Resurrecting the new (old) Protege

[davejay]

Once upon a time, this (link) was going on.

Ultimately it went to a friend whose family was struggling and needed a car. Now that they're doing better, it's unexpectedly come back to me with 20,000 more miles (55,000 now), lots of unfortunate wear-and-tear, and a smoke-saturated interior (courtesy of her husband driving it for the last three years) that makes it nearly impossible to drive. Nevertheless, it runs well and still looks good for its age.

I've had it less than a week, and have done the following:

1. Removed the broken driver's side mirror, to use as a reference when I go parts-hunting;
2. Pulled the trunk lock and removed the broken-off key inside;
3. Taken a first pass at cleaning the interior better than the friend's husband's attempt at "detailing";
4. Smogged and registered the car;
5. Changed the oil and filter.

Still haven't decided what I'm going to do with it, but I thought I'd chronicle it here, whether it ends up junked, raced, restored or...?

[Azlo]

You poor bugger ey. I hope you restore it. sad to see another protege go to waste

[davejay]

A trip to the local junkyard, and not a bad haul for a small bit of money and effort:

6. Broken automatic mirror replaced with working manual mirror (for now);
7. Broken hub horn repaired, cruise control reattached, steering wheel tightened (no more wobbly wheel);
8. Reinstalled the trunk lock with a replacement c-clip (as I'd lost the original);
9. Replaced missing gas tank door release lever trim;
10. Repaired wiring to two speakers, one in the front and one in the rear;
11. Repaired crooked front license plate holder and mounted plate correctly with screws (it was hanging on with wire ties);
12. Second pass on the interior: how much Febreze can one person spray inside a car? Apparently the answer is a ****-ton.

Onward and forward!

[Azlo]

Sounds good mate. Should upload some pics

[davejay]

Went searching through the garage for a window regulator piece I'd bought years ago, with no luck...but turned up the original key (with dealer stock tag from 1993 still intact!) and owner's manual.

[91sleeper]

Try to find some Ozium to get rid of the smoke odor. My mom smoked in her car for years and used that stuff when she quit. Be sure to spray into the air vents/ducts too.

[FE3-323]

if the windows are not tinted. clean the glass with carb cleaner. it will strip the oils/grease fresh clean from the glass & dramatically reduce any inside odors.
next step is washing the interior plastic paneling. after that powerwash the carpet

[davejay]

Replaced the plastic gear in the driver's side window mechanism, so now that window rolls up. It's almost like a real car again! Albeit a real smoker's car. Still trying different (cheap) strategies.