thanks man!
come back tomorrow. It will roll passed being ugly, back around to cool again. watch!
1987 RT-AWD WAGOVAN build!!
- Thread starter EastCoastEK
- Start date
come back tomorrow. It will roll passed being ugly, back around to cool again. watch!
I agree, these things grow on you. I had a chance to buy a mint '89 AWD for $500, and passed it up because I thought it was too ugly. Now I really wish I had picked it up...
I'm going to try and get the car down to my rents house, and get going on the engine detail this week. I'll keep you all informed.
Also, need to go to pull-a-part again to grab more stuff off that wagon.
Also, need to go to pull-a-part again to grab more stuff off that wagon.
Hey. Sorry I've been off of the map for a while. I'm back with an update:
ENGINE:
- Running smoother now! I Sea-Foamed the intake, crankcase, and fuel tank. This helped out tremendously, and I can tell that it is continuing to help the more I drive the car.
- New radiator on the way, which should stop the cooling issue. All pray for the water pump, please.
- Once the radiator arrives, I'll install it, then detail the engine.
EXTERIOR:
Obtained cleaner items of: all trim molding, passenger tail light, driver headlight & trim, set of
badging front and rear, new corner light, pas. bumper lens, front plastic grille
Painted wiper arms and rear trim piece on hatch; painted wheel-wells black
RT-4WD logos removed (work in progress!)
Me and a couple of guys from redpepperracing.com are working on creating duplicate
decals. I'll add a fresh set on later, hopefully.
Removed roof rack (I thought I was going to keep it. I removed it to clean it, and found that
I like the wagon better without the rack on top. What do you guys think?)
Applied Forever Black to the side moldings.
Washed and Xymol'd the heck out of the exterior.
I am working backwards than previously planned, doing the exterior work first. Paint will not come this summer. With the new baby and new responsibilities, I just don't have the time.
However, I am trying to refresh what I have as much as possible.
So, the exterior is pretty much done for now. I just need to apply forever black to the front/rear bumpers, do some touch-up paint work on some places, and continue to get sticky residue form the RT-4WD logos and that Texas logo off of the hatch. They had been on there for 20 years, it's just going to take a little while for it to get off of there, and a lot of patience on my part!
Here's the pics:
Also, I saw a few pics of wagons with basket-weave/mesh wheels. I really liked the look, and went out to try and find some. Low and behold, I found a set of 15x7 BBS wheels at a local Honda salvage yard. I got them for a sweet deal, and couldn't pass these up.
Pics:
I'm going to paint the mesh gloss black, and then polish the heck out of the lips.
BBS center-caps were missing in action, unfortunately. However, while I was there, I picked up these mint condition center caps from another Honda wheel. i'll cut the tabs off the back of them, glue them, and they should line up rather nicely.
I still have plans to paint the exterior cream and drop some Mugen MR-5's on this bad-boy. However, they will have to come in time. These rims will be great for me right now. Plus, they were dirt cheap. I just have to get some tires. It will be nice to nearly double the thickness of my current tire set-up!
INTERIOR:
Sourced every worn down/missing part, and a better rear carpet section. Search complete, except for the front drivers seat, which I have a cool plan on how to fix.
Trying to put together the best audio set-up that Honda had available for this wagon at the time it was built.
I got REALLY lucky and found some rear-speakers and panels for my color interior at pull-a-part. Now, I'm trying to secure an audio EQ and cassette-holder console to sit under the dash with an OEM equalizer to match.
Steering wheel hub for the Nardi wheel and an OEM clock are also on the way.
I have some Formula 303 Aerospace Protectant and Fabric/Vinyl cleaner on order from my favorite online detail store (www.properautocare.com; check them out!, super cool people), and it should be here today or tomorrow. So, once that arrives, I'll start gutting, vacuming, cleaning, stitching seats rips, etc..., then I'll put everything back in with a fresh set of floor mats.
Should be done with the interior very soon.
That's all for now. I'll keep everyone informed.
Let me know what you think about the rims!
Anyone have any ideas on how to get the rest of the RT-4WD sticker residue off of the car?
I have been using A LOT of goo-gone. How about rubbing compound?
ENGINE:
- Running smoother now! I Sea-Foamed the intake, crankcase, and fuel tank. This helped out tremendously, and I can tell that it is continuing to help the more I drive the car.
- New radiator on the way, which should stop the cooling issue. All pray for the water pump, please.
- Once the radiator arrives, I'll install it, then detail the engine.
EXTERIOR:
Obtained cleaner items of: all trim molding, passenger tail light, driver headlight & trim, set of
badging front and rear, new corner light, pas. bumper lens, front plastic grille
Painted wiper arms and rear trim piece on hatch; painted wheel-wells black
RT-4WD logos removed (work in progress!)
Me and a couple of guys from redpepperracing.com are working on creating duplicate
decals. I'll add a fresh set on later, hopefully.
