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.
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