New guy with '87 Shelby Lancer

[Zorin]

After posting in Tony's brake thread yesterday, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself.

I'm Tim, and I own a 1987 Shelby Lancer, #707. This car will be my first project in couple of years, my last project was a well-modded 1988 Mitsubishi Starion ESI-R.

I originally posted on TurboDodge about getting this car back in June, however, logistics issues with transportation and timing have precluded me from taking delivery of the car just yet. Finally, it has been sorted that I will meet up with the car in March in Denver. The car is currently in Salt Lake City, UT, and I live in Wichita, KS.

Anyways, let's talk about the car. I know it was delivered to Thrifty Rental Cars in Hollywood,CA on 6/29/1987, and it was stolen from Thrifty Rental, the theives relieving the car of it's original dash plaque, and the DEX-77. It has about 91K original miles, zero rust, great looking interior, and I'm guessing that the lower end has let go on it. The car's previous owner, and current caretaker told me that the the engine lost oil pressure, and while it never knocked, he simply shut it down, and it has been stored ever since. It failed somewhere near Albuquerque, NM and was stored there for a while, then trailered back to Salt Lake City where it has been in inside storage for the last two years.

The way I wound up with the car is that the previous owner is a very good friend of mine from the Mitsubishi circle. He was wanting to sell this car, but was scared that no one would do right by it, or part it out, so he gave me the car, on the understanding that I would make this car right again. Which, I DO have some experience with turbo Chryslers, however, it has been a LONG time since I have messed with these cars. All of my personal experience is with turbo Mitsubishis, and small block Ford V8's, LOL.

Here's some pictures of the car:
http://s6.postimg.org/jdot1k5ld/Shelby1.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/lwai28rbl/Shelby2.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/a0xeoxglt/Shelby3.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/fdm9324i9/Shelby4.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/b5rgub32p/Shelby5.jpg

I am very happy to be a part of the community, and looking forward to sharing this car's progress with everyone!

Tim

[ajakeski]

Nice car. I always liked the Lancer best of all the Whittier cars.
Loss of oil pressure could be the intermediate shaft or oil pump gear. You can pull the distributor and check the gear.

You'll find a lot of good information and very knowledgable people here. Most have been involved in these cars for years.

[Zorin]

Thanks! I have always wanted an H Body of some sort, but never guessed I'd wind up with a Shelby!

Tim

[cordes]

Welcome to the site! I look forward to your progress. Don't hesitate to ask any questions which you may have.

[Zorin]

Thanks for the welcome, Cordes! Once the car actually arrives, and I get a chance to tear into it, and I see what I actually need, I'm betting there's going to be questions, and plenty of them, LOL!

Tim

[2.216VTurbo]

Welcome! I also had fun with an 88 ESI-R 130K good miles, I'm pretty convinced the only reason it was never stolen is that I opted for the cloth seats. Did you know they made Geico's top ten most stolen list year after year? Usually they were found with missing seats and trashed interriors. Great starting point on your SL, it looks complete and in good shape. my SL #748 was my 'family car' in the 90's but I sold it to a local guy when my kids outgrew it. He's gonna give me first dibs at buying it back someday:eyebrows:

[BadAssPerformance]

Welcome! Nice Lancer!

[Tony Fields]

Welcome! Yes, nice Shelby

[Zorin]

Thanks for the welcome, guys!

Tim

[Wastelands Warrior]

Lancers are just plain coooool!!!

[minigts]

Welcome! I have an 87 Shelby Lancer as well and know less than most on this forum, but willing to share info and help where I can.

ajakeski is right, you can pull the shaft and see if there is any damage to the gear that drives the pump. I would confirm that the oil pressure gauge isn't the issue, unless you're positive your friend was right and there is a lack of pressure. I've had a couple gauges go bad and drop to zero when driving 70 mph, which coincidentally caused my heart to stop beating. It's not going to hurt to pull the distributor gear, so when you have the timing belt off, use a drill and a bit that will fit in the distributor slot and just get the pump spinning. If you have the pressure switch removed, the pump will either push oil out the orifice where the sensor goes or it won't. Just another test you can do to determine if it's a pressure issue or just a bad sensor.

[ajakeski]

Check the wire from the oil pressure sending unit. The wire sometimes gets brittle and breaks inside the harness.

Oil pressure sending units do go bad. Also make sure you have the right one. They all look similar, but are not necessarily interchangable.


OIL PRESSURE CHECK:

Check the oil level

Add oil as needed

Unscrew the oil pressure sender from the distrubution block (On the front of the engine, to the driver's side of the distributor)

Unplug the coil wire (So the engine does not fire)

Crank the engine over a few times and see if any oil comes out of the hole. (A helper is useful at this step)

If you have oil at the distrubution block, replace the oil pressure sending unit and see if you get an oil pressure reading at the gauge.

[Zorin]

Gentlemen, thank you so much for that advice. Now, after reading this, I am really anxious to get the car here, and see if that is the issue with it!

Tim