This is the Build Thread for 1991 Plymouth Laser Base. Reply below.

Did a bit of "rust repair" today, followed by some white primer to cover it. I'm planning on doing a budget paint job in the next few weeks/months.

Did a little more bodywork today. Progress is slow because funding is low. But hey it's something!

My next big task before I paint is to attack this roof with a wire-wheel and take it back to bare metal. The rest of the car will just get one final once-over with the sander then it's time to paint!

Other than the body work, the only mechanical work coming up in the near future is going to be valve seals I've started leaving behind clouds of smoke when leaving a long red light or a drive through. Hoping to tackle it without removing the head but we will just have to see!

Forgot to post my progress anywho.

Got all the paint removed from the roof, I used a wire wheel on an angle grinder to remove the paint over the hatch glass. When I finished I realized it MAY have got the metal too hot and warped it a bit causing several large dents whatever, I'll live with it for now. The rest of the roof I stripped with a flapper wheel on an angle grinder. I THOUGHT it turned out great because I was able to keep from hearing up the metal... nope.. the flapper wheel left all sorts of little gouges all over the roof that I will have to smooth out at some point again, I'll just live with it for now.

This past weekend I spent pretty much all weekend sanding the car and painting it. Now this was an EXTREMELY cheap paintjob, like I only have about $70 in it with sandpaper and supplies. I'll probably do another coat in a few weeks, and maybe even wet sand it, but for now this is how she sits. Color is just Gloss Apple Red rustoleum(yes I used spray cans), it seems really close to the original red. I am pretty happy with how it turned out though, now to just get that door molding back on.

Also included is a picture of the roof where the small gouges are, so can see them pretty good when the light hits them.

Update:

I ordered some lowering springs off ebay, deal seemed too good to pass up. $49 and $40 shipping isnt bad at all. I know lotek isn't the best brand but I've had them on my old escort and they rode pretty good. They're supposed to be a 2 inch drop so I plan on picking some struts up soon, I'm sure these factory ones won't last long.

I'll post again once I've installed them along with some pics.

Well I got the front springs on and they didn't lower it any, so I decided to wait to do the back. It's been about a week and they have definitely settled, the photo below is how it currently sits. I'm going to leave the rear alone until I order some new struts, my driver rear started squeaking yesterday and I imagine a lowering spring will probably blow the strut fairly quickly. Anywho, this is how she currently sits. I do t have any better pics atm, but I will be at a cars and coffee in the morning and I may snap some better shots there.

I got some better pics today. You can kinda see how it sits with just the front springs on. I kinda like the stance so I'll leave it like that for a while. Btw if anyone was wondering about the wheels they are factory wheels for an 07 dodge caravan. They're 16x7 and way easier to find tires for than the stock 14s that came on the car. Also they kinda look OEM.

Almost forgot to post the 1 picture I took at cars and coffee this morning.

Redrocketlaser said:

Well I got the front springs on and they didn't lower it any, so I decided to wait to do the back. It's been about a week and they have definitely settled, the photo below is how it currently sits.

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It might be because the 4g37 engine and transmission are lighter than the 4g63. I had a 94 Eclipse 1.8 years ago, and a friend had an NT. We both put lowering springs on with the Sam advertised drop, and like you, there was no significant difference. You could definitely tell his was lowered, though.

RamenPride said:

It might be because the 4g37 engine and transmission are lighter than the 4g63. I had a 94 Eclipse 1.8 years ago, and a friend had an NT. We both put lowering springs on with the Sam advertised drop, and like you, there was no significant difference. You could definitely tell his was lowered, though.

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Your probably right. I'll probably keep them on because I know it did drop it like an inch and the spring rates are a bit stiffer, which I like. Someday I'll get coilovers, but for now this will do .

Couple of pics I snapped a few days ago. I'm really starting to like this car. It's been my daily for a few months now and it hasn't missed a single beat! This little 1.8 has just been chugging along every day.

Not much to update at the moment. I did clean the engine bay for the first time and it cleaned up pretty nice, all though I forgot to snap a pic before (as usual). Still really need to change the valve seals, I've been smoking up the drop off line every morning oh well. Other than that it still runs like a top!

Glad you like your 1.8L 4G37 powered Laser. It's a miraculously underpowered car for it's weight, but it will get better than 31+ on the freeway, and only requires 87 octane.
I'd like to hear about your turbo swap. You know that the turbo engine (with the wiring harness, the engine, and an F5M33) will drop straight into that car? Don't ask me how I know...

TuskeeTuner said:

Glad you like your 1.8L 4G37 powered Laser. It's a miraculously underpowered car for it's weight, but it will get better than 31+ on the freeway, and only requires 87 octane.
I'd like to hear about your turbo swap. You know that the turbo engine (with the wiring harness, the engine, and an F5M33) will drop straight into that car? Don't ask me how I know...

