The ski sack is pretty neat, though I may modify the sack part so it will be more useful for carrying long items other than skis (and I'm glad I took the time to pull it out and really look at it because I discovered that I really need to do a good overall cleaning of all the nooks and crannies in this car :P)
I can see the spark plugs (that's one of the few things I was able to identify right off the bat lol) and I also know the distributor cap (and what it does), and basically how an internal combustion engine works (and what it means to have more cylinders and so on). I know how to change the oil and filter, and how to change a tire, test the pressure, etc. Basic stuff and maybe a tiny bit more.
The idle air intake control valve the metal cylindrical bit (not the black plastic disk)? And the intake manifold is the part on the driver's side of the junction at which the throttle mechanism is mounted?
Thanks for all that info on the stuff in the first two pictures. Knowing what the heck things are is the first step to being able to learn anything about them.
The pedal housing is one piece from the bottom of the steering column down and under, so if yours just covers the front and isn't cut/broken/etc, it must just be a feature of certain years or the slalom or something. I took mine off and sure enough my pedal was not attached to anything engine-related. I didn't see a spring? I couldn't get a very good picture because it's very tight under there, but the red plastic housing where the cable comes in is easy to spot and that has a hook on the end of it that does fit into the rubber grommet at the top of the gas pedal (lower center).
I'm the curious type, so I did start sticking it in to see if it would fit before I thought that I might not be able to get it back out very easily (which I wasn't), so I hope that's the way it's supposed to fit together, because it'll be a pain in the ass to get back off. Pedal seems to be perfectly normal now. I adjusted the engine end of the cable so that there was a tiny gap between the throttle lever(?) and the stop because if I recall correctly it has to not be resting on, but be less than one mm away from the stop. I'm not sure how to measure it properly, but I did notice that there was a point in tightening the cable that I heard a tiny click in the throttle mechanism, so I used that as a guide and tightened very slowly until I heard the click, then checked that the lever was not touching the stop.
The car still does not start. I forgot to say that when I tried starting it yesterday, it tried to catch a few times, but after that just continued to turn over with no attempt to catch. Today, after connecting the hook at the end of the cable to the gas pedal, it still just turns over and doesn't try to catch.
When I was finishing up I decided to check for leaks and found a pretty fresh-looking puddle about the size of a baseball (last time I checked for leaks was sometime within the last week, and I didn't see any) under the end of the oilpan nearest the center of the car. I didn't check what it was, but I guess it could only be oil or gas, right? I'll take another look tomorrow hopefully...depending on how the day goes.
You are right about the brake system, it works on a diagonal basis. That was in my owners manual.
Where you are talking about accessing the fuel pump inside the fuel tank, is that in a different spot than where I access the fuel gauge sending unit? I keep reading that the sending unit is under the rear seat on the passenger side. My fuel gauge sits on empty until the engine is warmed up, then properly registers how much gas I have, so from what I've been able to determine, I need to replace my sending unit.
I believe I read somewhere that the fuel pumps should usually work for the life of the car, and that they very rarely fail...is that correct?
I was curious about the Mark-1, Mk-II, Mk-III thing, thanks. And I realized that I wrote just "digifant engine", but the brochure actually says "digifant engine management system"...so can I safely determine that I have digifant II fuel injection without finding my owners manual first?