autoaloha

Hey guys, up front: sorry if this is a bit wordy, I just enjoy writing my thoughts and I'm so sprung on my 2 right now its not even funny! Furthermore, I always appreciate any comments; praise, criticism, corrections, etc. Thanks and enjoy! SO, I guess the first order of business is a mission statement or a goal of some sort. With that in mind I can only speculate as to how far this project will go; I'm a USN veteran, (Machinist's Mate Nuclear Submariner and Diver qualified) but now just a college student, so disposable income is minimal and don't follow this if you want to see an Alpina Fendered 20B disco-potato SCCA monster, but that would be sick! Be this what it may I have a rough idea of how I want to attack this car. my goal: I hope to extract every ounce of fun and pleasure that this little car has to give, while keeping in mind that no matter what I do- it will never be perfect and most likely I will never achieve 'satisfaction'. Keeping these fundamentals in mind I can honestly say that I am ready to finally take the plunge into a vintage love affair. about me: my first car was a 84 Pininfarina 124 Spider Azzura Edition(after Fiat pulled from US market the famed coach maker imported Spiders in Pininfarina make- FYI) I got this car in HS Soph. year and did a 1/2 resto- everything but paint and converted it to manual. sorry, no digital pics. then I saved up for my dream car: a 1992 300ZX Twin Turbo, which I bought after Junior year and immediately began dumping time and money into at an incredible rate. (joining the navy did nothing to alleviate this situation, and I feel like I could own a small house if I had been smart) So... I have some experience, but nearly all my Spider wrenching was done alongside my old man and his "I've forgotten more than you'll ever know" approach to anything requiring a modicum of knowledge. Add that to the fact that he is a career Army pilot and it's fair to say that I was doing it the wrong way 99.9% of the time, but he happily kicked my butt into respectability. I live in the heart of Waikiki, actually on Aloha drive- and I've only got a spot in my building parking garage, so I will be doing most of this work at a local skate spot where these fist pics are taken. It empty and hidden, the kids like the ride- so it's a good environment to enjoy the day wrenching. For big stuff I think I'll be heading to the base hobby shops at Pearl, Hickam AFB, K-bay MCBH, or maybe Schofield Army Barracks depending on availability and services. That said, this will be my daily driver, but I've got a nice road bike and a motorcycle to push too( the Z is in storage in Cali- too low and precious to risk shipping). So now here we are. I have always loved the 2002, and I have wanted one for a while, along with a string of other, shall we say eclectic choices. I can't really put my finger on it, I like all sorts of weird cars- a short list of some of my favorite cars which I actually have a chance to own someday. in no particular order: late 80's AE86 Truenos- so cool and 'back to the future' styling cues are getting better by the day. [/img] the Five and Dime Triple S! c'mon everyone has to love these! proper Starions are sick too! (oh by the way, the Japanese engineers wished it to be 'stallion' -as a mustang competitor- but pronounced it 'starrion', lost in translation i guess. and so they continued the space theme with the eclipse) those are japanese i know, but don't sleep on them- I could point out the usual porsches, bimmers and alfas.... i like them too- but I feel like these are just as cool... ok. so finally we arrive at my 2002 automatic. I saw it on Craigslist. the guys was asking $4500 in the ad, and it's only had 1K put on the ODO since it was sold to the second owner in 1999. 76K miles total(how would you know higher if there's only 5 digits?). Mostly all original(new battery, wiper fluid resevoir, plug wires, steering hose), but it's even a Sears brand tire on the left front! It's got an Audiovox radio(correct stock I believe?) cold 134 Frigiking A/C & everything is pretty fresh, but there are obviously some problems. I ended up giving him $4000 after two days of negotiations, he said he already had an offer for $3800 and he could not possibly take less than four since he had just paid so much to fix the brakes. here's some pics: so obviously the engine bay needs attention. I have a bunch of degreaseing to do. Detailing, removing, spraying, refreshing... this is the easy stuff, I can take apart and clean all day, it's the rust I find that scares me. fortunately I have found very little rust for a Hawaii car 35+ years old. I plan on keeping the car as stock as possible ( which is to say, it WILL be stock). I know this 1974 Automatic isn't the most desirable iteration, but it's where I'm cutting my teeth- so I'm just gonna appreciate the Auto every time I see the HI traffic grind to a halt. so here's my list of items so far:(nothing is broken or threatening to break, so this is not really a HARD order, just a primer for my real plans) 1. I will address my girlfriends complaint first: the seats need to be redone. I want to do this on my own, I'm gonna do it right though- I want to find some real seat foam and cut it exactly to stock specs( input on source is much appreciated). I'll figure out how to do the sun visors same time, but I don't wanna cut them open... 2. I have to refurb the seatbelt mechanism ASAP, it simply doesn't pull the belt back in- annoying but trivial in reality. 3. Engine bay: this is huge, I just want to get a start on it before I pull it for paint. This is far down the road. 4. Pull the ugly PO's rubber door guard , this should be easy, but since it's riveted I am gonna have to look at the holes until I get tot he sanding phase. 5. Detail Detail Detail so it's clean as clean can be until I can start the pre paint process. 6. Rust prevention, whatever can be done. 7. Fix the dash clock, it may be just a ground- I haven't taken it apart. 8. go surfing, i know this isn't 2002 related, but it's important all the same. okay, thanks for looking guys. aloha oh and by the way, it's was fun trying to explain why my VIN was only seven digits to the insurance agent this morning. 'well yes i know VINs are 14 digits long but mine is not.' later... 'no, no, it's not a 2002 BMW, it's a BMW 2002.' 'yeah, it's old- they called it the new class.' haha

