Mnementh
04-27-2011, 07:11 PM
Thought I'd introduce myself and my ride, a bone stock '87 Conquest TSi.
I originally found this car for my then-current roomate back in '88. It had 6200 miles on it then and we had lots of bachelor fun in it back in the day. Fast forward to two weeks ago. Afformentioned friend contacts me after over 8 years of silence. Seems he's losing his house and wants to sell the Conquest to help finance his move. It reportedly has 45,000 miles on it now. After settling on a price I went down to pick it up.
Thankfully nice weather that day. I changed the dead battery for a new one and filled the 24 year old tires BUT with no ramps I could not get enough leverage to get the oil drain bolt off so I slowly and carefully drove the 130 miles back to the twin cities on a 6 year old oil change(!) :rock2: The good news of that day? The car does NOT have 45,000 miles on it - it actually has 38,000 miles!! :banana:
So, for the past week I've been changing the oil & filter & cleaning up the interior. (The leather was very dry and ALMOST ready to crack!) The car has not been cleaned or detailed for 15+ years so that alone was several day task.
My question is this: I'm gonna take it in and have the cooling system flushed... god knows how many years (decades?) old the coolant is! While I'm having that done, is there anything else I should have done? Like does this engine have a timing belt or chain? The manual doesn't say anything about replacing a timing belt but I've seen plenty of pics of starquests on the 'net with scored pistons & bent valves! Any advice would be welcome.
It is also a very unusual color - a sort of greyish slate-blue metalic. The color code is B71. I have never seen another one in this color, even back in the late '80s. If someone would kindly advise me on how to post pics, I can post pics of my car that will be easier to look at than my avatar, LOL.
I'm planning to restore the car back to it's former glory and maintain it in stock shape. Mitsubishi got it right so why tinker with it, right?? My immediate goal is to get it into roadworthy shape so it's reliable enough to drive to the Starquest Nationals in Branson, MO this June.
I originally found this car for my then-current roomate back in '88. It had 6200 miles on it then and we had lots of bachelor fun in it back in the day. Fast forward to two weeks ago. Afformentioned friend contacts me after over 8 years of silence. Seems he's losing his house and wants to sell the Conquest to help finance his move. It reportedly has 45,000 miles on it now. After settling on a price I went down to pick it up.
Thankfully nice weather that day. I changed the dead battery for a new one and filled the 24 year old tires BUT with no ramps I could not get enough leverage to get the oil drain bolt off so I slowly and carefully drove the 130 miles back to the twin cities on a 6 year old oil change(!) :rock2: The good news of that day? The car does NOT have 45,000 miles on it - it actually has 38,000 miles!! :banana:
So, for the past week I've been changing the oil & filter & cleaning up the interior. (The leather was very dry and ALMOST ready to crack!) The car has not been cleaned or detailed for 15+ years so that alone was several day task.
My question is this: I'm gonna take it in and have the cooling system flushed... god knows how many years (decades?) old the coolant is! While I'm having that done, is there anything else I should have done? Like does this engine have a timing belt or chain? The manual doesn't say anything about replacing a timing belt but I've seen plenty of pics of starquests on the 'net with scored pistons & bent valves! Any advice would be welcome.
It is also a very unusual color - a sort of greyish slate-blue metalic. The color code is B71. I have never seen another one in this color, even back in the late '80s. If someone would kindly advise me on how to post pics, I can post pics of my car that will be easier to look at than my avatar, LOL.
I'm planning to restore the car back to it's former glory and maintain it in stock shape. Mitsubishi got it right so why tinker with it, right?? My immediate goal is to get it into roadworthy shape so it's reliable enough to drive to the Starquest Nationals in Branson, MO this June.