Hello everyone, my name is Kenno and by way of some accidental fortune I have purchased what seems to be quite an impressive Magna Elite 1986. I must admit my intrepidation about owning an older Magna especially after reading through some of the posts here today. I have always owned older cars however not ones with so many electronics.

I purchased my car at an auction house in Perth last week for $480. The car which has been garaged all its life has 128,000 ks and seems to be in mint condition. The car sold as a repairable right off had a small dent in the rear bumper and number plate area and a broken front headlight. It seems as though the low km accident was not worth the insurance companies money to fix.

My friend used a porta pack to straiten everything out and replaced the headlight in exchange for some contra work. He also gave it a buff up and the ducco is like a mirror. You cannot tell that the car had been dented after his excellent work. The car is metallic blue and silver with new tyres and due for its next service in 5000 k's. I have the log book and records of all services carried out by the original and only owner of this pristine car.

I am happy that I have become a Magna Man. It went over the pits easily and much to the annoyance of a very authoritative inspector. Tomorrow I am going to get a conversion to R134 for the air conditioner because even though it works its quite feeble. I love this car folks as it drives like a dream and still all shiny under the hood.

I am also glad to find this site with all you enthusiasts and relevent information that will help me not get into any trouble (hopefully).

Magnamously yours
kenno

Sounds like you got a great deal :)
Welcome to AMC

yep, thanks I will see if I can get a picture done today.

k

hi and welcome to the amc

Another 1st gen....bout time.:cool:

Welcome to the site mate...enjoy :D

An immaculate first gen! I'm impressed =)

Yeah, let's get the pics up so we can all see -- I'm sick of seeing old and tired first gen's around the place!

Welcome to the club. =)

(Welcomed from an ex-Magna driver, now a Toyota driver... hah)

Welcome mate...good to see another 1st Gen driver. Theres not a lot of us on here. Make sure you get some pics up. If your after mods, just ask us and we can recommend many for ya. Welcome to AMC!!

Hey mate, good to hear about the magna!

We first gens are a dying breed!

welcome to AMC. so where's this beast of yours hey? pics or ban hehe

Welcome to the Club :D

Remember when i bought my first magna, first gen for $305 off ebay, was a great car although by the sounds of it yours is in alot better condition.

Would love to see some pics of this nice and tidy example.

Welcome to the club!

Always good to see that the first gens are climbing their way back to the top :D

hehhee. Immaculate first gens are in particular a rare breed - and it sure sounds like you got a pretty sweet deal with yours :)


Hope you enjoy your stay at the club!
Welcome! :dancin:

Thankyou for the warm welcome everyone. After getting the air con done today (brrrr) I dropped in on a friend to get some pics done however he wasn't home. I have no other way of taking a photo unless I get film developed. I hope to show my ride tomorrow though. Maybe even a short video perhaps. Waiting waiting.

Hehehehe, I even went around and gave mum a ride around the block.

kenno

in this forum you will find all you need to know about your magna with a search or a post

then we can advise you on the mods you need to make before a cruz:bowrofl:




Hey magna buff, whats the first modification you would make on this car? Just interested.

k

It all depends on what you want to do, and how much.

Looks. Go wheels first. The biggest problem is the wheels are 4 stud, not 5. So look at Lancer wheels. Then lower it. Stereo is important too!

Performance. 2" or 2 1/4" catback exhaust. With extra money, make sure to get some extractors. After that cams, a bigger Throttle Body. There plenty more, depending on if you've got EFI or Carby.

Ok, thanks, extractors hmmm that would be good. I am turning 50 this year, so I will have to decide whether I want those exciting noises or keep it stock n steady. Its already got mag wheels even though I wouldn't have picked the design myself. its a sort of square and rectangle pattern around the wheel and solid in the middle. It looks like a carby under the air filter but jeez I could be wrong.

k

Welcome to the club Kenno!

Good to hear about another low kms 1st gen, mines nearly on 150,000 now. :(

I'm in the middle of decking my first gen out as much as money permits, so let me know of any questions regarding mods that you decide on. :)

Where do I get my AMC sticker please?

kenno

1986 TM == unleaded carby

some engine mods to consider: Ground cam, solid lifters from sigma, upgraded carby, remove balance shafts, extractors, porting of head, shaving head to increase compression.

all these mods complement each other, there is no point to extractors if the cam lift and duration is not changed to make use of the way extractors work. at the moment my stock carby cannot supply enough fuel under WOT and the motor starts leaning out. so i'm soon going to be upgrading my carby.

Or consider wacking on EFI.


TM Elite did not come with much electrics... pull power mirrors, central locking (or get new kit), climate control from a later model.

**** like throttle bodies are a placebo, you achieve WOT at less % throttle, hence it feels different, but achieving the same thing. having heavy breathing mods will see benefits with a larger throttle body.

read profile to see what i've done to give you ideas. i had a 85 Leaded TM without the unleaded bull****.

still auto though, but i can get a 0-100 of around 8-9 seconds? madlante has a manual efi TN, and is faster once again with the mods he has done.

as for stereo, putting new wires for the speakers is the best bet, you cannot fit 6x9s in the rear parcel shelf unless you cut metal or use spacers. speakers in doors also is a problem but it is possible.

feel free to ask about anything.

also...

