brand spankin new to the DSM scene

[ragedylaser41]

hey yall

I'm here coming from the Nissan scene (96 240SX w/ SR swap) and about to buy a 1990 Plymouth Laser. It's got only 55,000 miles, and i do believe its AWD turbo model(Also, whats the code for this engine?). The owner says they bought this car with the turbo NOT working but they were able to drive it around. . .(doesn't that mean the car is getting NO air?) Anyway, other problems I noticed with this car was well - one of the cam gears looks like it exploded - and the cams were "locked up" Could someone explain this one to me please. Anyway, i also think the shifter linkage or whatever is loose going to the shifter - you can pick up and down on it.

So could someone give me a price range - i have found STOCK cams and cam gears for like 75 dollars - but i don't know if i want to go ahead and put aftermarket gears and cams. Also with the turbo issue -

what can of aftermarket can i put on without buying another "front" mounted intercooler - i like how they have kind of hidden the intercooler on these cars the "side" mount.

Anyway, ANY help will be appreciated, for I am really ready to stomp a friends 87 turbo supra. . which i believe I can do. Any other NEEDS for these cars - maybe like "cheap" horsepower or anything?

thanks guys, this community seems awesome and everyones friends - so yet again thank you

 

[DSMcamaro]

hey yall

I'm here coming from the Nissan scene (96 240SX w/ SR swap) and about to buy a 1990 Plymouth Laser. It's got only 55,000 miles, and i do believe its AWD turbo model(Also, whats the code for this engine?). The owner says they bought this car with the turbo NOT working but they were able to drive it around. . .(doesn't that mean the car is getting NO air?) Anyway, other problems I noticed with this car was well - one of the cam gears looks like it exploded - and the cams were "locked up" Could someone explain this one to me please. Anyway, i also think the shifter linkage or whatever is loose going to the shifter - you can pick up and down on it.

So could someone give me a price range - i have found STOCK cams and cam gears for like 75 dollars - but i don't know if i want to go ahead and put aftermarket gears and cams. Also with the turbo issue -

what can of aftermarket can i put on without buying another "front" mounted intercooler - i like how they have kind of hidden the intercooler on these cars the "side" mount.

Anyway, ANY help will be appreciated, for I am really ready to stomp a friends 87 turbo supra. . which i believe I can do. Any other NEEDS for these cars - maybe like "cheap" horsepower or anything?

thanks guys, this community seems awesome and everyones friends - so yet again thank you

The engine code=4g63T.

If the cam gear "exploded" you might need a lot of top end(head) work and it may cost you a lot of money unless your willing to work on it yourself and are mechanically inclined. and it the turbo is junk you will be spending quite a bit of money getting a good one and having it installed.if your were gonna pay some else to do this work i would recommend looking into a different car, unless your getting this one really cheap and want to learn/play.

As far as intercooler, if you don't want a FMIC, the common upgrade is to a Supra side mount.

cheap horsepower= check out the free mods section and follow the tech guide on the DSMtuners web page. Welcome to the DSM world!

 

[ragedylaser41]

ok not trying to be annoying to you or anything but could you explain the head work that would have to be done. .i mean lemme think how i can explain this - the cam gear didnt neccesarily explode - but its in a few pieces. .and only one did it

but yes, could you tell me WHAT kind of head work that would have to be done

and i do most of my own work UNTIL it gets to this kind of machine shop work

thanks alot

 

[DSMcamaro]

ok not trying to be annoying to you or anything but could you explain the head work that would have to be done. .i mean lemme think how i can explain this - the cam gear didnt neccesarily explode - but its in a few pieces. .and only one did it

but yes, could you tell me WHAT kind of head work that would have to be done

and i do most of my own work UNTIL it gets to this kind of machine shop work

thanks alot

I never really heard of a cam gear exploding or just breaking up. but i would imagine that you could have some bent valves and would need to have the head removed and rebuild at a machine shop. you can save some money replacing the head yourself. It will probably cost you a pretty penny to have the whole head redone if you want to do it right( valve job, new valves, surface head, possibly new valve guides if any are cracked out worn out of specs).

 

[Lordpaxin]

you are perhaps, About to pay a x amount for a car that you will spend equally for the repair bill. if not more.

basically your buying a rolling chasis with a dead motor, dead turbo, and who knows what else. its hard when buying a car you cant drive.

there is always the JDM option.
www.vfaq.com click engines and jdm stuff.

how much are you going to spend on this car if you dont mind the disclosure

 

[falcone4g63]

And if its a 90 laser its not awd, so take that into consideration as well.

 

[Catbox_95]

Sounds like a lot of work and money is needed to get it going. Not only is the head probably suffering major damage, but the pistons may be as well. I'd say you'd spend $700 - $1,000 on the head, not including cams and cam gears. You could get a decent turbo for like $500, plus a couple hundred for the install/plumbing/connection to the sidemount that may run a couple hundred also.

Then when it IS finally running, who knows what else is wrong? Clutch? Transmission? Other engine components that can't be checked until the engine is operable?

As mentioned above, sounds like a rolling chassis is basically all you have there. And it's probably not even AWD. For comparison for you, I recently bought a 1993 Eagle Talon TSi AWD rolling chassis in good condition for $200 cash, and it came with a good 14b turbo and exhaust manifold, (2) blown AWD transmissions, good operating rear end, decent interior.

 

[bhop]

Unless i'm mistaken, 1990-91 Lasers only came in FWD.

 

[ragedylaser41]

alright well - i'm gettin the car for a dollar -

is there anyway (besides getting under the car and looking) to tell if its all wheel drive?

 

[bhop]

alright well - i'm gettin the car for a dollar -

is there anyway (besides getting under the car and looking) to tell if its all wheel drive?

Is it a 1990? If so, then it's not.

If you're really not convinced, you can just look under the back bumper at the axle and see if the rear differential is there or not.

 

[JohnnyC]

Depending on the goals for your car, FWD would be better for a daily driver/street car, but AWD would be better for a serious track car. Less drivetrain pats = less parts that can break/fail.

 

[Lordpaxin]

Do you have much snow? if so awd is a must.


anyway, look in the classifieds on this website, see the going rate for a bone stock 1g laser. with x amount of miles.

compare that to your rebuild price on the laser your after.

 

[ragedylaser41]

ok - i wasn't arguing with the FWD/AWD thing - and i'm in Mississippi - so snow is ABSOLUTELY no issue

defiently looking to make this a quick street car - yet again - i have mentioned i'm getting this car for a dollar (that way i can legally own car w/ title)

i've got about 1600 dollars to build or fix this cars motor - im not worried about body or interior (except for headliner) right now for i'm defiently wanting this a sleeper

O, also, is the paint on these cars uhh. . how can i put it "crappy" Clear seems to be peeling all over the car where sun would get to it - could i wet sand then buff to get to maybe another layer of clear?

Thanks for all the help - this is a great site and i'm glad to be apart of the community

Corey

 

[adam355]

Car isn't worth more then 500 bucks. You will put thousands into it just to get it rebuilt and running. You will put thousands more into it to make it fast and you will have no traction because its fwd. Sorry, keep looking and spend some money on a decent AWD.