Dilemma... '89 244 or '83 244 T ?

[Prime240]

I am thorn...
Here is my 1989 244,



I have owned it for over 6 years now and gave it all the love I could including a manual tranny swap last summer
the plan was to gave it a flathhod look, I collected all the parts including fenders and rad support, and later of course +t
Recently in my area this came on the market a 1983 244t with M46





Of course the flathhod swap would buy much easier, it is already a turbo car and has the retro flair of earlier models
If I buy it, it would mean I would have to sell the 89
Can't afford 4 cars right now...
The Plymouth is a tough car to sell
The 245 is too good of a family car to get rid of and is the only autotragic so the wife won't destroy all my clutches
The guy selling the 83 is going back to school and needs the money, the price is high right now because he only bought the car last fall and replaced a lot of parts, so he is afflicted by the usual syndrome: I spent a lot of money to fix my car and I want to get it back... :rolleyes:
He fixed the drivers side floor and did a complete stage 0, he gives an intercooler and a couple more parts with it
My 89 is a car I know by heart and having the later motor is maybe a little less finnicky?

What does TB thinks?

Thanks for any constructive opinions

[Mr. Jud]

If the turbo isn't rusty, go for it! He'll back down on the price eventually. Nice Plymouth!

[slow240]

KJET EWWWWWWW
trust me, if you want a project you can actually DRIVE
stay away from kjet, its a pain in the ass to keep reliable
when it runs, it runs great, but i swear to God there is
a tiny little woman that runs it because at least once a
month that bitch will leave you stranded

do a +t on the 89, you have lh2.4, get chips, enjoy!

edit.
plus, your paint looks good, the 83s paint looks like dooooooddeeeeeeee

[Crazychopstick]

Why can't you afford 4 cars?

[Prime240]

Originally Posted by slow240

KJET EWWWWWWW
trust me, if you want a project you can actually DRIVE
stay away from kjet, its a pain in the ass to keep reliable
when it runs, it runs great, but i swear to God there is
a tiny little woman that runs it because at least once a
month that bitch will leave you stranded

do a +t on the 89, you have lh2.4, get chips, enjoy!

edit.
plus, your paint looks good, the 83s paint looks like dooooooddeeeeeeee

You make a good point sir!

My paint is ok.. from a disantce, the trunk is all scratchy and the hood is stained where the windshiled washer nozzles come out... but since I will be replacing all the front end and removing the oogly plastic at the bottom of the doors and fenders I will be gong to repaint it anyway...

[Prime240]

Originally Posted by Crazychopstick

Why can't you afford 4 cars?

2 kids
2 cats
2 rats
a wife that is currently not working and in school...

and then some...

[Crazychopstick]

Originally Posted by Prime240

2 kids
2 cats
2 rats
a wife that is currently not working and in school...

and then some...

So you have to sell your current car so you can afford the turbo?

Don't. If you have the money already and would like a project, then do.

[amerbritcan]

thorn?

[Brandon]

Originally Posted by slow240

KJET EWWWWWWW
trust me, if you want a project you can actually DRIVE
stay away from kjet, its a pain in the ass to keep reliable
when it runs, it runs great, but i swear to God there is
a tiny little woman that runs it because at least once a
month that bitch will leave you stranded

do a +t on the 89, you have lh2.4, get chips, enjoy!

edit.
plus, your paint looks good, the 83s paint looks like dooooooddeeeeeeee

My '84 has never once left me stranded because of K-jet. In the ~25,000 miles i've put on it including one 9,000 mile cross country road trip. Not once have I touched or replaced a single part on it, and it still knocks down about 25mpg on the highway if I keep my foot out of it. The single time the car broke down was due to the water pump. K-Jet is finicky, but if you treat it well and tune it right, it's just fine.

[badvlvo]

Don't fear K-Jet, it's real simple to work on. People will talk **** about what they don't understand or can't fix on their own, but it's been totally reliable for myself and quite a few others out here, so reliable that it actually passes CA smog......

[Jeh]

I still stand by the statement that kjet is a holdover from the Luftwaffe so act accordingly.

[swedishK]

Originally Posted by doperide07

My '84 has never once left me stranded because of K-jet. In the ~25,000 miles i've put on it including one 9,000 mile cross country road trip. Not once have I touched or replaced a single part on it, and it still knocks down about 25mpg on the highway if I keep my foot out of it. The single time the car broke down was due to the water pump. K-Jet is finicky, but if you treat it well and tune it right, it's just fine.

+ a billion.

i've had my '82 for 2.5 years. never ever ever had a problem with kjet. never left me stranded. i've probably put 20-25k miles on it. drove it to alaska.

[slow240]

i mean, i loved my 82, it ran with kjet for three solid years and i never really had any fuel issues,
but lh2.4 is easier to work with and MUCH easier to modify, that is undeniable.
plus he already owns the 89 and knows it well, the 83 would be a new batch of problems

[Crazychopstick]

Originally Posted by slow240

i mean, i loved my 82, it ran with kjet for three solid years and i never really had any fuel issues,
but lh2.4 is easier to work with and MUCH easier to modify, that is undeniable.
plus he already owns the 89 and knows it well, the 83 would be a new batch of problems

Swap to LH. Done.

