New Guy.
Dave-O
Wagonist
Hello folks, I'm Dave, from Kaysville/Layton, Utah.
I just procured this little gem, an '88 RT4WD.
The previous owner is a good friend of mine, and the both of us have had some great fun with this little box-of-awesome. He called me up a couple weeks ago and said the clutch died in the wagon, and he'd sell it to me as-is right then for $100. We got to talking and he mentioned he needed the money to buy DC Integra brakes for his EK hatch, and it just so happened I had my '94 Integra LS stripped down for some chassis strengthening, so I traded him straight across, my Teg brakes for his wagon. Fair deal, I think.
I towed it to my shop and started messing around with it - the clutch pedal, cable, and arm moved as they should, but the clutch wouldn't disengage - I figured at worst, I'd just order a new clutch, pressure-plate and throwout bearing, and be done with it. Well, I got to monkeying around with the cable, pulled it up too hard from the engine bay, and heard a loud SPROING ... I thought I broke it. I adjusted the tension so the cable was a bit loose on the arm, got in the car and tried the clutch out. Oddly enough, it worked perfectly. In fact, I've put about 200 miles on it just over the past 2 days, and not a single hiccup yet.
The car is not stock, it's got a ghetto cat-back exhaust on it [to be replaced with a proper setup very soon] and a JDM SOHC ZC under-hood. I'm thinking the near future holds boost for this little wagon. I'd like to autocross this car after some tire and suspension upgrades, and possibly try out some rallycross events around the area.
I just procured this little gem, an '88 RT4WD.
The previous owner is a good friend of mine, and the both of us have had some great fun with this little box-of-awesome. He called me up a couple weeks ago and said the clutch died in the wagon, and he'd sell it to me as-is right then for $100. We got to talking and he mentioned he needed the money to buy DC Integra brakes for his EK hatch, and it just so happened I had my '94 Integra LS stripped down for some chassis strengthening, so I traded him straight across, my Teg brakes for his wagon. Fair deal, I think.
I towed it to my shop and started messing around with it - the clutch pedal, cable, and arm moved as they should, but the clutch wouldn't disengage - I figured at worst, I'd just order a new clutch, pressure-plate and throwout bearing, and be done with it. Well, I got to monkeying around with the cable, pulled it up too hard from the engine bay, and heard a loud SPROING ... I thought I broke it. I adjusted the tension so the cable was a bit loose on the arm, got in the car and tried the clutch out. Oddly enough, it worked perfectly. In fact, I've put about 200 miles on it just over the past 2 days, and not a single hiccup yet.
The car is not stock, it's got a ghetto cat-back exhaust on it [to be replaced with a proper setup very soon] and a JDM SOHC ZC under-hood. I'm thinking the near future holds boost for this little wagon. I'd like to autocross this car after some tire and suspension upgrades, and possibly try out some rallycross events around the area.
Comments
No joke, thanks! The interior is a 9/10, I've just got to clean it up and give the seats a good steam-clean. My little brother just put fixed-back buckets in his CRX, and gave me his stock Si seats ... I'm really torn about putting black/grey seats in a clean tan interior, but we'll see how it all goes.
I love the color of this thing. I'm actually building a 1987 Mitsubishi Starion ESi-R for track duty, and had contemplated spraying it the Mitsubishi version of this gold, a rare color called Nevada Desert Sand Metallic. Gold ftw.
If you care about being competitive, watch out for what mods you make to the car. Almost nothing is allowed in stock/AWD, and from there you're in modified/AWD against some pretty gonzo beasts. That said, I've beaten a swarm of Subarus in stock/AWD - better handling, lighter, and not as much power to get into trouble.
For suspension options (not stock legal), check out noahrexion's thread in the suspension forum, Raising/Lowering Specifics. He put a DC suspension on his wagon, which really improved the handling without lowering the car much. It also opens up the world of DC Integra suspension options to wagons.
That should be enough to get you started.
Thanks for the info! I don't plan on being competitive, I'm just out there to have fun, and enjoy a spirited daily. The fun cars are the Integra and Starion. I think I've seen a few of your videos on YouTube, the ol' RT4WD tears it up.
YouTube username is earlyapexprod (Early Apex Productions) - if that rings a bell, or the gold wagon with Mini Cooper S rip-off hood stripes, yep, that's me. 8)
Twins! Hahahaha, awesome. We'll all have to meet up for a wago-mini-meet. There's you, me, EDwEFparts, and that one other guy from Layton with ED's blue wagon.
... got ourselves quite a crew out here.