Got my Dad's old 91 R/T

[jckrieger]

Ok, here's the story behind this car. In 1992 my dad purchased this car from a dealership when it had 13,000 miles on it. The car was some kind of dealership program car and was in excellent condition. Shortly after purchasing the car we started hearing stories about how the timing belts were leaving people stranded and how the heads were cracking. Because of this, the car never became a daily driver and was only used for long road trips.

The car now has 40,000 miles on it and is probably one of the nicest original R/T's in existance. I will be turning this car into a fair weather daily driver and need some advice on what to replace to keep this car running smoothly. Nothing has been replaced on the car with the exception of the oil, filter, and battery... and a couple cans of R-12.

I'm currently thinking about replacing the plugs, wires, brake fluid, coolant, trans oil, timing belt, and tires (they're original). Should I replace the threaded plugs in the head? Re-torque them? Also, one of the lash adjusters will tick for a few minutes if the car has been sitting for a few months. Should I buy a set just in case they get worse? I've also heard stories about the intermediate shaft going out.. what's the key to keeping it happy? Let me know what you guys think and I'll start getting an order together. I'll post some pics next time the weather gets nice.

[cordes]

He heard stories of them being unreliable, and decided to use it mainly for long road trips? :confused:

[BadAssPerformance]

Sweet! Is that the one you took to SDAC-13?

[jckrieger]

Sweet! Is that the one you took to SDAC-13?

Sure is... and it now has 2K more miles on it than it had back then!

[ScottD]

That's cool. My 92 Spirit R/T came from my dad as well, he bought it new. It WAS one of the nicest original cars out there until a minivan sideswiped it. It is currently under repair, but will never be original again. If I were you I'd consider getting agreed value insurance on it. That in most cases won't allow you to drive it to work, but something that nice you want to be sure you have insured properly. Getting fair value for my car was a nightmare.

[jckrieger]

That's what I'm afraid of. I don't want to drive this thing and then have something bad happen to it. I also don't want this car to sit another 15 years. I would let the car sit, but it would defeat the purpose of getting the car in the first place. My plan is to take as good care of the car as possible and then see where it takes me.

As far as insurance goes, what is the car worth? $3,000? $2,500? I'd pay the value of the car in 1-2 years at my age (22). I think the only way I'll be able to fully insure myself against a loss is to buy another identical original car and keep it as a backup. Any offers?

[ScottD]

Actually these things are going up in value. Mine is appraised for $8500 and that is what I'll be insuring it for when it is fixed. The collector insurance is cheap. As long as you have a garage to keep it in, it is like $120/year. You're also not supposed to drive them to work or use them for errands. But then if it gets hit you don't have to go through establishing a value for the car. I was sick enough over the fact that my car got hit because, like yours, it was an unrestored original. It will never be that again, and then going through the headache of getting fair value out of it was VERY stressful. Having an agreed value policy on it would've been helpful. I didn't have one at that point because I couldn't find someone to put a collector policy on it because it was under 15 years old. I've since found a company who will insure it, hopefully I'll never need the agreed value aspect, but you never know. I never thought I'd get hit in it, and that is exactly what happened. Funny thing was I was driving it home from work, which I almost never do, and I was taking a back way home from work which I thought would be safer!

[jckrieger]

I know if I start driving the car I'm going to wreck the thing... I have never wrecked a car, but I've been so close to being hit so many times it's not even funny. A month ago I was turning left on a green arrow and a lady started accelerating through her red light because she was talking on her phone. If I hadn't been paying attention to the stopped traffic, my Daytona would be in a boneyard right now. I've also had tons of people swerve and pull out without looking, and even almost rear end me because of cell phone usage and old age (never both).

I think I'm going to do what my father did and use the car primairly for highway driving from town to town. I make a lot of 150-200 mile trips and the car will be perfect for that type of driving. In town I will either drive my CSX or my Daytona since both are replaceable and are ready for bodywork. If one of the cars act up, I'll take the Spirit, but I will try and use it only for backup. I'll have to call around and look at insurance policies, though I'm not sure where I should even begin. I have 4 cars, but I can only drive one of them at a time... How do people drive nice cars daily?

[BadAssPerformance]

CSX's are replaceable!? ;)

[TurboRon25]

How do people drive nice cars daily?[/QUOTE]


I can't stomach it. Especially not in the winter. If you've seen my DD, then I'm sure you believe me.

