Lincooln
Member
Well this last weekend I bought myself a 86 Fuego Turbo.
I am getting rid of my Mazda 626 wagon as that was a work car and is now not needed. Besides the Fuego is so much more fun.
So basically I picked it up from a weird kinda guy down in Palmerston North in NZ. I won the auction on it for $955, so a real bargain I was hoping. Got down to it and Yeap, she is all good. Body is alright, no major dents and very few minor ones, rust wise it has had a couple of repairs on the underside of the bonnet and along the bottom of the passenger door. The drivers side needs a bit and there has been a hole bogged up under the petrol filler flap. There are plenty of stone chips and other chips to the paint, and there is plenty of surface rust spots that need attention soon. I was told the drivers side door lock didn't work but so far it has had no problems.
The owner before the one I got it off, replaced all the suspension bushes etc ten years ago, so it all seems to look good underneath. and rides real nice, on some big bumps it makes some noises but its getting less. I think it was just from not using it enough. He did after all only do 1000miles in the last 5 years in it, how ever it has left me with a set of real good tyres. The front half of the exhaust has been replaced and a muffler deleted and mandrel bends added instead of the crushed bends. The new exhaust goes from the turbo back, it is 2.5" dump pipe that goes into a 2.25" system. Standard is just a little smaller. Also the owner before the one who sold it to me cut the paint back way too much and had ruined the clear coat and in places has cut through the paint so now rust is showing through :evil: You dont need to cut it every time you polish it. maybe once every few years dammit.
The spot lights don't work for some reason, I think its bulbs but other wise everything else works fine light wise. The left front indicator lens has a hole in it with a sticker covering it, however I have a replacement for that side so its no biggie. The left side rear light has faded in the indicator side and I am trying to source a replacement. The right rear has a crack in the lens but its not too bad.
Interior wise its all very good, a few stains on boot floor carpet but nothing else. No holes either so its all good. the stitching on the drivers side seat is coming apart on the right bolster, however the seller gave me a replacement cover for it too. oh and it has a really ugly looking wooden and leather gear knob on it that been super glues so god knows how that's going to come off :evil: Also the radio that is in it does not work, I got it working once but I think the power to it is not working, so will test it and see. Otherwise I will get a new head deck for it. oh and in between the stitches on the roof lining it hangs a little low, but that's just age.
So now to driving. Well my dad said it smoked a bit leaving the guys place and getting out of town but within 15 minutes it was all clear, and have not seen any more yet. (was black smoke) I have been taking it easy as the previous owner did nanna it a lot when he did use it so it needs a new run in period as such. Its coming a live more now though, which is good. Engine runs really quiet, has no noise from the chain or tappets etc. Turbo sounds fantastic too. :twisted: Oil looks new too along with filter.
The gear box is all good and so is the clutch. Worse part i find with driving it is tat you sit so near the middle there is no where to rest your right leg on long journeys, but at a stretch you can get the door, just leaves your leg on a weird angle. Seats are super comfy and it cruises real nice and is quite as too. Just as quiet as my dads 19's if not more so. another annoying thing is that the turbo gauge is blocked by your hand on the steering wheel, so will swap locations with the computer so its like my dads one.
Well it has plenty of power and no hills made me change down gear at all, just sat in 5th with about 4-7 PSI and it just climbed. Turbo lag is way better than what I was expecting, you just have to adapt your driving to it. such as I went to pass in 5th and the turbo slowly spooled up and I thought I need to get passed quicker, chopped to 4th and it was off like a cut cat. Good thing is that it uses next to no fuel. when doing 110kph it sits at 2500rpm. so barley sipping fuel and it usually has about only .5 psi boost running in it on the flat.
One problem I had was that the wipers at speed would work twice then stop and fly right up into my line of vision. I found that it is the ball joint on the wiper motor that is coming apart. So will need to work out what to do about that.
So work that needs doing:
New: Oil, oil filter, air filter, coolant, spark plugs, leads, rotor, dizzy cap, brake fluid.
Body: Fix all the under bonnet rust and get engine bay into primer, and start the panels one at a time. Once it is all in primer with rust removed and rust proofed I will get my mate who is an award winning spray painter to paint it the green form ph2 19's. Should suit the Fuego. oh and remove the tow bar.
Engine: Wind up boost to be like my dads, so should run 14-15 Psi. my dads Fuego had done 450,000km's before we hit a hole and it would never run right, and no one could figure it out. So now its my parts car. other than that not much else needs doing. Just a freshen up really in the long run. oh and replace the rear half of the exhaust.
Interior: Replace the drivers seat upholstery, replace gear knob to standard one and fit new speakers to it, also might fit retractable seat belts to the rear out of my dads Fuego. oh and new boards for the tool holes in the boot floor as one is sagging badly and the other is a hory piece of ply wood.
Wheels suspension etc: maybe lower it, but that's debatable but would like to get a set of 15" BBS somethings.
Next post will have all the photos I have so far. Photos were taken once I got back to Auckland just with tyre shine added to the black trim and the tyres. Have since given it a clean and polished the roof and bonnet and it looks much better for it.
