I have been waiting a long time to find a decent donor car but now I have one. It's a 1990 TP Wagon I brought it off ebay for $600 quite a good deal. As you know my motor is stuffed and it's carby so I wanted to rebuild an engine and at the same time convert my car over to EFI.

The car I brought has reco CV joints new dizzy new water pump new battery and half the exhaust is new. The engine out of the donor car is being rebuilt at the moment I have brought a M7 head and cam out of a second gen for it. The block is going to get rebored because there are some ridges in the cylinders so I will need to get new rings and pistons for it also.

So what I want to do is when the engine is finished being rebuilt then all the EFI gear is going into my carby car along with the good motor.

Then let the modding begin :badgrin:

Good luck man, I had a Tp, put a second gen head on it with roller cam and roller rockers, deleted balance shafts and then the gear box gave out....

If it's not already, go for a 5 speed manual conversion while you have the motor out.

The auto's not all bad... though, they do tend to give out when you rebuild the motor.

I'd stick an EFI auto in there at least, if you're converting, otherwise, as Ev said, go manual

Is the EFI auto different because I just put a reco gearbox in my car 3 months ago and it feels alot better than my other 2 that died. I am going to use the reco one for as long as I can then convert to manual. If I still had my other gearbox working that only cost me $200 then I would convert to manual now, but because my reco one cost me $1600 I dont want to do it yet.

I dont think I will get many years out of the reco auto but I need to make the most of it while its working. The auto out of the donor car is slipping alot between the gears and doesn't feel like its grabbing fully. So I dont want to use that box.

All TP autos are the same carby or EFI both need the TPS

the carby and auto TCU may be different

the carby motor has cast iorn top ring
the EFI motor uses a stainless steel

(magna buff)

Yeah I thought they were the same the TP box is supposed to be stronger. If the TCU is different that will be ok because I have a donor car thats working so I have all the bits I need for the conversion.

keep us updated with how your going when it all gets underway. and post up pics:D

Yep will post some pics soon. The donor car has had the motor and gearbox pulled out of it some wiring for the EFI and some of the front end. I will be keeping the CV joints cos they are reco as spares because my CV joints are still good. I was thinking about painting the donor car and putting my sound system and the central locking into it but I love my car too much so I decided to convert mine. The donor car has no rust only bad thing about it is the gearbox and paint was all faded.

Nice!

Good to see I'm not the only one who actually spends money on these cars...

I did almost exactly the same stuff as yours, except the ridges on my motor were quite severe at only 140,000km (equivalent to about 600,000km wear as I discovered at the wreckers!!) and a brand new second gen engine was found, so I just put that in rather than rebuilding the old one. Engine runs great, although the gearbox (which I didn't reco) is beginning to slip a bit.

I too got a M7 head completely reconditioned, with the roller cams and TR blue-top injectors (which were cleaned and reconditioned). It runs very nicely, although in the typical TP fashion, many other parts of the car are failing lol. When I first changed the motor, it ran awful, but gradually loosened up, but just be careful you don't drive it excessively hard (ie. over 3000-3500 RPM) until it's done at least 1000km on the new engine, otherwise things may not settle in as well as they should. I just took it easy on mine until the idle had stopped requiring readjustment and the car started more consistently. You may also find the idle is rather "lumpy" with the new cam, especially with blue top injectors (if you have them). The duration is slightly different on the roller cam as opposed to the standard cam, and I have a feeling that on mine at least, the ECU doesn't cope all that well with the different cam, as I can smell heaps of unburnt fuel from the exhaust... but then again, this is the second ECU I've tried on mine, each time relating to fuel consumption issues. My first ECU at one point forgot how to use 2 of the injectors (which recovered, never to happen again :S)!

Next on the list is a new oxy sensor (totally dead), new ISC motor (mine is sticking and has troubles idling smooth) and it needs the distributor connections cleaned up again from corrosion thanks to a stuffed rubber boot on the connector. I had a consistent 10.4L/100k fuel economy for about 2 months, driving it fairly constantly during that time, but now thanks to failed sensors, it's back up at 16L/100k, which is really getting annoying. So be prepared for silly little things like that to break! May as well just replace those sorts of things while you have everything out - makes for a fresh start :)

Good luck! These cars will grow on you after a while...

