Beretta.net

Is the car ready to make the trek to Ocean City in a few weeks?????

The car will be ready but I won't be I'm in the middle of another career shift. I'm in sales and interviewed for a position in visual merchandising. I'm almost 30, I need to finally settle down. The boss is out of state for a company meeting for the next week and I'll hear back and hopefully start right when the Bfest magic happens (knock on wood). Ocean City sounded so amazing too!

oh man it all goes downhill after 30

oh man it all goes downhill after 30

*sad face*

So it's been awhile but I finally got around to doing stuff. Some pics in case people forgot what it looks like:


I had to change out some tires, and jacking the car from the front passenger side causes this in the rear. Still can't get over how stiff that rear end is. Notice the registration is expired, it's been that long since I've driven this thing. Just finally renewed it a few days ago, so I got a new temp plate and waiting for my new ones in the mail.


Also went to the junkyard to pillage some parts from this '94 3100:


This was ransacked, what I really needed was that driver side door handle since mine broke. I'm sure anybody who has owned a Beretta in the cold climates can relate.


Swapped out the roof antenna for one from a VW, eventually hope to make it functional:



Caught this little guy hanging out on the spoiler one day:


I still got a lot more to do on her. I need to change out the front brake lines, install a new heater core, try to shoehorn in the pre-'95 internal sway bar, and finally put on the side skirts. I'm honestly more surprised than anything that the paint is still holding up.


Essentially I spent the last month doing an engine swap with my brother on his Celica Gt. The original engine finally died at over 300,000 miles. not bad Toyota, not bad at all.

Was starting to wonder where you were at. What made the rear that stiff? To me that is a bit much.

Was starting to wonder where you were at. What made the rear that stiff? To me that is a bit much.

because Addco rear sway. I still want it stiffer with the internal bar + the direct acting front sway from a GTZ + eventual Koni inserts. After that, I'll be satisfied with it

Essentially I want the suspension to be as stiff as this lol:


But seriously, horrible for normal roads but perfect for autocross! I like go-kart handling, I just wish the L-bodies were just 200 lbs lighter.

just start cutting stuff out of it, interior, AC etc RACECAR

Thinking twice about using the Addco. Tell me how it does on the street. Pretty sure of what your going to say, but hey, testing is everything.

Just blew a rear brake line. It was a time bomb that went off a bit sooner than I thought it would(LOL). Treated the rust and coated it. Got another year out of it. Not too many miles on the car this year, too much down time.

May get rid of the K-brace for the Cavy/Sunfire. Will keep you up to date on that. Just not sure at this point.

just start cutting stuff out of it, interior, AC etc RACECAR

Now you're speaking my lingo!

Thinking twice about using the Addco. Tell me how it does on the street. Pretty sure of what your going to say, but hey, testing is everything.

Just blew a rear brake line. It was a time bomb that went off a bit sooner than I thought it would(LOL). Treated the rust and coated it. Got another year out of it. Not too many miles on the car this year, too much down time.

May get rid of the K-brace for the Cavy/Sunfire. Will keep you up to date on that. Just not sure at this point.

Honestly, it has the exact feel like a live axle back there. The difference being that a live axle drives the rear wheels and so traction is an issue on uneven surfaces where as my rear wheels are just there for the ride.

I hear you on the brake lines. On the cavalier I used to own, the rear brake lines rusted through spewing brake fluid everywhere. It was an easy fix though with over the counter hard lines.
I am interested on that K brace in the future. I'm in no rush with the Sunfire since it's a daily driver meant for point A to B driving.

Grew up on RWD so I know what you are talking about. Looks like yours is a lot more stiff than that. Damn man all the people around here have IRS and drive like they have an axle back there(10mph for a turn on dry pavement).

No rush, that is good. Or bad.....could use a kick in the butt to get this started(LOL). Hear that the K brace is the best mod for a J.

You ever had any thoughts about some rear camber? Negative that is. Sure helped my car even for slow turns. On games 1.5 or more is great, on this car 1.5 looked funny and 3/4 felt almost the same.

You ever had any thoughts about some rear camber? Negative that is. Sure helped my car even for slow turns. On games 1.5 or more is great, on this car 1.5 looked funny and 3/4 felt almost the same.

