New 97 Aspire

[zoom zoom]

Yesterday I went and looked at this, it's been sitting since memorial day is what I was told, and looks like it!

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab2/mykromisfit/Aspire97/IMAG0350.jpg

It's a 1997 auto, with 98k on the clock, has VERY LITTLE rust, none to speak of on the driver side, and just a little on the passenger side.


I sold this guy a rocker arm the day before Madness, this is the original rocker arm lol..

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab2/mykromisfit/Aspire97/IMAG0344.jpg

This was the problem all along that he didn't notice until he took the rocker shaft off..

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab2/mykromisfit/Aspire97/IMAG0343.jpg

So we talked for awhile, and finally settled on a price below his bottom dollar and above my top dollar lol..

and today, I dragged it home 70 some odd miles from Ravenswood WV to Lowell Oh..

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab2/mykromisfit/Aspire97/IMAG0347.jpg

yea, I hooked it straight to the axel of my minivan.. lol, I know..

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab2/mykromisfit/Aspire97/IMAG0352.jpg

anyway, got it home, ripped the cam out of both cars..

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab2/mykromisfit/Aspire97/IMAG0365.jpg

and pulled a BUNCH of metal shavings out of the head with my magnet, dropped the cam bolt down the oil return galley while I was at it...but I was planning on dropping the oil pan to clean it out anyway, in case metal shavings had gotten down in there too..

I busted a magnet off an old speaker and threw a chunk down in the oil pan since they didn't have one in there from the factory..

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab2/mykromisfit/Aspire97/IMAG0378.jpg

random shot of the engine..

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab2/mykromisfit/Aspire97/IMAG0387.jpg

So, after about 6 hours, I had er up and running, and went for a little drive around the block! She runs good, there's a couple minor things that need sorted out, but for what I gave for it, it's worth it

[Advancedynamix]

You are a very motivated person, it's awesome how you just jump right in and get it done. Nice aspire, and factory alloys to boot!

Just noticed they are hubcaps and only 3 of them. lol. still a nice car!

[eurotiva]

Crazy rednecks....Glad you found a rust free one.

[Prafeston]

You pulled that thing 70 miles with just a chain!! Crazy!

[zoom zoom]

^haha yea...like a boss...or an idiot...whichever comes first. The vans still in one piece, I had my doubts lol.. my cousin was supposed to meet up with me today with his s10 so we could rig up my HF tow bar and do it in a safe manner.....but he was up drinking all night and passed out around 7am, so..

I started thinking about stuff and went ahead and swapped over my 14" protege alloys and stud kit. Looks pretty good, but the steering is harder, needs some Rio struts, tomorrow.. oh gotta grab some MATCHING lug nuts, I've got a mix of nuts from chrysler, ford, mazda, kia, and whatever car those other nuts came off of that I snagged off the floorboard in the jy..

[FestYboy]

uhhh how did you get the aspire to stop? was there a driver in the aspire turning and braking?

[Advancedynamix]

uhhh how did you get the aspire to stop? was there a driver in the aspire turning and braking?

This is a good question. 70 miles of towing like this could be very stressful for the towed driver. It's so easy to run into the tow vehicle.

[zoom zoom]

uhhh how did you get the aspire to stop? was there a driver in the aspire turning and braking?

lol, my wife was with me she's awesome, I can get her to do whatever I want haha... At first I tried to let her drive the van, but she couldn't get the feel for keeping the chain tight without trying to yank the rear end out...so she ended up steering and braking the car.

This is a good question. 70 miles of towing like this could be very stressful for the towed driver. It's so easy to run into the tow vehicle.

haha...we actually didn't have any incidents. It kinda just worked out awesome... she "claims" this is the first and last time I get her to do something like that though!

[FB71]

everyone is missing one important thing... He FLAT TOWED and AUTO TRANS car!

There's a good possibility you did serious damage to the transmission. Auto trans' cannot be flat towed, because the oil pump that lubes and cools the trans is operated by the torque converter, which means the engine has to be running...

[bhazard]

Uhhhh...yea bud. Lil patience woulda helped here.

[Safety Guy]

Matt, how'd your new ride sound on the test driving? Any transaxle noises?

Looks like a good deal to me. I love blue, too!

Karl

[qroger]

What if he towed it in drive?

[Safety Guy]

Matt, I'm thinking "Z5 & F series 5 speed out of a '95 Protege swap."

Maybe this spring. Let the B3 get you through the winter.

Karl

[zoom zoom]

^ yea Karl, we'll see, i got another project to take care of first haha.. I'm actually thinking about a turbo auto aspire, just need to figure out the fuel. I've got this k03 I snagged out of the JY last week that would be nice on a b3.


Fb, I knew the risks.. (well not really, but I knew you weren't supposed to pull an auto car) and it runs fine at the moment I put about 80 miles on it this morning, and it seems to run pretty good. Trust me, for the price I gave, it was worth a gamble. I didn't know if the thing was even gonna start! There's still a chance I missed some pieces of shrapnel from the old rocker arm, so the bearings or cam journals may or may not be toast anyway, the price justifies having a clean shell in my yard, worst case senario.

Oh and it shudders hard from the right front, but only when the brake is applied. Sticky caliper or caliper bolts need lubed?

Went ahead and put my Mazda 626 intermittent wiper switch and steering wheel on here this morning, it was all I had time for before I had to go for a ride definately needs new front struts, some k9737 poly bushings, and I think that will take the slight wiggle out of the wheel over 45 mph. Rides nice and smooth under 45, but around 50+ it pulls a little to the left, maybe the ebrake sticking? It only half works, need to repack rear bearings and check out those brakes.

[rbrown]

I like the magnet trick. I have never thought to use one of those darn speaker magnets I have lying around all over the place.