[WillettRun?]

the electrical system on the 83 might be in better or worse condition, go over that with a fine toof comb if you so desire, I do recommend it. a nice functioning electrical system will really help make the car, especially accessories and necessary devices to ensure safe operation of vehicle under all conditions. (my last gold car= not so much)(this new 242, a whole lot better!)

[smith_t240]

If I wanted a 240 project all over again I'd +T a LH2.4 car. Easier, more power, better in every way.

[RedFridge]

Never had a kjet issue but I would keep the 89.

[Prime240]

Originally Posted by Crazychopstick

So you have to sell your current car so you can afford the turbo?

Don't. If you have the money already and would like a project, then do.

yeeeeeeah....
This is the voice of reason...

But it's a turbo!

And up here in Quebec they never come up for sale...

But you're right...

Thanks to all the posters for the constructive comments
Reason should tell me to keep the '89...

[tiredoldtommy]

Originally Posted by doperide07

My '84 has never once left me stranded because of K-jet. In the ~25,000 miles i've put on it including one 9,000 mile cross country road trip. Not once have I touched or replaced a single part on it, and it still knocks down about 25mpg on the highway if I keep my foot out of it. The single time the car broke down was due to the water pump. K-Jet is finicky, but if you treat it well and tune it right, it's just fine.

I agree. On my 242ti, the K-Jet has been dead solid reliable since I got it running. I haven't had nearly as much trouble with it as I've had with the '84 LH over the same time period.

When I got the car, the head was off and cracked, so as I put it back together, I went through all the procedures in the greenbook to test and be sure it was woriking right. When I got it together, I turned the key and it started and after setting the ignition timing, it ran like a train and has ever since. I've had a head gasket blow and a turbo replaced, but no probs with the K-jet.

[Brandon]

Originally Posted by slow240

i mean, i loved my 82, it ran with kjet for three solid years and i never really had any fuel issues,
but lh2.4 is easier to work with and MUCH easier to modify, that is undeniable.
plus he already owns the 89 and knows it well, the 83 would be a new batch of problems

I don't know about MUCH easier to modify. Maybe in the sense you don't need to get your hands dirty (chips, etc) as much, but there is no doubt that K-jet is pretty simple. A Hobbs switch to the cold start injector, shim up the distributor, and a few other small tricks (plus the ability to easily use the B21F manifold which flows leagues better than the B230 one) can result in plenty of fuel for lots of power out of K-jet. There's wilder stuff you can do (Merc fuel distributor, etc), but that's when it starts to get a little tougher I guess.

I'd argue up to a point K-jet is also a little cheaper to modify as well. As much of a bitch as K-jet can be at times, I like it, especially on turbo cars.

[The Aspirator]

Although I do have a big soft spot for pre-85 cars, I'd stick with the '89 that you know and love. Although the '83 will have a "stronger" engine, better rods and pistons, that's not really an argument if it's got a billion miles on it. And I'm sure that car will be a basketcase of problems, I know my '83 was. There's a reason why I hardly ever see 240's around here, and the few a month that I do see are '86+ and rusted out. The wiring in that car is likely to fall apart, there's probably rust everywhere, it's got k-jet which is fine bone stock but for modifying it's not much fun. The exhaust sucks. The bushings are probably done. However, if you see the car in person and test drive it, and it passes most of those points and you fall in love, then by all means grab it. I love my 242 and hope I never get rid of it.

If you love your '89 and it runs great and is in great shape, keep it and do a +T to that, you'll have less headaches.

[Prime240]

Originally Posted by The Aspirator

Although I do have a big soft spot for pre-85 cars, I'd stick with the '89 that you know and love. Although the '83 will have a "stronger" engine, better rods and pistons, that's not really an argument if it's got a billion miles on it. And I'm sure that car will be a basketcase of problems, I know my '83 was. There's a reason why I hardly ever see 240's around here, and the few a month that I do see are '86+ and rusted out. The wiring in that car is likely to fall apart, there's probably rust everywhere, it's got k-jet which is fine bone stock but for modifying it's not much fun. The exhaust sucks. The bushings are probably done. However, if you see the car in person and test drive it, and it passes most of those points and you fall in love, then by all means grab it. I love my 242 and hope I never get rid of it.

If you love your '89 and it runs great and is in great shape, keep it and do a +T to that, you'll have less headaches.

Both cars have comparable mileage
the 89 has 165000km, I bought it form the original owner at 114000
the 83 has 158000km...if i trust the seller and this pic...



this is what the car had done to it
4-wheel brakes (Brembo discs and PBR pads )
Two ball joints and 2 inner tie rods (and alignment)
Front wheel bearings
Sparkplugs,sparklug wires, cap and rotor
Fuel and air filter
driver door switch
transmission support.
shifter knob
he gives these parts with it
clutch cable
oxygen sensor
shifter bushing
oil filter
motor mounts (2)

my 89 has a leaky power steering, that I haz a spare for.. and that's it...