Fred's 1998 Suzuki Wagon R Wide!

[Fred]

So I made yet another bad car purchasing decision recently and bought this nifty looking Suzuki:





I got it "cheap": because it has a dodgy headgasket. It is running on 3 and bubbling through the coolant constantly as soon as it starts. If it had an iron block and a cam belt, I'd be confident in fixing it. But it's got an alloy block and a cam chain. It's powered by a k10a 1 litre 4 cylinder turbocharged engine with an intercooler so small that it would struggle to cool my breath on a cool morning. At least it's boosted, though, right? :-D On the down side, the HKS BOV makes ultra loud choo choo noises. Quite embarrassing. And annoying. There are other K series engines available to buy. But these are rare and I'm unsure about how compatible different K blocks are. Research is under way, and a chinese head gasket has been ordered from aliexpress. Fingers crossed.

I needed a place to record the TODO list for the car, and it's not going to be FreeEMSed for a while, so this is the section I've decided to post in :-)

Fred.

[Fred]

TODO:

• Put air in the tyres, down to 20psi from lack of use. Now 40psi all around.
• Attempt to charge the battery, very flat. Got 48 hours @ 1 amp, now seems to be holding that charge, which is positive.
• Wipe and/or vacuum interior clean. A little mouldy from lack of use.
• Clear out previous owner's old stuff.
• Fix the 5 intermittent door switches so the alarm isn't a pain, and reconnect the siren
• Kill a few tiny bits of rust before they go further
• Find a way to fix the spare tyre in place.
• Cycle and desulphate the battery.
• Figure out how to make car alarm less annoying
• Fix or replace the engine. Keep it looking stock.
• Check the gearbox for dodgyness
• Check the turbo for dodgynes
• Silence the BOV.
• Balance the tyres.
• Get WOF and Rego.
• Tidy up bumper fixings, some aren't tight.
• Pop a few dents out and wipe a few smears off the paint.
• Replace shocks.
• Upgrade sway bars. Maybe.
• FreeEMS the bastard! Keep it looking stock.
• Upgrade intercooler and plumbing, and maybe turbo, throttle and fuel system. Keep it looking stock.

That ought to keep me busy. Obviously fixing engine and get legal are highest on the agenda! :-)

This car needs a youtube clip or two. Maybe a 3 cylinder hg blown gtech pro RR drag race recording? To compare with after fixing it. :-D

Fred.

[ivan141]

Grandpa's lowrider Didnt know they came with turbo'd engines (they certainly didnt in the netherlands).
Good luck with the engine, hope it really is the headgasket that's at fault, but being a small turbo it likely is.
(once had a daihatsu with a cracked block.. nasty surprise after 2 new headgaskets and a new head).

[Fred]

Yeah, a major block problem is certainly on the cards :-)

Turns out that k12b is incompatible with k14b, so I don't hold out much hope of either being the same as the k10a.

Fingers crossed that it's just the head gasket!

Fred.

[Fred]

Gave the odd little thing a bit of much needed love tonight.

• Vacuumed the roof liner, carpet and back seat with the new vacuum cleaner (works mint!) (thanks to the wife for helping with that)
• Wiped the back doors and surrounding frames and all rear interior plastic/vinyl parts, lots of grime came off, mould, ciggy stain, and dust
• Vacuumed and wiped out under the spare wheel, and removed various bits of junk etc from there
• Wiped clean all of the rear glass, inside and out
• Reattached the loose end of the retro fitted compulsory high stop light
• Discovered the cause of the iffy alarm operation: intermittent door switches, all 5 of them! :-o Lack of use really does kill cars.

In other news, the battery is holding up well, so far. Not had it on charge, started it a few times briefly. A couple of desulphating chargers should arrive from china any day now. I'll drain it completely when they do, and bring it back up again using one of those. Another week or two until the head gasket arrives, too. Then I get to be brave and pull it to bits :-D

Fred.

[Fred]

Got two car chargers in the mail yesterday, so turned on the headlights and drained the battery. Then plugged in the smaller cheaper looking one and brought it back up again. Tonight I'll drain it again, and plug in the good looking one and see how that goes. What's apparent to me is that the little suzi starter motor draws less current than my truck's fuel pumps :-D IE, cranked over fine, but headlights took it down to zero in just a few minutes.

[Fred]

Big one has had plug replaced and is charging the little Suzuki now after another slightly longer full discharge via headlights. Still waiting on the head gasket to arrive. Working on the truck engine in the mean time :-)

[Fred]

Head gasket arrived and is in hand! More news as I open it and pull down the engine in the car.

[Hentai]

Nice looking for a small little vehicle

[Matthijs]

Must be a funny car to drive, ultimate sleeper material =] it weighs even less than my Peugeot 309. Even with 100hp they become semi-fast =]
Hope the HG part isn't too much of a hassle and that you don't come across any nasty problems.