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Yeah, I've done tons of research on it and I know what all is involved. The problem with the 4g63t swap is that it would involve the car being down for at least a small period of time, but I daily this car. It has to get me to work every day. Granted i could borrow my wife's pathfinder if anything actually breaks on the car, but having to use her car for a week or 2 isn't worth the headache. Future plans may change. If I get another could find a parts car that's dirt cheap and not a million miles from me, but those aren't too common in my area of kentucky.

My goal at the moment is to purchase another engine and trans(3 for sale within 160 miles) when I get my tax refund and rebuild it while doing a few mods myself (port match, 4g63nt TB, schneider 264 cam, adjustable cam gear, ported exhaust manifold)and anything else I can source for the 1.8(doubtful I'll find anything).

It might make 115-120hp at the crank but it'll still be an improvement over stock, plus still the reliability/simplicity of a 4g37.

I am still up in the air about engine management with the 1.8 rebuild though. I'm not sure all those things are enough to actually require some tuning tbh.

suggestions are welcome though.

Redrocketlaser said:

This past weekend I spent pretty much all weekend sanding the car and painting it. Now this was an EXTREMELY cheap paintjob, like I only have about $70 in it with sandpaper and supplies. I'll probably do another coat in a few weeks, and maybe even wet sand it, but for now this is how she sits. Color is just Gloss Apple Red rustoleum(yes I used spray cans), it seems really close to the original red. I am pretty happy with how it turned out though, now to just get that door molding back on.

Also included is a picture of the roof where the small gouges are, so can see them pretty good when the light hits them.

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Turned out great for a $70 Paint job!
you painted it outside?
What paint you use?

Redrocketlaser said:

Color is just Gloss Apple Red rustoleum(yes I used spray cans), it seems really close to the original red.

Click to expand...

Wild, I have a '90 on my hands that is red and I was going to repaint with the same color that I randomly chose at the store. I sprayed a small part of the front fender and it is damn close to the factory color. Cool to see yours done and how it looks. It's amazing what you can get away with using spray paint if you know what you're doing. Wet sanding makes a huge difference if you have the patience for it.

ChiefMunga said:

Turned out great for a $70 Paint job!
you painted it outside?
What paint you use?

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Yessir, trees surrounding my yard and everything
I just used the rustoleum spray paint from Walmart, the color is Gloss Apple Red.

I'm glad it turned out pretty good. It definitely helps that I worked in a collision shop doing body work for about 6 months .

Stapl3 said:

Wild, I have a '90 on my hands that is red and I was going to repaint with the same color that I randomly chose at the store. I sprayed a small part of the front fender and it is damn close to the factory color. Cool to see yours done and how it looks. It's amazing what you can get away with using spray paint if you know what you're doing. Wet sanding makes a huge difference if you have the patience for it.

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Yeah, I'll be wet sanding and buffing it at some point in time. I'll be so happy to see it shiney!

Almost forgot, I snapped a good pic of it earlier tonight at one of my favorite spots.

Update:
So I mentioned needing to replace the valve seals in a previous post because of how much it smokes after I've been idling much time at all. I was leaving a pretty large cloud of smoke any time the car idled more than 30 seconds or so. Well I got to thinking about how the car sat for an unknown amount of time with the cylinder head in the trunk before I got it. The guy I got it from had bought it from had bought it in pieces from the family of the past owner who had passed away before the HeadGasket job was completed. Anywho, the cylinder head probably got moved around a few times and who knows if it had been just tossed around... maybe a valve seal wiggled out of position enough to let oil through? I decided to take the calve cover off and push on all the stem seals with a 90degree pick to see if any weren't all the way seated. Nothing felt like it moved BUT I haven't been smoking anymore unless I let the car idle for like a minute or longer and even then it's a pretty small amount. It's been 3 days now and still not smoking so I'm still not sure if it's fixed. Anyone else ever had a valve seal come unseated?

Redrocketlaser said:

Update:
So I mentioned needing to replace the valve seals in a previous post because of how much it smokes after I've been idling much time at all. I was leaving a pretty large cloud of smoke any time the car idled more than 30 seconds or so. Well I got to thinking about how the car sat for an unknown amount of time with the cylinder head in the trunk before I got it. The guy I got it from had bought it from had bought it in pieces from the family of the past owner who had passed away before the HeadGasket job was completed. Anywho, the cylinder head probably got moved around a few times and who knows if it had been just tossed around... maybe a valve seal wiggled out of position enough to let oil through? I decided to take the calve cover off and push on all the stem seals with a 90degree pick to see if any weren't all the way seated. Nothing felt like it moved BUT I haven't been smoking anymore unless I let the car idle for like a minute or longer and even then it's a pretty small amount. It's been 3 days now and still not smoking so I'm still not sure if it's fixed. Anyone else ever had a valve seal come unseated?

