An old favourite - '90 SWB

[Ran]

*moved from 1st gen threads:

So I've been creeping around this forum for a few years now but my 1990 SWB has been here much longer - it was originally owned by Nabsie in Brisbane and then sold to another forum member (Dan) in Melbourne whose avatar I can't remember.

It was bought unseen from Dan with 155000km and trucked back up to Brisbane. I was able to research it's history on this forum. That was a few years ago. It is in excellent condition - people are usually amazed to find out it's nearly 30 years old.

We are up to 210000km now and still going strong. I had never been in a 1st gen Paj. My first impressions were: Comfortable, roomy, excellent vision, easy to drive. I guess I expected an old SWB to be much rougher. Coils in the rear and suspension seats make it a great car for trips.

Existing mods: 2" susp lift, flipped ball joints, gen 2 UCAs, catch can, Bilsteins, ARB gen2 winch bar colour coded

My mods: New carpet, Double door seals, Reso-mat sound deadener, Hankook MT 235/85r16, 2.75" exhaust with straight-through muffler, removed front sway bar (need to replace with rubber bushes), dark tint, passenger side suspension seat, blocked EGR and catch-can to intake feed, original steering wheel back on (bigger diameter and nicer to use)

Planned: gen 2 axle swap, 2nd fuel tank, custom rear bar, rear drawers and fridge slide, EGT and boost gauges, gen 2 steering box

Problems:
AC leaked out. Found it was just a loose hose connector. Upgraded to R134 and ice cold;
Rear main seal leak - will get round to it...;
Alternator died after a while - replaced;
Steering idler arm bush flogged out - replaced;
Vibration under certain loads at lower RPM - probably an engine or gbox mount;
Missing fan shroud (Rocking horse shit for some reason);
Front windscreen washer bottle leaks;
Clutch is sticking (possibly due to long-term rear main leak?);
Driver's side passenger window switch a bit intermittent;
Various dents, scratches, squeaks and rattles

Some original photos from previous owners and one from me as it looks now

[Ran]

Pipe

2.75" exhaust and muffler. I was tempted to go straight through with no muffler but it sounded much better with a muffler when I tested it in the shop. Went for a drivers-side exit so I can see how much black (or white) smoke I'm making. Also means I can hear it better in tunnels. Still needs a dump pipe. Temps seem lower and mid-top rpm power seems better. Low rpm power seems worse. Dump pipe and tuning will no-doubt make the most of it.

[Ran]

So I am picky about road noise and I knew if i wanted to run MTs I would need something to cut down the noise. The carpet was a bit shabby and I wanted to check for rust so I pulled out the interior.

Did a thorough check for rust and found almost nothing, just a few spots of surface rust here and there where the paint had been worn away. These cars have very good rust protection. From '88 onwards I believe they had upgraded rust protection but it may only be in the JDM models. I can't remember where I heard this info.

One of the rear seat bolt points must have had some drink spilt on it in the past because it had a small amount of rust between it and the floor panel. Nothing serious but I pulled it all apart, cut out the rust, primed, painted, sealed and bolted the panel back on (can be seen cut out on the left side next to the large access hole). It should be strong and rust free for a long time.

I used Resomat sound deadener throughout. The entire tub including wheel arches, inside the doors, rear panels and most of the way up the fire wall. I also upgraded the transmission tunnel deadener with an extra layer of stick-on foam stuff.

Waterproof carpet liner to go with the new plush-pile molded carpet.

With the double door seals I got off ebay, the cab is super quiet at 100km/hr. I can just hear the drone of the exhaust. The wind noise gets pretty bad above 110 because it's a brick.

[awbeattie381]

Good to see the old girl back again. I remember this one from a few years ago. Sounds like you have yourself a keeper! Looks great!

[Ran]

Long story...


Was having some head trouble - coolant overflow tank filling up under hot conditions meaning the system was getting pressurised from somewhere, probably a head gasket leak. Nope. time for a new head.

[Ran]

After buying a brand new head ($800) I checked the wear in the bores and it was bad - 0.2mm oversize which is right on the recommended service limit. So really I am looking at replacing the whole motor at this stage.

[Ran]

Broken engine mount was causing vibration at around 2k rpm

[Ran]

Swag.

Decided to go all in on new Hyundai block, new factory turbo, reco'd pump, 4 terrain clutch. $ for reference

- Hyundai/Kia 4d56 long block. $4300
- Reconditioned diesel pump (MTQ) $1900
- New Turbo (factory mitsu) $900
- 4 Terrain HD clutch $400
- Alisport intercooler $900

[Ran]

First problem: Had to reuse coolant pipe from old engine but it didn't match up to the new water pump. Cut and welded with new stainless fitting.

[Ran]

Painted headers in high-temp paint. Didn't really look at the colour when I bought it but it looks OK

[Ran]

Used a cheap drill-operated fluid pump from Bunnings to get oil through the engine. Probably not necessary but seemed like a good precaution

[Ran]

Intercooler pipe was blocked by the oil filler on the new engine. Luckily had a bit of tube the right size

[Ran]

Some updates. 30kkm on the new engine and it still works. Have been meaning to get it tuned professionally (instead of my eyeball tune) but with the car relegated to shopping duty I haven't got around to it. Any recommendations for diesel tuners appreciated.

Doing a lot of kms so thought it was time for an upgrade. 2015 NX that I've already started modifying

[Pixie_au]

In Brisbane?

[Ran]

Yeah, mostly