Having had the clutch cable bugger up on me already, I had the starter motor die today. Still starts with a bit of a tap, but its on a list of things to fix now - Im my experience, starter motors just keep getting worse from here on, so it's best to get it fixed ASAP.
I made some big decisions today - it is time to sell the Soarer. It is sitting there not getting the love it deserves aside from a single day a fortnight or so when I have time. Furthermore, with the cash from the Soarer, I might fund a 4AGE / 4AGZE swap for the '55. Not a definate at this stage, but It's on the cards anyway - it'd be a heap of fun, and sleeper-spec to the max. My old man is a VET construction teacher at a local College, and with his automotive connections, it'd make a nice class project for the automotive boys and would hardly cost me a cent. Something to think about...
Starter motor is being fixed tomorrow for a paltry sum, so the 4K lives on (until later anyway).
Monday 30 May 2011
...put it on my tab at Harry's
Just a quick end-of-the-month post.
Dominic Toretto crashed down my door today looking for his 5" tacho. He wasn't happy I'd robbed his car of 25kw ;)
Dominic Toretto crashed down my door today looking for his 5" tacho. He wasn't happy I'd robbed his car of 25kw ;)
A nice little steal from the local movies, haha
Clutch Conundrums!
I had a small problem today. I say small, but at the time it seemed a lot worse at first instance than it actually ended up being. Driving to Uni this morning, I lost all pressure in my clutch pedal - not a sound, not a smell - no indication of trouble - just the inability to shift gears. To add insult to injury, this occurred on the Tasman Bridge. When you're driving a 4-speed manual and you're stuck in third gear amongst heavy traffic, there's nothing worse. Much to the dislike of surrounding motorists, I had no choice but to keep my revs up and weave around traffic Paul Walker-style until I could safely pull over just off the Bridge.
Upon inspection, I found a very loose clutch cable (almost completely pulled out of the firewall grommet), which had detatched itself from the pedal and was flopping around. In such situations you discover makeshift repairs / neglect such vehicles have had in a past life. One of the previous owners had attached a hose clamp to the cable (evidence that it was already working its way loose), which seemed to be the only thing holding it in place.
Being the disorganised enthusiast that I am, I still had a flat head screwdriver in the car from installing my speakers, and within minutes I was back cruising once more, with a nicely adjusted clutch.
Not wanting to take any more chances, I jumped on EBay and got myself a new clutch cable.
Whilst I was there I grabbed a tripod for my camcorder for the purposes of my YouTube build, and a "Stanceworks" sticker set, sure to add another 10kw! Now I have no choice but to dump my car on its arse ;)
Upon inspection, I found a very loose clutch cable (almost completely pulled out of the firewall grommet), which had detatched itself from the pedal and was flopping around. In such situations you discover makeshift repairs / neglect such vehicles have had in a past life. One of the previous owners had attached a hose clamp to the cable (evidence that it was already working its way loose), which seemed to be the only thing holding it in place.
Being the disorganised enthusiast that I am, I still had a flat head screwdriver in the car from installing my speakers, and within minutes I was back cruising once more, with a nicely adjusted clutch.
Not wanting to take any more chances, I jumped on EBay and got myself a new clutch cable.
Whilst I was there I grabbed a tripod for my camcorder for the purposes of my YouTube build, and a "Stanceworks" sticker set, sure to add another 10kw! Now I have no choice but to dump my car on its arse ;)
Friday 27 May 2011
JDM with rice tastes really nice
The JDM
So I managed to pick up some tyres for a very nice price - $67 each, fitted and balanced, for a set of Kuhmo 175/70R13. The boys at the shop weren't too happy that they were stretching them onto a 13x7 rim, but they were an improvement over the 165's already on the rims when I purchased them (notably, with drift damage + flat spots + chunks missing from their KE70 slider days). Within an hour, I had the new soles on my shoes, and took the rims back home to be fitted. These rims seem to have been manufactured before offset was stamped inside the wheel, but I'll be sure to measure inside next time I have them off. I really want to know, as these stick out from the guards a fair bit (most notably on the front), but look 110% better than the old jellybeans (i.e. no rim tuck with standard ride height on the rear).
The new rims look great, but highlight the desperate need for the car to be dumped. There is so much guard clearance at both the front and rear, I can fit an entire foot in between the wheel and guard. Regardless, here is how it looks so far:
This morning I also met up with a contact through the rollaclub.com forums, who supplied me with a revision 1 KE30 front grille for a good price, and still intact (albeit, in need of some TLC for the purposes of my project). He also sold me some new 7" sealed beams to fit, and some original brackets. I now have a complete ke30 front end, bar the chrome headlight rings, but I'll be sure to snap some up whenever they become available (most are rusted / dented to buggery by now).
