Greetings - New Member here

[GT350RS]

Greetings to all,

I recently picked up an XR for my son and I to tinker with and autocross. Like most I would assume, I remember these cars from my high school days and always wanted one. Very excited to have this one now!

The car itself looks to have been very well cared-for. It's all original save for a couple of replacement parts under the hood, such as an aluminum radiator that appears to have a front-mount intercooler attached to it. The intercooler is not in use or attached to anything itself. It's made by XS Power. It has a new alternator, brakes, shocks all around and a new exhaust. The rest is all original - down to the factory radio, which works (but I have no cassette to test, lol)

Everything mechanical works except the AC, but the compressor kicks on, leading me to believe it may just need freon. Being R12 of course, it'll have to be converted anyway. It was an Ohio car, so there are some tiny rust spots that we'll have to take care of. I also own a parts car, another '87 that has about 95% of the RS500 body kit, including the European headlights. My son (obviously) wants to put that on this car, along with the RS steering wheel it has and a new 3" turbo-back exhaust. We're looking to do some mild tuning to bring the power level up a little, perhaps somewhere around 250 whp or so would be fine for our needs. The engine in that car is also pretty strong. I was going to swap body parts and sell it as a runner but some title issues from the previous owner might negate that, which is unfortunate....

Bodywise, as mentioned above there are about 3 tiny (smaller than a quarter) rust spots near the fenders. about 4 small door dings, and the spoiler is faded. The lower cladding looks to be near perfect, with only some small scraping right near the edge of the front bumper underneath the car. The paint (Nimbus Grey from my research) is really good for a 30 year old car, but definitely looks like a paint job from the '80s. The Carfax is clean leading me to believe the paint is original. All of the glass is good and it looks like it's factory tinted (very light bronze color).

The mileage I believe, based on the car's condition and Carfax, could very well be actual at 98K now.

First on the list is wheels/tires. The wheels on the car are OEM and in great shape but ugly, and small. It looks like wheel options for this car are pretty slim. We thought a 16X7 would be fine without modifying anything, but I might just go aftermarket in the OEM size. I found some Sparcos on Tirerack that look decent...I'd like to go wider though...I thought about looking across the pond as well, any insight on that from those in the know would be very much appreciated!

I'll post pics shortly. Thanks for looking!

[John Brennan]

Welcome Aboard, um, GT350RS. Sounds like you're somewhere near Ohio?

[GT350RS]

Greetings All,

I think I tried to post in the wrong forum, my intro post disappeared so trying this again, lol...

I recently picked up what appears to be a low-mile, complete and nearly all original '87 XR4Ti in Nimbus Grey.
Some Notables:
-Paint is 8/10. There are 3 or r very small rust spots and about 3 small door dings. The spoiler is faded. Lower cladding looks to be near perfect. The front pumper was never cut into for a front plate.
-Everything seems to be working electrically. All lights work save for one that looks to be burned out in the cluster and the clock's bulb is very dim.
-The AC kicks on, but not cold. it might just need a recharge, but I think it's still the original R12 system, requiring a full replacement.
-There looks to be a small leak at the valve cover gasket. No leaks on the ground. Power steering pump looks new, as does the alternator, exhaust, shocks, brakes and there is an aftermarket aluminum radiator that has an FMIC attached to it that isn't hooked up. Made by XS Power.
- Glass looks original and factory tinted...Reminds me of what I remembered of these cars back in high school when they were new.
- The radio is factory and has the factory amp. It works, but I have no cassette to know for sure.

I have another car, an '87 parts car that runs/drives. Some titling problems from the last owner might not return the car to the road unfortunately, but that car has a pretty strong motor, a full 3" turbo-back exhaust that will make its way onto the other one, and a nearly complete RS500 body kit including Euro headlights and RS steering wheel. All it appears to be missing is the passenger side rear wheel arch and side skirt, which was damaged in a minor accident, possibly beyond repair.

I'd like to start with wheels of course. Though the stock set is in really good condition (only minor rash on 1 or 2 of them) I would like something bigger and wider, maybe a 16X7, but I also found some Sparcos on Tirerack in the OEM size that look really nice, there just aren't many good tire options in that size left...Any insight on wheels/tires would be greatly appreciated. I bought this car for my son and I to enjoy together, tinker with and autocross. I'd like to stay in or near the car's stock class if possible, at least until we start adding power...

I just joined the MCoA (I'm also an MCA member, that could get confusing lol) so I hope to post pics soon. Thanks for looking!

[GT350RS]

Thank you John,

Not exactly, But there is an O in the name...lol

I'm from Oklahoma, near OKC

[John Brennan]

We gotcha on your original post-- must have crossed whilst I was approving it. First-time posters need their first three posts approved. I think you've cleared that hurdle now, so as to some of your questions:

I believe you can still get/use R12 or some substitute like Freeze 12, unless maybe locally you can't... either way, changing to a more current refrigerant is OK. I had problems with it, some 12 years ago, but it may have been something I did or didn't do correctly.

Check under the car at the pinch welds, and in the spare tire well for rust. Eventually, you'll want to have a look under the cladding, too.

Sounds like you have the makings of a great car with the nice Cossie parts off the other car.

