my 1980 mx32

schassisowner · **Posted:** Mon Aug 15, 2011 12:28 pm

i just scored a sweet cressida mx32. this thing is in nice shape with only 112k on it. Its an east coast car so there is a tad bit of rust/and paint blemishes but its still solid as far as the floors rockers and rails go

say hello to my new daily.

pics commin soon

schassisowner · **Posted:** Fri Aug 19, 2011 5:30 am

alrighty, got the titlework done and registered it

now its at the shop getting inspected (hope it doesnt need much, i know it needs an alignment the pass side tire wore terrible)

schassisowner · **Posted:** Fri Aug 19, 2011 5:35 am

not sure why photobucket is being stupid with the sizings....

anyways, few things im going to look at is the brakes, they squeak pretty bad when stopping... im thinking it needs shims or something since it stops fine. will probably bleed and paint the brake booster first.

also i noticed it doesnt always fire the first time. i have to crank it quite a bit to get it to fire, but once it starts it purrs like a kitten and pulls hard.

any thoughts on what this could be?

starter selonoid?

jzcelica · **Posted:** Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:20 am

Does your engine have a Cold Start Injector? could be that ....

schassisowner · **Posted:** Fri Aug 19, 2011 1:15 pm

good point, i can definately check

schassisowner · **Posted:** Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:14 pm

bump... got her legal but she still needs a bit of work

ordered the idler arm to fix the sag in the pass side suspension

also got an exhaust manifold gasket and valve cover gasket on order.

next is changing all the fluids, as i continue to drive her daily. got aot of comments already and shes completely stock

she still cranks kindof hard... im thinking maybe the starter selenoids are worn out or something... once it starts it runs amazing though

schassisowner · **Posted:** Wed Feb 29, 2012 2:06 pm

alrighty update time!

after dailing the cress for a few months i noticed a few things i want to take care of and improve before i do the suspension.

first were the brakes. the stock ones were installed with no grease/shims and they would squeal horribly at every stop.

i decided to just get new remanned calipers and pads from Napa. total cost: 120 or so. i really wish these pads came with some sort of shims but I'm not sure if its because i went with a parts store pads or what. i applied brake grease and so far there is no brake squeal.

while i was under the car i did notice this which upsets me but i know that its not too bad. drivers fender was obviously bondo'ed and painted when they got the cheap paint job. i will have my friend patch this. if anyone has a dented fender with a good lower portion and they don't mind cutting up that would be awesome

so this might sound really stupid, but can you cut the springs on the damper? or do you have to disassemble? i was thinking of doing that until April or so when i plan to order some sort of coil over application. I'm thinking of going with megans since i don't plan to track the car and they are assembled and just require welding onto the stock mounts.

then i was playing dress-up hehe

enkei 15x7 0 offset meshies

centerlines 14x7 0ish offset

have a lead on some tires for both sets, but I am almost done my s13 and hopefully if it sells soon i will get moving on this (if not i still will but I have my eye on another piece of J-tin) :wink:

the other thing i noticed is my trans seems to slip a bit when the engine is cold. After the car warms up its less noticeable but it just doesn't grab very hard. I am really hoping to find the pedal assemblies at the junkyard when i go in a week or so and then i will worry about finding the w58 to switch to a five speed

The last few months Ive noticed I have had significantly reduced my MPGs, but i plan to give the car a tune up in the next week or so. We have been having a mild winter so Im getting antsy to start working on her

stay tuned

schassisowner · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:48 pm

alrighty so i did a tune up the other day on the tired old M motor.

new plugs, rotor, and plug wires, valve cover gasket, and finally a new thermostat to address my coolant problems

basically the coolant looks like mud, not sure if its from the automatic trans fluid cooler leaking into the radiator or what but it looks god awful.

before:

the valves were super dirty and full of oil deposits

almost after:

now i hit a sort of snag. the top of the theromstat housing holds a cold start valve (i think) as im trying to thread the sensor on top, i stripped the fittings.... i can just tap them out to be larger, but then i also have to oblong the holes for bigger bolts for the sensor. my question is, do i really need this sensor?

also did anyone ever clean up the stock intake on the 4me and remove some of the emission controls?

i currently have a lead on an n/a 2jz with a five speed attached to it for a really good price; im hopefully going to scoop it up in the next week or so. It wont be going right in the car, as i want to do the suspension and what not first, but i will slowly get the motor ready then so i wont have to worry about the sluggish performance of my 4me

any help would be great ya'll

Presamax · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:20 pm

Clean ride. Thanks for keeping us updated. Good luck with the project.

schassisowner · **Posted:** Fri Mar 30, 2012 12:22 pm

no problem..... lol i might just reassemble it without that piece and see what happens... i miss driving the old girl

schassisowner · **Posted:** Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:52 am

put my deposit down on my 2jz... should have it monday

its gonna go up on the stand and get new seals/gaskets before i install but im super excited :tu:

got her back on the road, she runs but is sluggish at best

schassisowner · **Posted:** Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:50 pm

alrighty so i picked up my 2jzge last week for 600 cash.. 5spd already attached.

already ordered a gasket set, front sump oil pan, and a few other little goodies.

still need:

clutch fan,

radiator,

pedals (got a lead just need to scoop em up)

supra driveshaft

clutch kit

motor mounts

etc etc

I am getting the old 4me tested this week for a possible bhg, it has been overheating on me like crazy the last few weeks

if thats the case the project will start sooner than i expected.

just picked up a clean third gen maxima for a daily, so i dont have to rely on my cress for a daily anymore. After she is done, she will go back to being my primary driver, but it will probably be a few months until the engine is ready to go into the car

while the car is under the knife, i will also be upgrading the suspension with t3 coilover sleeves and what not to give it a nice ride.