Yeah your right they do grow on you and I dont mind one bit about spending money on it cos I love the way it drives. I think if its one thing in life that makes me really happy then why not blow some money on it, you only live once.

I hope after getting the motor rebored it will be alright dont want to take too much off it. The M7 head was reconditioned not long ago and im going to get it sent off to get checked for cracks while my block is getting rebored.

Just wondering when I get my car all converted over and the rebuilt motor put in what I should do performance wise first. I was thinking some extractors and new exhaust about 2.25" all the way through. Then maybe a do CAI and get a K & N pod filter next but yeah I will drive the new motor in for a while first. Also need to save some more cash up after all of this is finished.

Performance wise - there's heaps you can do with those engines, as they are extremely tough thing (basically they are designed to handle diesel compression, as the same blocks were used in some of the earlier mitsu diesel engines).

Mostly though, it depends on what you want more of - high power or high torque. If you enlarge the exhaust, you will find that you will lose low down torque (I started to go down this path, but the moment I did, I regretted it as take-off sucked, so I put my old exhaust back on :P). That's if it's a N/A engine though... Turbo benefits heaps from enlarged exhaust.

If you want great power, consider stuff like a turbo. N/A there is very little you can really do on these engines besides attempt to help the breathing on them. The AFM is a significant hindrance on the engine and is a major source of restriction on the intake, and you can't really change it to anything better with the stock ECU. Also the TB and intake runners are fairly small, so any upgrades to intake won't necessarily make an insane difference. Extractors are definitely recommended though, and you might want to consider a non-stock ECU, as the stock one is quite stupid... In my car all it does is whenever it detects something out of spec even slightly, it just dumps heaps of fuel in (oxy sensor died prematurely coz of this)! K&N filters you can get for this car too, and they do help the intake a fair bit, and slightly improve intake sound. If you want a pod filter though, make sure you get the right one, as the vortex AFM requires an oval shape, otherwise it doesn't work properly...

Something you could do fairly easily though is upgrade the injectors to some better flow ones (the second gen blue injectors are compatible with the stock system, and are slightly better at the high end than the yellow tops), and the camshaft you could upgrade to something better, even if it's the second gen roller cams. You could also put in the sigma rocker gear, as the standard HLA's bleed out over 5000 RPM and can cause significant damage to the valves. The solid ones don't have this issue, although they will require adjustment now and then.

Ok

The donor car is now all stripped down all wiring harnesses are out and other bits and pieces that we will need for the conversion. Thanks to Madmagna for doing all of the work for me I am glad I have him doing it and not me. I wouldn't have a clue where to start lol

He has finished rebuilding the engine with the second gen head new pistons and rings and he said the block is in really good nick for a motor thats done 210,000kms

I will get some pics off Madmagna and post them up soon as he has been really busy lately with this job.

I can't wait till it's all done :badgrin:

Good to see someone is doing up another wagon, and putting some time into another 1st gen full stop.

They're good cars once you get them running good, I've had mine running nice for a little bit now and it cruises so nicely.

The astron benefits greatly from breathing mods, K&N filter with open airbox did a great deal to mine, also things like extractors and straight through muffler, revs faster and harder than 2nd gen v6's that I've ridden in.

I'm yet to take out the balance shafts in mine, I've looked into it and there's a lot of gains to this mod (give or take 15hp). I nearly have all the equipement to do it, just waiting for the time.

Just a word of advice about the blue injectors, don't put them in untill you can grab another fuel rain and weld an aftermarket FPR to it. The blue tops require a higher pressure than the yellow tops, so the engine then runs lean, I'm yet to post my tests that I've done but I've gone back to the yellow tops.

Other good ideas are raising the compression, you'll then have to run higher octane fuel to stop pinging. Ported intake and head, cam or 2nd gen rocker gear, etc etc, The list goes on and on.

