Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 (edited) Well after over 6 months of researching, reading, and lurking in the majority of StarQuest forums, I finally pulled the trigger and picked one up for myself. I've been wanting to build a project car for a couple years now so it feels great to finally have one. So first a little background info: About me: I'm a 19 year old Mechanical Engineering major at Georgia Tech, but perhaps more importantly, I'm the son of a career mechanic; needless to say I've been hooked on the car craze for as long as I can remember. About the car:I bought the car last saturday (6-26-10) from a gentleman near Montgomery, Alabama. He was the original and only owner of the car since he took her home in May of 1989 (and boy was he sad to see her go). It's very obvious how much he cared about the car because aside from a blown motor (most likely a bad crank bearing) the car is in excellent shape considering its age. Plans for the car:I plan on rebuilding the engine back to (close to) stock condition, then going through all of the suspension components and replacing the bushings/ bearings. I'd like to put some coilovers (ground control maybe) on the car and replace the struts. Then the car is going to need a new paintjob and while I'm doing that I'll probably re-undercoat the car. Later on maybe a brake upgrade (stainless steel brakelines, slotted rotors etc) and I might take a shot at building some sway bars... The last thing I might do is search for more power. So it begins. http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/5841/sdc10355.jpg Edited June 29, 2010 by Frenchi934 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 (edited) Day 1: (6-26-10)http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/647/sdc10357k.jpg After a long day on the road, Pops and I finally got the car back to Atlanta around 5. I took a few pictures of the interior (most of the non-engine problem areas) http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/1934/sdc10359d.jpg http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/172/sdc10360.jpg http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/3933/sdc10362w.jpg http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2393/sdc10361b.jpg http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/6857/sdc10363r.jpg As you can see, interior is in good shape! aside from missing most of the speakers and the typical (though not TOO bad) seat cover tears. Edited June 29, 2010 by Frenchi934 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzrider Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 That car needs new paint? Looks nice to me. Rebuilding the engine close to stock is good but make sure you eliminate the balance shaft. My first motor I rebuilt and wanted to keep it stock and make it long lasting, little did I know the balance shaft was going to lock my motor up 300 miles after redoing the whole engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 (edited) Day 2: (6-27-10) Today I went and got a battery to test all of the lights, etc. All of the lights work and really the only thing that doesn't is the automatic antennae..Also decided to try to start the car. The car started and ran okay, it made a slight knocking noise while the oil pressure guage never showed any oil pressure. After talking to a couple fellow questers (and not mentioning that the previous owner thought it was a crank bearing) they confirmed that it was most likely a crank bearing. Total run time of the engine was only about 40 seconds so I don't think we did any additional damage. http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/2228/sdc10367i.jpg http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/2936/sdc10368rqs.jpg The rest of the day consisted of buying an engine hoist, engine chain, and engine stand and assembling them. http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/6899/sdc10371.jpg I also bought some windshield wiper blades and decided to play around with the sand blaster lol http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/6020/sdc10369z.jpg http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/1173/sdc10370k.jpg Edited June 29, 2010 by Frenchi934 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 That car needs new paint? Looks nice to me. Rebuilding the engine close to stock is good but make sure you eliminate the balance shaft. My first motor I rebuilt and wanted to keep it stock and make it long lasting, little did I know the balance shaft was going to lock my motor up 300 miles after redoing the whole engine. Yeah Im still on the fence about whether or not to eliminate them or just replace all the bearings in the balance shaft. And the paint's in pretty rough condition, I'd say about 95% of the clear coat has chipped away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzrider Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 I definitly recommend eliminating them. I didnt notice any vibration issues with my two eliminted motors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 (edited) Day 3: (6-28-10) Today was pretty productive. After moving the motocross trailer out of the garage we moved in the Conquest and cleared some space on the shelves for parts. Also moved the tools to the car for easier access. http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/5421/sdc10372.jpg Start of the day: http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/5439/sdc10377.jpg http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/6784/sdc10375.jpg Then began to remove, bag, and label parts for engine removal:(after draining the fluids of course) Drilled guide holes and scribbed the hood: http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8820/sdc10378c.jpg then removed it: http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/2301/sdc10379w.jpg http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/7353/sdc10380x.jpg Rust free! (pretty much) http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/4994/sdc10381x.jpg Dad helped out too: http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/2006/sdc10383l.jpg End of the day: