SLC: 1989 Zinno coupe. Superlight, Super Functional *6spd swap inside*

[mitchlikesbikes]

so, got everything pressed out to end up with bare control arms and subframe. my friend brad (edutechnic on here) has built himself a homemade powdercoating station so we're gonna powdercoat my suspension stuff soon. meanwhile, i'm going to be rebooting my halfshafts and starting some rust repair on the body of the car. really not looking forward to the rust repair but it has to be done i guess. no pics right meow, i'm gonna go work a little today maybe so i will take some pics of what's going on.

[mitchlikesbikes]

continuing to take apart rear end stuff. for the most part things are going smoothly. i got myself a 12 ton press from harbor freight and pressed out my subframe bushings and trailing arm bushings. i am trying to figure out a way to set up the press that will let me press out the rear diff bushing, as well as the hubs and wheel bearings. the hub is giving me the most trouble because i have no way of supporting the awkward shaped trailing arm to press the hub from the backside.

also, one of my axles was STUCK in the hub. after hammering awkwardly with the trailing arm up on cinder blocks for a while i decided to do some more research and discovered that autozone rents a hub pulling tool that would work to get the shaft out. after cranking on the tool for about a half hour and hammering away i was finally able to get the axle out. once i get the hubs and bearings pressed out i can start cleaning and prepping parts for paint or powdercoat. need to make a trip to NAPA to order rear rotors, new axles, and some other odds and ends.

i also was able to finally get my diff tab clean enough to read and discovered that my car has the 3.73 LSD. was pretty excited about this, since it's the first fancy part i've found on the car since i got it other than vogtland springs, which hardly count anyway.

diff tag showing the "S3.73" labeling



subframe completely dropped:



Bare underside:






subframe out and on the longboards i used to wheel it out from under the car:



the tool i used from autozone on the axle. free rental!

[mitchlikesbikes]

started working on the car again. pulled some parts off of the rear end. things are going smoothly so far for the most part. main issues are toasted rotors and parking brake shoes. also my shock bolt on the driver side sheared off and half of it is stuck in the hub now. hopefully i can get some vise grips on it and get it out. gonna continue yanking stuff off the rear end til i can drop the subframe and clean/paint before installing my new parts.


most of the fuel lines i've replaced so far looked like this or worse:



condor bushings all here:



getting stuff apart:



broken shock bolt:



other half:



sad looking brake shoes and rotors:





got my new felco 255lph fuel pump in as well. original fuel pump was operational but i replaced it for peace of mind. still need to figure out the senders and replace as necessary

[mitchlikesbikes]

Have you weighed it?

unfortunately, no. i couldn't find a convenient place to do it. maybe this spring i can

[rturbo 930]

Have you weighed it?

[mitchlikesbikes]

nice work man

those floors came out awesome

thanks man, i was really happy with how they came out. the herculiner is holding up really well too.

and as an added bonus it's thick enough to insulate a bit so even on 100 degree days with no AC the car was pretty tolerable.

[iwantspeed]

nice work man

those floors came out awesome

[mitchlikesbikes]

Go up by Pokie and pick up Farbin's S52 for mad powah. Complete swap for like $2400 (I know this is a lot but still...you "need" it). Tons of 24v engines in the pick 'n pulls for $140.

i would love to go buy that setup, but i just don't have the money right now. if he still has it at the end of the year i might be able to make it happen.

planning on working on the car a little tomorrow. i recently ordered SS brake lines, a full condor bushing and mount setup, new rear wheel bearings, and a new fuel pump. i still need to get some rebuilt half shafts from napa and a couple odds and ends, but essentially my plan for now is to strip the underside rear of the car (except for the gas tank probably) and fix any remaining rust back there prior to recoating it and installing new parts. i also want to fix any remaining rust in or around the trunk and get that painted as well. i am planning on doing the whole rear of the car in one phase, then depending on time and funds i may do the front end as well before spring. however i would like to just do my full swap and front suspension all at once which may be a bigger project than i want to do this winter.

anyway, current parts i have that will be used:

condor subframe bushings
condor trailing arm bushings
condor diff bushing
BMA SS brake lines
rear wheel bearings
new 255lph fuel pump and lines
IE rear upper shock mounts
vogtland springs (currently on the car)
mystery struts (also already on the car)
hawk HPS pads (once again, already on)

stuff i need:

various tools (mostly a press for the bushings and flare nut wrenches for brake lines)
half shafts
LSD (actually not sure if i have one of these already)
undercoating (already have epoxy primer and zinno paint)
maybe a new axleback exhaust (having trouble justifying the cost for this)


anything obvious i'm missing for a rear end overhaul?

[eduTechnic]

Go up by Pokie and pick up Farbin's S52 for mad powah. Complete swap for like $2400 (I know this is a lot but still...you "need" it). Tons of 24v engines in the pick 'n pulls for $140.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

not really sure yet. there are a lot of small things i wanna fix up on the inside that i haven't gotten to. i also wanna drop some suspension and get started on that but i don't wanna get in too deep cause i wanna snowboard more this year and i may be moving in the spring so i need the car in one piece for that.

i also really want a 24 valve but i'm dreaming in terms of time frame.

overall i'd like to refine everything inside some more and fix a few other spots of rust, plus prime and paint the trunk. anything i get to on top of that would be a bonus.

Not a bad plan. If you get lucky you could score a drop in 24v. That could be done in a couple weeks.

[mitchlikesbikes]

Looking good man. Got any big plans over the winter?

not really sure yet. there are a lot of small things i wanna fix up on the inside that i haven't gotten to. i also wanna drop some suspension and get started on that but i don't wanna get in too deep cause i wanna snowboard more this year and i may be moving in the spring so i need the car in one piece for that.

i also really want a 24 valve but i'm dreaming in terms of time frame.

overall i'd like to refine everything inside some more and fix a few other spots of rust, plus prime and paint the trunk. anything i get to on top of that would be a bonus.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Looking good man. Got any big plans over the winter?

[mitchlikesbikes]

wow, been forever since i've posted in here. just been driving and enjoying the car for the summer/fall. i am about to put the car away for the winter so i will start tinkering on it again and posting updates. here are some iphone pics that i acquired over the last few months:

sunroof finally plugged:



my car and a brand new m4:



up in the air to degrease the underside:



lost my clutch slave about a month ago. $20 at oreilly and i was back on the road:



rear shot at work:



my car and a coworkers evo:



engine bay finally clean-ish



bonding with nature:

[mitchlikesbikes]

i've been driving the car every day for a few days now. obviously there are some kinks to work out, but overall things are good. prime issues:

no speedo
no fuel gauge
no instrument lighting
heater core line connection leaking on to the floor
engine sounds like it's got something going on. lots of funky smells and sounds. this could also just be my paranoia.

[eurolife]

Bring this to the meet tonight!