Looking at buying an AW11

[AE86less]

I'm looking at buying an AW11, but first i have to ask an important question:

While i'm not the tallest guy in the world, i'm still 6'1. Will i fit?



And when im looking at them, is there anything to look out for in particular?

[no_8wire]

Yes unless your really fat.

Im 6'2" ish and 95kgs and I fit in fine...

[Mr Revhead]

yep. no sweat

prob need an aftermarket steering wheel though

i had huge problems driving mine untill i got a smaller one as they come down to close to the seat base and jam against ya legs!

[AE86less]

I'm still a little worried, my shoulders are phenomenally large and musclebound

Thats good to know, cheers.

Anything to watch out for?

[Mr Revhead]

lol and im fat and i fit ok.

rust, RUST. rust and more rust.
and overheating/water leaks

[no_8wire]

in the eariler ones eg pre 87...rust! esp in rear guards and in the boot under the carpet...

also look for rust in under the space in the bonnet, once again under the carpet...


Oh and 5th gear pop out...


later ones seem to be more resistant to these problems though

[AE86less]

Alright, thanks muchly for that.

What changes were made when they introduced the facelift?

[Adamal]

Front bumper support! Don't forget the front bumper support! My passanger side indicator fell out

[Ae92typeX]

Im pretty busy for several weeks really, but when Im free, if you have not tried your height and muscle bound shoulders in any other AW, could pop in some time to try mine.
As above, Aw's, check for rust!. Mine had it, but got patched up Like revhead says, steering wheel can be harder for tall/lumpy people.
another area to check for rust I have seen on many aw's is infront of the window, between the wipers and build stamp seam- a common area which causes wet floors, but can be hard to see unless really looking.

[AE86less]

Haha, i really dont think my shoulders will be a problem.

If i get one we can start the Devonport AW11 club!
Actually, if you dont mind me asking, where in devo are you?

[no_8wire]

Alright, thanks muchly for that.

What changes were made when they introduced the facelift?

Bigger brakes
different(better) front lip/bumper and rear lights...
Had the redtop bigport instead of a bluetop
umm different interior...

Thats most of it I think...

[Mr Revhead]

some tweaks in the suspension as well
different rear arms, different rear shocks

[Leon]

Everything on my old AW11 had rust other than the tyres.

Also it had a blown headgasket, and a clutch slave cylinder that leaked.

1984 model, so it had the worst brakes ever, if you're into sporting driving, steer clear of one as early as mine was.

Very fun car to drive though.

[Ae92typeX]

Im around the Mt Vic area. There are afew around devo though - one in the house up path from new word, another stanley pt way, nice silver one heading to belmont I see now an then. Mine is an all white one with paint that has gone poos (winters project perhaps).

what issues you have with the brakes Leon?
I replaced all the bits in mine and they are fine (but I do drive a all drum mini lol ), although factory ones did have a reputation on warping on the early models.

[Leon]

what issues you have with the brakes Leon?

Had, past tense. It's a car I had way back when. I had brakes for one lap at Manfeild, and then they were cooked.

[Ae92typeX]

yeah, my bad editing, meant had.
Mine dosent get pushed to that degree, but makes sense with earlier units.
(mental note, beware of doing fast Manfeild laps)

[DR]

6ft 4" and i fit fine. the stock steering wheel came out of a bus parts bin i think. It's far too big to of been in a sports car. So as mentioned, an upgrade in that dept makes things nicer.

as everyone else says... Rust.

Anyone that lists their AW11 as 'rust free' is a liar or just hasn't looked hard enough.

Boot floor - under carpet

Frunk - Under carpet

Wiper sill - foliage collects and blocks water from draining (its hard to check aswell unless prospective sellers will let you rip out the interior of their car :\ (both sides)

Behind the windscreen - up top on the roof

Boot - pull up the rubber seal

rear arches - around wheel

rear arches - under side skirt

rear arches - rear most boot side (water pools into it and go no where, someones poured anti rust into mine :S)

Hinges? - I see red oxide paint around mine so someones done some work there at some stage


The list goes on, still want one?

If you find one that has rust in all those places your very unlucky though It's usually one place or the other.

Facelift is way cooler then pre and the brakes ( stock ) took a punishing from me at puke recently and never gave me any grief.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 732078.htm

it's pre face but alot of work has been put into it already.

Hope this helps

[Dell'Orto]

Yeah the hinge area seems to be quite a common place for them to rot out, also at the bottom of the B pillar seems to go.
I'll have a SC one for sale in a bit if you're keen

[Caveman]

adubs are cool

mine has rust in the front boot thing, and the rear boot near where to computer sits because there is no where for the water to drain. Its also had rust in the guards but its been rust killed and boged (very well too) and painted etc.

Who cares though, you wire brush all the loose, get some phosphoric acid to neutralise the acid, primer and bog. If you do it all properly you will never have a problem again. Even better if you have a mig handy, cut out the rust and weld in patches.

[AE86less]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=90698174&key=476076

Im going to look at this one on saturday, that white ones nice but i'm wanting a standard one, and i'm going to keep it that way. ....Atleast for the meantime

Plus its a bit more than im gonna get for my ae85

@Ae92typeX: You're pretty close then, the firestation backs onto my street. I can't remember ever seeing one in Devo, but then i've only been watching for them for a little while.