So i bought my '91 last summer, absolute beauty and well maintained with a nice fresh MOT. It has the odd advisory but nothing major. Anyway, since she was purchased shes mostly been parked away under cover. Fluids were all checked and battery disconnected prior to the winter months.
Anyway, I was just wondering if there was any advice that people could provide me for her first year on the road more regular than she has been in the last few years (She wasn’t driven much by the previous owner) She’s had a rebuild on the gearbox and fresh fluids.
I want to go easy with her and bed her onto the road slowly, does anybody suggest any sort of general checks i should perform before driving her initially? Fluids? Oil? Coolant? Check hoses?
PS loved the lifter video on youtube Joe! can’t recall having a lifter tick as of yet but i will be checking when I get her out next!
Timing belt would be a must along with water pump and tensioners. Also check bottom pulley, make sure it hasn’t de-laminated . Is there any history with the car or could the previous owner advice on the service work already done. If no history I would plan to change all fluids Starting with engine oil and coolant then gearbox, transfer box and different. Congrats on the purchase.
Enda
This is a difficult one to answer without having accurate service history of the car. Everyone will have different experiences with these cars based on mileage, service history, weather conditions, how often it was driven and how it has been stored. I think that there are just 2 things that everyone will agree with. The more they are left sitting around, the more problems you will have and a regular oil and filter change is essential. These girls are getting old now and the British weather does not do them any favours. They love to be driven and regular use will reduce the problems. If you don’t have much history, a timing belt kit could be a worthwhile investment as Enda said.
You will find lots of advice on this forum and some of the other forums and clubs but don’t take everything on face value. There are lots of people with little knowledge who repeat something they read or think but don’t have a clue about anything. There are others with excellent knowledge so you need to work out the good from the bad. Listening to the wrong advice can end up costing you a fortune.
Good luck with the car. I hope you have as much pleasure with it as I have had with mine over the last 30 years.
Little help my friend’s ))) I am restoring a handful of 91-92 3000 GT’s and a R/T Stealth. Bought a 92 3000 VR4 with 2 basket engines. I found to buy a 91-93 JDM dropin with 50K miles on eBay. I installed the engine and made up the existing harness in the car. WOW!!! you have to love extra harness plugs))) OK, here’s my question. Car started and the engine purr’s like a kitten. Off the alternator lead I have a plug that goes to an O2 sensor on the front manifold of the old engine. There is no sensor port on this new engine??? Next, on the front fuel rail has a plug that is between the 2nd and 3rd injector plugs. This engine has no place for it. I looked at one of the other complete cars I have and it appears to go down to something like a crank positioning sensor??? Anyone know what year engine I ended up with and why it runs fine on original ECU without these 2 plugs connected… Thanks for your input.