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  • Slowbrick's adventures in Astron, SWB Paj style

So much like Spac I have gone down the shit but maybe not shit Mitsubishi rabbit hole. This week I took ownership of a 1989 SWB Pajero. Plan is to clean it up, register it and see how I like it. If its good then ill sell the NP and get around in this as we dont need two big cars and one small one could come in handy. Also when was the last time you saw a SWB Pajero!?

It has a carby 2.6 Astron, 5 speed with 195000kms on the clock. It is a local car that has always lived in Newcastle. Has no rust except a 20 cent sized spot where the rear tyre has rubbed on the tailgate. Interior is pretty nice. Motor runs ok but has a mad stumble once its warmed up that I need to figure out. Has a devils Mikuni so good luck to me.

Figured Id start a thread so Spac can ridicule me in a public forum.

This is why you don’t have $50, Ryan!

I’ll let you write your own version of the story, but the ending is inevitable:

It’s slow, noisy, uncomfortable, and thirsty. The novelty has worn off and you sell it because you don’t use it.

There will also be a point where you realise that the newer Paj is - despite all of its faults - a better thing in every way.

Seriously, Petey has one (well, two actually), and I’m pretty sure it gets used for dump runs and not much else. It got used a rally reconnaissance car a couple of times, but the drive to the venue is too painful so they use something else instead.

But can you really say no to how charming it is? We cant all drive around in Mazda CX5s. Also having never owned a nice car before idk what im missing out on. The NP is also slow and noisy. Its comfortable as hell though so it will be missed in that regard.

But let me remind you of how charming the little Paj is. I will name him, Astronboi.

I can't say anything with my ever increasing number of Toyota old things...

But enjoy....

    i wanted a swb but ended up with a lwb ng v6 and idk what im gonna do with it

      PaddlerEd

      I can't say anything with my ever increasing number of Toyota old things...

      But enjoy....

      I should come see you and we can compare our old Japanese things that Spac hates because his ass has become too soft. Or its too hard so he feels too many bumps.

      Philia_Bear

      4bt swap?

      Nah.

      a7pocket

      i wanted a swb but ended up with a lwb ng v6 and idk what im gonna do with it

      Idk man? Drive it around? Thats what I plan to do with this one.

            Got rego today. Now I can drive around and see if my back hates me owning this thing hahaha. Drove to the inspection station like a peach. Has a big bog at 3500rpm and won't go over 4000 so might be ignition breaking down or the carb being unhappy. Other than that at part throttle it drives smooth as. Nice gear changes. Can't really tell it's sat for so long

            Those astrons used to get a bit of corrosion on the distributor plug, worth checking that but those carbs are also a pain in the ass. At this age the plastic body becomes porous and tiny bits of black plastic go through the rest of the carb

            I keep coming across weber swaps being the only solution. That and EFI swaps which seems alot harder now than then as its nearly impossible to find a TS magna being wrecked. Im gonna do all the basic stuff first before focussing on the carb. Ive ordered a new coil, fuel pump, cap, rotor, leads and wires. I figured this should stage 0 the ignition and fuel system as they all look quite old. The coil is original and could be breaking down when hot. The power loss is intermittent and sometimes it surges through and other times it doesnt. Fingers crossed a good stage 0 sorts it. Im also going to be installing a catback as the exhaust thats on there is a hodgepodge of random bits and the muffler is most definitely collapsed.

            There’s still a steady trickle of cheap EFI 2.6 Magnas for sale on Marketplace.

            Pretty sure the EFI gear off a doorstop (TM etc) Magna works just as well as the TR/TS bits.

            Would the fuel tank differ from carb to FI ?

            Higher pressure pump/s no doubt.

            Might be able to just swap the sender unit in the tank, as the V6 model had EFI

            6G74 DOHC swap. Otherwise, 4G63 from a 90ish Galant? Or just fix it and drive it before it becomes a huge broken down project.

              Dauntless

              6G74 DOHC swap. Otherwise, 4G63 from a 90ish Galant? Or just fix it and drive it before it becomes a huge broken down project.

              Body off restoration it is?

                Dauntless

                6G74 DOHC swap. Otherwise, 4G63 from a 90ish Galant? Or just fix it and drive it before it becomes a huge broken down project.

                Yeah im going with just fix it. Ive ordered ignition bits to refresh it all and if its still janky ill look into the weber carb conversion. That should see it be a nice reliable runner to hit the dunes in.

                  The SOHC 6G75 from a 380 makes more power than the DOHC 6G64, and it a lot cheaper/easier to find.

                  ooo more options to replace my 6g72 with

                  10 days later

                  Have installed a few new ignition bits. Replaced the coil, dizzy cap and rotor, leads and new plugs. Its running much better now but still runs a bit janky at full throttle. Low to mid throttle has cleaned up a bunch though. Pulled the plugs and its definitely running too lean on 4 and 3. There is a crack in the manifold and the pulse air is also located there so im wondering if this contributing to it.

                  Have pulled the trigger and ordered a Weber retrofit kit from Recarb. Have also ordered some headers and booked it in at the local exhaust shop for a 2 1/4 inch catback. This recipe will supposedly bring it up to 100 rwhp which is up from the 50 - 60 most seem to dyno at. Its a pretty pitiful number but I didnt get it to be fast so thats ok.

                  Had a big fail last week, went to replace the fuel pump with a Delco unit. Fitted it and everything was working and then it just shut down. Would kinda hiss and pop when starting as if it had no fuel. Pulled the lines and they had fuel. Swapped to a clear fuel filter and it wasnt filling it when cranked. Pulled the new pump and the little tang on the plunger had broken off. Reinstalled the old pump and it fired right up. The new pump looks to have a thin cast tang the old pump is quite thick. Gave myself a huge oil leak as I didnt realise at the time I had cracked the insulator on reinstall of the old pump. Ordered a new insulator from Repco and installed it on Saturday.

                  While I was waiting for that I decided to refresh the black trim, grill and headlight surrounds with some of that black dye paint. Also painted the lower apron which had been painted with house paint previously and gave the bumpers a hit with subframe black. Looks a bit fresher now.

                  Drove it to work today and it goes ok. Better than before but still not 100%.

                  And quick comparison of when I got it with the old front end vs now it looks now.

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