I removed the mouldings today in the park near diamond head. I guess it's now time to start my project blog. so... moved over there now. but dang man, thanks for the advice on the hole fix! I think I'll try that if the holes become too big of an eyesore in the future, right now I can live with them while I decide if a respray is in the cards.

yeah, it's really weird not having a tach. but that's what i get with the automatic i guess. I think I'm gonna open the dash for this fix after the moulding removal- i have a phone, watch, etc. with all kine clocks!

yeah, i saw that someone was selling refurbed seatbelt sets, but i kinda want to keep it in house, and didn't see a FAQ covering the procedure either... maybe that can be my first contribution to the forum. and the seats- ah the seats, what is this horsehair business? and how come the seat foam FAQ has no helpful pics? I like to know what I'm getting into, and he wrote that the each seat took 6-8 hrs?!? gosh, that was disconcerting to say the least, maybe I'll just remove the passenger side and break it down to see whats happening in there.

ahaha! after posting I just knew someone would call attention to that bottle and battery! good eyes my friend. I am going to check out a donor car tomorrow and maybe scoop up some goodies then.

thanks meng, I totally agree about the island auto sentiment, traffic is terrible here due to the island topography and lack of city planning. and i'm with you about getting the mechanicals sorted out first. the brakes were just worked on, thats what led to the sale actually- old dude just decided he was tired of maintenance on a car he so rarely drove. I plan on keeping it as stock as possible- hence the desire to remove that ugly door belt. and yes, you hit it on the button about the engine detail. I kinda want to avoid pulling it unless I'm gonna respray. anyways, i guess its time to start looking for a suitable car club...

Just needed a change so I'm selling my 4runner and getting back to basics with a 2002. It's a 1974 automatic (which i would prefer be standard, but in HI options are limited), and it's all original with SEARS brand tires and 76,000 miles. Everything is stock except the floor mats and I'm the third owner, the second had it for ten years and only put 1K miles on it. It came with all the original books and stuff, and everything works except the clock(the AC is super cold too, and has been converted to R134). Of course there's some rust, but its not under the carpet(I checked) or in the spare tire well and strut towers are pretty clean too. Other hidden spots may make themselves known, but I looked pretty thoroughly prior to purchase. So tell me what you think, I am new to this 2002 game and I am pretty stoked about all the time I'm gonna get to spend on this car. oh, and about the rust- there's some surface rust, but it's not that bad as far as I can tell. please give me any input or advice... thanks guys! on my list, which are my only complaints: refurbish selt belt retraction mechanism, fix the clock, maybe do something about the seat foam and discoloration in headrests along and I want to remove the middle door protective moulding strip because i don't think it's stock(any advice?) all this and start getting after the small bits of rust! [/url]