New to the forrum, just bought a 94 Beretta rebuild project

[greyfox]

So i bought a 1994 Beretta 3.1 base model with 155k miles on it for $100 can't complain at that price. So i managed to drive it home but scared the out of me, but hey what do you expect for $100. So i am going to list what i know needs to be done to it. This is going to be ALLOT of work to say the least but hey i managed to rebuild a 99 volvo v70turbo and it runs so if i can do that i think i'll do just fine. Any help from other members will be greatly appreciated with advice the repairs listed below or recommended repairs. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow.

1. First and foremost its got a blown head gasket, i knew this when i bought it cause i did a compression test and it was bad and no coolant in the reservoir, managed to drive it home without it overheating but when i checked the coolant cap a got a nice little coolant geyser. So first on the list is an engine rebuild.

2. THE STEERING. This thing is a freaking time . Its got more slop in the steering than any car i have ever touched ( and ive touched a few ) So i need to figure out exactly why there is so much slop in the steering before i drive again cause i felt like i was going to die.

3. Reupholster the interior. The interior upholstery is shot, so time to pull out the good o'l sewing machine and get to work.

4. Door locks don't lock and need to be replaced.

5. The drive side strut, the passenger side had already busted and put a huge dent it and was replaced.

6. Body work, not real bad, but definitely need to get a paint-less dent repair kit, been meaning to get one for a while.

[themadness]

WELCOME! WELCOME! i love this place! these guys know their stuff.

first i was jealous b/c you only paid 100 dollars. after reading your to-do list.......i'm still jealous.

i have read 2 threads this morning with the term "slop" used to refer to steering issues. what the flippity do is steering slop? my first guess would be mounts, struts, tires, cv joints or a combo thereof.

i have 2k tied in my 94 base with a decent project list lingering. if you rebuilt a volvo, i'm guessing the headgasket will be a diy project.

what color is your interior? on a scale of 1-10 how bad is it? mine was about a 4. after redoing the headliner, cleaning the carpet, getting a dash mat, and seat covers. its looking much better. i wish like hell i could sew well enough to do seats.i still need to hopefully get a replacement back seat(working on funds Ace ) maybe find floormats. my interior is red so all this was much harder. i had to paint some of the plastics and replace odds and ends. the colors are a little off but i can live with it. i replaced the interior dewstrips, seat bezel, door handle bezel, a bunch of the plastic things that hold the panels to frame, replaced the 3rd brake light assembly, put in a factory radio, and god knows what else.

need to get struts and tires, but i still havent decided if i am going to drop it a little.

body work......... i screwed around with DIY painting and eventually went to maaco. 250 bucks later i wish i had done it myself. i popped out some small dents by pushing them out from the inside. i used a toilet plunger on a bigger one and you can barely see it.

save money! find a junk yard and buy stuff from these guys here on the forum. lots of good folks.

you probably know that though since you have restored a car before.

post some pics!

(thats my ghetto restore story)

[ronaconda]

Look at the outer tie rods and the inner tie rod bushing for the 'slop' in your steering.

[greyfox]

To "themadness" the interior would probably be between a 3 and a 4. And yes i can sew well enough to do the seats, you should try it its not that hard. but once i can i will put some pictures up (i think there are a certain number of posts i have to do before i can post pictures??) And yes i was very happy about the $100. The best part is i live in Colorado and i never noticed any rust or rot in the frame, i am going to do a thorough inspection today. And yes EVERYTHING is going to be a DIY on this vehcle, ive rebuild 4 vehicle engines at this point and countless other repairs.

Something too i am thinking about is just doing this when i rebuild the engine is switching to electric power steering and replacing the power steering pump with a small super charger. Nothing too crazy but the altitude here in Colorado saps power and i figure if i am going to have it all apart might as well do it than. I saw a section on here linking to a Honda page for converting to electric power steering.

[greyfox]

Oh and ronaconda thanks for the tip, i will check those. I just have a feeling that it wont be that simple but i can hope.