Most of us agree that the car is under-wheeled and -tired for even ordinary driving. Hell, I had 15 X 5.5" wheels on my VW Beetle... wheels in 4 x 108 aren't that hard to find, it's the offset that has to be right. With your typical 7" wide wheel, an offset of -32 to -38mm is ideal; newer wheels off of newer models tend to have a higher offset, which is remedied by (proper fitting) spacers. Let us know what you're looking at. I would say the stock Pie Spoke/Wagon Wheels are good for snows, but they have the least clearance for larger brakes. I run 16 X 7 X 38 wheels with 205/50 tires-- that works pretty well for me, but there aren't a lot of choices in 16". You might prefer 17" or even 15", as there are more/better tire choices.

[GT350RS]

Thank you John,

Yes, I believe I turned my attention away and didn't catch that screen, please feel free to delete/merge (I copied your post in word for the valuable info!).

Sorry for the oversight!

[merkurdriver]

Welcome!
Shame to take a northern Ohio car down south...
I'm usually trying to bring southern cars up here to Ohio

Most 16x7, 17x7 rims will go on fine, just be mindful of the offset.

[GT350RS]

Those Sparcos aren't too bad at $93 each new,

I found some slightly used 205/50/15 Hooser SM7s for 75 each. That would make a decent autocross set and keep the car in a stock class.

For street sizing, we wanted to go with the 16X7's like you mentioned. I've been looking for something nice, but like most, having a hard time finding anything. I'd love to go with SVTF wheels but if I read right, 17s are a little harder to fit?

What would be ideal is to have something that is direct fit and doesn't require spacers to be used. That would make switching them at the track to be a little quicker.

I looked for rust, and there's a little, but not much. Being an Ohio car and 30 years old I'd say the car had an easy(ier) life than most, but this is entirely visual, I haven't examined too closely.

I very much like the look of the Cossie parts more than the Americanized look this car came with, but I want to be sure those pieces are in good enough shape to bolt on first, and I'd want to get all of the bodywork done at one time. I'm not going to attach those parts until the whole car is ready to be wrapped/painted.

[John Brennan]

I have a set of 15 X 7 5-spokes which have a good offset and clear the popular PBR brake upgrade-- only problem would be shipping.

[GT350RS]

Thank you Mike,

From the encyclopedia, is it safe to say that a 16X7 with a 40mm offset and 215 50 16s would fit without spacers?

John, I'm interested to see what you have available per your other post, please PM me details.

Thanks!

[DAReese]

Thank you John,

Not exactly, But there is an O in the name...lol

I'm from Oklahoma, near OKC

That would be near Ohio alphabetically.

[dunhamr1]

...
Everything mechanical works except the AC, but the compressor kicks on, leading me to believe it may just need freon. Being R12 of course, it'll have to be converted anyway. It was an Ohio car, so there are some tiny rust spots that we'll have to take care of. I also own a parts car, another '87 that has about 95% of the RS500 body kit, including the European headlights. My son (obviously) wants to put that on this car, along with the RS steering wheel it has and a new 3" turbo-back exhaust. We're looking to do some mild tuning to bring the power level up a little, perhaps somewhere around 250 whp or so would be fine for our needs. The engine in that car is also pretty strong. I was going to swap body parts and sell it as a runner but some title issues from the previous owner might negate that, which is unfortunate....

...

Just be aware that fabrication is required to swap over the Euro headlights, the metal frame behind them would need to be cut out and added to the body of the car they were going in. I'd pick whichever shell is cleanest and swap everything into there.

[GT350RS]

...
Everything mechanical works except the AC, but the compressor kicks on, leading me to believe it may just need freon. Being R12 of course, it'll have to be converted anyway. It was an Ohio car, so there are some tiny rust spots that we'll have to take care of. I also own a parts car, another '87 that has about 95% of the RS500 body kit, including the European headlights. My son (obviously) wants to put that on this car, along with the RS steering wheel it has and a new 3" turbo-back exhaust. We're looking to do some mild tuning to bring the power level up a little, perhaps somewhere around 250 whp or so would be fine for our needs. The engine in that car is also pretty strong. I was going to swap body parts and sell it as a runner but some title issues from the previous owner might negate that, which is unfortunate....

...

Just be aware that fabrication is required to swap over the Euro headlights, the metal frame behind them would need to be cut out and added to the body of the car they were going in. I'd pick whichever shell is cleanest and swap everything into there.

Good to know...It'll help seeing what that looks like on the parts car. The new car is definitely cleaner.

[MarkM]

Just FYI, I merged the two topics you started. Threads in the "New Users" forum are purged after a while and I didn't want to lose that one.

[Mike McCreight]

Depending on tire manufacturer, (sizes vary more than women's clothing...) and offset, (millimeters count) a 215 50 16 may fit, but I wouldn't count on it. I'd imagine there would be spring perch issues. Probably body interference as well. Coil-overs will help, spring perches and inner fenders can be sliced and diced.
I had a set of TSW Hockenheim R that were made by TSW specifically for the Sierra, (no offset stamped, sorry...) and a set of Yokos in 225-45-16 were a PERFECT fit. Sadly, that size is gone, except for a few examples, mostly Auto-X oriented. https://tires.tirerack.com/tires/225%2045%2016
and some street tires by brands you've likely never heard of.