TLDR; Zero uckfays given.
I've been meaning to post up some pictures of the Justy for a long time now but haven't gotten around to it.
I'm not sure how much of a project thread this will be since I'm terrible at stopping to take pictures while working on a car.
And I don't plan on doing anything that isn't needed in order to keep the Justy running well mechanically.
I picked it up in the middle of February of 2015 from a music teacher in Calgary after seeing it on a Kijiji ad for $850.
It looked alright in the pictures and the mileage on the odometer was pretty low so I figured it would be worth the drive to at least check it out.
It was a 5 speed, 4x4 and was fuel injected which were the important things I was looking for in a Justy.
When we got down to Calgary I figured there would be a few things that would need attention on the car.
The owner was really honest and was nice enough to point out all it's quirks before letting me take it on a test drive.
The drivers side window was missing becasue she had the door open and backed into the garage, bending the door past 90* and breaking the glass, along with the hinge. The ad did say that the window was broken though so this wasn't surprising.
The drivers side seat belt was stuck in the latch. So she explained her method of yoga'ing into the seat belt with it still latched.
The hood wouldn't pop unless you were pulling the release and reached around and lifted on the hood at the same time.
The hatch handle would stick open if you pulled on it all the way to the top. So she kept a butter knife in the trunk to pop it back after it was opened.
The exhaust leaked.
The valve cover leaked.
The gas door hinge was rusty so when you opened it, it didn't turn the hinge but rather bent the door.
The rear wiper didn't work.
The passenger side headlight lens was cracked but it was 3m filmed over it to hold it together.
And she said that when it was cold the speedometer made a howling noise until it warmed up...
And there was rust...
After hearing these things I figured that I was going to be coming home empty handed but taking a closer look under the car at the important bits and inspecting the engine bay it looked like it would be ok for the $800 price tag.
So I bought it.
The drivers side window was duct taped over with some clear plastic sheating. I wasn't sure if it would make it home but she sent me with the roll of duct tape and some spare plastic in case it blew out. It made it to Airdrie before it was flapping in the wind.
Luckily I came prepared with ski pants, big gloves and the rest of my winter gear suitable for a snow mobile. It was only -10*c when I was on the way home so it was bearable.
As bearable as buzzing down the QE2 at 4000rpm to do 110km/h with no window and a leaky exhaust could be for 3 hours.
Once I got it home I ordered new window glass from Rockauto.
A few days later it showed up and I put it in. The window frame was bent from the incident though so it didn't seal up properly. A little black speed tape and it was as good as new. Zero uckfays given.
While putting the window in I got my hand wedged in the door and my wedding band fell off into the door. uckfays given. Luckily the rust on the bottom is so bad that I could reach in there with my finger to retrieve it.
Most of the issues that she had described to me when I bought it were fixed with some PB Blaster and a good cleaning. I no longer had to do my morning stretches before crawling into the seat belt.
I drove it for a month or so while determing how much money it was worth to put into the beast.
It started clunking pretty good in the rear end going over bumps. Turned out the massive 13mm rear sway bar broke one of it's mounts off the control arm. I took it off completely. There isn't much body roll out of 1800lbs of fury. Zero uckfays given.
I ordered new plug wires, distributer cap and rotor, fuel filter, valve cover gasket, exhaust gasket and starter cutoff relay from rockauto. I also picked up spark plugs from Canadian Tire.
She had a rough idle when warm and would stall occasionaly when letting off the gas and it transitioned to idle. I was hoping that the above would fix that. No luck though.
Digging through some Justy forums (yes there are those), I read that some people have issues with the wires coming from the distributor shorting out. Turns out I had a wire inside the distributor that wore through it's insulation and was shorting out on the metal housing.
A little electrical tape and all my issues were solved. Zero uckfays given.
The valve cover gasket and spark plugs were about a 30 minute job combined. Plus I have a spare spark plug since they come in packs of 2!
The starter cutoff relay was supposed to help with when I turn the key and get nothing from the starter. No click, no dimming of the lights, no nothing. Sometimes it turns over on the first try other times it takes five or six. It seams to get worse with warm temperatures.
That's still happening but it's not as big of an issue as long as it doesn't stall at stop signs. Little uckfays given.
Eventually the gas door broke of from bending the hinge instead of it turning as it should. I rolled around for a few months with no filler door until winter was coming and I ordered a new headlight from a wrecker on Vancouver island. Oh ya, the cracked headlight that was 3m'ed over would fill up with water when it rained like a fish bowl, If you didn't take a knife or other pointy object and push through the 3m film to drain it once in a while it would get to a point where it would splash against the hot bulb and shatter it.
So I ordered a new headlight and fuel filler door that came from a 4 door. Turns out the fuel door on a 4 door is about an inch shorter than a 2 door. Some contact cement and it's good as new. Zero uckfays given.
A few weeks later the exhaust broke apart at the flex pipe. A couple hose clamps, some wire and a spring from somewhere and it was good as ever. Zero uckfays given.
The rear wiper is fixed now . Turned out to be the connection in the hatch came unplugged. It took 6 months before I finally looked into it and it was a 5 minute fix. What's behind you doesn't matter, right?
I think that gets us up to speed. The rear wheel bearings are starting to go, it's only noticeable when it's cold out right now. And it needs an alignment, it's sketchy as uckfay on ice/snow drifts on the highway in fwd. Not sure if that's because of the short wheel base light weight and half worn out Nokians or a combination of the two previous issues. It feels like Bambi on ice going down the highway at anything above 80. Put it in 4wd and it's fine though.
On to the pictures!
In her natural habitat.
Yep those are my knees around the steering wheel. I'm only 6ft tall.
The wheels light up green when in 4wd. Also note, the odometer only goes up to 100k km. Apparently it's only went around once.
Came with a Pioneer CD player and random burned CD!
Not sure what this push button and light do. Fake security system?
The fun button! Locks the center differential for 50/50 torque split all the time. Not pleasant in parking lots.
Easy access 110* driver door opening!
Progressive weight reduction. 1,900lbs is too heavy for 80hp (25 years ago).
Fancy speakers, too bad they have no enclosure and just rattle the dash in place of bass.
Deck screw hinge pin. Zero uckfays given.
Easy ring retrieval
New/old Frankenstein gas door. If the car was washed since I got it the silver would match the lower two tone.
Tin snips and contact cement FTW. Zero uckfays given.
More weight reduction. Also pictured, new fuel filter.
Speed taped new window. Doesn't leak any more than the rusted through door.
Passenger side rear wheel well. Came with Nokian WRG2's these oversized 175/70R13's rub under hard braking or big bumps. Hellaflush yo!
More weight reduction.
The interior is clean at least.
Rear leg room!
Cargo Space!
Massive 1.5" grape shooter!
Underneath is clean. Not pictured, the worlds smallest 13mm rear sway bar that broke off it's mounts.
Good enough. Zero uckfays given!
New headlight. Half a fighting chance against deer on the highway and don't have to replace a bulb after it rains.
The massive 1.2L inline 3 cyl engine.
2.8L of oil means enough oil from a 4L jug that after an oil change it it runs out from topping up it's probably time to change oil again.
Strut mounts are ok.
New bling in the engine compartment. Must be good for an extra horse or two.
The distributor wires that were causing issues.
Decent suspension. Handles pretty well considering it's age.
And putting her to work during the year. That garden tractor weighs 1200lbs.
