy them ready to fly, build them from plans, or anything in between. I like making things by myself, so I was glad that building a plane was possible with very litle tools and money. Better tools helped make better planes, but they were not vital. And, if you had really fancy tools (and time, and know-how), then you could go a few steps further and build your landing gear, rotors, engine (radials, turbines, pulsejets, etc.) - but that's a whole different league.

With a bike, my goal would be to make as much as possible by myself, without hurries, and learn things meanwhile. Ride something I made with my hands, my way.

I'm saying this because I have the feeling that, unless you have a full workshop (or the right friends), there's little you can do by yourself when building a motorbike (or a simple bike, btw). I know some things (painting, chroming) should be done outside no matter what, but if the whole "modding process" consists in cleaning the rust, buying a bunch of pieces and screwing them on (or having a shop rebuild them), I would pass - I find that as entertaining or creative as assembling a piece of Ikea furniture.

Obviously, should I have a bike in my hands, I'd clean and inspect every single piece (and take pics along the way). I know that, in the end, that usually saves time and money because, as you said, it's very easy to miss a broken screw, a small crack, etc. which can become a headache later on. But first, I need to make new friends... I just have covered the electrical department.
Well, thanks again for the info... willl come back for more if I think again about it seriously!

BTW, a friend of mine had rebuilt one like this years ago. he doesn't like bikes, but (sadly ) the moto means a lot to his family...so I could not ask for it. It's rough as hell and sounds and smells great: