Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[GrooveNerd]

Yup, I picked up an Emerald Green '93 XR2 with a hardtop.  It had (when I bought it) 84,xxx miles, a good interior and decent, shiney paint.  There are a few dings and stuff, and a pushed-in dent in the rear bumper corner, but it's not too bad.  I got it for $2300, which seemed pretty good (he was asking $2600).  The guy had the oil changed the day before I arrived to look at it, and as of ~2000 miles on it, the oil still looked pretty clean -- nowhere near black.  Tires are good too.

 

  I found the car online and it was in the LA area.  I rented a car and drove down from Portland to look at it and ended up buying it and driving it back.

  I haven't had a chance to do much to it yet, other than replacing the headlights with Hella H-4 conversion lights, replacing the fog light bulbs and cleaning up the lights and electrical contacts.  It came with a front strut bar mounted already, and a non-installed manual boost controller, which I still haven't installed.

  I need to replace the sway bar bushings, but haven't been able to confirm the exact size I need.  I think there are universal sets from Energy Suspension that will work for the end links, at least.

  Anyway, it's been fun so far!  Now we just need some better weather!    

[Rocketman]

just an FYI the front swaybar is stock on an XR2.

You'll need an ECU upgrade before you can start cranking the boost though.

Congrats, the best of luck with it!

[JJ]

I'd like more information on the Hella conversion lights. Prices, part numbers, procedures, etc.

Sounds like something I'd like to do.

JJ

[GrooveNerd]

Originally posted by Rocketman:
just an FYI the front swaybar is stock on an XR2.

Yup, but this one has an aftermarket strut tower bar, that goes across the top of the strut towers.        

You'll need an ECU upgrade before you can start cranking the boost though.

I've been thinking about getting the Reich Racing ECU upgrade.  If I end up getting the boost valve installed before that, I'll keep things under 10PSI, where I understand the factory ECU runs out of data.  Thanks for the heads-up though -- it would suck for someone to blow their engine because of not knowing that!

Congrats, the best of luck with it!

Thanks!       :cool:    

Originally posted by JJ:
I'd like more information on the Hella conversion lights. Prices, part numbers, procedures, etc.

Yeah, I have them (200mm size) on my '82 Escort wagon, and they're awesome.  Especially if you get the 100W high-beam bulbs!             (For which I would definitely recommend installing a relay to keep the dimmer switch from having to handle the added current.)

Anyway, the part you need is a Hella 72146, 165mm H4 Headlamp Single Kit.  You'll need two of them.  Hella changed their part numbering system in the last year or so and I think that's the old number, but any auto parts store should be able to cross-reference it.  I found them on sale locally for $44.xx each.  It lists them as being for off-road use only, which is wacked, since they're legal for use on motorcycles.  If you're really worried about it, they may have a DOT approved version, but I don't know how well they work.  (I just looked in the PDF catalog I have, and I don't see a 165mm DOT approved one, just a 200mm and a 7" round.  I think my catalog may be a year or two old, though.)

  After pulling the first headlight out of the car, I found that the factory bulbs have a goofy pinout on the back, with one terminal at an angle.  Wonderful.  So, you'll need to swap the existing connector shells in the car with the connector shells that come with the Hella lamps.  If you look inside the shell from the front, you can see a small tab that needs to be carefully pried back so that the terminal will pull out the back.  At least two of the terminals go in different locations in the Hella shells, and I don't remember the colors offhand.  IIRC, the ground wire stays in the same location, and the high/low beam wires switch, but don't quote me on that.  You'll also need to take the jumper wires out of the shells that come with the Hella lamps.  You'll know if you have the light connected to the low beam, because there will be a sharp horizontal cutoff in the beam, with an angle upwards on the right.
 

Marty
 
 [ December 15, 2006, 08:25 AM: Message edited by: GrooveNerd ]

[Rocketman]

Marty, I miss-read and confused strut bar and sway bar...long day for me yesterday.

The ECU can handle 11psi or so before it quits adding fuel. The Reich ECU would be a good idea  

Thanks for posting about the Hella lights too, I'm going to look into it as well.

-Matt

[GrooveNerd]

Originally posted by Rocketman:
Marty, I miss-read and confused strut bar and sway bar...long day for me yesterday.

No problem, I figured it was something like that, since you had to know what one was from your other posts I've read.  

The ECU can handle 11psi or so before it quits adding fuel. The Reich ECU would be a good idea    

Oh cool, 11PSI is better.  I'll still see about getting the Reich upgrade, though.

Thanks for posting about the Hella lights too, I'm going to look into it as well.

-Matt

Yeah, it makes a nice difference.  With them on low beam and the fog lights on and aimed right, there's a nice white sheet of light from the front of the car on out.  And it's pretty wide too.  The Hella lights don't have the hotspots and dark areas like standard sealed beam lights do.  Now I just need to do the mod to allow the fogs to come on with the parking lights so they'll stay on with the high beams on.    

[ninjaskill]

its a good idea to put the mbc on anyway if you are gonna get high-flow exaust, because i have heard that boost creep is a issue with our crappy waste gate.