RoadWarrior222
05-15-2010, 11:59 PM
Howdy peeps,
Decided I'd start a thread about my trusty '88 mini, to have a place to say what I've done, what I'm doing, what I'm thinking about doing...
Current mods in place... Shift kit mods to A-670 auto transmission, base timing advance. Pumpers fitted with 215/60/15 H rated all seasons.
Recent Work. Had replacement K frame and front end refresh the other summer, blew the transmission from age and LSD experimentation last year (Bad trip maaan) put a 60,000 mile replacement in, rear shocks are only about 2 years old.
Maintenance to do list, soon.
Replace serpentine belt.
Replace fuel filler gasket/donut
Find out why rear wipe stopped working, fix.
Splice wires in drivers side door hinge, to get windows and central locking working properly.
Replace oil senders.
Change oil and filter.
Probable/possible upcoming fixes.
Rear brake work, new drums. Parking brake fix.
Bodywork, have rust on driver door, sliding door, rocker panels just ahead of rear wheels.
Kill underside rust (surface but needs attacking)
Annoyances to address
Idles low, sometimes hard to start
Don't like sound of fuel pump sometimes.
Headliner dropping.
Front marker/parking lights erratic/corroded, get 'em all working all the time.
Click/thunk from passenger side when power on.
Performance not quite right, might improve with oil change (Had "gloop" in it fixing a "rod knock" that was the transmission oil pump rattling off the clutch pack)
Upgrades and mods in immediate future.
Ventvisors on the front doors
Change plenum out for ported later plenum with spacers.
Rig mixture gauge, and injector duty cycle monitor.
Rig front bank injector cutout for displacement on demand highway use.
Install tow bar.
Mods needing more planning.
Replacement grille with logo from '49 Plymouth Hubcap, honeycomb mesh.
Replacement front bumper adapted from bonneville SSE and radiator ducting and lowered airdam lip.
Wheel air deflectors and rear skirts.
Rear diffuser.
Front underpan
Tailgate aero improvement tweaks.
HHO system.
Spare motor rebuild, possible frankensteining of parts to get slightly longer stroke, heads will be ported/modified (I think I can make it breathe like a 4 valve motor, but then what, I've got an auto)
Possible dual throttle body setup.
The overall plan? I wanna keep driving it, I wanna make it quicker and I want it good on gas... 14s and 40mpg ...
I can't get with a theme overall, the aero stuff I'm going to do is probably just going to make it look weird. For instance I kinda want to follow some of the features in the DaimlerChrysler Bionic concept, might try a hood mod similar to it, and have a bodyline chine sweeping up the side (It's functional stops "wing in ground effect" outward flow wrapping down the sides of the vehicle) but it's going to look goofy.
I was thinking I might just push the goofy with a sense of ridiculous and make it steampunk, after all it's woody sided already, just need to add brass, make the airdam look like a cow catcher... would be rather unique... plus I can do a "padded armchair" interior in red.. yeah, the whole thing may or may not work... But it could be a "If Shelby woke up in 1890 with only a fresh new 1988 minivan" take.
Anyway, the whole deallie has to work without spoiling the practicality of the vehicle, it's essential minivanness, that means I'm not likely to cut springs or reduce it's ground clearance much, want it to haul a ton, pull a trailer, put canoes or a boat on the roof etc. I don't want much, only a better vehicle than I can buy anywhere new :D
I don't know if we'll really "get there" but herein will lie the chronicle of efforts along the way... ... ...
RW222
Decided I'd start a thread about my trusty '88 mini, to have a place to say what I've done, what I'm doing, what I'm thinking about doing...
Current mods in place... Shift kit mods to A-670 auto transmission, base timing advance. Pumpers fitted with 215/60/15 H rated all seasons.
Recent Work. Had replacement K frame and front end refresh the other summer, blew the transmission from age and LSD experimentation last year (Bad trip maaan) put a 60,000 mile replacement in, rear shocks are only about 2 years old.
Maintenance to do list, soon.
Replace serpentine belt.
Replace fuel filler gasket/donut
Find out why rear wipe stopped working, fix.
Splice wires in drivers side door hinge, to get windows and central locking working properly.
Replace oil senders.
Change oil and filter.
Probable/possible upcoming fixes.
Rear brake work, new drums. Parking brake fix.
Bodywork, have rust on driver door, sliding door, rocker panels just ahead of rear wheels.
Kill underside rust (surface but needs attacking)
Annoyances to address
Idles low, sometimes hard to start
Don't like sound of fuel pump sometimes.
Headliner dropping.
Front marker/parking lights erratic/corroded, get 'em all working all the time.
Click/thunk from passenger side when power on.
Performance not quite right, might improve with oil change (Had "gloop" in it fixing a "rod knock" that was the transmission oil pump rattling off the clutch pack)
Upgrades and mods in immediate future.
Ventvisors on the front doors
Change plenum out for ported later plenum with spacers.
Rig mixture gauge, and injector duty cycle monitor.
Rig front bank injector cutout for displacement on demand highway use.
Install tow bar.
Mods needing more planning.
Replacement grille with logo from '49 Plymouth Hubcap, honeycomb mesh.
Replacement front bumper adapted from bonneville SSE and radiator ducting and lowered airdam lip.
Wheel air deflectors and rear skirts.
Rear diffuser.
Front underpan
Tailgate aero improvement tweaks.
HHO system.
Spare motor rebuild, possible frankensteining of parts to get slightly longer stroke, heads will be ported/modified (I think I can make it breathe like a 4 valve motor, but then what, I've got an auto)
Possible dual throttle body setup.
The overall plan? I wanna keep driving it, I wanna make it quicker and I want it good on gas... 14s and 40mpg ...
I can't get with a theme overall, the aero stuff I'm going to do is probably just going to make it look weird. For instance I kinda want to follow some of the features in the DaimlerChrysler Bionic concept, might try a hood mod similar to it, and have a bodyline chine sweeping up the side (It's functional stops "wing in ground effect" outward flow wrapping down the sides of the vehicle) but it's going to look goofy.
I was thinking I might just push the goofy with a sense of ridiculous and make it steampunk, after all it's woody sided already, just need to add brass, make the airdam look like a cow catcher... would be rather unique... plus I can do a "padded armchair" interior in red.. yeah, the whole thing may or may not work... But it could be a "If Shelby woke up in 1890 with only a fresh new 1988 minivan" take.
Anyway, the whole deallie has to work without spoiling the practicality of the vehicle, it's essential minivanness, that means I'm not likely to cut springs or reduce it's ground clearance much, want it to haul a ton, pull a trailer, put canoes or a boat on the roof etc. I don't want much, only a better vehicle than I can buy anywhere new :D
I don't know if we'll really "get there" but herein will lie the chronicle of efforts along the way... ... ...
RW222