'88 L Street/Track Build- Coilovers • B6ZE • Weber DCOE's • Widebody • Chopped Top •

[Thebrandonbeezy]

i got a set of mint bst38ss carbs i bet would go nicely on a b6d hmmmmmm

[Thebrandonbeezy]

Yeah the blocks are identical. Oil pans are different. I wish I had done bike carbs instead of an Escort carb on my '89.

thats kinda what i thought, decided i need to slow down a bit on my car. i want to do things like drive it you know, instead of building it for years right off the bat. im probably going to copy you minus the side drafts either fi or bike carb. then suspension. and so on

[Robalan]

If you hook up the g series starter you'll spin the engine backwards. Lol. The starter on the XR2 goes the other direction in relation to the flywheel. Same deal with the Automatic Festiva starter, it will spin the engine backwards if it's installed on a manual trans.

You can pull your starter apart and dress the armature with some Scotch Brite on your lathe. Also, the brushes can be replaced. The solenoid is replaceable too. I've successfully rebuilt the starter on both Pedro and Tweak.

I'm so glad I just read that, was going to pick a starter of an auto, also this is how far I am into reading this build. Fantastic work mate!


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[theastronaut]

It's been awhile since I updated this so I have some catching up to do. I've started back on it so I can hopefully make it to the fall semester autocrosses in Clemson.

I found a Capri XR2 in pretty good shape to use a trans donor for this car (not happy with the current g-series, it's in bad shape) and I'll use the engine in another car eventually. It was running up until a few months ago when the owner added a boost controller and possible put a hole in a piston. He's not sure exactly what happened but began to tear it down and figured out he was in over his head. It has around 80K miles and was meticulously maintained until the last owner bought it in 2017. According to service records it only had 58k miles in 2014.




I've pulled the engine, trans, harness, ecu, axles, and front knuckles/brakes off so far.







I also bought a parts car with an engine and five speed for $150 bucks a few months ago. It's an efi car so I could easily swap the turbo Capri engine in it. The shell is solid and straight, so it would make a great stripped out track car.





A friend gave me a set of leftover 185/60-13 Toyo R888's with a bit of life left. These are a good bit softer than my current track tires so it'll be even quicker around corners now.







I found a set of 13x6" +18 Compomotive mesh wheels to mount the R888's. I'll paint them medium/dark grey to hide brake dust better since they won't be easy to clean.







I coated the wheel with Aircraft Stripper which removed most of the paint. I'll finish stripping them with the sandblaster, then shoot them with epoxy primer and single stage urethane paint.

[theastronaut]

A few more parts I picked up recently. I bought a FunTop domelight from F3BZ; I'm buying the US-spec dealer optional ASC sliding sunroof from a friend to eventully install in the car, so this will be a nice addition to keep it all OEM inside. I'll use the switches to operate a pair of electric quarter glass poppers from a minivan.





I bought a set of front camber/caster plates, mainly so I can dial in extra caster. Caster isn't adjustable without these.





Also have pair of 3.5 and 5 degree rear camber spacers; 3.5 for street and 5 for track/autocross.






This was after cleaning the car up, It's been sitting outside since I pulled the engine.





I brought the red parts car to the shop to salvage the roof sections I need for the future chop top. Also removed the rear beam, steering rack, rack mounts/joint, and a few other odds and ends. The rest of the parts and the shell were in pretty rough shape so I took it to the scrap yard.

[theastronaut]

I took the XR2 transmission off the engine and cleaned it, then tore it apart today to figure out why it wouldn't shift into reverse. It ended up being a super simple fix; someone had pulled the reverse light switch off and left the sealing washer off. That let the switch sit in the case too deeply and the spot on the internal shift linkage that swings over to press the detent ball was hitting the tip of the threads, stopping the shift linkage before it dropped into reverse. Unfortunately I didn't spot that until I had the 5th/Reverse gear stack off and the case apart. Getting the shift fork alignment and 5/R gear stack back together correctly was a chore since I didn't have a clue about what I was doing (never been inside a transmission before). It's all back together (and working!) now except for torquing the lock nuts on the end of the shafts and installing the end cap.

[Thebrandonbeezy]

Very nice man. The stick trans arnt that bad if you have a cool head and clean spot to work.
How much are you taking off the top? I think a couple inches could make it look a little more Proportionate to the rest of the car

[theastronaut]

Very nice man. The stick trans arnt that bad if you have a cool head and clean spot to work.
How much are you taking off the top? I think a couple inches could make it look a little more Proportionate to the rest of the car

I'm thinking 2.5-3". I probably won't chop this one, I have another shell that'll be a track-only build that would be a better candidate.

[theastronaut]

I worked on straightening the wheels today. One was ok, one wasn't terrible, and two were way out. Used a porta-power and torch. Kinda sketchy but I got them straight enough for autocross. Also shot them with Rustoleum. After seeing how bent they were it would be a waste of time to blast, epoxy prime, and shoot urethane on them.

[theastronaut]

Latest YT vid:

[TominMO]

Great update, thanks!

[Smoker]

Skills! I love your automotive variety, as well. I grew up on vw's, and have played with a little bit of everything. Your thoroughness and attention to detail is inspiring!

[theastronaut]

Great update, thanks!

Skills! I love your automotive variety, as well. I grew up on vw's, and have played with a little bit of everything. Your thoroughness and attention to detail is inspiring!

Thanks guys!!



I'm hoping to have it running by Madness in a couple of weeks... the to-do list is a mile long so it may not make it.


I started by cleaning and painting the plates I welded in, and also painted the new lower rad support.









The engine is back in.





Carbs on to figure out linkage and caple placement.







The header flange was warped from welding so I roughly straightened it in the press.





Fitted the downtube and tacked it to the flange.

[firebush357]

Interesting straightening methods!~

[theastronaut]

Interesting straightening methods!~

The flange wasn't straight when I bought it, that's what I get for buying the cheapest one on ebay. The header build started out just as a test to see if I could piece together a header from a different car, so if it doensn't hold up I'm not out much.