Bloody Knuckles - 1991 RT4WD
The Block
New Wagonist
The wagon is all stock for now but I want to start a project log here to document the progress. I'm pondering several directions for the wagon so we'll see where this goes. It should be fun though.
Currently planning and budgeting for the suspension first. At some point I'll be looking into a Z6 rebuild and swap. And a 5-speed manual conversion and JRSC make for nice pipe dreams.
So far...it hasn't changed since the day I bought it:
This will be a slow build because I am not in a hurry and the CRX is currently getting all the love
Currently planning and budgeting for the suspension first. At some point I'll be looking into a Z6 rebuild and swap. And a 5-speed manual conversion and JRSC make for nice pipe dreams.
So far...it hasn't changed since the day I bought it:
This will be a slow build because I am not in a hurry and the CRX is currently getting all the love
Comments
Got any shots of the interior?
Not too many yet. But here are a couple:
The seats need a good shampoo but it's all there so I couldn't really ask for more.
It will be tight though!
The Hx alloys look so much better than the RT4WD white steelies IMO too.
sorry to hear about the donor car getting crushed. gotta jump on parts the second you find them here. you snooze, you loose is in full effect around these parts.
I want your driver seat.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to watching this build!
Here are a couple shots from today after snowboarding. While playing around in the semi-hard packed snow it was doing better than the LR3 with pirelli scorpion snow/ice tires (pretty bald and 255/55R19 though) and much better than my friends supercharged frontier that had to be pulled out at one point.
It is definately growing on me.
Originally I bought the car to flip it because it looked to be in such good condition. The seller did a very good job cleaning it up and masking its flaws and not being able to make money off it I'm driving it for the time being. It has a growing repair list. Both bumpers, the hatch, and all but one door have been hit and (mostly) repaired at some point. I still like it and will just work with what I can find for it.
Speaking of which, I got a heads-up about a gray 1991 Dx wagon in the local wrecking yard and pulled a couple items. My rear passenger's side door panel is missing a chunk and the spring clip retainer on the window crank is broken so I grabbed these. Question now, "are six tiny holes better than one large hole...?" I can just imagine some kid sitting in the back seat stabbing the door panel with a fork or something...
Current panel
Replacement door panel. I'm going shampoo it and try to glue the tiny holes closed (no material is missing) and see if it looks any better.
Replacement window crank (grabbed extras if anyone here needs some.)
And a spare tire spacer I was missing.
Took the studded winter tires and Hx wheels off for spring/summer!
Other than that I’ve been doing general maintenance and misc repairs including:
Oil and filter change #2
NGK spark plugs (looong overdue)
OEM spark plug wires
Transmission fluid change
Rear differential fluid change
OEM valve cover gaskets
OEM wiper blades
Repalced the steering wheel (for one with out loose grip)
Replaced the hatch struts
Replaced the passenger’s side rear door panel
Replaced the rear seat release knobs to fold it down
Replaced a bunch of missing OEM screws and minor things
Next up:
Fuel filter
Valve cover (chipped cover and not the gasket causing slight leakage)
Oil pan gasket (slight leak onto the exhaust at stop lights)
Clean the drains that must be blocked that cause water to sit in the spare tire tub
Piece together a roof rack and do some biking trips! Whoop whoop.
Me too. They really pop out in traffic.
Yakama SKS lock cores finally arrived and I finished installing the roof rack. Madden voyage went great. Took a couple guys and bikes to Moab for some trails. It handled beautifully on the dirt roads and the extra drag from the rack didn't hit the MPG as bad as I thought it would.
Sent a good valve cover off for powder coating and ordered an AEM intake for a little extra pep on the hills.
I really like them too. I'm kind of wishing I put the winter tires on the RT wheels and the summer tires on the Hx wheels. They are quite light and look good. I might have to fork out the money to swap them.
Thanks! It's not on eBay. Originally I was going to put it on eBay but there are toooo many maintenance issues to feel good about selling it at this time so I'm just using it and working on it when I get time or money. All the while it's growing on me.
I hope the manual tranny conversion is going well. Sounds like a SOB to me!
Beautiful car, contact me if you want to get rid of it.. 8)
- Rob
Nothing new on the manual swap. I haven't found any manual RT4WDs in the yards lately so I'm just passively looking for parts now.
Other than that I've been playing with the red theme...I had to replace my valve cover (chip on the inside causing small oil leak) so I might as well go with powder coated right? Working my way through the factory service schedule when I have spare time and/or money. Also, installed the AEM CAI. The color clashes but whatever. It sounds beasty!
Got to test the low gear out on some slick rock sections of the Cain Creek trail. My wife loves driving it, which is nice because she has hated driving every other project car I’ve had. She says I have to keep the suspension plush, no problems there.
Shortly after this picture a rather steep departure angle took my muffler off. Opps.
RT4WD heaven right there, doesn't get better.
AC stopped working on the way back…time to give the wagon some more TLC after close to 100 off-road miles in the past month. Give and take, give and take.
Uggg, you had to take the transmission out to replace the oil pan seal? That would be a major pain. I haven't done it yet but was hoping it would be as easy as unbolting the downpipe and swapping it out. Although I do need to change a CV joint, maybe I'll drop the transmission anyway and clean it up.
I need to get a factory service manual.
I was just crusing CL and local classifieds looking for another set. If I can find a set as cheap as the first I might coat them a better color.
While these look cool they are obsolete by modern HID light output and energy consumption...I'm thinking Hella Optilux HID 7" driving lights if they can be mounted to the bar at least semi decent.
Need a new flange on the mid pipe but it works for now. Now to tackle the remaining oil leaks.