kimokalihi Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) Here's my Justy I just bought about 3 weeks ago. Got a decent deal on it from a sketchy rump roast guy up in Spanaway. Never been there before and I never want to go back. I wish I had taken photos right when I got it because this thing was nasty. Now it's in amazing shape for how old it is! I've recovered pretty much everything it was missing and it's 10X the Justy it was when I picked it up. I'm torn between selling it right now for a bit of profit and buy another car to fix up or swapping everything from a 4WD 90 RS Justy I found over to this one because it has the cooler body style and my friend also has a fuel injected Justy I could swap everything for EFI. That would be a cool car! Edited June 29, 2011 by kimokalihi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Anybody know Justys or swapped the whole drivetrain and suspension and EFI engine into a 1st gen? The Justy forum I found is great except nobody is on it. Literally maybe 5 posts per day but that's on the high side. I can't get any answers over there. Pissing me off because I need to figure this out. Having 3 cars on my insurance is not cool. Need to make a decision quick because I have a potential buyer already and insurance cuts into my profit. I'd like to swap the EFI engine in with the 4WD and the suspension and sell the metro. I could get $3,500 for the metro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Did the 90+ justy's have camber adjustments on the suspension? The camber on this car is way negative and the tires that were on it when I got it were worn down to the belts on the insides and the outsides were so new the rubber fingers were still on the sides! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcap Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I don't really have any help for you, unfortunately. Sounds like a pretty epic project, though! I say go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 lol I'd love to. I wish the 90 RS 4WD Justy I found was EFI. That would make it a hell of a lot easier. But if there's no way to adjust camber on the 2nd gen just suspension then I think it's a no-go for me. The camber is so bad it's going to wear through tires in a few months. Plus it handles like rump roast and you can hear the front tires squeal when making turns on dry pavement. The back end feels like it's drifting out when changing lanes on the freeway or taking corners. It actually feels like you have flat tires in the rear. I don't know what that's all about, could be really soft springs or bad bushings I suppose. Scares me though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykeys Toy Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 it could be simply worn struts or the springs are shot.. Check the tires on the 90 RS and see how they have they have worn. The engine should technically be the same only the tranny should really change with a 4wd swap and possibly the gas tank and brakes. If that is the case then you could do the 4x swap first then find the applicable parts for EFI later intake n wiring etc. I am planning to do something similar with my 83 GL and as far as the front goes it is basically the same as 4wd just different struts and spring rate. Already swapped the spring and improved driveability dramatically. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I see a hitch on the back. if he had any tongue weight at anytime, then the rear struts are dead. So start with some new struts/springs in back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Oh good point on the hitch. Where do I get new struts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykeys Toy Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Local shop or http://www.thepartsbin.com/ http://www.rockauto.com/ Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferox Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I know a little bit about Justys. If you have a donor car the EFI swap should be no problem. The most important thing is to get is the Gen II engine block so you can run even length axles. They are beefier too, with bigger diameter spindles and such. The '90 is a Gen II even if it is carbed. I have the same red '88 that you do and plan to do single point Megasquit for fuel delivery. House projects are taking priority right now, so I can't give any advice on that at the moment. Your struts definitely sound worn out. The Gen IIs came with rear anti-sway bars. I posted a guide on the Justy forum on installation if your interested. Get new or used struts and some poly bushings (or just new stock replacements) for your front anti-sway bar and the driveability will increase substantially. The Gen IIs also had solid front sway bar, whereas, the Gen I is hollow (and much lighter). The Gen I is substantially lighter than the Gen II, so if you are looking for mileage the Gen I with fuel injection of some kind is the best combo. If you keep the '88 install an aftermarket oil pressure sensor. There are guides on the Justy forum for that as well. I think eporter may have posted one if you have trouble finding it with a regular search. Nice work cleaning that thing up. The inside looks great, and the dents are inevitable...you may have noticed how tinny the body is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Thanks ferox. I'll check out the strut prices. I hear the back passenger side knocking and seemingly bottoming out on corners when I had a friend in the back. Sway bar would be nice but stiffer springs would be better. The bushings on the front sway bar and really everything else on this car are shot. I think all the motor and trans mounts are toast too the rubber is so soft it's ridiculous. Going from my turbo legacy on coilovers and bigger sway bars is like going from a go kart to cadillac. Do you know if the gen 2 suspension is any better or worth swapping over? Or at least has adjustments for camber. I've never seen a car that didn't have any camber adjustment but I guess I don't work on old cars like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferox Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Do you know if the gen 2 suspension is any better or worth swapping over? Or at least has adjustments for camber. I've never seen a car that didn't have any camber adjustment but I guess I don't work on old cars like this.I swapped the rear coil springs for Gen II springs when I installed the rear sway bar. They are the same dimensions but less coil, if that makes sense. They are for the heavier Gen II so I assume they are slightly stiffer. Beyond that I don't think there is much difference between Gen I and GenII suspensions. It sounds like maybe your rear coils are shot in addition to the struts. They are all super easy to replace if you can find a Justy in a yard. Not only is the Justy "old" (my daily driver is an '81), but it is an econobox so minimal built-in options. With a fresh set of struts and springs you shouldn't have any camber problems. The previous owner probably just carried too much weight around in the car and hauled a trailer or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 I've got a friend who has at least 3 justy's, one of which is the same year and trim as mine and color even that I scored a lot of missing interior parts and a hood and tires from. I'm trying to work a deal with him to get his 90 Justy RS 4WD 5MT and a fuel injected engine. He wants $1,500 for it but I don't know if he's got the hookup on the EFI stuff or not. He's had 5 Justy's or maybe he still has 5 I don't know. He's got a huge junyard of subaru's on his property and I've only seen a handful of them but he's got several brats out there too. Real nice RX too that he wants to swap a JDM WRX engine into so if I could find one of those cheap I could save some money lol. I need to make a decision with him soon though because if I am going to do that I'll need to sell the metro and if not I need to sell this Justy because it's costing me on my insurance and I'm losing money on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferox Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I need to make a decision with him soon though because if I am going to do that I'll need to sell the metro and if not I need to sell this Justy because it's costing me on my insurance and I'm losing money on it. How is the transmission in your Metro? Is it an XFi model? I personally only own 4WD vehicles, but if I drove a lot (bike commuter now) I would consider a Metro or similar. However they have their design weaknesses as well. A Metro will almost always get better mileage than a Justy. To simplify your decision: Which do you value more, higher MPGs or push button 4WD? Both will probably fetch similar resale, but the Justy is more "rare". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 Transmission is crap for freeway driving. RPMs are too high going 70 or even 60 and it gets bad mileage over 50mph. The 2nd gear synchro on the metro is shot so double clutching is a necessity. Other than that the metro is in perfect condition and it's been completely stripped and tons of sound deadener to make it not so much of a tin can and it has a very nice sound system in it. I get 38mpg driving the metro but if I drove it slower I would get 42ish. But that's no fun. The problem with the Justy is that it's so rare. Worries me because parts are not easy to come by. I wish all my cars were 4WD or better yet AWD like my legacy. Unfortunately the legacy gets about 22mpg with that 4.444 trans and EJ20G swap with TD05 18g turbo and 525cc injectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.