It all depends on how much you like your car or how much you consider practical (maybe nothing, but this is a car forum afterall :P).

i don't have a k&n filter on mine i got a unifilter i think there all about the same anyway but yeah a good air filter not a cheap 1 ....i have a 2 1/4 zorst on mine but yeah i am trying to get a set of extractor's now . i am ganna piss the mechanical water pump of and run a davies electric water pump the enigne might gain a little power from that as there isn't as much stress on the cam .....i am ganna source down another airbox and fully chop mine apart and maybe run a little bonnet vent over the filter and then put a shield up so i can direct the air a little better finger's crossed

i don't have a k&n filter on mine i got a unifilter i think there all about the same anyway but yeah a good air filter not a cheap 1 ....i have a 2 1/4 zorst on mine but yeah i am trying to get a set of extractor's now . i am ganna piss the mechanical water pump of and run a davies electric water pump the enigne might gain a little power from that as there isn't as much stress on the cam .....i am ganna source down another airbox and fully chop mine apart and maybe run a little bonnet vent over the filter and then put a shield up so i can direct the air a little better finger's crossed

Try and source some sigma vents maybe, put one on each side so it doesnt look odd. :P

yeah i was thinking more along the lines as those wrx bonnet vent's the small ones the have on the front of the bonnet

waht do u think about running a electric water pump and not the mechanical one's do u think there would be a power gain

yeah i was thinking more along the lines as those wrx bonnet vent's the small ones the have on the front of the bonnet

waht do u think about running a electric water pump and not the mechanical one's do u think there would be a power gain


Yeh i would think it would help it rev up quicker and maybe a little power gain less strain on the cam. If you can get a good electric water pump then do it. Nothing to loose.

Neo:

I have got the roller rocker gear on the rebuilt engine now hope it helps with some power gain. Will do a CAI and a K & N filter when I get the car back. I have read your thread and might do the same as your CAI. Also will need to get some good extractors, your lukeys look good :D

Are you going to rebuild your engine one day?

yeah i was thinking more along the lines as those wrx bonnet vent's the small ones the have on the front of the bonnet

waht do u think about running a electric water pump and not the mechanical one's do u think there would be a power gain

Maybe if it was a carby, meaning the air filter would be in the center. But wit EFI it's over to the left if you can cut the airbox open.

Yea electric waterpump sounds like a good idea, not sure if someone has tried it before. You might want to do a search on the forum to see if anyone has tried it before and see if it was any good.

It would have a little less strain on the engine, which is exactly what the balance shafts do, rotate twice the speed of the engine in the opposite direction and put strain on it etc.


Neo:

I have got the roller rocker gear on the rebuilt engine now hope it helps with some power gain. Will do a CAI and a K & N filter when I get the car back. I have read your thread and might do the same as your CAI. Also will need to get some good extractors, your lukeys look good :D

Are you going to rebuild your engine one day?

Yeah mine needs some attention soon, just havent had to time at the moment, need my car every day of the week etc, holidays are coming up soon though. :D

It turns out my 1989 White Wagon has had a hit in the front end and will never be the same again. I didn't even know when I brought it. It drove so well.

Anyway the 1990 Silver Wagon I have as the donor car is going to be the one I will end up with because it has no rust and is alot more straight than mine. A better car to work with Mal reckons.

So all it really needs is a nice paint job and to transfer my gearbox into it along side the rebuilt engine. Then after that I want to transfer my Dash and console because they are better than whats in the Silver Wagon. So really just putting all the good bits from each into the Silver one now.

I have Pics now from Madmagna that he has been taking along side working on the 2 cars.

After Rebore




http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd188/dickerj/joshtp8.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd188/dickerj/joshtp10.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd188/dickerj/joshtp9.jpg

The Silver 1990 Wagon after being stripped

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd188/dickerj/joshtp12.jpg

I hope Mal knows were to put all these parts back lol

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd188/dickerj/joshtp14.jpg

RIP old 1989 White TP Wagon

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd188/dickerj/joshtp17.jpg

That sucks man... finding your pride and joy has been through damage without ever knowing it!