I like to get my car to max grip spec so before I go into advance adjustments. I have yet to reach that point, hopefully next AutoX season I would like to run racing slicks and fatter wheels.

So I autocrossed today at Milwaukee Brewers stadium.


Before getting to that point, I had a slew of issues with this car. First, a giant nope made a web from a tree branch to my decklid:


I also had an exposed ground wire that I patched with electrical tape back when I did the motor swap. Well I guess the current is too much for it and turned my tape into melted cheese!


So I sourced a new one from an Olds Achieva:


Then my coolant temp sensor went all wacky and killed itself. So I put a new one in:


I also ripped out my headliner. It was sagging and in my way:


At the end of the day, this car was not fit for Autocrossing. My fan doesn't engage when it's supposed to, The engine runs a little hot, My ABS is acting up causing for some inconsistent pedal feel. Also the car turns on fine when cold but if I turn it off at temp and try to turn it on, it doesn't. Kaput.
So I did what any rational human being would do, I took the damn thing autocrossing.





It was really a bragging rights race against my brother's Celica. Spoiler Alert, my Beretta beat him.


It rained really hard the first half. In between runs, I had to disconnect the coolant temp sensor to manually engage the fan (also probably causing the the engine to run rich) just to cool the car down and while running, I keep it connected. No issues on the highway as the natural airflow is enough to keep the temp midrange.
I also kept the car running THE ENTIRE EVENT. I am not going to be deal with being temporarily stranded because of my car's personal issues lol.

Here's a clip of my second run in the rain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LgBMLk ... e=youtu.be

Here's the results:


Just looking at the raw times in my Tire limited class, I beat out a 5.0 V8 Camaro Z28, a few Miatas, one Fiero, close with the other one, and was .8 seconds away from beating that 2013 Dodge Dart.

Camber is a basic mod, doesn't chew up the tires on my car. Might do a little on yours.
So are you finding it more easy to do the autoX? Not pushing the car so hard to get those speeds?

Camber is a basic mod, doesn't chew up the tires on my car. Might do a little on yours.
So are you finding it more easy to do the autoX? Not pushing the car so hard to get those speeds?

AutoX is easier on this car but I really attribute that to the LSD. It puts the power down when I need it, virtually eliminates understeer, and especially works in spades in low grip conditions.
As for the car, I really have to floor it, more importantly focus on not scrubbing off to much speed in corners since my little L4 is slow and takes awhile to rebuild that speed.

Not anytime soon, but I'm seriously considering just outright purchasing a used Cavy/Sunfire with the ecotec and 5spd combo just to gut the drivetrain and harness and put in my Beretta. That alone would give me a 25hp/20 ft lb bump but with a rev happy motor and a lighter package since it's an all aluminum block and head. I thoroughly enjoy the L61 and it's ease of maintenance too.

Voila! The whole temp sensor debacle has been sorted out. Seems like my car doesn't play well with any coolant temp sensor that's not ACDelco. The BWD I had over the weekend read temps a little higher than actual and didn't engage my fan when it was supposed at halfway. The O'reilly Masterpro brand was godawful; the car temp readings was bouncing all over the place and the check engine light turns on.

I went to the junkyard and pulled an ACDelco 3pin from a '95 olds cutlass/buick century (didn't get a good look at the car), and the Beretta runs perfect. the temp reads in operating range and the fan kicks on when it's supposed to.

Ya took out a 240? lmao, I have to ask what kind of driver were they?
Where is the toyota on the achievment list?

Amateur wrote:Voila! The whole temp sensor debacle has been sorted out. Seems like my car doesn't play well with any coolant temp sensor that's not ACDelco. The BWD I had over the weekend read temps a little higher than actual and didn't engage my fan when it was supposed at halfway. The O'reilly Masterpro brand was godawful; the car temp readings was bouncing all over the place and the check engine light turns on.

I went to the junkyard and pulled an ACDelco 3pin from a '95 olds cutlass/buick century (didn't get a good look at the car), and the Beretta runs perfect. the temp reads in operating range and the fan kicks on when it's supposed to.

Time to start questioning the PN they are giving you and if it's even the correct one if it's causing that many issues. I mean a sensor is a sensor, quite simple really and I can't understand how different brands would act that differently. For instance I do not have only ACDelco sensor on my car, I have a variation of BDW and NAPA stuff.