:D New Car... Few problems :frown:

I'm a newbie and have recently aquired a 84" Gazelle coupe. (S12 as u may know them)
It was a little neglected by the last owner, so im trying to make up for it. I have a few minor problems that i'm trying to fix.

a) Sunroof left drain is blocked. Tried poking 40cm tube down it... doesnt work any other ideas. (Had fixed up rust their previously, pour coke down to corrode it?)

b) Cruise control doesnt work... what should i check first before i go to a mechanic / auto electrician.

c) Stock suspension, what are the best options to upgrade and estimated costs

d) Other than chucking premium in, is there any cheapish ways of getting a few extra kw? (eg. fuel pumps, filters, air intake etc?)

Thanks any info would be a great help... even links to HELPFUL threads would be of assistance.

I'm a newbie and have recently aquired a 84" Gazelle coupe. (S12 as u may know them)
It was a little neglected by the last owner, so im trying to make up for it. I have a few minor problems that i'm trying to fix.

a) Sunroof left drain is blocked. Tried poking 40cm tube down it... doesnt work any other ideas. (Had fixed up rust their previously, pour coke down to corrode it?)

b) Cruise control doesnt work... what should i check first before i go to a mechanic / auto electrician.

c) Stock suspension, what are the best options to upgrade and estimated costs

d) Other than chucking premium in, is there any cheapish ways of getting a few extra kw? (eg. fuel pumps, filters, air intake etc?)

Thanks any info would be a great help... even links to HELPFUL threads would be of assistance.

a) no clue

b) check for a vacuum leak first(check all the tubes comming out of your cruise control solenoid)

c) to lower it..280zx springs for the front, and Z31 springs in the rear. KYB makes GR-2s for the front and back of our cars and Gas-a-just shocks for the rear. and you can use a z31 polyurethane bushing kit to redo your car's bushings.

d) the msot common mod is using the 60mm throttle body from a ka24e motor. however since you called your car a gazelle, I assume your'e in aus and I dont' think you guys got the ka24e motor in your s13s(lucky bastards lol) currenly in the forum raffle there is a 70mm throttle body up for grabs. $1CAD(I assume canadian because dan is in canada) per ticket. and you can buy as many tickets as you wish. also, if you buy more than 10 tickets, you receive two extra ones...buy 10 tickets, receive 12...buy 20 tickets, receive 24..you get the picture...

also, if you have a ca20e motor...then I suggest upgrading to a 2.25" exhaust system and getting a cone filter and MAF adaptor along with the throttle body. upgrading your ignition wires to 8mm will help too. there's not a lot of options for the non-turbo motor...but if you have a turbo motor you got lots of options....T28 turbos, intercoolers, boost controllers, as well as all the stuff mentioned for the ca20e. but instead of a 2.25" exhaust...a 3" exhaust fromt he turbo back would be a better idea.

a) try wire or somthing harder/sharper instead
b) prolly vacuum like indecisive said, check the little line that goes from near the booster to the cruise vacuum solenoid thing.
c) being a 1984 it's a live axle, lowered springs are available off the shelf from king springs or k-mac (around $300 for the set of 4). Pedders do normal shocks but for anything fancier you'd be looking at koni or kyb. Pedders are around $300 for 4 i think. I sold my full live axle suspension to scooter on this forum, he might not need it anymore due to not having a gazelle anymore.
d) premium makes sfa difference to the ca20e as far as i can tell, it's only got 9.5:1 compression so pinging is never a problem. As far as exhuast and inlet go you can upgrade them but i think the flap AFM is so damn restrictive it'll make little difference. A clean filter and a 2" exhaust will probably be the best you can bolt to it anyways. But every little bit helps i guess. Advancing the timing on a CA20e actually makes a difference, i was dodgy and just did it by ear but advancing from the stock 0 deg BTDC to 10 or so should make it feel better.

ADVANCE THE TIMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just did it and she goes better.......not more powerful, just better.............less (quote Neb) "doughy!"

i dunno bout the coke thing................i really dont!!

just keep good fuel in it, change the oil and filter often, make sure you have a clean air filter, and look after her, thats about all ya can do untill you do expensive mods such as engine swaps, aftermarket management, turbo, etc etc

Thanks guys,
All a great help. I'll check it all out.
Any more info n stuff i'll appreciate and i'll keep roaming the forum archives...
Yeah im from Aus. and unfortunatly it isnt a turbo. Has the CA20de The thing is so stock... too stock... it even had the original floor mats in it. they along with k-mart seat covers were well n truely warn out.
Now got better covers, mats, recon head, water pump, thermo houseing, re-cored radiator, new sparks (all 8)... and other little stuff... New head unit and speakers to come along with central/immobiliser :D
The speedo i have worked out is 15km/h out when i finally reach 100km/h so gotta get that fixed too... She's my weekend project... and weekday (had to re-seal the roors last night... had a puddle in the passenger foot well when i got in after work... not happy)
Thanks alot and keep em comming

it's only got 9.5:1 compressionI thought it was 8.5:1 Compression ratio. Would be nice if it were 9.5:1 though.

Haha no it is 8.5:1...type-o dammit

b) check for a vacuum leak first(check all the tubes comming out of your cruise control solenoid)

I see people calling the cruise device the wrong thing all the time. Its a diaphram, not a solenoid. Difference is a solenoid is an electric device, a diaphram is controlled by air pressure or vacuum. I needed to correct you because if you tell 1 person the wrong thing, they will tell more people the wrong thing and well, thats how mass ignorance gets started and its hard to correct. So I thought I'd get it early:) But your cure for the problem is still valid, check all vacuum lines. Thats what was wrong with mine. The hose was missing completely! I wondered why. But I fixed it for free. I just stole about 6" of hose from GoodYear when I still worked there;)

compressed air gun down the drain tube. worked on a friends CRX.
took a while to blow the rubbish clear, but it worked!

I see people calling the cruise device the wrong thing all the time. Its a diaphram, not a solenoid. Difference is a solenoid is an electric device, a diaphram is controlled by air pressure or vacuum. I needed to correct you because if you tell 1 person the wrong thing, they will tell more people the wrong thing and well, thats how mass ignorance gets started and its hard to correct. So I thought I'd get it early:) But your cure for the problem is still valid, check all vacuum lines. Thats what was wrong with mine. The hose was missing completely! I wondered why. But I fixed it for free. I just stole about 6" of hose from GoodYear when I still worked there;)

:D feel free to correct me all you want. I'm all for knowledge and if i'm giving out the wrong info then lemme know that I've done something wrong..:)

nice to know that my "solution" was correct tho ehhe