89 XR4, 3 years in the making. Alot to do still.

[Matt01]

hey! Since MS disappeared I figured Id try to make a new build thread here. I ll see what I can remember and what order I did things.
It all started in 2012 when I bought the car from a gentalmen in Buffalo NY, the car was plated in Ohio. The guy told me he got a couple offers on the car for parts (probably 1 of you guys) but he sold it to me for cheap because I was going to fix it.
The car was a wreck, needed everything. Year of purchase: 2012
Here it is waiting the 3 day period before importing to Canada.

Some of the problems:

This is AFTER the 7 hour drive home, it had NO brakes, wow!

Dirty + finished coolant

Broken coil springs


The car had to pass inspection in Quebec, so many new things were needed. Approx year: 2012/2013
New stinger exhaust

BAT coil springs

Tune up, cap, rotor, wire, plugs (which were amazingly in bad shape)


Old brake fluid + tranny fluid


I had some mustang wheels lying around from an old Cougar I had before, so this is the car around this time.


After that I started with the mods
I did buy coilovers but we'll skip over this for now. The ones I bought from england used were blown + cant be rebuild locally. Got screwed.

I think this is the first "mod" part I bought for this car. Happy I did, they're real hard to find now. Rear OMP strut bar.

I bought this off a Sierra from Argentina or something on eBay. I actually sanded and refinished it myself. Came with the hub too, but i had to change the horn contact ring. Real happy with it.


In 2013 I blew the head gasket because of a slow toyota driver.. Ripped that out for a rebuild.







YEAR: 2014 This would be a good and important year for the car, Eaton LSD time!!
MC2 eaton swap! best mod ever, a RWD car is useless without a proper diff, seriously.



NEW WHEELS! Picked up some (seems to be rare) BBS wheels from Toronto, had a nice mini roadtrip for my Corolla!

ARP Extended studs

I got some recaros cheap out of an old GTI, also the Hurst shift knob from an autopart store in New York.


YEAR: 2015
New front and rear sway bars + poly bushings for them



Cosworth style Aluminum rad




new front control arms + poly bushings


REAR BRAKE SWAP
Rear brakes using mc2 focus SVT rear rotors + scorpio calipers




To catch you up, we're here now.


This is the summer ( 2016 )where I have too many parts, and too little time to install parts.
Got my new coilovers from GAZ in england. These are fantastic, happy I went with the Golds.


Currently working on rear bushings. I ll keep this updated from now on.

Got the engine degreaser + pressure washer out to some cleaning, then I sanded and painted the control arms + beams, thats where I am right now.

Underside before paint

Control arms sanded


Cant wait to install these babys


OTHER "NO TIME" stuff to install, actually the intercooler is almost in.



Somewhat lightweight enkei wheels for the race tires.

-AEM Wideband
-Dual gauge pod (Clock replacement)
-chucks engine mounts on order

Thanks for looking

[John Brennan]

Nice thread, nice car! A true labor if love.

Thanks for posting.

[sabre]

I really like what you've done so far, and I really love the wheels!

[nzwinrz]

Liking all the upgrades and work you've pored into this. Like the stance.

Is your rear spoiler a fiberglass or Cossie foam type?

[JimG]

Car looks good - you've done a lot of good things! Will you be bringing it to Carlisle?

[turboxr]

Sell me your BBS.

[Matt01]

The rear wing is fiberglass, MC rallying. Good from far, but far from good. The aftermarket mechanical stuff we have for this car is great, the body stuff, is trash, I bought a scrap whale tail off a member here too. Its sitting in my backyard Im debating what to do with it.


I'd love to bring it to carlisle, but the body is bad on it. I have not done ANY bodywork yet, and a show of that caliber, Id like to show my best stuff. I need to have the rockers done, dents repaired, headliner done, some panels repainted, minimum. Maybe next year.

[MarkM]

I'd love to bring it to carlisle, but the body is bad on it. I have not done ANY bodywork yet, and a show of that caliber, Id like to show my best stuff. I need to have the rockers done, dents repaired, headliner done, some panels repainted, minimum. Maybe next year.

I wouldn't worry about it. All sorts of works in progress have shown up in the past and probably will this year also. If the mechanicals are good enough that you're confident it would make the trip, it would be welcome. Plus, the next time you came back with all the bodywork done, you could enjoy everyone who saw it the year before complimenting you on the improvements and how much work you put into it.

