'82 Mariah widebody restoration (lots of pics)
 

Picked up this ugly duckling for 600 bucks.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00698.jpg
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Before.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/IMG_2029.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00228.jpg

Now.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00733.jpg
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Damn nice find :) :icon_tup:

Now slap a TII setup in it and you will be good to go.

Sinking my teeth in.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00226.jpg
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Suspension: Old crap.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00383.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00378.jpg
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http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00374.jpg
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Suspension: New goodies.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00390.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00676.jpg
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And as of today... New windshield WEEEEE!

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00729.jpg

Go ahead and ask any questions. She is a stockport 12A, original as far as I can tell. 98,046 miles on the car. Yes that is a 600cfm Edelbrock, came on the car, shhh don't tell Sterling. I spent about 1200 or so on the Re-Speed coilovers, shocks/struts, and brake parts. Definitely a lot of work left.

Really looks good man :) I will go widebody one day hopefully, but not till I am about 300whp, don't wanna look like a poser :rofl:

Hey what are you trying to say?? :)

No really, I agree. That's why I'm planning a half bridgeport 13b w/ S5 internals. Then maybe save for a camden.

Yeah...I mean you picked it up for a great price so stockport isn't an issue :)
I just couldn't see dropping $1k+ on a kit to put on a 130hp 12a :D
Camden would be cool, but I would go turbo, expecially since you looking at going bridgie.

Are you going to repaint it black or return to red?

According to the paint code on the firewall, the original color should have been black. Someone must have painted it red, pretty extensively too. Then it appears that it was cheaply painted black again after the wide body kit was installed.

I have been thinking that I prefer black, but red would be pretty nice too.

I hate you. I have never even seen a widebody FB in person.

I would ditch the wing (please) and if you can find a way to freshen them up, KEEP THOSE WHEELS!!

Old school FTW.

:leaving: Off to find another 1st gen.

Awesome, looks good so far. Are those generic Ebay coil-over sleeves?

He stated early in the thread, they are the RE-Speed Suspension Kit.

Not cheap!

That was my bad, I just looked through the pics here at work. Can't be caught reading non-work material too much.

How can you say old school for the win, then say to ditch the wing?

That is the authentic Mariah flying whale tail.

I don't know if I'll keep those wheels. Performance tires in those sizes are getting scarce.

Meh, I prefer the wrap around IMSA style wing.

What size are the wheel?

They are 14's, 215 tire in front, 235 in back.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00385.jpg

235s will be hard to find, the 215s shouldn't be too bad....thats what I run on mine :)

lol. it's worse than micheal jackson. i can't to see it all cleaned up.

Looks like you got dirty at some point in time....

Looks nice. I still remember the first widebody FB I ever saw. Good luck with the project.

fwiw, I'm not a fan of the wing either. :)

Shiny new Magnaflow muffler.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00745.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00742.jpg

Just to prove how bad ass I am, chrome skull shifter, that's right.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/DSC00746.jpg

^ I wouldnt mess with ya with a shifter like that!

nice find nice price killer rims. I got some old school 15's dunno where they cam from but there on my car in my build thread been thinking of selling them if yah need some 15's

Where do your rear fenders attach. I know they are epoxied on, but I've considered using the rear mariah fenders on my '85. Got any pics of the rear fenders closer up... just trying to see if they'd fit nicely on my bodywork or not, lol...

Nice car though, needs some things here and there. I have the same seats in mine :)

Alrighty. Got an alignment done yesterday. Today I tracked down a horrible driveline vibration to a bad rear u-joint. So that's next on the list.

don't let it break. It could cause more damage.

Sweet.. Dont lose that Wing man it is the 'Pièce de résistance'

Driveshaft back on with new u-joints. I can finally get up to highway speeds SWEET!

This is one of the best threads I have seen in a long while.. you found a diamond in the rough and are fixing it up right.

MAJOR props to you. I am soo happy to see it getting fixed up.

KEEP the wing. Its the correct look for the body, ugly or not.

Some cheezy rice wing may look better in a drift competition.. but that is true to the car.
Putting FD tailights wouldt look proper on the car.. nor would a different wing. (Other than the IMSA wing... but the whaletail is SOOOO rare!)

Nice work.. love the car.. will try to keep an eye on the thread as you progress!

Thanks Scott!

I really did save this car. The guy I got it from was just going to part it out and junk it. So I have no reservation on modding the shit out of it. Going all out with no regret.

any updates?

Yeah actually. A local guy is parting out his turboII. I've got dibs on the engine, tranny, hybrid turbo, and microtech. yeah bitches!

I was going to do a carbed half-bridge 13B, but I hate to pass up a good opportunity so the plan has changed. The turbo engine will make more power and have better gas mileage.

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