http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5939/sdc10391a.jpg http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/6305/sdc10390.jpg I suspect it'll be out by tomorrow or Wednesday... Edited June 29, 2010 by Frenchi934 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 I definitly recommend eliminating them. I didnt notice any vibration issues with my two eliminted motors. I might end up doing that then, its pretty cheap to do too haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Edits ** Pics changed from thumbnails to full size per request Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killtodie Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Edits ** Pics changed from thumbnails to full size per request lol, nm, those are huge! have image shack resize them to 1024. sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 lol, nm, those are huge! have image shack resize them to 1024. sorry gotcha. gimme a few. sorry guys i'm new to this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coke Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 You've really gotta resize these pics for anybody to load this page successfully. It took my computer 30 mins to load this..haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bag-O-Chips Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 I hop you know you've got a 16G or larger than that on the car lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 I hop you know you've got a 16G or larger than that on the car lol Pretty sure its the stock 12a... it says 12 on it and everything... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanta Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Dude, that car is GORGEOUS! You also have one of the most coveted interiors. Welcome to the club Frenchi I used to always be in Atlanta with my Starion visiting the parties down at GT, or the robotics lectures and conventions ( i.e. FIRST etc ). I go/went to Southern Poly. Also what color is the car? That's not Rio Red, nor is it Durban Maroon... it almost looks like a Seycelles. If you ever need a helping hand or have questions, feel free to shoot me a PM or ask me, or anyone around here any questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanta Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Pretty sure its the stock 12a... it says 12 on it and everything... lol Doesn't mean its a 12A. a 16G is made out of a 12a for what its worth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Doesn't mean its a 12A. a 16G is made out of a 12a for what its worth Well im pretty sure its stock. Previous owner says it is and its the same as other Conquests I've looked at who claimed a stock turbo..And im not sure what the color of the car is now, it appears to have been repainted (if you look closely at some of the pictures maybe you can tell) Its original color was a fire-engine red color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanta Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 (edited) Well im pretty sure its stock. Previous owner says it is and its the same as other Conquests I've looked at who claimed a stock turbo..And im not sure what the color of the car is now, it appears to have been repainted (if you look closely at some of the pictures maybe you can tell) Its original color was a fire-engine red color. Ah - well it works. I was noticing the engine bay being a bit brighter and the clear peeling on the body. Regardless, you havethe hardest to find interior combinations to ever grace these cars. Edited June 29, 2010 by Fanta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Ah - well it works. I was noticing the engine bay being a bit brighter and the clear peeling on the body. Regardless, you have one of the hard to find interior color combinations to ever grace these cars. Its definately a very nice car . I'm almost certain it has the Sport Handling Package as well. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted with the progress I make on it! Hopeing to be mostly done by the time Fall semester starts (though I know I'll never really be DONE lol).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanta Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Where abouts Atlanta are you anyways? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Pretty sure its the stock 12a... it says 12 on it and everything... lol Count the compressor blades. Just the ones that stick out the farthest. 7 blades is a 12amore than 7 is a 14b (if I remember correctly)6 blades is a 16g or larger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bag-O-Chips Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 That turbo will say TD-05 12 on the compressor housing, BUT judging from the picture and the size of the inlet and the compressor wheel in it... it's a "G" wheel maybe a 14G, 16G, 18G so on so forth. It's not a bad thing at all. Take a picture for us and we can clear it up for you Like Fanta said, 12A's are modded into 16G or bigger! Woot! Woot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Turbo inlet does appear to be larger than stock. Also your #4cyl exhaust manifold gasket is blown. Dad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Where abouts Atlanta are you anyways? Stockbridge (its where i675 and i75 meet just south of ATL) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Well this is interesting, It says 05 12, yet I only count 6 blades... The guy said he had the turbo rebuilt before (I assumed to stock) but maybe ya'll can clear it up for me exactly what it is haha.Also, if I reach into the inlet and pinch the nut at the center of the blades it has a noticable amount of free-play, is this normal? or does it need rebuilt? (this is my first turbo car but I get the feeling it shouldn't have any free-play) Here are a few pictures of the turbo: http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/5994/sdc10393f.jpg http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/2365/sdc10394n.jpg http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/7894/sdc10396m.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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