my 89 RT4WD build

signal34

Just bought an 89 RT4wd with a DOHC ZC and a manual trans in it. I'll be picking it up tuesday. Some rust around the wheel wells but the underside is strangely solid. Previous owner might be a member on here.

Here's the specs so far:

Engine:
DOHC ZC
Bored 0.5mm over
NPR P29 Pistons
ARP Rod bolts
new honda head bolts
fresh valves
head skimmed
Cometic Head gasket
Crank polished
King rod and crank bearings
AC removed
needs rear main seal to be re-done at some point. Still driveable just have to keep an eye on it

suspension/steering:
Depowered power steering rack
DC rear shocks/springs
DA front shocks/springs

Interior:
EK armrest
Blaupunkt head unit
6-1/2" front 3 way speakers
6x9 rear 3 way speakers

Exterior:
custom roof rack

Tire/wheels:
stock white steelies with snow tires

Pics from the classified ad is all i got right now



More to come the plan is to turn this into an autocrosser. There's going to be some work done to it but i leave for basic in less than a month so it will slow down for 14 weeks then speed up again to hyper speed buying parts during AIT then installs when i get stationed

signal34

Now come the questions. I leave for basic in less than a month. I have some extra money from left over money from the sale of my truck. The car needs a rear main seal, i'm told it leaks a quart every 500 miles. I could spend the cash and the rest of my time fixing that but i really just want to enjoy the car as much as possible before I leave so i'll just keep an eye on my oil level. I'll prob get my wife to get the oil leak fixed when i'm gone. I was looking into sinking the money into either a full set of adjustable coilovers to help out the suspension when i do eventually race it, or there's a nice pair of Corbeau fixed buckets with harnesses for sale on CL i could do that and a harness bar. A third option would be that i have access to a full welding shop i could fab up a simple cage just a main hoop a harness bar an x into the back and two low door bars. Not sure what the cost of that would be or if i'd have enough to do that and the seats and skip the bolt in harness bar. It'd be done at cost of the DOM tubing and most likely only take a day. I'm torn

black_89gt

coilovers.

TheGman

If you want to enjoy your car more, suspension upgrades would be the way to go! Coilovers, sway bar, strut bar if you don't do a full cage, that and some good wheels and tires and you'll be flying around the track in no time.

Oh, and a good set of pads and rotors so you can stop effectively!

signal34

well like i said i leave for basic so soon then ait then i get stationed so i'll move away from the welding shop and my friend that has the scales for doing corner weights and all that. I'll have to find a place that can help me with all that when I move. There are a few other things i wanted to spend some of the money on, I found a local guy selling some factory miata wheels that i like. They are cheap but am going to get them powder coated. I think for now I'm going to look into just getting some decent name brand coils. During AIT i'll buy some adjustable KYB struts and have them shipped home. If I get these coils put on and they give me 2" drop am i going to need anything else to get my alignment back in spec? I plan on running -1 camber on all corners

signal34

OK I just found out that I'm picking up the car tomorrow I'm so excited. I just purchased Megan Racing lowering springs and threaded sleeves. Going to add some extended top hats so I don't worry about my struts getting overly warn. I emailed the guy about the 14" factory Mazda Miata wheels so hopefully I can scoop those up in the near future for $90. I found a guy that does powder coating nearby so I'll prob get them done in some strange color, I'm leaning towards pink. The tires on them are almost shot so I might get some new ones, I'll have to wait and see. I'm pretty indecisive and there's still those fixed back Corbeau buckets and harnesses on craigslist, or i could go with the generic ebay red type r knock off seats. I like the look of them and a friend of mine had them in his GTI autocrosser and they held up well.

signal34

OK I got paid for my old truck today.

But sadly, due to weather and time constraints I still was not able to pick up my civic.
I will be getting it on monday. Its really starting to sink in how little time is left before i leave.

I picked up some odds and ends for the suspension, hopefully I can get this stuff put on before I leave, I got:
-4 generic ebay extended top hats
-Springtech front camber kit
-Godspeed rear camber kit.

Hopefully this combined with the new springs with the adjusters will let me switch from autox to rallyx without much fuss.

I'm going to do a few small appearance things to.
I'm getting the factory wheels powder coated bright pink, and I got Drop Engineering gold lug nuts for the heck of it. I ordered both SCCA contingency decal packs (autocross and rallycross) with magnetic backing.
Somewhere around here i have a few Grassroots Motorsports Magazine die cut decals and some bumper stickers. When I find them they're going to go on the car also.
I have a headlight restore kit that's been laying around for a while I plan to use it on this car.

I am going to try to make some patches for the holes in the seats out of some pink grey and white camo material I found. I was hoping to re-cover the headliner but I don't think I'll have the time.

signal34

Here are some pics as she sits in my driveway.

the carpets look pretty bad but under those floormats is spotless

I spent all morning trying to figure out how to get these cross-bars on


It seems to sit higher in the front but now for long...

So my drive home or first impressions of the car were that it was fun to drive, the motor is happier in a higher RPM range than I'm used to, and my brakes are junk.

I took a run to the local parts shop and the guy behind the counter seemed very excited about the car. He offered to pay me blue book value for the car but I told him I had just got it home, and I didn't think he'd be able to find it in the blue book. The pads were a special order so they won't be in for a day or two. I was half expecting they would just be the same pads as a crx or a civic hatchback.

I haven't made any other progress besides exploring the car a little. I fiddled with the radio and cleaned it up a little other than that I'm stuck waiting for parts.

The previous owner included a full hard cover shop manual with the car, and i found the original owners manual in the glovebox. One of the keys he gave me was also an original. Its the key i decided to put on my key ring I like how old and worn down it looks.

BCwagon

nice sounds like a good find. good luck with your wagon!

Id really like to get me a 5speed one