Greetings,

My name is Justin. I live in Ohio, and I am a senior at a small, private college in Indiana. I am an avid car guy, and I have been working toward getting a car for a long time, but just finally got my first one yesterday. It's an '85 2M4 Automatic with 169000 miles. I paid $1300 ($1050, plus tax and "fees"), so she's rough around the edges, but she runs strong, and drives well.

I'll be heading back to school in about two weeks, but in the mean time I'm hoping to fix her up a bit. I know I won't be able to do a whole lot, because I don't have much money, and I'm currently working and preparing to go back to school. However, anything I can get done on my limited budget with my limited time, I'm going to try to do. I plan to have this car for years though, so I plan to restore her bit by bit as I can invest both time and money.

Also, I'm sorry for the lack of pictures. I know some forums can be finicky about where they're hosted, so I thought I'd ask before posting any. If I host them on my personal site, can I post them here?

To begin with, I'd like to ask about the valve cover seal. First thing we noticed when my dad and I went to look at the car was that the valve cover gasket looks to need replacing. The thing's covered in oil, and what little oil was actually in the car (she was about two quarts low, but we put two quarts in before the test drive) was very dark and smelled a bit like gasoline. So first on my to-do list is a new valve cover gasket and an oil change.

A friend (think 50-something, not 20-something), who has his own shop and owned an 87 Celebrity with the Iron Duke for many years, told me he is going to look into a special type of gasket that in his experience fixes the common oil issue on these motors. I can't recall what he called it, but I know it's blue in color. I think it's made of neoprene.

What do I need to know going into this?

If you guys like, I can update the thread with info on the car as I go.

Cheers,

Justin

quote If I host them on my personal site, can I post them here?

I think so....most of us upload them to PhotoBucket and then link them to the site.


BTW ....would love to see what $1300 gets ya

Welcome--to the Fiero zone!---I had an Iron Duke on my first--and she dribbled oil on my spark plugs---seems like a common issue (at least for me)--go ahead and replace the gasket--who knows how old it is--just be sure you check your oil--don't rely on your gauge. Get the oil changed too--now!!! smells like gas it may be breaking down. And about restoring the car--how bad is it?--clean the insides--does the car have a lot of faded or warped parts?--check "the mall" section--you can get a lot of stuff from other members. about photos--on the bottom of the page is the PiP program--you can download and use it to post your photos here---we would like to see your car! good luck and welcome!

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Pat Jones

Thanks for the tips, guys! Much appreciated.

Here's the photo I took in the rain yesterday. That one headlight motor is dead, so I wasn't about to sit out in the rain for five minutes to put it down. Haven't had a chance for good pictures yet, but I'm hoping to get some tomorrow after I get off work.



The bra is off, and I cleaned up the front end. I don't know how long it was on there, but the amount of dirt, etc. under there was appalling. It ruined the badge adhesive, so the plastic with the logo on it is separating from the metal backing/frame. I'm going to look into either replacing the insert or gluing it back onto the metal mount.

Those aftermarket rims are (I think) 17s. The tires are General M+S with a good portion of wear still left in them. Being a new owner, I'm not a good judge of tread-per-mile, so I couldn't give you a mileage number.

My dad and I went over the car pretty thoroughly this afternoon looking at what needs to be done. I've made a list of everything I want to do, and everything I think I need to do before I head back to school. Between yesterday and today, I've WD-40ed the hood latch (which wasn't working, but works flawlessly now) and the door hinges (which didn't swing well and were noisy, also better), pulled the dead flasher module from under the dash, picked up all the loose screws from the interior and put them back where they go when possible, and pulled some junk out from crevices (pretty sure it sat under a tree for a while based on the way the paint is going, and the maple leaves and seed pods hiding in the nooks and crannies). So that's where I'm at. Gonna get going on some real work this week.

Never mind, we found the filter. Now we just have to actually get to it...

[This message has been edited by PurpleGryphon (edited 07-29-2013).]

Here are the pictures I promised. They were taken by my sister (the family photographer) in the middle of working on it yesterday.

One thing I'm especially grateful for is good glass all around. No scratches, nicks, or cracks. And the power windows still work!



I think somebody tried to get under the skin on the driver's door, cause it's broken off the mounts on the bottom. I'm planning on gluing it back together as a temporary fix, until I have the time and money to re-skin the door. Or just buy a replacement.











It's difficult to see here, but the front spoiler is pretty much shot. It's cracked and floppy and pretty much just sags there looking pathetic. I'm guessing this is a pretty common thing with these cars.









The paint on the roof and deck-lid is ruined. Pretty sure it sat under a maple tree for along time.





The wheels are decent for larger (17"), aftermarket rims. They're dinged up and scratched, but they'll do for a good while still. It came with General M+S tires in really good shape.



The taillights are fully functional. No dead bulbs and the turn signals and reverse lights work. Really thankful for that.



She's rough, but she's pretty. With quite a bit of TLC, I think I can bring her back into desirable condition.



So that's my first car. She isn't on the road yet, because I'm still waiting on the title from the dealer. She's about ready though, just need to do the breaks to get her road-worthy. Looking forward to the benefits and responsibilities of ownership.

[This message has been edited by PurpleGryphon (edited 07-31-2013).]

More pictures to come. Want to record the state of the interior and engine bay as well.