doommachine
Well-Known Member
Heh, of course the old one. Now I have two! Thanks Lawrence. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I swapped all the "good" bits out of my daily VR4 in order to, well, sell it cheaper.
Still pretty modified though.
A-Spec VR4
- November 1990
- Burgundy -Still on original paint! Except the bumper. Sorry Paul, the paint didn't match on the new car so I had to keep the A-spec bumper with this car... Bah!
- 245,000 on the body, although I swapped the dashes out to keep my boost gauge and it now says about 290.
- Original gearbox rebuilt by Mike Dale approximately 4000 kays ago
- Mike also modified the tailshaft yoke at the time
- Just replaced the shifter bushings too because they did not actually exist. Best 35 bucks I've spent for a long time!! Shifts like an absolute champ
- Serviced obsessively, generally between 3-5000 kays
- Engine itself has approximately 130-140 on it, it's a prefaclift j-spec engine. It's pretty healthy , will do a compression test when I get around to it
- interiors not too shabby especially for a VR4.
- in general the body itself is very clean inside and out, no rust under the carpet/seats etc.
- Stock wheels x5. The spare looks like it has never been fitted to a car, ever. And the original tyre too!
- 4WS works
- There are no fluid leaks. None at all. No engine oil, power steering, 4ws or coolant leaks. And it's a j-spec engine too!!
- Exhaust studs replaced recently.
- Actually the battery is only about 6 months old as well!
- Since making it more stock the fuel economy has been actually very good. I got 9.5/100 on the highway on the way back from my parents. My mind was blown.
MODS
- Haltech E6k (ie no MAF)
- J-spec intercooler and pipes
- evo 8 injectors
- group A cams
- Koni yellows + whiteline springs. Some of the bushes under the car have been replaced with some kind of poly bush, but I have no idea which because they're all black and I can't remember. The sway bar bushes at least. Handles pretty good and its also comfortable. Of course whiteline strut tower bar.
- Autometer cobalt oil + boost gauge
- Almost new RDA slotted front rotors, no wear on them yet.
- Turbo is a legit MHI 16g (I looked at the numbers when it was out- I think its a big? not an evo3 however) which was rebuilt recently. I have a receipt somewhere in the huge pile of receipts I got with the new car.
- 2.5" exhaust, it's pretty quiet.
BAD POINTS
- ABS light on. Might work now that I've cleaned all the wheel speed sensors but I don't have the fuse and to be honest the ABS was not very useful anyway. It used to work and function correctly.
- It probably needs a tune if you want to thrash the arse out of it, but it still goes OK.
- It's a VR4 and it has a haltech. The original ECU is still there and somehow?? It still somehow makes the boost lights on the dash turn on and off on occassion. Additionally it has had different alarm and stereo configurations in the past. You can guess the state of the wiring loom. I have spent considerable time and effort trying to make it reasonably tidy and to that end if you possess a modicum of electrical ability you should be right. But if you have ever hired an auto electrician.. this car is not for you. They would probably just set the car on fire rather than work on it.
Nonetheless it's been an epically reliable car and really hasn't given me much drama apart from when it was defected for years. The beauty of it is that the haltech is far, far simpler in a sensor sense than the stock ECU, and if any of those few sensors should die? You can easily diagnose it. Plus they're cheap.
And I have to admit that when I was swapping stuff to the new car I was kicking myself the entire time (apart from, of course, the money I spent buying the new car could have been spent on the engine for this one, but ah well, such is the way cars are.) because it's just so clean inside and out. Like I pulled the seat up - perfect underneath. Under the car is pretty good as well especially for a car thats 20 years old.
The real value comes from the fact that its cheap AND has a new gearbox. Really prefer to sell it to a forum member or someone who will join the forum and keep it in the family, and to that end I'll consider offers around the 4kish mark. I have to take some new pictures although I am sure no one is confused as to what a stock A-spec looks like hehe..
Still pretty modified though.
A-Spec VR4
- November 1990
- Burgundy -Still on original paint! Except the bumper. Sorry Paul, the paint didn't match on the new car so I had to keep the A-spec bumper with this car... Bah!
- 245,000 on the body, although I swapped the dashes out to keep my boost gauge and it now says about 290.
- Original gearbox rebuilt by Mike Dale approximately 4000 kays ago
- Mike also modified the tailshaft yoke at the time
- Just replaced the shifter bushings too because they did not actually exist. Best 35 bucks I've spent for a long time!! Shifts like an absolute champ
- Serviced obsessively, generally between 3-5000 kays
- Engine itself has approximately 130-140 on it, it's a prefaclift j-spec engine. It's pretty healthy , will do a compression test when I get around to it
- interiors not too shabby especially for a VR4.
- in general the body itself is very clean inside and out, no rust under the carpet/seats etc.
- Stock wheels x5. The spare looks like it has never been fitted to a car, ever. And the original tyre too!
- 4WS works
- There are no fluid leaks. None at all. No engine oil, power steering, 4ws or coolant leaks. And it's a j-spec engine too!!
- Exhaust studs replaced recently.
- Actually the battery is only about 6 months old as well!
- Since making it more stock the fuel economy has been actually very good. I got 9.5/100 on the highway on the way back from my parents. My mind was blown.
MODS
- Haltech E6k (ie no MAF)
- J-spec intercooler and pipes
- evo 8 injectors
- group A cams
- Koni yellows + whiteline springs. Some of the bushes under the car have been replaced with some kind of poly bush, but I have no idea which because they're all black and I can't remember. The sway bar bushes at least. Handles pretty good and its also comfortable. Of course whiteline strut tower bar.
- Autometer cobalt oil + boost gauge
- Almost new RDA slotted front rotors, no wear on them yet.
- Turbo is a legit MHI 16g (I looked at the numbers when it was out- I think its a big? not an evo3 however) which was rebuilt recently. I have a receipt somewhere in the huge pile of receipts I got with the new car.
- 2.5" exhaust, it's pretty quiet.
BAD POINTS
- ABS light on. Might work now that I've cleaned all the wheel speed sensors but I don't have the fuse and to be honest the ABS was not very useful anyway. It used to work and function correctly.
- It probably needs a tune if you want to thrash the arse out of it, but it still goes OK.
- It's a VR4 and it has a haltech. The original ECU is still there and somehow?? It still somehow makes the boost lights on the dash turn on and off on occassion. Additionally it has had different alarm and stereo configurations in the past. You can guess the state of the wiring loom. I have spent considerable time and effort trying to make it reasonably tidy and to that end if you possess a modicum of electrical ability you should be right. But if you have ever hired an auto electrician.. this car is not for you. They would probably just set the car on fire rather than work on it.
Nonetheless it's been an epically reliable car and really hasn't given me much drama apart from when it was defected for years. The beauty of it is that the haltech is far, far simpler in a sensor sense than the stock ECU, and if any of those few sensors should die? You can easily diagnose it. Plus they're cheap.
And I have to admit that when I was swapping stuff to the new car I was kicking myself the entire time (apart from, of course, the money I spent buying the new car could have been spent on the engine for this one, but ah well, such is the way cars are.) because it's just so clean inside and out. Like I pulled the seat up - perfect underneath. Under the car is pretty good as well especially for a car thats 20 years old.
The real value comes from the fact that its cheap AND has a new gearbox. Really prefer to sell it to a forum member or someone who will join the forum and keep it in the family, and to that end I'll consider offers around the 4kish mark. I have to take some new pictures although I am sure no one is confused as to what a stock A-spec looks like hehe..
