Decisions....

[Iain Mannix]

Choices.  Still unsure what *exactly* is burned up in my 86 5kcsq, but
I do believe that it is fairly severe.  So, help me figure out what to
do!

I have 3 choices, I think:

1. Fix the 865kcsq.  Rad fan meltdown, at least fried the wires to the
fan.  SB/urq suggested that the damage is significant; PhilP made
mention of the significant damage in a recent post.  I have an 87
parts car - it runs, but not well.  I bought the 86 rather than fixing
the 87 - the 87's main problem is a lack of compression, along with
bad valve seals or turbo seal (smokes sometimes, I think it is valve).
It also had a _bad_ hardstart problem - but I believe it is to do with
the lack of compression.

2. Swap all the good stuff from the 86 sedan to the 87 wagon(I prefer
the wagon by a signifcant margin).  The engine in the wagon is tired,
but earmarked for a tqc - getting it out is a good thing, anyway.  The
86 is in very good shape - everything is stock, all the plastic bits
and pieces are intact, it has a new, metal radiator, needs a radiator
fan;), etc.  The 87 has some issues, mostly suspension related,
bushings and whatnot.

	- I know there are some differences between 86 and 87 in terms
of
      rear suspension.  How about the front?  The front end of the 86
is
      still largely solid - could I simply unbolt the subframe from
the
      86 and swap it over to the 87?

    - Is it easiest/possible to simply drop the engine and
transmission
      as a unit?  I do want to use the 87's transmission, but swapping
     the trannys on the floor will be easy.

It seems as though it'd be easiest to put both cars on lifts, side by
side(a possibility, fortunately, thanks to a very generous
friend/mechanic), drop the front subframes, take the engines/trannies
out as units, put the 86 motor in front of the 87 tranny, lift that
back into place.

In all, this is a big, but comparatively easy sounding job - moving
big chunks around, and the 86 only needs to roll once all said and
done.

3. Buy an 87 4000q.  Called a friend last night to tell him the news,
he was on his way home with a 4kq in the trailer - it is destined to
be a rally car, but I could buy that(needs a radiator, think we have
one), drive it for a while at least.  Not sure what else is wrong with
it, but last time the radiator held coolant, the car was solid.

So, assuming the 86 meltdown is far beyond those wires which are
obviously burned(I think it is), and the 87 4k is comparatively solid
beyond the radiator(I think it is), which would you do?  Putting the
turbo motor in the 4k is kinda out of the question, as this project
really can't drag on a long time - my mechanic friend is very willing
to help, but I really can't expect more than one full weekend out of
him - he's willing to help out to get me back on the road, but I don't
think he wants to get into a 4ktq swap.  Super tempting, but I think
it is more than either of us want to get into.  Dunno - will look into
it, that'd be a fun little project, but not realistic right now.

I think I'm leaning toward swapping things into the wagon - there
anything I'm missing?  Big year-compatability issues?

Thanks!  #3 seems to make a lot of sense, except for the fact that I'd
be writing off the 5ks entirely - the 86 is worth little as it sits,
as it'd probably cost a fortune to have fixed by a shop, and I do not
believe the job is trivial.  The 87 is something of a beater, but with
all the good parts on the 86, I can make one nice car out of it pretty
easily.

I just don't know.


Iain