simpleton with questions pls help

[here2learn]

After considering an s2 for a while i found a 3b just down the road from me have had a look and shows signs of 20 year old car but nothing serious i hope the problems are as follows

as the engine settles into idle there is a faint rattle at the back of the block havent used screwdriver stethascope so can not pin point exact area is this common

also as the rear wheels break traction under acceleration there is a knock and as it regains grip it knocks again the guy said his mate called it diff slap which means nothing to me

will be having a second look in a few days so some pointers would be grate

[shaun5]

Welcome to the forum

Im sure others will confirm but the rattle is normal, its the distributor gear rattling, think it can be cured with replacing the plastic gear with a metal one?

The rear diff noise could be just the rear diff mount gone

[here2learn]

cheers for that we still had snow when looked at it last so will be taking it to my friends unit to be able to get it up in the air has sat for 2 years but when the guy bought it 6 years ago was stripped and caged so still has no sound proofing. have looked at buying guide on another s2 forum so will run through when there also. If this is the car i buy i would be firstly stripping and re building the block ready for further developments so as and when this happens i will be looking for as much advice as possible.

[TimE-J]

Good luck with the purchase, nearly everything you will need to know can be answered on the forum!

[20Vcqdriver]

Welcome to the forum

Im sure others will confirm but the rattle is normal, its the distributor gear rattling, think it can be cured with replacing the plastic gear with a metal one?

The rear diff noise could be just the rear diff mount gone

My diagnosis too nothing major

[shaun5]

Hope all goes well with the purchase, cars that have been stood for a while need lots doing to them so take that into account when negotiating a price

Where abouts are you to?

[here2learn]

kent 20 miles from dover

have seen this car parked for a while and on the off chance called in to see if he wanted to sell is also a few perished hoses under the bonnet had a 170bhp ibiza cupra sport that pulled harder but have put that down to vacuum hoses and also some of the punch is lost through 4 wheel drive i have been told dash lights out and heater fan really noisy. turbo was replaced not long before being stood up. have been away from cars for nearly 7 years now so just reigniting a past passion.

[macspring]

Here2learn,

I note your name, so HTH.

You haven't mentioned the price or the year, but in the described condition it would want to be a well cheap/giveaway price, not to consider a nice ABY Silver Coupe ready to go.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3618270.htm Agreed it's sold, but not surprising at that price.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3149082.htm

Not saying either of these two cars are the ones you should buy, but something like them would be way cheaper and less hassle in the long run, that to buy some stale shed, that needs loads of work, i.e. time and money. Especially if you can't do the work yourself.

These cars are expensive to run and maintain if they've not had loads of money lavished on them by previous owners, and you want to end up with a decent one.

IMHO always buy an ABY over a 3B.

I know this post is a bit blunt, and not everyone will agree, but it is meant to help you, rather than encourage you to buy a shed you've seen parked at the side of the road for a while.

[here2learn]

i have looked at the ones on piston heads but not been to see in person i am still looking for the best possible option my friends are jap fans and have done all possible to get me to buy type r or some shody drift car but is not for me the only advice i have adopted from them is look for a pre 93 car if tuning is my ideal goal due to less restriction on emissions and can still pass mot without cat so am limited to a 3b, also from videos i have seen first gear on the 6 speed box is very short. and feel with aditional power the 5 speed box will have advantages. i will keep all options open the one i have looked at is very keenly priced as he would rather see it polished than striped.

h

[newsh]

The 3B is a little lighter than the ABY but the ABY does have quite a few advantages.. The 6 speed boxes are much stronger than the 5 speed S2 boxes, I have a 3B and have converted it to 6 speed. I have also moved the battery to under the back seat like the ABY. The ABYs pass MOT without a cat though as long as they're running ok, well my avant does anyway. Next thing I'm looking at is converting to ABY ECU so I can ditch the dizzy and run coilpacks.

You should be able to buy that 3B for a couple of grand

[macspring]

"couple of grand”, couple of hundred maybe....

This is going to come across as more bluntness, but it just cuts to the chase.

I note your comment about emissions, but your friends are familiar with Jap cars, you need advice relating to S2s, so forget about thinking that you have to buy a 3b so that you can circumvent emission requirements.

As Newsh has outlined, if you buy an ABY you won’t have make any of the types of changes deemed necessary for a 3b.

Your preoccupation with your friends advices regarding emissions is distorting your view of which year of S2 to buy. Such “advice” has not stopped or hindered the hundreds of, (starting at 1993 onwards), S2, RS2, UrS4, urS6 owners worldwide from tuning their cars.




Do a search on threads relating to 3b v’s ABY, for some additional background information. Emissions and cats is not a big deal. This is not American type of situation where you might be better off with a pre 1973 big block V8 to avoid all the emissions stuff post 1973.

rant over.

[here2learn]

straight upfront advice is what is needed to avoid wasting money i want a car to take forward and if have to blow a load of money just to get a stable platform is not the best place to start. the problems i have found are within my abilities and would give me a chance to get a feel for the car. until i have it on a ramp and had a good going over will still keep as an option my friend is a mechanic for honda and another friend maintains and builds a fleet of track mk2 golfs. i am not rushing so when they have gone over it with me i will post my list which i am sure will not be small but as to how severe is yet to be seen.