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What type of engine oil are you running? My Dodge Neon used to smoke quite a noticeable bit on the first start when using Valvoline High Mileage. It also consumed about 1/2-3/4 quart every 3 months. I switched to STP high mileage and theres no smoke, and the oil level remains rock solid at the FULL mark for 3 months. Maybe try a different oil??

Redrocketlaser said:

Yeah, I've done tons of research on it and I know what all is involved. The problem with the 4g63t swap is that it would involve the car being down for at least a small period of time, but I daily this car. It has to get me to work every day. Granted i could borrow my wife's pathfinder if anything actually breaks on the car, but having to use her car for a week or 2 isn't worth the headache. Future plans may change. If I get another could find a parts car that's dirt cheap and not a million miles from me, but those aren't too common in my area of kentucky.

My goal at the moment is to purchase another engine and trans(3 for sale within 160 miles) when I get my tax refund and rebuild it while doing a few mods myself (port match, 4g63nt TB, schneider 264 cam, adjustable cam gear, ported exhaust manifold)and anything else I can source for the 1.8(doubtful I'll find anything).

It might make 115-120hp at the crank but it'll still be an improvement over stock, plus still the reliability/simplicity of a 4g37.

I am still up in the air about engine management with the 1.8 rebuild though. I'm not sure all those things are enough to actually require some tuning tbh.

suggestions are welcome though.

Click to expand...

Never knew of any power mods for the 4G37. I looked hard back in the day. Unless you want a CX Racing exhaust, there isn't too much in off-the-shelf parts for that engine. I mean c'mon...it uses a cap and rotor.

TuskeeTuner said:

Never knew of any power mods for the 4G37. I looked hard back in the day. Unless you want a CX Racing exhaust, there isn't too much in off-the-shelf parts for that engine. I mean c'mon...it uses a cap and rotor.

Click to expand...

Up further in the thread I mention the plan. I'm a simple man, not trying to make any actual power here, just something reliable and slightly faster than my current setup

Redrocketlaser said:

My goal at the moment is to purchase another engine and trans(3 for sale within 160 miles) when I get my tax refund and rebuild it while doing a few mods myself (port match, 4g63nt TB, schneider 264 cam, adjustable cam gear, ported exhaust manifold)and anything else I can source for the 1.8(doubtful I'll find anything).

It might make 115-120hp at the crank but it'll still be an improvement over stock, plus still the reliability/simplicity of a 4g37.

I am still up in the air about engine management with the 1.8 rebuild though. I'm not sure all those things are enough to actually require some tuning tbh.

suggestions are welcome though.

Click to expand...

Anyways, apparently a noise I've been hearing since I got it is actually pinging/pre ign. rather than what I had just assumed (worn suspension components, idk). I've been running 87 octane since I got it because...well I guess I've never had anything that required it. The pinging was under load lugging and when I found out what it was I noticed it would do it way more often than I thought. I've been running 93 for the past few days and the pinging is mostly gone now, the rpm range/gear that it would make noise now felt solid and pulled a bit harder than before, so that's pretty nice.

I got ahold of the guy I got the car from(we still message) and asked what he set the timing at when he did the job but apparently that bit was outsourced so the timing may be a bit too advanced right now. I need to get my hands on a timing light to check on it.

Apparently pushing on those valve stems actually did help with the oil consumption. I went from using a quart a week to just half a quart a week. I just started running that 93 so maybe my consumption will slow down even more..? I'm sure pre-detonation causes some oil to be burnt doesnt it? Idk, would be cool if it did tho.

No pics of my car this week, its dirty af because I've been Dashing in it. I do have a pic of my mom's old 93 laser RS from back in 2k. I found it while going through boxes in my shed this weekend.
She bought the car not knowing how to drive a 5spd, and made her boyfriend at the time teach her to drive it. I was like 7 and thought it was cool af that she was shifting gears. One of the key moments that made me a car enthusiast.

TuskeeTuner said:

What type of engine oil are you running? My Dodge Neon used to smoke quite a noticeable bit on the first start when using Valvoline High Mileage. It also consumed about 1/2-3/4 quart every 3 months. I switched to STP high mileage and theres no smoke, and the oil level remains rock solid at the FULL mark for 3 months. Maybe try a different oil??

Click to expand...

I'm using valvoline as well, mainly because its stocked at the dollar store by my house and I live in the middle of no where. I'll probably switch to STP next change and see how it acts.