purchased a 94 ST205, how did i do?

rustyspoon

New member
Good Morning all,

I have finally pulled the trigger and purchased myself a 1994 ST205. I was looking for a reliable vehicle to use for rallycross and autocross. Thought about picking up an EVO or STI but settled on a GT Four. I have always liked this car from my days of Gran Turismo 2, so it was not a hard sell. even though it is heavier and less powerful then the other two cars...... but in all honesty, my driving sucks, so an extra 300 pounds is not going to save me!

I drove 5 hours to see this car and did not look it over as closely as i probably should of. I am new to both modifications and turbos, so any advice is very much appreciated. the car felt quick, handled sharply, did not make any funny noises when going over bumps. I could not find any evidence of oil leaks. the modifications seem cleanly done, except for the front fenders (rolled for a wider tire). From what the previous owner told me, the following mods have been done in the last 4000 kms of the cars life, before it was completely stock. Hopefully I found myself a keeper and not someones nightmare!

new brakes with endless pads (good?)
new coilovers with adjustable height and dampening
new air filter
newer battery
newer clutch
stock wheels with worn rubber
17 inch team dynamic racing wheels no tires
heat and ac work
replaced charge pump bearings
type one race bucket seat (my fat arse does not even get close to fitting in this thing, going to need another seat as the stock one is mangled beyond repair(don't have it, seller did not bring it to the meeting place)) and i cant drive the car long at the moment........
manual boost controller (boostsmart tee made in Australia any good)
boost gauge
3" custom exhaust flex pipe
de-cat
k&n drop in filter

the odometer reads 91000 kms, but I have heard it is common practice for the Japanese to roll them back. anyone able to hazard a guess at what the true mileage is of this vehicle?

So anyone see anything amiss? anything I should be concerned about? in pulling the oil cap off, I found it was very very clean. Is this typical of the car or did the PO clean it to hide something on me? (my own fault for forgetting to look before committing to the car). the fig 8s and rear diff mounts seem to be in good shape as far as I can tell.

What do you guys suggest I do to the car now? in terms of maintenance, and adding/subtracting from the car. I am quite happy with the power it now produces, and the boost is set to 15 psi. Might turn it down till I learn how to drive a awd vehicle...... i am shooting for long term, minimal work relationship with the car, i rally it for fun, not to win. so any advice to prolong the cars life is welcome!


pictures over on photobucket, 2 whole pages!

http://s276.photobucket.com/user/fowolf ... 0GT%20four
 

underscore

Well-known member
The mileage sounds realistic looking at the condition so I wouldn't worry about that, IMO the whole japanese rollback thing is mostly BS anyways. I would say drive it for a while and see what you love/hate before changing anything (maybe remove the boost controller and just run stock boost to be safe at first), now that you own it I'd toss it up on a hoist and give everything a solid going over, look for any smaller leaks, worn bushings, missing bolts, etc. and take care of any maintenance items first and foremost.

Oh and as a standard practice you should probably dump all the fluids and get them changed, some of the longer term ones like the diff are likely fine but you don't know how old the oil of coolant may be.
 

athousandleaves

New member
ST205 came with SuperStrut suspension and the banna arms or figure 8's are known to be a weak point so have a look under the front end to check them out.

Familiarize yourself with snap unsersteer :wink:


Strange seeing the 185's interior in there, or is that actually a stock 205 leather interior?
 

phattyduck

New member
Front and rear fenders were poorly rolled/pulled for wheels... other than that, the car is fine. 15psi is not much higher than factory boost, 17psi is max before you need to do some extra work.

-Charlie
 
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