[Matt01]

I'd love to bring it to carlisle, but the body is bad on it. I have not done ANY bodywork yet, and a show of that caliber, Id like to show my best stuff. I need to have the rockers done, dents repaired, headliner done, some panels repainted, minimum. Maybe next year.

I wouldn't worry about it. All sorts of works in progress have shown up in the past and probably will this year also. If the mechanicals are good enough that you're confident it would make the trip, it would be welcome. Plus, the next time you came back with all the bodywork done, you could enjoy everyone who saw it the year before complimenting you on the improvements and how much work you put into it.

I know, but all the money and time invested in it, I would feel bad dragging it all the way down there, and its not even at its best.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

I wouldn't worry about it. All sorts of works in progress have shown up in the past and probably will this year also. If the mechanicals are good enough that you're confident it would make the trip, it would be welcome. Plus, the next time you came back with all the bodywork done, you could enjoy everyone who saw it the year before complimenting you on the improvements and how much work you put into it.

X2 what Mark said. Carlisle isn't all about pretty-perfect looking cars. It's more about hanging out with others who own these cars and seeing what they're up to. If the car is mechanically up to the trip, there's no reason not to attend.

[Matt01]

Little Update on my rear suspension.
Here is the mounting process. I had to take it apart again to press in the delrin beam bushings (12 ton press) Those were some hard cookies to get in there.


Here is it all mounted up, I took this pic about 3 hours ago.


Finally installed these that have been sitting around for a year in my toolbox.


I added camber shims, now the wheel fits square, by eye, damn near 0 camber. Really happy with the fitment, its so square.


The rear discs, coilovers, bushings, repainted beam + arm, and the rapido big rear sway bar. Rear end done. I bought brand new rear coilovers to replace the ones I mentioned earlier that were blown. Now I need fronts.


And as it sits outside now. With a Thule rack I ripped off my Corolla. they're the same!

[Matt01]

OK Good News!

1. My car had been boosting at default for a while, I fixed it by switching around the lines to the BCS. Easy Fix.

2. I aligned my car myself, its not perfect and pulls a little bit, I ordered some upper strut bushings and coilover conversion kit. Im hoping to build new Koni Yellows for it to help fix up the front end further.

3. Im VERY proud of this, maybe we should make a separate thread for it. I have made at least 1 and a couple facebook posts which led me in the wrong direction. I had read a thread where someone mentioned the fix to my problem on a thread here.
Symptom: Air through vents, that fluctuate with the throttle.
Everyone told me it was, a bad vacuum door solenoid, a bad vacuum line, or the vacuum ball itself. I checked everything and could not narrow down the problem. I actually had the "clunk" which is the actuator for the air door opening and closing.

Solution: The vacuum ball has an internal check valve which failed. So I added a new check valve in the line from the vacuum tree to the ball, and that solved the problem 100%. So if anyone has this problem, check first for leaks in the lines, the solenoid itself is easy to see it move if you remove the plastic covering it, then add a check valve and see if that helps.

I got my wideband installed, and the boost gauge moved up next to it. I installed the mini triple gauges below the radio, and got them mostly wired up.


Tech Tip, if anyone needs a 3" gasket rush rush, run to napa grab a # 31574 and cut to fit. Works well.


UPDATE JULY 6TH.
I got it all installed about last week, yep even on a stock XR an RS500 intercooler is a significant upgrade.. CANT WAIT FOR MY BOOST CONTROLLER!


Small update July 25th.
Removed Pin Stripes! Gave the car a small cleaner wax. Wanted to check out a meet tonight, but it rained. In this picture you can see just how much "rust and repaint" there is on my poor car.

[Esteban]

I have an extra set of triple gauge holders for the dash. Let me know if you're interested

[rab]

Where did you get your suspension bushings from?
where did you get your rear camber shims from?
also are the camber shims milled on 2 plains for camber and toe?

[Matt01]

Where did you get your suspension bushings from?
where did you get your rear camber shims from?
also are the camber shims milled on 2 plains for camber and toe?

I bought them off Mike Mcreight, they are the black made by NACS. The orange ones were made by proflex I believe. I had to use a pair of powerflex bushings from MC2 on the inner front control arm because the black ones were made for a cosworth and too big. The camber shims I bought on ebay from a guy in Europe, at the time word was going around that they were becoming no long available soon. Toe is not adjustable with the premade shims.