My new 86 SX

[wonderboy]

I just picked this up tonight off of craigslist. 1986 250SX. I little dirty and not perfect, but I think in pretty good shape.

The good:
- Complete down to the owners manual and tools
- Diff lube was nice and black (as opposed to milky white.. so no water).
- Engine oil looked decent
- No major bends or breaks

The bad:
- Gas Tank. It holds gas but weeps a bit at the seams.
- Front tire: toast
- Rear tires: bald (but hold air)
- Fenders: small crack in corner by trunk
- Vaccumed out the critter nest from the airbox (took the nest and all the foam from the stock aircleaner which was completely toast)

When I got it home, I took the pictures, then put about a gallon of gas into the bone dry tank. I opened the petcock and the float bowl drain to flush out the bowl a bit. I then hooked up a battery with jumper cables (oh yea, no battery) and this thing just came back to life in about 5 seconds.

So, some more good:
- Runs (in fact, it starts really well)
- Lights all work
- Reverse and forward gears are ok (for the 10 seconds of driving you get before the front tire goes flat again)

I'm going to do a complete carb cleanout and change all fluids. The biggest thing is I have to figure out what to do with the tank.

Question about the gas tank: On a tank with no obvious holes, but definitely leaking, can I get away with one of the gas tank lining kits? Or when I etch it, will my weaping spots turn into full blown holes? I'm kinda bummed about the leaking gas tank, but overall, I think it was a good deal.

[Frankencelery]

It's in better shape than my '85 was when I got it 5 years ago. How much did you give for it?

Oh, and Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power?

[jeswinehart]

Yeah, it will seal up just fine wonderboy.
In fact, where the heck you at in s.e. Michigan ? I have a bigred tank ready to drop off to my local motor gut uptown to seal for me. His deal was I buy the stuff (red coat + muriatic acid) he will do it for a couple of recent favors owed.
There certainly is enough sealant in a quart of red coat to do tanks,,, more like 4 or 5 tanks can be done so hey, my treat man, we just gotta figure out where each of us are at and hook up.
intersection of US 12 and US 131 for me, White Pigeon, 49099

[motoman1012002]

I bet clean carb change oil and new plug it fire dont look that bad at all

[tri again]

Nothin' to lose by trying to seal the tank.
por 15 is real convincing stuff, and lots of pro and cons for the others.

My sx tank looked the same and when I sanded down those paint bubbles, there was nothing left.
I mean you could stick 4 fingers into the tank.

I wish I sealed it in retrospect but found a whole sx parts trike with a good tank for 100$.

[wonderboy]

Hey jeswinehart! That is an awesome offer! You know, I'm pretty sure I met you at the trike circus this year. You sold the trikefest raffle tickets, right? I was there with my brother (had the minivan with my 85 SX in the back, and my 85 350X on the trailer). Anyway, I'm over in Livonia. I'm always up for a roadtrip though. I'll PM you to see if we can set something up.

Yeah, it will seal up just fine wonderboy.
In fact, where the heck you at in s.e. Michigan ? I have a bigred tank ready to drop off to my local motor gut uptown to seal for me. His deal was I buy the stuff (red coat + muriatic acid) he will do it for a couple of recent favors owed.
There certainly is enough sealant in a quart of red coat to do tanks,,, more like 4 or 5 tanks can be done so hey, my treat man, we just gotta figure out where each of us are at and hook up.
intersection of US 12 and US 131 for me, White Pigeon, 49099

[wonderboy]

If I told you my secret, it wouldn't be a secret anymore...

$450 was the asking price and I paid it. I thought that this was a pretty awesome deal at that price.

It's in better shape than my '85 was when I got it 5 years ago. How much did you give for it?

Oh, and Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power?

[dougspcs]

Mint..for $450 you scored. Engine and all the major components look good. Besides the back tires being spun off the thing it looks like under a bit of rust and neglect you may have a really low hours machine..

Little or no wear on the side of the engine casing, same on the sides of the tank..all the little pieces are there (tool kit, clutch adjust screw cap, exhaust heat shield)!! This thing hasn't been riden much for sure!!

Either you knew what to look for or you major lucked out!! But damn these things are cheap in lower Michigan. I go over all the time and get me machines there!!

[wonderboy]

I agree. I was very lucky. I saw the CL posting and had an e-mail to him within an hour of his posting. When I arranged to go look at it, he said it had better be soon, otherwise he was going to keep working down the list. He was very nice to keep his word though. He said he had MANY responses to come and buy it, but since I was first, he'd give me first crack at it.

I was very happy that ALL the pieces seem to be there. There is a fair amount of corrosion here and there, but I have access to a sandblasting cabinet at work, and have the ability to PC small parts in my garage... I probably won't go nuts on it until the winter. For now, I just want to get it functional and prevent any further rusting. But once winter hits, I'm picturing a full disassemble and rebuild.

[DRKCYDE]

Hey jeswinehart! That is an awesome offer! You know, I'm pretty sure I met you at the trike circus this year. You sold the trikefest raffle tickets, right? I was there with my brother (had the minivan with my 85 SX in the back, and my 85 350X on the trailer). Anyway, I'm over in Livonia. I'm always up for a roadtrip though. I'll PM you to see if we can set something up.

WOW.....Sweet score.

BTW...I am up in Farmington Hills. We should go riding some time.

[Frankencelery]

Yeah, that is an awesome deal. My 85 was nearly twice that, and I put $400 into it the first year.

I was hoping that your handle was a Tenacious D reference....

[wonderboy]

That's funny, because I've seen a couple other ways that screen name gets referenced... to be honest, it came from my days on an R/C airplane forum. I had a really cool plane called a "Wonder". I liked it, and figured I'd work it into a screen name. I went with the sort of super-hero sidekick concept for it... I don't know, I think it is a bit silly, but oh well. I kept the same screen name on all the various forums I visit, otherwise I'd never be able to remember what name I used where.

Yeah, that is an awesome deal. My 85 was nearly twice that, and I put $400 into it the first year.

I was hoping that your handle was a Tenacious D reference....

[Frankencelery]

That makes sense, and far less ridiculous than this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL4HSiGvk68

[RobC]

hey guys i just got into the whole three wheeler thing and i have a mint 85 250sx honda and a 85 yamaha tri z 250 i live in taylor mi any one wanna ride on weekends hit me up. allways lookin for a couple guysto go riding with . my name is rob

[malibulvr]

hey guys i just got into the whole three wheeler thing and i have a mint 85 250sx honda and a 85 yamaha tri z 250 i live in taylor mi any one wanna ride on weekends hit me up. allways lookin for a couple guysto go riding with . my name is rob

Very cool, welcome to the site but next time post your own thread and don't tread on someone elses :P