'91 Isuzu Impulse RS Central Florida *Mine*

4-8-17 Vehicle has sold to some Central Florida Rallycross enthusiasts Hope to see her again soon.

4-5-17 Lots of updates and video added

So today is both a good day and a sad day. To give some background in 2015 I bought a MR2 shell to put together for rallycross. A little over a year later I have the car in pretty good shape with some pretty minor things to sort out before my first event. Then GRM struck, and the enablers got a hold of me. On the Tennessee Rallycross forums pops a '91 Isuzu Impulse RS. '06 SCCA Rallycross National Champion in Modified 4wheel drive. It had sat since '09 and condition was unknown. I took a chance and bought it. Today I decided to sell it.

Impulse Build Thread

Imgur Album Many new pictures from today

I finally broke through a major hurdle and got it running right. During my test drive I had it up to 40mph in all 5 gears.

Full Walk Around Video

Details

'91 Isuzu Impulse RS.
Have title (I signed it at purchase but did not register may need to transfer title in my name then to buyers).
Hard top no Sunroof.
Crank Windows.
New head gasket.
New Denso Fuel pump.
New fuel filter.
New Map Sensor.
New O2 sensor.
Fuel tank was removed and cleaned with bbs and vinegar.
128,000 miles? Cluster was not in car when I bought it I installed the one that was given with car.
Rally tires on cool 90s Impulse wheels (1 leaks I think from valve stem, includes extra non mounted tire and a random street tire to aid transport).
Stripped interior.
Roll Bar/Cage (not sure on terminology) Built by Rivergate Racing in Memphis (very highly regarded) Includes brace between rear strut towers and a strap over the top the rear struts.
Custom Skid plate.
160hp AWD turbo weighing roughly 2700lbs stock should be lighter now even with cage.
Past national champion it has the skeleton to be a monster car.
Stock boost is 7psi most people report running 12-14 on stock fueling.
Removed EGR.
Removed A/C.
Removed P/S.
Custom routed coolant hoses to loop off heater core and throttle body lines.
Removed Charcoal Canister.
Gutted Cat.
Battery relocated to inside car.
New Battery (Autozone Lawnmower).
2.5 inch exhaust with cherry bomb muffler.
welded rear diff.
Urethane Bushings.
Full DNJ engine gasket kit (minus headgasket, exhaust manifold gastket, EGR intake gasket, gooseneck gasket).
Compression test is fine across all cylinders.
Leakdown test was good.
Fuel Pressure (finally) is good.
No rust except for the old battery tray all else is clean.

Spare Parts

Rear diff reported as good and not welded.
Drive shaft.
Transmission.
Engine Block.
Head.
Intake Manifold.
Exhaust Manifold.
Turbo(bad seals changed to spare turbo).
Cam Angle Sensor.
Fuel Injectors.
Various Other sensors.
Most of a factory service manual (missing the first couple pages).
Volvo Intercooler (if you want it its yours).

The Bad

Bring a trailer not truly streetable (no headlights, no windshield wipers, no heater or defrost, welded rear diff)
Replaced turbo and started leaking oil from the return line only leaks while running Sat for 5-6 years other problems may present themselves no indications of anything amiss but please understand that things will crop up. Any 25 year old car is pretty much a project car.

[B]The Deal[/B]

$1750 for everything listed above. I think this has the potential to be a great rallycross car for someone who hasn't been working on cars for 2 years w/out racing a single event. It also has the potential to be a great challenge car. I looked through the logs it would be the first ever Isuzu. You can easily sell the extra engine/transmission for $750 and then have 1k left in the budget to, well basically go nuts. Contact me through messaging or transom1@gmail.com

I'm really not wanting to post this up on craigslist. If I had started with this car I would be keeping it. I put so much time into my MR2 I decided to go with it instead. It's hard to explain even though I know the Impulse would be faster the MR2 is such a joyous little car I couldn't resist going back to it. I truly feel the Impulse will be rock solid for whoever grabs her. If you have any questions please feel free I will answer as honestly and completely as I can. If you have concerns about some of the faults I went over i'd be happy to talk about it and maybe do some wrenching. After I get the MR2 to a place where I'll be able to attend the next event I'll revisit the Impulse and keep you posted.

Replaced the TPS and that helped quite a bit. It still stalls while coasting might just be the idle adjustment. Oil leak persists its coming from the oil supply for the turbo. Might be missing the crush washer from when I replaced the turbo. Car still for sale. Took it around the block and it drives fairly well. Needs a good going over of the suspension but steering feels tight and braking is fine.

I did my weekly start it up and let it run a bit. I popped the hood while it was idling and noticed the idle set screw wasn't there so I found one the right size and installed it onto the throttle body. This fixed the shut off while coasting issue. Car is still for sale I've had some responses but no takers.

I'll try to get some video of it running and driving soon. Currently it starts right up, idles great, and runs just fine. Boost comes on well and it feels like it has the proper amount of power. Only real engine issue remaining is the oil leak for the turbo feed. This weekend I'll be at the FIRM RallyX with my MR2 but maybe I'll get some time next week to see if I can't get the leak addressed.

There was a stock Impulse for sale locally a couple years ago that I almost bought but couldn't agree on a price. If you were closer I would be all over this as I have been looking to get into rallyX. Seems like an awesome deal.

Can the hatch still be reinstalled?

In reply to Cooter:

For sure its just a couple bolts to put it back on and put the spoiler back on it. I didn't cut anything.

I traced the oil leak. It is the oil return line to the block. I took it off and discovered the hose clamp I was using was bad and it was tightening down on some bad teeth on the clamp rather than the line. I removed it and replaced the clamp and put it all back together. This resulted in the leak continuing.

It will likely need to be done the proper way removing the radiator so you have real access to the area. I had replaced this line earlier and it didn't leak it only started after the turbo replacement. When I got the car the line was just a straight piece of tubing with a bend in it that kinked it. I bought a piece of hose with a 90 degree bend but it might be slightly too large for the application.

The oil leak is the only real fault left with the car as far as running and driving performance. It is driving strong and all the major components of steering, clutch, transmission, AWD, and braking are working properly. I won't have time to pull the radiator this weekend as I have to add some lighting to my MR2 for an upcoming night time rallycross. Still its a pretty easy job once you get to it.

Where in central Florida? I'd love to come see it. My daily driver Kia Sportage POS fuel pump just crapped out again. I'm pretty sure that I might light it on fire before I pull the tank again. 13 mpgs in that thing makes me crazy. It's too slow and small to burn gas that fast.

I'm south of Orlando in Kissimmee. I really wouldn't suggest this as much of a daily driver replacement. It doesn't have the headlights or windshield wiper motors installed. I have some of the parts from when the previous owner removed them but I have no idea if they are complete or what would take to make them work. It also doesn't have the heater core or any blower fans inside so defrosting would be an issue. These are all solvable issues for sure but you may need to get pretty creative.

ugh... down the road from me. (well I-4 is a long road, but down the road) and I love these things. I actually miss my Storm, and these things get NO respect. I just wish I had the $$ and time for a toy like this right now.

I had a request from someone to do a walk around video. In the vid I mentioned that I changed out the hose. I have done so but after the vid I see she is still leaking oil. I didn't check where exactly as the exhaust gets pretty warm and you have to stick your face up in there to look at things. Ultimately its a pretty solvable issue but I want to be totally up front with where the car is at.

Its a silicon oil hose from an offroad specialist. Maybe I just have the hose clamps in a bad spot maybe there is something else going on. Here's the vid of the walk-around. Might take a bit before its fully encoded:

Sale pending inspection on Friday. 4-7-17