Ron

[jckrieger]

CSX's are replaceable!? ;)

Well, CSX's like mine are :) I know a bunch of the front clip isn't original on my CSX, so what does it matter if it gets smashed in again and replaced with other random P body parts?

[BadAssPerformance]

Well, CSX's like mine are :) I know a bunch of the front clip isn't original on my CSX, so what does it matter if it gets smashed in again and replaced with other random P body parts?

But what if it takes a hit to the rear 1/4 panel and buckles the floor? :eek:

[jckrieger]

In that case, I'd be looking for a black 87 Shadow ES :)

[BadAssPerformance]

saying ya wanna trade? ;)

[jckrieger]

saying ya wanna trade? ;)

If only you were an 88 CSX-T guy....

[bfarroo]

I tell you what, I'll trade you straight up for my 89 spirit ES 2.5 TI. All stock, new black paint, new style grill, new headliner, new head, working AC new Winterforce tires on 14inch steelies and the stock set of snowflakes with so so tires, new class 2 reciever hitch, new headlights, looks like a little old ladys car. 128,000 miles. :)

[jckrieger]

I dunno, the A bodies just don't do it for me :) Oh wait, this one does!

[bfarroo]

yeah, didn't think you'd take it :) I'm still looking for a 94-95 dakota 4cyl to turbo for a tow vehicle for the 91. They're are fewer of them out there than I thought there would be.

[jckrieger]

I have a 90 dakota 4cyl 5sp. That's about all I can say about it.

[BadAssPerformance]

V8 Dakotas a good for towing :thumb:

[bfarroo]

I was hoping to pick up a 94-95 for a fairly decent price but they still seem to hold their value pretty well. Hoping to find one with a blown motor or something to that effect. I see them on ebay now and then but their always way down south and just to far to drive. Maybe I'll see how the spirit pulls the daytona :)

[1FastCSX289]

Couple words of advice on the collector car insurance. First, if you can get it......do it.....especially if its not going to be a daily driver. Dont mention ANY kind of racing on the application (like running it at SDAC once a year). Thats how I got screwed with Hagerty.

The insurance is CHEAP, but you need to find a carrier that will insure someone under 25 yrs old. I think Hagerty will, but many (like Grundy or JC Taylor) wont. My GTO is still under my father's insurance for this reason. Im 27 now, but just havent gotten to switching it over yet! But, definately insure it. And....its worth way more than 2500. I sold mine for 2500 with 140k on the clock in far less than mint condition.

[jckrieger]

Today I took the airbox apart (found a bunch of seeds and such in there from a friendly rodent) and removed the valley cover. The valley has a bunch of oil in it from a valve cover leak, but I noticed the core plugs are only threaded about half way in. I read that this is where the heads crack and it's usually due to the plugs being screwed almost all the way flush with the surface of the head. I'm thinking about leaving the head alone since it looks like it was assembled properly.

Last night I took the car out for the first time since I drove it home and it already has a problem. I was driving up a long, steep hill and got into boost for a few seconds and then noticed the car was idling at 3K rpm when I came to a stop. Looks like I get to chase down a vacuum leak already!

[TurboRon25]

I've done that a bunch of times back in the day. It was real easy to find. I usually blew off the hose going to the brake booster.

Ron

[Turbodave]

yeah, didn't think you'd take it :) I'm still looking for a 94-95 dakota 4cyl to turbo for a tow vehicle for the 91. They're are fewer of them out there than I thought there would be.

Hmmm, A buddy of mine has a 95 2.5L Dakota that needs a motor, if he decides to sell it I'll let you know. It's a red sport with a grey interior, rhino-lined and has a nice cap on the back.

[jckrieger]

Today I was able to change the coolant, clean out the airbox, and clean out the battery tray area. Next on the list is a new set of valve cover seals, paint for the ebrake cable, and paint for the oil pan. The belts look new, so I'm not going to mess with them until they show some signs of fatigue.

[bfarroo]

Hmmm, A buddy of mine has a 95 2.5L Dakota that needs a motor, if he decides to sell it I'll let you know. It's a red sport with a grey interior, rhino-lined and has a nice cap on the back.

Yeah let me know, I could make a trip down there some weekend if the price is right.