1987 NH AW11 Restoration + Modifications

Restoration Day 1 - Radiator pulled, only one bolt head broke off, pictures of the underbody. Looks like the underbody is in real good shape, most of the rust underneath is surface rust on the oil pan and transmission

Week 1 update:
Radiator has been replaced with an aluminum ebay special from China, lighter but not 100% the same fit and missing the bleeder nozzle used when refilling the coolant.
Eliminating the coolant leak means the idle no longer pulses with overheating

New-found treasures:
Cracked Trim:

• Both C-Pillars
• multiple dash cracks
• stereo/HVAC trim panel is cracked in multiple places including the top screw hole anchors
• dome light cover disintegrated when I just touched it
• revealing a lack of a dome light bulb
• Roof antenna is snapped at the roof and dangling
• Rear trunk release in the cabin doesn't do anything and now the key won't turn
• Aftermarket Stereo doesn't work after pulling aftermarket fog light wiring...coincidence?
• One of the heavy rust pictures above is the rear motor mount
• handbrake doesn't ratchet...previous owner hooning mod....or brake cables bad....let's hope its the first one
• passenger front parking lamp/turn signal needs to be replaced (NBD)
• Coolant overflow tank cap has a broken nozzle

Actual welcome surprises

• Spare wiper and headlamp knobs were in the ashtray (win since the original headlight knob was broken
• Misread the odometer from a picture taken from an angle as 180k...it's actually 80k!!!!!
• two aftermarket amps, subs, midrange speakers and tweeters are installed (but janky)

Sooo in otherwords, the engine turns over and sounds great...but I have a lot of little "amenities" to address that will involve removing a lot of work on an aging interior. I shudder at how many more cracked plastic items will come out of this, both already cracked and just ready to go if I look at it wrong.

Good news...I should have a 3d Printer come the fall...hopefully most of the broken pieces can be replaced with a "new" print.

Week 2:
Radio magically started working again - will need to check all the wiring in the future
First test drive after replacing the radiator - no leaks and fan still working, but the serpentine drive belt shredded itself, no surprise there given how long it sat. Will be replacing it prior to the drive back to NH where I can give the car more thorough TLC.
First attempt at repainting the wiper arms was rushed and will need to be redone.

Immediate Next Steps:

• Replace serpentine belt
• Oil Change
• Replace Transmission fluid
• Replace Brake Fluid
• Tackle the Emergency Brakes not working (hoping its just detached cables)
• Auto Body shop estimate for addressing body rust (and quote a full repaint)

Trunk still not operating after another dose of WD-40, hoping to be able to find the pull cable under the driver's seat which doesn't appear to be attached just to swap out the air filter and replace the nonworking right rear indicator light.

yeah, think this needed to be replaced, one rear indicator light and she'll be ready to come home finally

Week 4 - she's home

The trunk is operating again, I think the cable pull had the latch release gummed up rather than a tumbler/key issue, I went after the disconnected cable under the driver's seat and it must have loosened up whatever was stuck when I tried reconnecting it to the lever.

I'm an IT guy and no mechanic, so this car is really for me to dip my toes in and learn some new skills, hence the wants list above being mostly add-ons/swaps of things with the engine in the car with space to grow. But once I get more comfortable who knows? Just saw the g16e AE86 swap on Youtube, maybe the 7AGE will be a stepping stone to even more

Overall very happy to have a "simpler" machine to start on, no power steering, it's not supercharged, no A/C to contend with, don't have to learn all the computer stuff right off the bat, etc. In any case, mods are less about squeezing torque and power, but just building my own skills while watching too many Rob Dahm Computer guy turned wrench head videos. That and better gas mileage than my 2013 Frontier.

Definitely appreciate the ideas though, keep them coming!

Very much appreciated and yes, first up is just getting it healthy so I can see what the blank slate is and get used to it and really figure out what I want to modify from there.

I'm expecting it to be wildly different from the FF 3000GTs I grew up with, much lighter and simpler, and amazingly not as cramped in the engine bay. But a complete 180 weight and power distribution wise.

Also not in a rush to have the power on tap that landed me with a suspended license and $500 speeding fine that I had in my 20s.

Overall goal: learn to wrench + fun

Priority 1: fun in the Twisties - suspension and learning the handling

Priority 2: Sounds and conveniences - intake/exhaust, eye candy, and interior amenities

Priority 3: Modifications