PICTARS

also picked up some fender mirrors

UtahSleeper · **Posted:** Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:55 pm

Nice score!!! Love these cressi's.

jzcelica · **Posted:** Tue May 01, 2012 8:13 am

Man 4ME's must be alot worse than the older 4Ms, since everyone calls em sluggish. My '73 4M has the higher compression 41032 hemi head, it runs pretty sweet. Lots of low end torque, just runs out of steam at higher RPMs because of the restrictive ports and manifolds.

schassisowner · **Posted:** Tue May 01, 2012 1:10 pm

i think its alot to do with the transmission... since it slips a little.... but with the overheating issues i've been having its not worth tearing into since i got such a sweet deal on this

schassisowner · **Posted:** Mon May 14, 2012 7:32 pm

alright so i got cranking this weekend ripping the old 4me out of the car. the headgasket is definitely the root of all my problems... just look at the oil coming out lol

getting started.....

looove how the rad support and front face comes off of these... makes it soo much easier to pull the motor. so i noticed that the drivers side frame must have been jacked up incorrectly at one point as it is crumbled right by the firewall

i am going to ask my family friend if he would be willing to help me with the fender and a few odds and ends but I'm still happy enough with the body. i wish it wasn't resprayed but I know that is what saved it. i would love to paint the whole thing but i might just sand the lower half and try and match the white for now... im thinking a pale yellow would look awesome on this; but its outta my budget/skill set to do myself.

as she sits ready to come out of the car

i will be selling off a lot of my misc parts off this motor, so if anyone needs the accessories just hit me up. i will make a thread when i have it all organized.

i went back and pulled my mk2 supra pedals, and i found a mk3 supra driveshaft, so most of the parts sourcing is finished. still need to search for a radiator that will work, i think an sr s13 koyo would be the same size; or i might take my rad to a shop and see if they can order a oem one still or something equivalent

schassisowner · **Posted:** Sat Jun 23, 2012 6:21 am

alright so time to update this thread

i currently have the entire front suspension assembly off the car... I am in the process of sanding the wheel wells and bay to get them ready for paint.

The 2jz is waiting on a new clutch and then the trans will be reinstalled... so that's coming together nicely.

I decided that I am going to hold off on ordering suspension for now... i really want to have this back on the road by mid august (hopefully) but i have also been looking for a new job so that has taken more of a priority than project cars.

I am going to take some measurements of the stock radiator. there is a mx62 in the yard by my house and the stock rad might fight. Hoping to go to the yard monday for a few misc items, as well as pull some parts to sell off the sc300 if its still around.

only picture i have

i did however order new steering parts; new tie rods, ball joints etc so that will be fresh.

will also put new rotors on and brake pads and hopefully eliminate the bad brake squeal (already ruined this set of pad) grrrr

also have a lead on a new drivers side fender... trying to avoid body shop repairs... the only other spots I'm sure a family friend can take care of.

schassisowner · **Posted:** Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:58 pm

update time:

alright well i had some time off this week so i started prepping the bay and the wheel wells for paint. here's the run down of how i prepared the wheel wells.

first i sanded them down to get rid of the old undercoating.

then i painted it with sand-able primer

now the upper portions where water cannot really pool, i just used black gloss paint but on the areas that had the undercoating got treated with truck bed liner. You apply it with a brush and rocks and debris do not really scratch it. plus you can wipe it off with a wet towel. I really like this product.

and the passenger side for good measure

here is the bay after cleaning....

and after the primer..... and mocking up the brake booster and clutch master.

should get the final coat of paint on tmw....

I'm also going to undercoat the frame rails in the bay.... so it will almost look like the car is a frame off the body

stay tuned... suspension should go back together this week... then the 2j goes in.

schassisowner · **Posted:** Sun Aug 26, 2012 6:09 am

bump.... haven't had alot of time to work on this until last weekend... the front end is almost back together, and have a few more hours in the bay to get it where i want it.

picked up a lil truck for parts hauling

ill update with pics when i work on it tmw

schassisowner · **Posted:** Thu Oct 04, 2012 7:15 pm

ok update time

so i found a parts car!!!

WOOT grabbed both of the fenders, the trunk lid, tails, rubber seals, cowl, door panels etc... in the black and blue hue. alot of this stuff i dont need like the interior bits cowl and trunk lid so if you need stuff hit me up

the fender is blue and has a bit of swiss cheese in the lower quarter but it is far cleaner than my original one. I will see about getting it patched in good time but paint and body work are last on this project.

I cut coils up front so once i drop the motor I will see how far it drops it and go from there.... suspension is another real update probably around one of the tax return times.

ok so I am waiting on new ARP flywheel bolts and i will have the clutch installed along with the trans and it will be ready to drop in the bay.

bay is 99% done

finally i have a question about the trans.. its a w58 off the sc300... it has the rear sitting shifter off the trans. i did get a faceplate from a 85ish celica supra but I am confused how it is installed.... do you have to remove the shifter fork and use one off a mid mounted trans shifter?

pics for reference...

and the throwout bearing installed and appears to be right....

my goal is to get the motor in the weekend of the 13th.... we will see if that goes as planned.

my 1980 mx32

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