Removed roof rack (I thought I was going to keep it. I removed it to clean it, and found that
I like the wagon better without the rack on top. What do you guys think?)
Applied Forever Black to the side moldings.
Washed and Xymol'd the heck out of the exterior.
I am working backwards than previously planned, doing the exterior work first. Paint will not come this summer. With the new baby and new responsibilities, I just don't have the time.
However, I am trying to refresh what I have as much as possible.
So, the exterior is pretty much done for now. I just need to apply forever black to the front/rear bumpers, do some touch-up paint work on some places, and continue to get sticky residue form the RT-4WD logos and that Texas logo off of the hatch. They had been on there for 20 years, it's just going to take a little while for it to get off of there, and a lot of patience on my part!
Here's the pics:
Also, I saw a few pics of wagons with basket-weave/mesh wheels. I really liked the look, and went out to try and find some. Low and behold, I found a set of 15x7 BBS wheels at a local Honda salvage yard. I got them for a sweet deal, and couldn't pass these up.
Pics:
I'm going to paint the mesh gloss black, and then polish the heck out of the lips.
BBS center-caps were missing in action, unfortunately. However, while I was there, I picked up these mint condition center caps from another Honda wheel. i'll cut the tabs off the back of them, glue them, and they should line up rather nicely.
I still have plans to paint the exterior cream and drop some Mugen MR-5's on this bad-boy. However, they will have to come in time. These rims will be great for me right now. Plus, they were dirt cheap. I just have to get some tires. It will be nice to nearly double the thickness of my current tire set-up!
INTERIOR:
Sourced every worn down/missing part, and a better rear carpet section. Search complete, except for the front drivers seat, which I have a cool plan on how to fix.
Trying to put together the best audio set-up that Honda had available for this wagon at the time it was built.
I got REALLY lucky and found some rear-speakers and panels for my color interior at pull-a-part. Now, I'm trying to secure an audio EQ and cassette-holder console to sit under the dash with an OEM equalizer to match.
Steering wheel hub for the Nardi wheel and an OEM clock are also on the way.
I have some Formula 303 Aerospace Protectant and Fabric/Vinyl cleaner on order from my favorite online detail store (www.properautocare.com; check them out!, super cool people), and it should be here today or tomorrow. So, once that arrives, I'll start gutting, vacuming, cleaning, stitching seats rips, etc..., then I'll put everything back in with a fresh set of floor mats.
Should be done with the interior very soon.
That's all for now. I'll keep everyone informed.
Let me know what you think about the rims!
Anyone have any ideas on how to get the rest of the RT-4WD sticker residue off of the car?
I have been using A LOT of goo-gone. How about rubbing compound?
I hear you. Glad to here another opinion.
So, does everyone else agree; Should i keep them silver, or go ahead and paint just the interior mesh gloss black, while leaving the outer rim polished aluminum?
I was thinking that the black in the rim would match the black trim that will go around the car once it is painted.
...With painting them black, I was a bit worried about the paint fading.
Anyone else tried to paint their rims, and had success/problems with the paint due to brake dust, wheel cleaners, etc...
Let me know the best way to go about doing this and having the paint last and not fade/chip a bunch, and the upkeep of the wheel once you paint it (i.e.: cleaning it and keeping it looking good).
If this is hard, than I will definitely not paint them. It's not worth the headache.
Anyone else tried to paint their rims, and had success/problems with the paint due to brake dust, wheel cleaners, etc...
Let me know the best way to go about doing this and having the paint last and not fade/chip a bunch, and the upkeep of the wheel once you paint it (i.e.: cleaning it and keeping it looking good).
If this is hard, than I will definitely not paint them. It's not worth the headache.
Try some 3M adhesive remover for the residue that is left...I use it all the time for sticky thiings...and it has worked way better than anything I have ever used...it is expensive though, but can be found at NAPA...maybe this helps some...also the car is looking good...
Thank you sir!... I hope so...
OK, I'll keep them aluminum, and polish the snot out of them. Thanks for the opinions and advice!
Updates:
On a diet
Out for cleaning
Cleaned Carpets:
Fresh Paint for Shifter and Pedal Arms
Headliner out. Will be sent to be professionally re-upholstered on Monday morning.
As always, thanks for looking!
On a diet
Out for cleaning
Cleaned Carpets:
Fresh Paint for Shifter and Pedal Arms
Headliner out. Will be sent to be professionally re-upholstered on Monday morning.
As always, thanks for looking!
throw a cage in thre while everythings out! lol would be sweet to see a caged wagon
ha! yeah, that would be pretty sweet. I'm just trying to retain a stock look to the interior (minus the nardi stuff!). Plus, if I ever wanted to autocross the car, I would want to stay competitive. A cage would bump me up a class from stock, and I'm not ready for all that, not with this engine!
Thanks man!
Much progress has been made on the interior. Almost done with it, and I'll post pics of everything when I'm done.