Getting started, recommendations?
 

So I just turned 20 and bought my first car, 1997 Hyundai Tiburon base model 1.8L engine automatic with 140k miles. The car has a few problems here and there that will get fixed over the next month.



The car is all original except for the radio and the previous owners did not man handle the car so the engine and transmission are in decent shape. (as decent as they are going to get from a car almost my age with 140k miles.)



Any way my goal is to make her look nice again, get a decent sound system and most importantly make her move a lot faster then what she currently does. Ill post pictures of her tomorrow on here.



So, what do you guys suggest and where can I find the parts online if you have any good sites :)

If I just got a 97 tib the first thing I would do would be inspect all wearable items and make a list of stuff to replace to make it like new again. Down to the suspension bushing, etc.

Ive changed a few thing on it already, new rediator, new altornator, new gas pump, new gas filter, new battery. I need to replace water pump/lines since its leaking coolant and i need to replace the head gasket, very small oil leak but not mixing water/oil.

Always make sure a car is running properly before doing any modding. That goes for ALL makes and models.



With that being said, you have an auto, so that limits your power upside tremendously. There are DIY's on how to swap to a manual, if you chose to go that route.



I would spend the money on reliability and ride stability before doing anything aftermarket. 140k, isn't super high mileage but it's up there. I would change the trans fluid aswell if you haven't already.

Wow super nice turbocharger, do stock rd tibs handle boost well enough for daily driving?



@SR, yea that's my main focus at the moment but everything it needs is getting done this month. So I'm just trying to plan out what's going to be first and what im even going to do after I'm done making her run smooth again.



And switching it from auto to stick sounds like a crazy amount of work with lots of room for failure for a guy without a shop but I would have definitely gone shift if I had the choice.

I would say get the motor checked out. Does it have decent compression, is the fuel system at 100%, and can you afford to get good supporting mods behind it. The beta itself can take the boost. Strong head gasket and a good crank. The ring islands don't put up with sh*t tuning and will blow out on you pretty quick if stuff starts exploding at the wrong time. Others who have boosted would be a lot more helpful there than me. If you do not want to swap out the trans then you will need some sort of boost to make it quick. The beta doesn't do that great with N/a mods and after throwing a ton of money at N/a a 5spd tib would still stand a great chance at pulling away from you. The auto at least has the edge at being able to load the turbo before launch and not close the throttle on a shift. You would probably want to get a cooler and maybe a torque converter upgrade if you really have some cash laying around. One big item with hyundai autos is do not use anything but the fluid recommended for it. Its not worth the risk to go with anything universal in my opinion, cheap insurance.



If you could manage to find a lower mileage 2.0 beta 1 tib and buy it. Like one that was hit by a dump truck in the rear but all the front end stuff was good. That would probably be the best way to go. You could even move the 1.8 beta stuff the 2.0 beta guys like, cams and ecm are two things that work well in the 2.0 from what I understand. That would probably be the easiest and cheapest way to make it a good second quicker in the 1/4 and much funner to drive. Then you could turn around and sell that auto trans and the 1.8 with 2.0 cams



If you live in an apartment.. scratch that idea.

If it runs, it runs and I wouldn't worry too much about getting the engine checked out. Keep an eye on oil consumption and coolant color to be sure it doesn't lose oil to the wrong locations. A bit of seeping oil isn't too worrisome to me either. I *would* worry about the transmission oil. ONLY use the approved fluid and change it at LEAST as frequently as the shortest interval in the manual. I would strongly recommend an aftermarket oil cooler in place of the stock cooler in the radiator. The stock transmission cooler runs the fluid too hot and it burns in 10-15k miles.



I changed from auto to a standard transmission in my garage with a helper. It's not that bad.

I meant if he wanted to run boost, not just for shitsNgiggles. I still think the best plan is my first post as many boost dreams never actually happen. Looks outside at the silver thing I haven't done much with....

I'm taking all this into consideration, definitely needs a compression ratio check. Not sure if its just me but it feels week. Also just noticed after putting gas the car starts to putter, only after I put gas.



Crap and gunk inside the tank? Clogging fuel injectors?

Do not live in a apartment but yard is way to cramp for another tib. Theres 2 tibs a project 85 stang (shes going to be fun) and a bike hogging space already.



going to see where I can get a compression check for cheep this week.



Also synthetic, should I go for it? I've heard a bunch of different stories about it



@Stocker, how long did it take you? Im only going to have a 2 day window at max to get that done. I go to college and work so that thing never gets over 2 days of rest