Tomorrow I am going to get a conversion to R134 for the air conditioner because even though it works its quite feeble.

why not get it regassed with R12 or ER12? i've got my airconditioner in bits ready to put in a new Receiver Drier and put new orings for everything (using ER12 safe green orings).

you will regret puttin r134a, i'm yet to see a A/C system that works as well as a R12 system.

you just have to choose one or all :D

Wait i could have chose one? lol

here it is

http://images.blogstream.com/i/userImages/72/72575_37125.jpg

http://images.blogstream.com/i/userImages/72/72576_37125.jpg

http://images.blogstream.com/i/userImages/72/72577_37125.jpg

http://images.blogstream.com/i/userImages/72/72578_37125.jpg

http://images.blogstream.com/i/userImages/72/72579_37125.jpg

Gee it looks great. The alloys are the standard TM Elite wheels, it looks to have tinted windows ya lucky devil.

My mechanic who is a Magna specialist always said the 1st gens are great is they are regularly serviced, make sure at every 5000 you change the oil. That seems to be the trick, and he was firm on that part of the service when I took my TN in to him.

Wow that is clean as mate. Looks bloody awesome. Now for wheels and lowering! Then your laughing.

yep tint is a bit bubbly on the rear window Tess. I am suprised they passed that when inspected. Oh well, who gives a toss now. The car has the original Fremantle Mitsubishi dealer sticker on back window and it looks pretty fresh for nearly 21 years. I think I might have to get a car cover for parking at work. Is that obsessive?

kenno

How low can I go Legendair, legally that is? That would look good

How low can I go Legendair, legally that is? That would look good
pff legal.. go as low as you can :P,
i only have like 5mm of travel left on my suspension but im regretting it somewhat cos my cv's have copped it so has my tires due to the camber :( but still looks good lol

but looks like quite the buy cant see any rust either!!

Looks. Go wheels first. The biggest problem is the wheels are 4 stud, not 5. So look at Lancer wheels. Then lower it. Stereo is important too!

CE + lancers wont fit as they have a pcd of 4 x 100 where as ours are 4 x 114.4

You guys crack me up. Remind me of me 25 years ago. Damn getting older and wiser with regard to flaunting with the Justice dept and joints (cv that is).

k

Kenno, go and take a 3rd gen for a test drive. You'll be surprised how good your gen 1 really is in comparison.

Kenno....im looking at lowering about 2" all-round. Mind you, being a dumb P-Plater...its cause i want the car to be dumped lol Legally though? 1" i guess. At the front it will make the most difference, because the huge wheel arch. On the rear, it doesn't need to go down quite as far.

Go for it Legionair! Whatever makes you feel good about the car etc. 2 inches doesn't sound much but I am sure that the difference will stand out. How long will the car be off the road for?

k

Really Tess? I have always thought that I got a great car but thanks to you guys I am slowly starting to appreciate just how much. I will definitely get a cover to keep the sun and dust off while at work.

kenno

Go for it Legionair! Whatever makes you feel good about the car etc. 2 inches doesn't sound much but I am sure that the difference will stand out. How long will the car be off the road for?

k


lol just call me Andy....easier then my funny/cool/very long user name.

Yeah prob two inches...wont be out for long. Mind you its a bit down the list. Tint is booked in for next thursday (darkest legal). After that splits for the front, and then prob a new amp or springs....not sure. Hard to pick....sound or looks? And even then i might still get an Elante kit (minus the wing) before that or a louder muffler. Many options.

So. 1 Tint
2 Splits
3 Muffler/Amp/Springs/Elante kit help me decide!

Wow, that looks mint! And for only $480!!!! :shock:

Very nice find indeed!!


Side note, Andy: Get a good sound system before getting exhuast done, I'm glad I did! :P

Thanks Neo

Its not absolutely perfect. There are two minute rust spots on the bonnet and I have a an annoying rattle on front left hand side. Sounds like suspension cause it only occurs when going over bumps at lower speeds it seems to happen when wheel comes back up from un even roAD. It makes less noise from about 70 ks up. Maybe some new shocks? Anyone got any clues? I am going to fix it cause the ride is so very sweet.

kenno

Sweet! another 1st gener :D

Is that the original paint ? I dont think i have seen a 1st gen with that colour :think: Good to see another 1st gen in good condition. Dont see much of them anymore.

yes gemini, original all over it seems. the original dealership sticker on the rear window is still brand new looking too. i was shocked today when beach sand blew over the front having lunch at mullaloo beach. i am going to get obsessive with this i can tell.

k

Hey Magna Buff,

I push down on the front left hand side of car and I can hear a slight clicking noise. I also can feel the clicking through the tyre. It seems to happen just as I push down on the car body. I am going to iron out this rattle and hope its only a bush or replacement shocky that is required.

kenno

Magnabuff, I had a look in there today and all seems to be ok. I found some sticky lumps of crumbly red stuff at the bottom of spring unit. The spring seems stiffer on this side compared to the rhs. Holding the dust cover and pushing gently down on the car a few centimeters produces a clicking noise.

I can't imagine that reddy pink stuff to be anything to do with a shocky, weird stuff indeed.

k

cheers for that MB, sounds like a lot of hassle to replace rubber, so will look around for some shocks next week.
thanks

k