She runs!
Finished it up last weekend. Took a good amount of troubleshooting. Seems a lot more peppy than previous, but I could be wrong. I’m working on a high RPM idle issue, but that’s about it. Previous owner had deleted the IAT sensor for whatever reason, so I added in a new one. Remade the exhaust using a cherry bomb as well as the old fart can, and it actually sounds great! Gets rid of that tinny, raspy sound. I regret trying to do a slash cut on the exhaust tip. Shifter works and feels great, though I’m waiting on a local machine shop to make proper, low-tolerance bearing races for it (mine were very loose).
More disappointing, though, is the fuel economy. Getting about 29-33 MPG overall. Runs through town net me 20-22 MPG. For comparison, I drive a new Toyota RAV4 at my job making deliveries in stop-and-go traffic and regularly get 30-33 MPG. What I’m saying is that I’m not doing it wrong or anything. It’s got everything cleaned up and all the engine fluids are fresh and brand new. I know the throttle spring is worn out, making it difficult to DWL. I hope the scanguage is just off a bit.
Then again, that could just be normal for an EX/SI model. Disappointing, though.
(This last pic is funny. Suspension is shot and I accidentally hit a pothole. Smacked the car so hard it spit a wrench out. It’s trying to communicate.