When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
The hiatus is over, after 6 years I finally found a 4th gen
I have not had my 1998 SE on the road since buying my truck in 2012. Basically rust was the only issue. I started fixing it; welded in a radiator support and replaced the fenders. I soon found the rust to be quite extensive. The rockers and rear quarters were gone. I parked it and left it on the backburner after buying a house in 2013.
Fast forward to this year. A 1999 SE-L popped up on line that caught my eye. After chatting with the owner, who bought it new, he sent me a few more pictures. It looked good enough to see it in person. It did not disappoint. The body is very clean. He had it serviced regularly at the dealer. It's nearly all stock except for the stereo.
Since buying it I have been working on it often. I may post few threads on specific mods and projects or maybe a full log in the rides section. Until then a few teaser pictures.
A 20 year old car is not worth too much. Most 4th and 5th gens around here are usually rotted out and advertised around $1000 give or take a few hundred. A clean example is few and far between.
98 is getting parted out. I'll be using much of it for this car. I need the transmission (bad bearings in the 99) and will install the DEK 00VI stuff at some point. I already took the leather, strut bars, intake and other small things and put them on the 99.
It's basically now paying to keep it on the road, no car payments and cheap insurance.. Very nice deal for the price. I saw you put the clears, now maybe lower it a bit cause the stock height is absolutely horrible. Little mods here n there will make it a really nice car again. Can't complain. Repairs is your "car payment" if you think about it.
Oh yes, lots of parts to swap, lots of plans for mods and of course doing regular maintenance along the way. When it's done it will be like my old car but a different color. Having kept my old one and countless parts accumulated will keep out of pocket costs low.
My 98 in its prime. Stillen aero kit, Eibach, Koni, 5th gen wheels will transform the exterior overnight.
CONGRATULATIONS! Now that's what I call the deal of the decade.
If you would like to try tightening up the suspension feel from the bottom up, without really changing anything permanently, here's an old "s-chassis trick" that has been modified to work on an a-chassis. It uses a combination of Z-32 aluminum, Delrin from a Titan, and Perrin poly from a Subaru WRX. IIRC, I started running it in the winter of 2016 and posted about it a few months later. I've been running the aluminum spacers on the s-chassis G50 for going on eight years.
I'm currently running two 4th gens with Koni Orange, H&R lowering springs, SE kit, and my special mod in the link below.
04-10-2018, 09:04 AM
