my Coupe GT

[auditude at get.net]

Hi everyone!

I got my '86 Coupe GT inspected, smog tested, titled, and
registered yesterday!  How nice. :-)

Here are the numbers for the smog check, it was the dyno
style.  It was over very quickly, and initially I feared it
was because it failed.

POLLUTANT	HC		CO		NOX
LIMIT		1.60		15.00		2.50
COUPE GT	0.41		7.05		1.01

This is as-bought condition, with only the oil being changed.

I used the signed over pink slip from the "original" owner,
and didn't have to use the informal bill of sale from the
"middleman" owner who took my money in exchange for the car.

The car has miscellaneous issues, of course, which I will be
going through as I have been the past week.  I've listed some
of them below.  If anyone has any thoughts on these issues,
please share them with me.

Instrument Cluster:

Water temp and fuel gauge read low, swapped the voltage
regulator with another used one from a cluster I had laying
around, didn't fix it.  Working on getting a new replacement
voltage regulator.

While tinkering with the cluster, I put bulbs in all the
places where they were missing, namely the OXS light and the
pic of the engine with the lightning bolt through it.  I
thought there might have been a third one too.  This morning,
the OXS light came on and stayed on.  What's this mean?  I
remember noticing the O2 sensor looked fairly new, from the
outside.

The speedo needle is a little more shaky than I am accustomed
to.  It's not bad, and it's not constant, but I noticed it.
The retaining collar for the speedo cable is broken/removed,
but it shouldn't slip off the cluster after my latest effort
in that area.

Suspension:

Car has a bit of a (left/right via the steering wheel) shimmy,
had the tires balanced (twice), now it pulls left under
acceleration (after the second balance).  I'm thinking control
arm bushings and alignment (hence other mods while I'm at it).
Tire tread exhibits some feathering, eyeball says it's a bit
toe-out.

The ride doesn't seem too bad.  There's a lot of air between
the tires and fenders, particularly in front (though I've seen
worse Coupe GT's, "taking off" the runway into the sky).

The struts/shocks don't seem like they are too bad, although
since it needs an alignment, I will likely put some shorter
springs on the car, which begs for better dampening.  This car
will be lowered.

Body:

The passenger side mirror is loose, and doing that "I'm a
breakaway mirror!" wave to the public.

Drivetrain:

The car has an exhaust leak or tick from the manifold area.
My novice diagnosis indicates that it is not a lifter noise,
but it might be both.  I removed the pushrod for the brake
booster, thinking it might be the problem.  The booster had a
strong spring inside it, pushing away from the head as I
removed it.  The noise remained, and I'm likely going to
reinstall the pushrod.

Javad's post today regarding putting a turbo on a stock Coupe
GT is interesting to me.  Since I have the leaking manifold
and a complete MC setup I can use parts from, I wonder how
simple of a low-ish pressure turbo setup I could create.

The shifter seems to need alignment, which might be the
motor/tranny assembly as well.

The clutch makes a creaking noise at the bottom of its travel.
I feared this was the cracking firewall syndrome, but an
inspection revealed no such problem.  It sounds like it's
coming from the clutch master.

The cold start valve wiring has been cut at the valve, and
back at the harness there is some undetermined length that is
fried-looking that I will have to clean up.  The car currently
starts fine w/o the valve.

Exhaust:

The exhaust was tapping the floor worse than it is now.  It is
in need of at least a few hangers.  I tried putting some all-
rubber ones on one of the locations last weekend, and only
succeeding in tearing two of the new hangers with the
screwdriver.  I ended up throwing a hose clamp on there for
now.  I want to get some chain-reinforced hangers, although
those will be even harder to install.

I'll be putting on the souvenir catback from my last Coupe GT.

Interior:

I put a proper sunroof handle on the car, as it had an ugly
chrome substitute.  Now, I can feel that the gears inside the
sunroof are slipping as the crank turns.  Hopefully this is
just loose and not stripped in some terrible way.

The voltmeter likes to bounce back and forth a few volts when
the turn signal is on.  Is this something that can be rewired
or otherwise changed so that it is less affected by the
signalling?

The dash in front of the passenger has a dent in it.  I don't
recognize the impression <g>.  I figure I'll remove it and
pound it back out.  If it's too ugly, I'll get it close and
put some gauges up there or something.

Actually, a dash cover will probably go on.  It's been a while
since I was conscious of the steep windshield rake cause
reflections of the top of the dash (cluster area) in my
forward view.

I can't think of anything else, that might be it.  As always,
thanks for any tips.

Later,

Ken