Restoring an '82 2000 (free cars are expensive!)

[mikeshums]

Well, here we go. My GF and I were given an '82 2000 by her sister. She was going to half bury it and make it a planter in her field but then decided to ask us if we wanted it. "Heck yes!" we said. lol.

Is an auto car with FI. It runs, passed an inspection by a "friendly inspector" and starts, stops and drives down the road straight...kind of straight.

It's got some new parts like shocks, springs, tank, control arm bushings it seems, battery and it's got its old parts too and a Fred Flintstone floor design. We're not sure it will survive, but since it was free, we can't really screw it up.

I'm going to get it onto a lift this weekend (hopefully the lift won't simply go through the car) and see what needs to be done.

So far we've identified:

LF floor pan
swaybar bushings
RR floor pan
trans vibration on acceleration from stop (auto trans)
timing belt (I'm a VW diesel owner - I've seen the carnage...)
oil leakage on top of engine (spark plug holes with standing oil in them)
seats, console rear seat (minimum)
fluids (brake, trans, steering, coolant, oil) no idea when it's been changed
brake light is on - brakes pretty squishy so might need brake overhaul (+/-)
top leaks since it was installed off center - GF wants a black top/interior (until she sees the price to replace all of it)

I'll post up some pictures asap and start asking questions. We have to determine if the floor work is too much to do. I don't mind buying a MIG setup and learning how to weld - actually it's on my bucket list - but there are limits to my ambitions... My big concern is some areas around the rear trailing arm (what do you call it on these cars?) It's hard to tell on the ground if the mount is rusted out, or simply the sheet metal nearby.

We're happy to be here and looking forward to getting started and will post some pictures up probably after the weekend.

BTW, we're located in central NH.

Mike

[4uall]

Hello & welcome to the greatest place on earth

[BEEK]

good thing about trailing arm mounts. the part welded to the car is pretty thick, and normally doesnt rust out. the floor pan around it does, easy to fix, Take your time and learn how to weld, its fun, and then the floor pans wont seem so daunting. just remember the metal is thin and too much heat will make them go away take your time, do one thing at a time (my biggest mistake), and it wont seem so bad

[mikeshums]

Some pictures to start us off. Man, it's getting dark before I get home now?

















Gee, it looks pretty good in the dark...

[RRoller123]

Looks quite restorable!

[4uall]

Nicest looking planter I have ever seen

[ga.spyder]

Just a quick thought on the interior,which looks pretty darn good.If the GF wants black,get some SEM interior paint from Eastwoods(among others).Make sure to clean everything well and use the adhesion prep.Then just dye that baby black.I ,and many others, have had excellent results changing from tan to black. Good luck!

[mikeshums]

Great idea. I had forgotten that the technology on interior dyes had advanced so much. The console is pretty much a goner so we'll look to recover that and the dash pad is cracked although I haven't really looked hard at it.

First step is to get it up in the air to see what real work needs to be done. We're probably going for the good mechanical, good engine, nice interior, but-who-cares-about-the-exterior look.

Question: are those the hard brake lines that are running down the left side of the driver's floor?

Mike

[BEEK]

those are the fuel lines eeep, check them as they will rust esp where they contact the floor

[mikeshums]

Good to know. I guess I should probably move them out before the grinder, the MIG welder and I do battle with the floor pan...

[mikeshums]

A couple of questions as I begin to learn this car.

1) is there supposed to be a snorkle on the bottom of the air filter box or does it simply suck air up from below?

2) What's going on here? Seems like a cable is not retracting correctly:



3) this can't be standard right? (or maybe the well known red wire modification?)



4) hmmm, that doesn't look right



5) and my favorite - tell me that there isn't supposed to be a big bundle of wires behind the fender liner

[4uall]

1) This is what my filter looks like ( I believe it to be correct and unmodified



2) Cable definitely has too much slack

3)Wire could get pinched, not familiar with the red wire fix

4) Looks correct. Two dark lines carry brake fluid from resevoir, two steel go to front brakes and single steel line goes to both rear brakes


5) probably speaker wires

[BEEK]

4. that was a poor fix for a leaking or bad efi fuel line. go to the parts store and buy some "efi" high pressure injection hose 5/16 or 8mm, if you are lucky enough to find metric. and replace the line. its easy

[redcars]

2 looks like a broken cable for you automatic trany.
4 +1 on what beek said.

[BEEK]

2 , actually that cable is loose like that, the "detent" cable only activates at near full throttle or at full throttle, the throttle linkage has an additional piece using a spring loaded return, which lets you over extend the throttle and activating the manual kickdown. it is loose up to the point of near full throttle