"The Car from Jalopnik" Build

[chrisofna]

Finally got around to start working on the "Jalopnik Car" I picked up in New Jersey. This car has fallen from it's glory days; the passenger hub had a blown up wheel bearing and the transmission doesn't go into gear. Here's when I grabbed it:



Got it to my house a little while back. Took a side profile of it because I needed a comparison after I put the appropriate tires and my coilovers on it:



Now it's in the garage with no wheels on it (don't mind the garbage bag I just used the latch as a bag holder while I cleaned out some stuff):



Found a sweet old amp under the passenger seat, score!



One thing I need to do is swap over my 165-55-14s onto the Miata wheels. I only have like 100 miles on these tires before I got rid of my white car:



Put the front coilovers on:



Engine Pic:



List of things I wanna do:

1. Fix transmission. I might have to install the G-series I have.
2. Upgrade to the Auto Aspire brakes. (I blew up a caliper pressing the brakes while the caliper was off like an idiot)
3. Do something with the exhaust. The exhaust is really bad looking on the car.
4. Bypass the IAC because the car won't idle properly.
5. Move the MAF. The guy has it routed so poorly. Probably going to need a smaller battery.
6. Put my camber kit on the rear of the car.

[firebush357]

2. Upgrade to the Auto Aspire brakes. (I blew up a caliper pressing the brakes while the caliper was off like an idiot)

I did this once on my Nissan Sentra LOL :sign3:

If the front does not have Rio Strut Mounts I would add that to your list of things to do. Just make sure to add a fat washer in between the top hat and the strut mount and it will make your steering much easier.

[chrisofna]

Already got the Rio strut hats, but good suggestion nonetheless.

[chrisofna]

Finally got some time to work on the car again, to discover this crap:



The previous owner told me it had an intake leak somewhere, of course it did, you can't just push something into a hole and hope for the best!

In brighter news, I found out why the car "Wouldn't go into gear":



The guy drove it with a blown up wheel bearing, which failed catastrophically. Eventually the CV axle end pulled out of the CV itself. When I pulled the hub I noticed it was weirdly loose. I put the car in gear and had a friend and I try to rotate the axles forward and backward and the transmission seems to hold gear! Going to buy a new CV, throw it in there, and hope for the best. Also ordered me an IAC block-off since I don't have the stock intake tubes.

[chrisofna]

Got some goodies in: The IAC and some Festiva Store stickers. Hoping to work on the car later today.

[TWFodor]

That intake plug is just sad.

[chrisofna]

That intake plug is just sad.

I'm shocked how far this car has fallen from it's formal glory. Also shocked at the PO's incompetence; how could someone ever think that would seal a vacuum? Also the fact that he never checked the axle that he blew the hub bearing from.

[chrisofna]

Tires swapped over! They are very very slightly stretched on the Miata wheels so I hope no one really notices that.


Swapping out the axle was an absolute pain. Had to use a slide hammer. The clip didn't stay in the transmission, it's on the ground somewhere.


Installed my IAC block off plate and got the car started, seems to run pretty good now! Just need to check over some things.

[chrisofna]

Got it running and out of the garage! Just to find out it has a blown up hub and clutch! So it's going back in, hahaha. I gotta borrow my friend's press and replace the hub bearings on the passenger side.

[firebush357]

You don't really need a Press to do the bearings just a hammer and something to rest on the bearing. All of the ones that I have done tend to go on pretty easy. I use an exhaust clamp to rest on the lip of the inner bearing and a 20$ autoparts store bearing hand press set for the outer.

[chrisofna]

You don't really need a Press to do the bearings just a hammer and something to rest on the bearing. All of the ones that I have done tend to go on pretty easy. I use an exhaust clamp to rest on the lip of the inner bearing and a 20$ autoparts store bearing hand press set for the outer.

Hmm, I'll try it out, don't have much to lose I have to pull the transmission for a new clutch anyway.

[firebush357]

Hmm, I'll try it out, don't have much to lose I have to pull the transmission for a new clutch anyway.

I used This Guide by FestyBoy for my first one and it was pretty easy. It is a little time consuming at first but once you do a couple it takes less than an hour if you are organized.

[chrisofna]

Pulled the transmission out in order to swap out the garbage clutch the previous owner put in. Replacing it with a factory Exedy clutch. Ordered a new flywheel from Rockauto because I was going to be charged $45 for a resurfacing while a new flywheel was $40.

[chrisofna]

Pretty quick update: Got the brand new flywheel and clutch in. Replaced the rear main seal because it seemed to be leaking and I had a spare from a previous seal kit.

[jamesmc]

I'm glad to see this car get the love it deserves. I was the "original" owner in 2010, when most of the work was done. I sold it in 2012, and then bought it back in 2016. That's when the distributor was replaced along with some other things to get it running again. The shape it was in then was pretty sad, but I was able to get it running/driving again before selling it in June of 2017. I probably would have held on to it, but I have a 1963 Scout project I'm working on now. That amp you found under the seat -was- wired in and functioning back in 2012! That intake used to run all the way over to the passenger side. The car has quite a history by now, and it's fair share of PO nightmares it seems.

Anyway, I'm happy that the car has finally found a good home, and good luck on the progress.