Day 4 with the project car and I’d have to say that the car wasn’t a good or great buy. It was a fair buy at best. Even after test driving it for a good amount of time and checking all the nooks and crannies visually, you can’t really be sure if there’s anything wrong with a used car until you have a good mechanic go at it. And it’s true for the used car market - “Nothing to fix” is similar to a hole in one in golf.

Since I’ll be primarily using it to ferry me around (to know what it feels like really riding a project car), the most logical thing to do is to get it into tip-top shape at least mechanically. Aesthetics can always wait. No use in getting a auto show worthy paint job only to have it conk out on you after running 10 miles.

And yesterday, that’s what I did - dedicated a whole Saturday for a day at the shop to have the car thoroughly check out. Since it’s my trusty mechanic who’s doing the job, I even let him test drive the car so that he can get a driver’s feel to it. One thing that I do like about my mechanic is that he’s one of the best in what he does.

Here’s what he came up with after driving it and checking the car out.

Diagnosis

The car’s engine was still strong and quiet as well-maintained engines should be. An oil spot near the distributor signified that I should have an O-ring replaced. Erratic idling could’ve also been a sign of dirt in the intake and improper idling setting (though there are times when a faulty manifold absolute pressure or MAP sensor can screw with your idling).

The clutch was also too damn hard - a symptom of wear in the clutch disc lining and signs that the pressure plate may even need to be replaced. The car was lifted and checked for the condition of the suspension system. An axle boot had a tear and the tie rod ends were loose. While ideally suspension parts are replaced in one go, I just decided to replace the ones with most wear and damages. The rest were in good condition anyway.

My mechanic was well aware of the uncomfortable ride in lowered cars so he gave me the option to restore the car’s real ride height. I’ve finally decided that getting humped by your car (instead of being humped in it) and opted to have lowering springs swapped with ones of stock length.

Treatment

After checking all the nooks and crannies of the car, my mechanic listed down the works that I need to be done. So here’s a summary:

Transmission

Clutch Disc
Clutch Release Bearing
Pressure Plate
Flywheel Refacing
Gear Oil

Engine

Carb Cleaner
Oil Seal
Distributor O-ring

Suspensions

Tie Rod Ends
Front Coil Springs
Shock Mounting Washer
Front Shock Absorber
Mounting
Shock Mount Rubber Lining
Axle Grease
Axle Boot

Budget Damage

It was good that I have gone under budget with the purchase but I found that I had barely enough to cover the repair expenses with the excess money. But at least I’m inching towards getting the car in tip-top shape. With a bit of budget constraint, I decided to get a mix of after market, OEM and manufacturer parts. The total damage ran up to around $425 including labor which I got cheap (always a great thing if your mechanic is a friend).

Aftermath

So I’m quite happy driving around with the ride height restored and no more idling problems. There were times when the revs got too low that the engine almost dies. Not anymore. I’m still going back to have it tuned up next weekend. I’m still trying to observe some other issues like the cooling system and some electrical kinks.

It’s no use planning what improvements and modifications to do with the car if there are still issues to fix. But I’ve been getting some ideas recently.