Replaced the clutch
Replaced the cylinder head and head gasket
Spark plugs and wires
Distributor cap and rotor
Battery
Alternator
Oil and radiator cap
Water pump
Drive belts.
Considering that many of the above mentioned items are typical maintenance items on a 16 year old car, the only major expenses were the clutch and the cylinder head, which I replaced myself.
I drove down from Alaska to Texas to begin graduate school, and considering that, its served me pretty well. However it does burn a bit of oil and it is the slowest car I have ever driven. I think that the ability to take the T-tops off helps quite a bit in the cool department.
Parts are cheap and plentiful and it still gets good gas mileage. I have never had problems starting it in the morning and it gets me to where I need to go
The engine seems bulletproof, probably due to the regular 3000 mile oil changes.
The paint is beginning to peel on the drivers side T-top and it has a little rust on the door and the rocker panel
I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world though and best of all...it's payed for...:)
I have had a lot of sports cars. Italian. German, French. This car was the best handling, nimble thing of all. On that slowest car on earth comment... A 1.8 with a fiver is meant to run!!! Check out the redline on the tach. Run it up till it gives no more then back down a tad. If it doesn't make you love it, it needs something in the service department. This car will pull past 4K. I drove mine for 120k like this, and the motor loves it. The car had 268 when I sold it, still running. I would love to find another.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site