So back about 2 years ago I bought myself a horrible birthday present. A 1992 Plymouth Laser RS AWD. This thing is THE DSM to have, its the rarest of all of them, lightest, being manual windows, no cruise, and still AWD. The car came with the bigger stock brakes, the best transmission (for a first gen), the 6 bolt engine (no crank walk), and the 4 bolt rear end, which is almost bullet proof. It was doomed to sit for many months because I didn't need it, or another project at the time, was working on my truck swap... moved all my projects to my new house (except it). Life went on and I finally brought it over. Thinking it might be an easy fix because I needed some money, it turned out very bad... here is the story...
Here it is moments after I bought it. Dec 18 of 2012
Check out that sweet no rear window, and the busted windshield. You can imagine how awesome the interior was.
Sept 2 2013 I decided to bring it to my house. I gave it a bath at the car wash on the way over.
I could tell the car had jumped time, but i figured it couldn't be too bad. Worse I'd ever seen was 1 piston killed. When I pulled the head, I was prepared for what I found. 3/4 were DOA, the block would need bored if I was going to use it. I lost interest, and it sat a while longer.
I had went back and forward on fixing it or parting it out. I could use all the bits to AWD the Mirage, but I've been daily driving it for so long, not sure I could give it up for long enough to due that. So it sat some more. In January I decided to pull the engine and see what might be good. If I was going to part it out, I'd have to pull it anyway.
I decided to throw an engine together, as cheap as I could. I had a stock block and head laying around. I yanked the crank out of the original engine, as well as the oil pump, front case and what ever bits I could salvage that weren't damaged. A friend sent me a set of used stock pistons (we aren't sure but they may be Na pistons, so more compression.) I had 90% of everything I needed.
While driving the balance shaft delete seal in, the front case broke. That's ok JB weld and an aluminum plate to the rescue.
The interior was so bad, this is all that was worth keeping.
The car had no keys and the lock mechanism was gone from the column. I went race car on this one. Also made a gauge holder for some misc gauges I had laying around.
The engine pieced together, ready to go back in.
Sitting back in.
While I had the front end apart installing an oil cooler I had to go a little redneck. I had this set of air horns that came off a car I had bought and parted out. I even polished the head lights.
This is how it sits now, I'm waiting on some parts I need for the timing assembly. I have some really fun plans for this car. I don't want to give the idea away just yet though!
It's exactly what I have been wanting to do with a dsm for a long time.
