Hey Gang,
It's been a couple years since I've visited this NG, but I'm back!
My first question is simple enough. I have a 1998 TA that I bought used in
1999. It's got about 63,000 miles on it and it's in need of a clutch. I hit the internet and started looking up info on clutches and none of these sites explain the differences in clutches. What's the difference between a centerforce clutch and whatever's in there now?My second question should also be simple for you guys, but it's got an entertaining story behind it. Here's the question and if you want more info, read on... What's the biggest/best engine I can easily cram into an '82 TA?
But here's the story on the '82...
I have an 82 TA that my dad bought new. He didn't drive it much and even though it's almost 23 years old, it's only got 41,000 miles on it. He stopped driving it completely in the late 80's or early 90's. I was 12 or
13 when the car disappeared from the driveway and I thought he'd sold it, but I just found it! He had it stored at my grandfather's old cottage in Michigan. There's some good news and some bad news.A little history: the cottage used to be my grandfather's house. He was a mechanic for the little town and did the work out of his garage. Eventually, he built it into a 5 car garage. Then he met my grandmother and they moved into her parents' house in Chicago and his house became a cottage.
But here's the good news. My uncles use the cottage all the time and they store two show cars up there (a forty-something Cadillac and a fifty-something Chevy). They'd put my dad's car up on blocks and it SEEMS that they stored it properly. It's been climate controlled since it was stored (and there are THREE dehumidifiers in the garage). I even looked underneath and I only see a couple tiny spots of surface rust on the frame). All in all, the car looks beautiful.
The bad news: I changed all the fluids (most had been drained). I put in a new battery. Everything lights up, things make dinging noises, and all's well. But when i went to turn it over, absolutely nothing happened. No clicks, no ticks, no whirring, no grinding. I trailered the car back to Chicago after this and one of my friends put in a new starter. We tried to turn it over. Startter buzzed, but the engine wouldn't turn. Again, I'm not very knowledgeable about cars, so I called a mechanic. he wants to put in a new engine for like $5600. I called another guy who came to my house, tinkered, tried to turnt he engine manually, and he said it's locked up tight. He said he teaches an automotive class at the local community college and could have the students rebuild it for me (for only the cost of parts), but it would take several months. He said he could put in a brand new engine for $3600. He could rebuild it for $2800.
FIRST, I just signed up for 4 different automotive classes at the community college. So, I'm learning. The first thing i learned was that I'm not going to trust students to rebuild my engine. My classmates are the most brainless slack-jawed cretins I've ever met.
Second, if I'm getting a new engine, I'm going to shoe-horn the biggest thing I can find into it.
So, my second and third questions: Can you think of something else that I can try before swapping an engine? AND what's the biggest engine I could fit in there?
Also, i already checked the VIN and poked around to make sure it's not some special edition. I still don't know why he stored it instead of selling it, but it's just your garden variety TA.
Thanks for any help you can offer on both the engine and clutch topics.
Myz