At the end of the day, I contacted Blake at ModX, who had already helped me out in the past with my authentic JDM dildo shift knob. He had in stock a 5" tacho with shift light, featuring a black face, and silver bezel, the same scheme as my existing stock dials. For about 1/3 the price of an Autometer Pro Comp (my other preference), Blake hooked me up with this item. Installing it was a breeze, and it was as simple as hooking up a wire to the tacho signal (in my case, the negative side of my coil, as my 4K uses an electronic distributor), and the other three wires to earth, power, and illumination - all borrowed from my aftermarket stereo wiring. The tacho utilises a quick, easy method of selecting the shift point with a knob selector, and a background illumination selector button (I prefer white, in order to maintain a more stealthy look). The tacho simply screwed directly onto my a-pillar with the stock corolla a-pillar mounting point, and I didn't have to hack up my stock trim, unlike most other vehicles which don't have provision for it.
So I managed to pick up some tyres for a very nice price - $67 each, fitted and balanced, for a set of Kuhmo 175/70R13. The boys at the shop weren't too happy that they were stretching them onto a 13x7 rim, but they were an improvement over the 165's already on the rims when I purchased them (notably, with drift damage + flat spots + chunks missing from their KE70 slider days). Within an hour, I had the new soles on my shoes, and took the rims back home to be fitted. These rims seem to have been manufactured before offset was stamped inside the wheel, but I'll be sure to measure inside next time I have them off. I really want to know, as these stick out from the guards a fair bit (most notably on the front), but look 110% better than the old jellybeans (i.e. no rim tuck with standard ride height on the rear).
The new rims look great, but highlight the desperate need for the car to be dumped. There is so much guard clearance at both the front and rear, I can fit an entire foot in between the wheel and guard. Regardless, here is how it looks so far:
Got dish?
This morning I also met up with a contact through the rollaclub.com forums, who supplied me with a revision 1 KE30 front grille for a good price, and still intact (albeit, in need of some TLC for the purposes of my project). He also sold me some new 7" sealed beams to fit, and some original brackets. I now have a complete ke30 front end, bar the chrome headlight rings, but I'll be sure to snap some up whenever they become available (most are rusted / dented to buggery by now).
In time, I might replace the sealed beams with semi-sealed beams so there is provision to fit some HID H4s, or at least some xenon bulbs, but this will do fine for the moment.
To give you an idea of how this may look once completed, compare my car in its current KE55E state (latest revision front end with squared off headlights / honeycomb grille), with a mates old Rev1. KE30 (without the battle damage!)
A recent photo of my '55 with the old wheels. Note the dull front end. In my opinion it looks like an unsuccessful crossbreed between a KE70 and a KE30, but a signifier that '80s styling was in full swing (mine is an '81 model - the last year that KE55s were sold in Australia)
Nick's old KE30 - ironically he had exactly the same rims, and the same snot yellow paint job. To me, this front end does the rest of the body shape justice, so it will be next on my list of things to do.
The Rice
And last, but definately not least, I shamefully installed an aftermarket tacho... Of the 5" variety... Love it or hate it, I can justify installing one because A) My '55 doesn't have a tacho dash, nor was it ever an option, and B) The 4K doesn't have a rev limiter, being carburetted, so I need to know when to shift while I'm making the most of my 45kw, haha. Unlike several Hyundai Excel drivers I see sporting a 5" tacho, I have not installed this with the intention of improving/optimising the performance of my car, as I am fully aware my car has NO performance value whatsoever, but I did spend a fair bit of time shopping around for something which would compliment the look of the car (i.e. I wasn't after a white-faced tacho with fake airbrushed flames, etc)
At the end of the day, I contacted Blake at ModX, who had already helped me out in the past with my authentic JDM dildo shift knob. He had in stock a 5" tacho with shift light, featuring a black face, and silver bezel, the same scheme as my existing stock dials. For about 1/3 the price of an Autometer Pro Comp (my other preference), Blake hooked me up with this item. Installing it was a breeze, and it was as simple as hooking up a wire to the tacho signal (in my case, the negative side of my coil, as my 4K uses an electronic distributor), and the other three wires to earth, power, and illumination - all borrowed from my aftermarket stereo wiring. The tacho utilises a quick, easy method of selecting the shift point with a knob selector, and a background illumination selector button (I prefer white, in order to maintain a more stealthy look). The tacho simply screwed directly onto my a-pillar with the stock corolla a-pillar mounting point, and I didn't have to hack up my stock trim, unlike most other vehicles which don't have provision for it.
Usually fitted to "fully hektik" Hyundai Excels or Mitsubishi (bitsashitty) Lancers, the tacho actually looks quite at home in the KE55. At least I know and admit that my car is slow :)
In this instance, coming from someone who would gladly support the banning of undercar neons and vinyl graphics, rice actually tastes nice. The tacho serves a purpose, and doesn't detract from the look of the car. Thanks again to ModX for the fantastic customer service and competitive pricing.
