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'Labi' 1989 1300 GTL

Knights123

Enthusiast
Messages
23
Location
England
Hello!

I bought this car in Colombia about two 3 weeks ago, with the thoughts of 'trouble free motoring', and didn't think of posting a project... How naive was I!

I rushed into the sale and ended up buying a bit of a pig, a rotten, unloved, over worked pig. But hey, this will be fun...

So far I've spent about £220 at the local garage, of which were terrible. So puting responsibility into my own hands.

Recently replaced;
Front wheel bearings
Outer CV joints
Driveshaft/box seals
2 belts
Box/motor oil
Plus many others

Went to the parts street in Santa Marta, which was a wonderful experience, I found one very small shop that seemed to have every part I could ask for... and cheap!

Next on the list to repair;

-Exhaust bushes (caused the pipe the crack)
-Front roll bar bushes
-Sump gasket, if I can take it off without removing engine?
-Coolant change
-clutch release bearing (airy/squeal when clutch pressed)
- clutch cable (thinning out, like my own hair)
- lots of welding at some point...

Will update as I go, and any help is appreciated :)
 
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Hello!

I bought this car in Colombia about two 3 weeks ago, with the thoughts of 'trouble free motoring', and didn't think of posting a project... How naive was I!

I rushed into the sale and ended up buying a bit of a pig, a rotten, unloved, over worked pig. But hey, this will be fun...

So far I've spent about £220 at the local garage, of which were terrible. So puting responsibility into my own hands.

Recently replaced;
Front wheel bearings
Outer CV joints
Driveshaft/box seals
2 belts
Box/motor oil
Plus many others

Went to the parts street in Santa Marta, which was a wonderful experience, I found one very small shop that seemed to have every part I could ask for... and cheap!

Next on the list to repair;

-Exhaust bushes (caused the pipe the crack)
-Front roll bar bushes
-Sump gasket, if I can take it off without removing engine?
-Coolant change
-clutch release bearing (airy/squeal when clutch pressed)
- clutch cable (thinning out, like my own hair)
- lots of welding at some point...

Will update as I go, and any help is appreciated :)
The joys of R4 ownership, it is good to be able to do these things due to their simplicity
 
Exactly that. It'll be good for learning as well, I've always had 90's toyotas in the past, so never had to repair anything haha
 
Had a chap sort a few more problems today, Clutch cable and pedal housing, steering tie rod and alignment. It was so worn where the cable mounts to the pedal it looked like the hole was twice the size.

Also sorted a knocking front hub, with a very strange (at least to me), and worrying technique. He would punch many small holes into the front hub where the bearings seat to make it more secure... there no knocking any more.
 
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I can see it working at least short-term by tightening the fit (moving the metal around slightly to reduce the inner diameter a touch) , but wonder whether it will be a long-term solution, and whether a new bearing will make any difference to the fit. It makes some sense at the moment though :)
 
That method of repair is pretty old school but if combined with loctite bearing fit grade it should last as long as the bearings
Depending on availability of parts local to car this may have been only way of avoiding immobile r4 stuck in the workshop
 
All the front wheel bearings were replaced about a week before this engineering brilliance was perfomed on Labi.
I'd like to think I could get a new hub if I needed it, I think most people here just assume you want the job done as cheaply as possible, so they cut a lot of corners.

I still have some very annoying knocks and at the front end, can't seem to place them. Driving me insane...

We left Santa Marta for Cartagena yesterday, all went well but oil leaks are getting worse and the front right shock has started dripping as well. GOOD TIMES!
 
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I had some irritating rattles which I eventually narrowed down to front pads - the pad clamping springs were old and not holding them firmly down in the caliper. Worth a thought!
 
It looks nice from outside...but under bonnet is beauty that counts ;)

But seems to me that all it needs is little bit of love (and full wallet)

I notice some interested details on it.

Is that some kind of wheel covers on your wheels or just black paint. It looks different and fresh.

Rear licence-plate /reverse light are mounted by the last owner or are they original. As they look like R5 or R4 F6 lights, and there is hole in booth doors where licence plate should be.

One more thing is that 1300 engine. I read that South America R4 has bigger engine. Can you identify it (engine plate). Just for science purposes :D

Good luck with it. I am sure it will bring you smile on face
 
I'm 100% sure its the front caliper, as the guy who put it back together had no idea, and that disc is red hot once stationary and the other is not.

Back in Medellin, where i bought the car, and after muchas £ spent, the car feels no better. Luckily i have a friend Jose, who runs the Medellin R4 owners club to help me find a good mechanic. Pretty sure the inner front drive have given up... made a horrible knocking noise whilst powering up a hill.

We had a good drive today, travelled around 400km to medellin, and the car made it up and down to 2900m!!! Amazing roads to say the least.
 
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It looks nice from outside...but under bonnet is beauty that counts ;)

But seems to me that all it needs is little bit of love (and full wallet)

I notice some interested details on it.

Is that some kind of wheel covers on your wheels or just black paint. It looks different and fresh.

Rear licence-plate /reverse light are mounted by the last owner or are they original. As they look like R5 or R4 F6 lights, and there is hole in booth doors where licence plate should be.

One more thing is that 1300 engine. I read that South America R4 has bigger engine. Can you identify it (engine plate). Just for science purposes :D

Good luck with it. I am sure it will bring you smile on face

I'll grab the numbers for tomorrow, no biggie dude.

As for the wheels, thwy are VERY standard, apart from the centre painted black. Looks quite nice though I must say!
 
Take your time... No hurry.... Tx!

Wheels looking really nice with that black center.

Yesterday find out that my cousin is on her vacation in Columbia and send me this picture.
received_606162740177917.jpeg
 
Take your time... No hurry.... Tx!

Wheels looking really nice with that black center.
Yesterday find out that my cousin is on her vacation in Columbia and send me this picture.
View attachment 25110
That is a lovely 4, similar to my friends car in Medellin, by colour at least. He took me for a ride in it today, it is fantastic to say the least... I'll upload a photo... also the chassis number.
 
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So the 1300 is called R1129 but is different to the short-lived French R1129.
 
So, Labi has been in with yet another mechanic for two days. Clutch release bearing has been changed, it was completely pooped, you could rock it side to side!

- 1 gearbox side drive shaft joint replaced, as you can see in the photo it did not look good, the casing had cracked and was throwing grease everywhere.

- ANOTHER lefthand roll bar bush.

Car seems better, but still not correct at the front end, I'm coming to the end of my tether with this car. The list of problems never ends!!!!

After an hour of driving, the rolled had popped out of the bush after doing a sharp right hand turn - this has happened twice, one time spliting to bush. Maybe the bar is bent putting too much pressure on this side, who knows!

Still has a knocking/popping sound when turning at very slow speeds, a slight knocking feeling in the steering wheel when maintaining and coasting.

As of late, she is a pain to start when cold, at crawling speeds decending she wants to stall and splutters. On highways she feels a lot slower up the hills and maybe loses power when on full throttle.

Sorry for the rant there, needed to get it off my chest. Feeewwwww

Any suggestions, Oli :)
 
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Also, at a certain rpm maybe 3000, or at 70 kph the engine sounds like a bag of nails which it never did before! But if you floor it, it disappears until you maintain speed again. At least she's cute
 
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