So ... school has started back up again which means its almost time to put this thing into hibernation.
In a perfect world, I will now focus on fixing all the little things to get it 100%. This post is more for me to get my thoughts in one place so I stay on track.
Laundry list:1) trouble shoot and repair digital dash. It works only like, 30% of the time. The speed works, but I have no rpms, water temp, or fuel. Those come and go as they please. When everything is on it functions correctly so I think I have a bad ground or some corrosion somewhere. I'm putting the dash #1 priority because my water pump has a bad gasket. It seeps a little coolant but the car doesn't overheat. So ... the temp gauge is pretty important for me right now
2) "100k service". Replace the waterpump, drive belts, timing belt, and spark plugs. The timing cover says the timing belt was changed at 50k miles roughly 15 years ago, it has plenty of life left but looks old. This is perfect timing though since I have the bad gasket as mentioned before. and I'm right at like, 90,000 miles so its getting close enough. I'd like to check the valve clearances too. It has a slight sewing machine tick to it.
2.5) Upgrade the pulleys via T3 or NST. Might as well do it since I'll have to take this stuff off anyways. I figured it will be a convenient way to free up a little bit of power.
3) troubleshoot steering components. The steering return isn't that great, and the steering wheel is off center. I noticed it was like that when I first got the car, and its still off center even after its most recent alignment. It has to be something in the steering column or the gear in the rack. I don't think its anything tie rod related because those are all new, and the alignment is within spec. I fiddled with the height in the front a little bit, but I doubt that will affect the steering return.
4) continue to work on the fenders. I tackled a few corners last night and noticed the rubbing was pretty bad up front when turning. I think they just need to be pulled out more towards the top of the fender. The rears still rub occasionally too if I hit a bump hard enough. This is only rough driving though, its not a problem cruising around town. Im finding this to be challenging because I'm trying to roll/pull the fenders while retaining the stock body lines. I'm not a fan of fenders that look like bacon.
5) troubleshoot A/C system. Everything is there, might as well see if it will work. Having AC is nice here in KY where it gets really hot and humid. Plus I mean, how many AE86s have working AC anyways?!
6) start saving up $$$ and sourcing parts for a transmission and rear diff rebuild. Both are noisy as sh*t!!! whining gears mean dying gears, right? (not a big priority atm though)
I think this a realistic/achievable list for a college student Lol. I'm actually super pumped because this will be the first time ever having a separate vehicle I can toy around with while having another car to drive everyday. I'm just hoping these EE classes don't eat me alive. I kind of screwed myself over by taking all my easy classes first
dream stuff:
1) ae101 throttle body conversion
2) port/polished head
3) Toda Racing 264 cams with valve/shim kit and adjustable cam gears
4) Toda Racing flywheel
5) Toda Racing 4-2-1 exhaust
6) custom over-axle Greddy DD style exhaust (Greddy DD is only under-axle)