Oh, and if anybody wants to follow suit, the boys at Mighty Car Mods provide a comprehensive video on how to make your car as fully hektik as mine, using their highly acclaimed king of rice, the TRD Laser "TRDLZR"
I have exams in less than 2 weeks, so modding will be kept to a halt over the next fortnight. Rest assured, stay tuned for my front-end upgrade, and some more JDM love.
War against your family
Just a quick one. I don't know about you, but I HATE those "My Family" stickers. Honestly, who cares how many kids, dogs, cats, horses, fish, grandparents or mistresses you have? The world at large do not need to know, and frankly, nor do they care.
The worst offender I have laid eyes on. I don't know if Mummy and Daddy are devout Catholics, if they are too poor to afford contraception, or if this was intended as a joke, but regardless - this was ridiculous.
It was time to seek revenge...
My answer to the 'my family' sticker trend, much to the disgust of tailgating housewives in their Nissan X-Trails and BMW M5s.
...and so it begins
First off, I am Michael, this is my 1981 KE55E Toyota Corolla "Casey", and this is the journey to bring her back to a respectable standard...
I originally bought her as a daily driver to drive to Uni and work whilst I work on my JZZ30 Soarer, but I saw some old school pimp potential in her, and the modification bug bit. Upon purchase, the Corolla was, simply put, a rusty old snotbox in dire need of some TLC.
That being said, the '55 had a reasonably good interior (the caveat being a torn/warped lower section on the passenger seat), a decent 4K, original logbooks, owners manual and service history, and moderately low kms for its age (159,000). I picked it up for a very nice price with 6 months registration.
I figure this style of modification is a love or hate thing, but in an uncanny way, I find boso cars very cool (within reason, when modified somewhat tastefully). Fact of the matter is, its intended as daily, so whilst the rolla won't be as extreme as most bosozoku rides (I'll be taking cues from both bosozoku and JDM styling), low'n'slow is the name of the game - I like to think of Casey as my cruiser, and my Soarer as my performance powerhouse :)
I originally bought her as a daily driver to drive to Uni and work whilst I work on my JZZ30 Soarer, but I saw some old school pimp potential in her, and the modification bug bit. Upon purchase, the Corolla was, simply put, a rusty old snotbox in dire need of some TLC. That being said, the '55 had a reasonably good interior (the caveat being a torn/warped lower section on the passenger seat), a decent 4K, original logbooks, owners manual and service history, and moderately low kms for its age (159,000). I picked it up for a very nice price with 6 months registration.
The rolla was apparently purchased and owned by a 'little old lady', reflected in the original purchase receipt still intact within the owners manual. The subsequent owner, from who I purchased Casey, had installed an immobiliser, had hacked away at the dash to install an aftermarket stereo (much to my disappointment), and had slapped on a set of 'jellybeans', and had evidently enjoyed some slideways action and general hoonery, evidenced by the crooked front chrome bar, stone damage to the front lip, and repaired/primered front passenger quarter panel. My only addition upon purchase was the application of a "JDM as F#ck" sticker (a sign of things to come), and the removal of the shocking camo steering wheel cover. In the glovebox I also found an old thermostat and a genuine Toyota rear main seal, still in packaging - great for inspiring mechanical confidence. Later on I saw why - the thermostat needed replacing (in fact it just needed a thermostat), and it wept oil like a fountain - these were the first things to be rectified, as well as a full cooling system flush with Tectaloy, some new radiator hoses, some fresh coolant, and oil and filter change, and new spark plugs.
My toys - beauty and "the beast"
A little later on during ownership, having viewed some HPi DVDs, a particular style of modification, featured at Daikoku futo (a popular Japanese cruise/meet spot for car enthusiasts) caught my eye - "Bosozoku" style, or more correctly "Kaido Racer", with styling derived from 70's jap racers / bosozoku motorbike gang styling (young jap punks with yakuza ambitions).
I figure this style of modification is a love or hate thing, but in an uncanny way, I find boso cars very cool (within reason, when modified somewhat tastefully). Fact of the matter is, its intended as daily, so whilst the rolla won't be as extreme as most bosozoku rides (I'll be taking cues from both bosozoku and JDM styling), low'n'slow is the name of the game - I like to think of Casey as my cruiser, and my Soarer as my performance powerhouse :)
Modifications so far:
JDM 220mm "Dildo" shift knob, OMP deep dish steering wheel, and a fire extinguisher (for those stifling engine bay temps, haha)
Authentic JDM plates (for show use / display in windows). Note the shaved rear garnish, and soon to be removed stock exhaust.
New Exhaust - 2" straight through, and a dirty cannon with 3" tip (good provision for the attachment of a bosozoku style 'bamboo' pipe later?)
Some 13x7 Spitfire MK2s from an ex-drifter KE70.
Stay tuned, the evolution is coming...
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