[Money pit Beretta]

Hi and welcome.

[KFLO 93 GT]

You're in luck stopping by here.

Welcome!

So, sounds like you got a good deal. Depending on what you want to do - I'd recommend swapping that 3100 out for a 3400 from an 03 or newer Impala, Grand Am, Venture van - etc. It's pretty much a bolt in, and the engines are fairly plentiful - and definitely more powerful.

On the steering slop - also make sure to check the sway bar end links. I'm guessing you're missing one or both - that will cause some crazy scary steering play.

On the interior - seats swap in and out of these things in like 2 minutes. Find a set from a GTZ or Z26 and don't worry about sewing. The Z seats a heck of a nice upgrade with their extra side bolsters and lumbar support pump for the driver.

[DTMAce]

Also check around the steering rack for firewall rot. That also happens.

Welcome to the board!

[greyfox]

Alright first i should have mentioned this, i am putting my wife through college right now, she is graduating this fall and will be going on to another degree. Right now she just takes the light rail to school but once she graduates and starts going to the new school she will need a car. Soooo this is "her" car , except for the fact that i paid for it and am going to fix it. Hopefully it will end up being my toy but for the time being i have to cave to what she wants

To KFLO 93 GT I would do the engine swap but the wife won't let me right now, besides i know this engine runs good other than having a blown head gasket. My bet is the leak just started very recently because she still purrs great, but the compression is down to 110psi on 2 of the cylinders on one of the banks (the other is 140)

With regards to the seats i will probably stick with doing the re-upholstery for now because of costs. Definitely add some padding and give it some lumbar support. Its pretty minimal in the amount of time it takes and this way i can have the back bench seats match the front and it will cost me probably $35. Perhaps in the future i will swap out the seats.

To DTMAce i can't find any rot at all. It seems this car has probably been kept in Colorado its whole life and with the nice dry air, the frame is in superb condition. Can't say the same for the rubber seals as they have all been killed by the sun but hey thats easy to fix in comparison.

I took a look at the sway bar and it seems to be attached to both sides just fine but i can't jack it up at the moment to get a good look.

With regards to repair manuals which would you guys recommend for this car?

Lastly i tried to upload some pictures but it appears that it won't let me.

[3X00-Modified]

Keep pics below 3meg and they should upload, also I think you have to have a min of 5 posts or be a member for 5 days. I know thats true for posting Photobucket links.

Now regarding the engine recomendation... Its cheaper to buy a low mile 3400 than it is to repair your current engine, thats the reason for that comment... It's not always a performance swap, they are just so cheap and plentiful it's less money invested in something that has more miles and can break again quickly.

[greyfox]

3X00-Modified are you saying the its cheaper to do a swap than rebuild it myself? (please note that most likely all this engine "really" needs is a head gasket right now so that plus new seals, cam, and chain are most likely it for the rebuild) If so what engines would you guys recommend? Also i have never done a swap before so there is going to be a bit of a learning curve thats partially why i leaned towards doing a rebuild, but i guess it can't be any more complicated than that anyways.

[greyfox]

Oh and i would prefer an engine that gets similar gas mileage if not better compared to 22city 31 highway it should get now.

[DTMAce]

Problem is, if you have had an coolant mixed into your oil, you could be looking at damaged crank bearings, etc. Coolant phosphates will tear up bearings.

I would also recommend the 3400 swap. It is practically a direct drop in. Couple of small things that has to be done, but it will run in the later year cars with very little modification. But it depends, it may be cheaper to rebuild who knows. Providing your head gaskets or lower intake gaskets didn't leak coolant into the oil.

And that's good on the condition, no rust is a good thing. lol

[greyfox]

There was no coolant in the oil. It has to get pretty bad for that to happen usually. Ive rebuild 2 engines with blown head gaskets and both had no coolant in the oil but i got them early on.

Even so though i think after reading what you guys are saying a swap is in order. Is the an existing topic for switching in a impala engine in?

[DTMAce]

60degree.com is a good place for info.