Highly modified 1987 RT AWD

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Comments

  • VladiVladi Senior Wagonist
    That wagon must be breaking necks man, so amazingly clean.
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    LOL thanks Vladi, People rarely even know what it is..
    Some parts are here. New Dorman Control Arm w/ the sealed ball joints.
    Gotta purchase the entire lower control arm to replace the ball joints on 3rd Gen.
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    New configuration for the rear seats. (back to factory/ stock)
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    Comparison between new and old.
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    I'm so messy ;)
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    Also brushed on some paint to touch up the calipers in some places.
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    Still requires test drive.
  • sick! Calipers look great man
  • I love this car so much. That is all.
  • PrennroPrennro Council Member
    Yet another quality old skool gem! Fuggin Tiiiiight!
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    Thanks guys! Thanks a lot. :encouragement:
    My big EF RT rotors were coming in contact with my new LCA's.
    Had to shave the arm's end down. Rides super smooth and queit now.
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  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    Here are some updated pictures.
    I'm a little pissed to be honest, it seems those new front ball joints and arms have my front end sitting up about an 1/8th inch higher. FML

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  • Still looks sexy as fuck though! That is strange that they would raise the height though...any plans to get the front back down?
  • AbideAbide Council Member
    had to do some of those on my roommates 86 sedan. His balljoint snapped right in half. Dont remember anything sitting higher afterwards though. maybe loosen up the nut. jack the suspension up then retorque it? It sure shouldnt be that much higher though. Still lookin good!
  • BillBoardBillBoard council member
    I just love it so much... I want to impregnate it...
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    I've played with it quite a bit, Abide and Skittlenips. Even shimmed under the ball joint's castle nut to see if I could get more bite on it. No luck.
    I went with the Dorman brand arms. I have noticed that the arm itself has far more girth in every dimension... This is all I can figure that it is linked to..

    Abide which brand arm did you guys use? Were you concerned with ride height at all?
    Because an 1/8" is a lil hard to detect with the naked eye on a stock ride height car (assuming your buddy's sedan was stock height)..
    But it caught my attention right away here. (as it is always my main concerns lol)
    Was hoping it would settle a tiny bit after running a few errands and putting a few miles on her...
    Not sure what else I can do... Time to Re-index the torsion bars I guess...

    LOL and thank you Billboard, I think... :p
  • AbideAbide Council Member
    his is such a pile that were were just excited to have it steer better. we didnt even notice if it was higher or lower. It was oriellys so probably dorman or beck and arnley or something.

    It's just his backup for when the EVO inevitably fails (yesterday, haha blew the trans)
  • Small personal touches throughout a car shows the sign of a true hobbiest, not just someone doing what everyone else is. Seen this car on YouTube a lot before. Just found this build thread. Hope you keep that car for life. Mad props.
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    Ripped a mud flap half off.. This caused me to shit a brick..
    It bent the metal tab inside the flap, but I beat her back straight and installed with some phatty 'ol washers to secure it once again.
    Back to Normal.
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  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    After my '85 AWD started acting funny lately. I decided to inspect this wagon's cooling system. Also needed to address a clogged heater core anyway.
    New Thermostat
    New drainplug
    Flush system
    Flushed the heater core for a while
    Coolant
    The heat blows better than ever.. Feels cozy. I'm happy, it's 9 degrees outside...
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    This update includes a little feature of my '85 actually.. It's been my main driver lately..
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    Did the same to it, except the thermostat had been stuck open for the last week or 2, not allowing the engine's choke to disengage fully. As it always read cold.
    Runs better than ever, the idle is at a steady 980RPM, forever. Left it outside runnin' for like 40 minutes.
    Oh and now it's heater will run you straight out the driver window... The fire of hell comes through those vents, I'm sure.


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    AWD Comes complete with work-bench..
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    They both need an inspection tomorrow.
  • Loving the work bench!
  • PrennroPrennro Council Member
    Good luck with inspections. Just show em how well the heat works :encouragement:
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    The '85 is running better than ever. Never knew that the thermostat had such a large impact on proper function for the 3rd Gens.
    Thanks Prennro, they both passed inspection quick. The guys at the inspection station had quite a few question about the old wagon.
    After the onslaught of interest, I assured them they would likely not see another 3rd Gen. anytime soon...
    Needless to say.. They had exactly one metric-dick-ton of questions when I brought the second one by for it's inspection not even an hour later..

    I posted this picture of my '87 on my Instagram.
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  • I love your wagons man, the '87 is so clean. I am going to have to use your seat patching method, and the stash pocket idea is a perfect spot to store a phone.
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    New pictures after a deep cleaning yesterday. Enjoy :cool:
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    And the Snow Slay gets a picture.. :rolleyes:
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    This one I liked quite a bit, I've also been driving the '85 more and more lately.
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    Been driving the 2 wagons the most actually... No Rat, No CRXs for a few weeks...



    And Cool, found these 6x9"s with little boxes in a junk car! Little extra kick in the trunk.
    Now I need to replace my deck speakers.
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  • PrennroPrennro Council Member
    Damn that 87 AWD! Clean as a whistle! Looking good Chaife, but you already knew that!:encouragement:
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    Prennro wrote: »
    Damn that 87 AWD! Clean as a whistle! Looking good Chaife, but you already knew that!:encouragement:

    LOL thanks man. The best part is that she runs just how she looks.. :encouragement:
  • BillBoardBillBoard council member
    sweet wagon porn. Nice photos my dude!!!
  • This is a nice wagon. I might scoop up a 3rd gen 4wd for cheap.
  • VladiVladi Senior Wagonist
    Looking amazing. I need to buy a 3th Gen wagon to save.
  • everyone needs a third gen wagon.
  • simplyhondasimplyhonda Council Member
    Still a boss of a wagon! Glad to know it personally!
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    Thanks everyone! As you might be able to tell, I've kind of let the 85's updates land here in this thread. And here's a new one.
    SNOW!!! Took her out last night and carved a hundred doughnuts or so.. In NC, when it snows everyone panics. This means the street are bare and empty, no traffic, nothing.
    If I'm honest.. This was my very first time driving through real snow, as I am/ was a California native for soo many years. It was really cool and lot's of fun
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    Also you might notice the Rat's little cameo, it is not sitting level. It's hard to see the new height, but it is certainly buried in snow.
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    My buddy tagged along and his EF hatch did quite well! We had a blast, and one hell of a hoon session in our area.
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  • 3rd4ce3rd4ce Council Member
    Need more snow rt porn

    Glad you popped that cherry & liked your first snow drive experience .... Having the roads all to yourself is the best but did you have the pleasure of dodging walkers and abandoned cars.?
  • ChaifeChaife Instagram grand master
    This might technically be "Push Button" porn, lol NO RT here. This thing is fully manual. Very snappy solid rear axle and hard locked rear end, with firm AWD engagement that shunts the car when selected. It's like day and night when compared to the 4th Gen RT's.

    Yes, driving in the snow was actually everything I ever imagined/ expected, and even more.. It occurred to me quickly that the driving techniques required are simply a matter of common sense.
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