Will be a good chance to start fresh though with a new frame and new engine hehe.

I know how annoying it is to have a car that's been hit once... mine had been in an accident in its past life that had bent the drivers side control arm, twisted the entire center crossmember, and buckled the engine support crossmember. I had to drop the whole lot out and replace them, as the drivers side wheel was almost resting on the front edge of the wheel well :S

Certainly explains the abnormal tyre wear and poor handling though! All fixed now, and the car handles amazing :D

And some more pics

Motor is in and running, working my way down the RHS now and then back around the LHS.

Due to the age of the paint, most of it is coming off, 2pak high fill then the top coats will finish it off sweetly.

keep the pics coming :clap:


lot of work stripping a car as a donor

then finding out you need to put it back togeather

As a first gen wagon fan I think it is well worth doing :clap:

Tell me about it lol, everything we needed was already out of the doner and then now is going back in lol

ALmost makes me want to sell my Laser and get antother TP myself lol

Has been a while but this job has turned into some what of a bigger job than that I first started lol. I am too picky sometimes.

Here is a pic of car in base coat, will be rubbing down and then clearing it off on Friday.

Has been a while but this job has turned into some what of a bigger job than that I first started lol. I am too picky sometimes.

Here is a pic of car in base coat, will be rubbing down and then clearing it off on Friday.
once you're done you can paint my car :D

Has been a while but this job has turned into some what of a bigger job than that I first started lol. I am too picky sometimes.

Here is a pic of car in base coat, will be rubbing down and then clearing it off on Friday.
Good to see someone who takes a pride in his work :)

Clear coat is now on, car is being assembled now.

Finished the clear coat this morning, after a few hours in the sun could not help my self so started installing basic trim etc.

Keep in mind the car has not yet been cut, polished or buffed.

this is now that stripped one

I forget... is it a basic model wagon

while putting it back togeather

what are you planing for its sound system
want it to have central locking ,electric windows,

It is really up to the owner.

The other car has after market central locking, this will be added. He already has amp etc so this will be transferred.

They are the same car, just looking a little better now.

this is now that stripped one

I forget... is it a basic model wagon

while putting it back togeather

what are you planing for its sound system
want it to have central locking ,electric windows,

Yes its the stripped wagon that we ended up going with alot better condition than my old white wagon.

Both wagons are the executive model TP (so really the base model)

We wont be putting back on any badges I want it to look a bit custom as the paint isn't quite the standard Magna silver.

By the way the paint is looking fantastic all thanks to Mal he has done an excellent job on it and I can't thank him enough. Im really looking forward to driving my new car when its all done.

As for the sound system I have so far a sony headunit with an alpine 450watt amp running
2 X 2way alpines in the front with 2 X 7X10 Kenwood 3ways in the back. So I will transfer those over into the new Magna. Same as with the central locking we will transfer that over as well, if possible. I have thought about power windows but wont do it for a while I want some rims for her first.

Anyway well done to Mal he has done a great job all round on this car. :D

More fun over the last 2 days, Josh and I have all the dash back in and went to put in the central locking from the old car only to find the way it had been installed complete with wood screws to hold it in was not going to cut the mustard. Goes to show "professional" installers simply do not care about what they are doing.

So off to the wreckers today to find a TP elite, grab all the harness, actuators, rods relays and contorller. After stripping the elec window gear out we did a dry run on the floor with it and had it all working and have not wired into the exec. Looks pretty much factory as we have used all the factory wiring etc for it all.

Now is time to put in all the trim, paint the bumpers and buff it all up. Hopefully by Easter Josh should have 1 sweet looking first gen back in living existance.

I now have my TP wagon all complete now, all it needs now is a cut n polish to finish her off. Should come up quite nicely I think.



http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd188/dickerj/27042008247.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd188/dickerj/27042008243.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd188/dickerj/27042008238.jpg


Oh and I dropped the rear on its guts looks good hey, what do you all think?

Needs paras.


:bowrofl:
I love it, that's hillarious lol