I am getting rid of my Mazda 626 wagon as that was a work car and is now not needed. Besides the Fuego is so much more fun.
So basically I picked it up from a weird kinda guy down in Palmerston North in NZ. I won the auction on it for $955, so a real bargain I was hoping. Got down to it and Yeap, she is all good. Body is alright, no major dents and very few minor ones, rust wise it has had a couple of repairs on the underside of the bonnet and along the bottom of the passenger door. The drivers side needs a bit and there has been a hole bogged up under the petrol filler flap. There are plenty of stone chips and other chips to the paint, and there is plenty of surface rust spots that need attention soon. I was told the drivers side door lock didn't work but so far it has had no problems.
The owner before the one I got it off, replaced all the suspension bushes etc ten years ago, so it all seems to look good underneath. and rides real nice, on some big bumps it makes some noises but its getting less. I think it was just from not using it enough. He did after all only do 1000miles in the last 5 years in it, how ever it has left me with a set of real good tyres. The front half of the exhaust has been replaced and a muffler deleted and mandrel bends added instead of the crushed bends. The new exhaust goes from the turbo back, it is 2.5" dump pipe that goes into a 2.25" system. Standard is just a little smaller. Also the owner before the one who sold it to me cut the paint back way too much and had ruined the clear coat and in places has cut through the paint so now rust is showing through :evil: You dont need to cut it every time you polish it. maybe once every few years dammit.
The spot lights don't work for some reason, I think its bulbs but other wise everything else works fine light wise. The left front indicator lens has a hole in it with a sticker covering it, however I have a replacement for that side so its no biggie. The left side rear light has faded in the indicator side and I am trying to source a replacement. The right rear has a crack in the lens but its not too bad.
Interior wise its all very good, a few stains on boot floor carpet but nothing else. No holes either so its all good. the stitching on the drivers side seat is coming apart on the right bolster, however the seller gave me a replacement cover for it too. oh and it has a really ugly looking wooden and leather gear knob on it that been super glues so god knows how that's going to come off :evil: Also the radio that is in it does not work, I got it working once but I think the power to it is not working, so will test it and see. Otherwise I will get a new head deck for it. oh and in between the stitches on the roof lining it hangs a little low, but that's just age.
So now to driving. Well my dad said it smoked a bit leaving the guys place and getting out of town but within 15 minutes it was all clear, and have not seen any more yet. (was black smoke) I have been taking it easy as the previous owner did nanna it a lot when he did use it so it needs a new run in period as such. Its coming a live more now though, which is good. Engine runs really quiet, has no noise from the chain or tappets etc. Turbo sounds fantastic too. :twisted: Oil looks new too along with filter.
The gear box is all good and so is the clutch. Worse part i find with driving it is tat you sit so near the middle there is no where to rest your right leg on long journeys, but at a stretch you can get the door, just leaves your leg on a weird angle. Seats are super comfy and it cruises real nice and is quite as too. Just as quiet as my dads 19's if not more so. another annoying thing is that the turbo gauge is blocked by your hand on the steering wheel, so will swap locations with the computer so its like my dads one.
Well it has plenty of power and no hills made me change down gear at all, just sat in 5th with about 4-7 PSI and it just climbed. Turbo lag is way better than what I was expecting, you just have to adapt your driving to it. such as I went to pass in 5th and the turbo slowly spooled up and I thought I need to get passed quicker, chopped to 4th and it was off like a cut cat. Good thing is that it uses next to no fuel. when doing 110kph it sits at 2500rpm. so barley sipping fuel and it usually has about only .5 psi boost running in it on the flat.
One problem I had was that the wipers at speed would work twice then stop and fly right up into my line of vision. I found that it is the ball joint on the wiper motor that is coming apart. So will need to work out what to do about that.
So work that needs doing:
New: Oil, oil filter, air filter, coolant, spark plugs, leads, rotor, dizzy cap, brake fluid.
Body: Fix all the under bonnet rust and get engine bay into primer, and start the panels one at a time. Once it is all in primer with rust removed and rust proofed I will get my mate who is an award winning spray painter to paint it the green form ph2 19's. Should suit the Fuego. oh and remove the tow bar.
Engine: Wind up boost to be like my dads, so should run 14-15 Psi. my dads Fuego had done 450,000km's before we hit a hole and it would never run right, and no one could figure it out. So now its my parts car. other than that not much else needs doing. Just a freshen up really in the long run. oh and replace the rear half of the exhaust.
Interior: Replace the drivers seat upholstery, replace gear knob to standard one and fit new speakers to it, also might fit retractable seat belts to the rear out of my dads Fuego. oh and new boards for the tool holes in the boot floor as one is sagging badly and the other is a hory piece of ply wood.
Wheels suspension etc: maybe lower it, but that's debatable but would like to get a set of 15" BBS somethings.
Next post will have all the photos I have so far. Photos were taken once I got back to Auckland just with tyre shine added to the black trim and the tyres. Have since given it a clean and polished the roof and bonnet and it looks much better for it.
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