I bought this 2 owner California car about 1.5 years ago because it had good bones. The owners brought it from California to Colorado, but had only driven it about 100 miles in 5 years, and it had the neglected maintenance you would expect from that lack of use. Nothing bad, but lots of little stuff. I had a rally coming up in a few months, so decided to prep it for that as well.
Because lf the length of time it was sitting, I did the 'normal' refurbish stuff.
Brakes: Go through the brakes - which included new hoses, all new (ATE) pads and rotors and new front calipers. One front caliper was slightly sticking, and for the replacement cost, it just isn't worth messing with to take apart and try to rebuild/free up. Repacked the front bearings (they were great inside, so no need to replace).
Suspension: Replaced all the shocks with gas-pressure units to try and stiffen up the response over the OE ones. The og ones weren't worn out, just soft. After taking it on a rally with 2 people, luggage for 4 days, and lots of tools (including an aluminum jack and jack stands) the rear end was found to be too soft - would bounce over undulations. Recently, I replaced the rear springs with stiffer HD units from Lesjofors and the shocks with stiffer valved ones for a heavier sedan. Haven't test driven yet, but crossing my fingers it makes the rear match the front better and kills the porpoising. I replaced the original 14" Bundt wheels with 16x8 Maxilite Penta style wheels and 225/50R16 summer performance tires. I also bought a new tire for the spare - don't forget to do that, people!! So many cars I've seen have new road wheels and tires, and a cracked, old, flat spare tire.
One of the fog lights was smashed (parking by braille I assume), so refurbed them with amber units. Upgraded the brake and reverse light bulbs with LED ones for more safety and visibility. Did the same with the trunk and interior bulbs. The trunk lid made a cheap sounding metallic twang when shutting, so I cut and fit some sound deadening, and siliconed between the outer sheetmetal and the reinforcement ribs (weren't welded together) and the difference is startling. In the rear cargo area (where it would have rear seats) the metal was also bare, so I added sound deadening there as well when doing the rear shocks, as I had to have the interior panels and carpeting in that area out. Makes a nice, noticeable difference. I had a new German canvas convertible top installed in dark brown, as the one on it was great, EXCEPT for 4 small tears that really aren't repairable.
Engine: Cooling system flush, new coolant reservoir (old one wasn't leaking, but stained dark), radiator cap, thermostat and hoses. Motor oil flush and change. New air filter, PCV valve. New fuel filter,fuel accumulator and fuel tank screen/pickup. New ignition cap, rotor, plug wires and spark plugs. New oxygen sensor. All new V-belts (5 of them!), new hood insulation blanket, new wipers, fixed several vacuum leaks, adjusted throttle and kickdown linkage, cleaned and lubed idle control valve, new washer fluid tank, pump, new battery, new CIS fuel injectors and seals. Adjusted fuel injection slightly - mostly for altitude.
Transmission: The trans was a little low on fluid, so had the transmission flushed and a new filter at a specialist. Differential got a flush and fresh fluid.
This car steers, handles and brakes better than new. It is simply a joy to drive, whether around town or shooting through the canyons. The additional grip from the wheels and tires and response from the performance shocks and rear springs make a huge difference. On the classic car rally through the curvy roads on Colorado's Western slope it did great. It was 600 miles there and back (got 24mpg!), plus 1000 miles there, all in 4 days. Never missed a beat, and I hauled lots of extra tools for others on the rally! This car is ready for all kinds of enjoyment. The soft rear suspension has hopefully been fixed, but unfortunately, the great 4 spd auto trans has developed a leak that has been hard to diagnose, so the transmission is coming out to fix it before the rally this year.
Thes R107 chassis cars are great. Still a good buy/value, for a car that is easily serviced with lots of parts availability and a great, enjoyable, functional car.
