...living in the 70's

Today I got around to fitting the rev.1 KE30 grille and twin headlights. Whilst straightforward, the conversion required cutting off the old brackets which supported the old square-headlight buckets with an angle grinder. Various guides on forums noted they can be bashed back / bent, but cutting them gave nice. ample clearance for the new buckets (note: no turning back now!).

Despite the need for the front badge (about to be chromed), the KE is starting to look the part.

I had a love/hate relationship with the square lights and 80's-to-the-max honeycomb grille, but the rev.1 KE30 front end suits the rest of the body shape down to a tee. Cosmetically, this is all I have planned for the car, save for some fender mirrors which still need to be installed, and the front quarter panel which still sits in primer from the previous owner!

Exams are done now, so modifying will be paramount whenver I get the time / parts. Some lowered front springs are on the way, as is a 32/26 Weber carby.

I have however picked up another toy - a Huffy Slider! A lucky find, considering these things have been discontinued and haven't been stocked in KMart since 2010. I also secured 5 sets of Green Machine wheels from the same supplier, but I am only keeping 2 sets for myself, and thus, I will be passing 3 sets on. They are currently listed on EBay and Gumtree. For the latter, check the links in my sidebar :)

Stay tuned!

Old School

As of today I am 2/3 of the way through exams, so I figured a bit of DIY was in order. I decided to fix up the Rev 1. KE30 grille from under the house, and treated it to copious amounts of fibreglass, silicone, and sanding, then after a decent amount of wax and grease remover, it was coated liberally with 3 coats of Gunmetal Metallic Flake enamel. To finish off, I sprayed on a few coats of high gloss clearcoat. The results speak for themselves - it looks pretty pimp.

To finish off I also gave the original headlight buckets some TLC by sanding them out, getting rid of the surface rust, and giving them a few coats of the same paint. All that will be visible from the exterior is a tiny bit of metal behind the chrome trims, but I figured I had to kill the rust anyway, and they came up very nicely.

I have located some original chrome headlight rings which are in dire need of a good polish, and the original "C" badge is begging to be rechromed. After this, it is a bolt-in affair for the conversion. To top it off, brand new sealed beams will be used.

Now to tackle the other 95% of the body which is begging for some TLC!

Also I bought some lowered Pedders springs from a RollaClub member - decided to lower it once and lower it properly. If they don't give me enough drop, they will be recompressed (or maybe if I get desperate I'll just cut off one little coil!)

Until then, keep it drifty!

I am a shit planker...

Low Ridin'

So the poll results were clear, the highest voted mod was to lower the '55, and to pump the guards, so that will be happening over the next few weeks after exams. A few mates have guard rollers, so subject to availability I'll try and snag one for a day, but failing that, it has been proven that a small piece of pole (ghetto style) can do a good job. I am not too concerned about any effects on the paint, as the rear guards need to be repainted due to rust repairs, and the front quarter panels will have badges (and maybe indicators) shaved, and will need to be painted also.


Runner up in the polls, at 27% of votes, was to fabricate a bosozoku-style exhaust (at least a bolt-on - for offroad use of course!), so the next poll will be regarding what style of exhaust (i.e. straight upswept pipe, dual 45 degree angle pipes, etc) I will fabricate and install.


The '55 is back on the road as a daily, with a freshened starter motor. Whilst I was at it, the '55 received an Optima Yellowtop dry-cell battery I used to run in the Soarer (overkill, but it was just sitting there), and some new 4-gauge earthing wire, because the old one was frayed and corroded. I also replaced the terminals, and tidied up the stock wiring with some cable ties, heatshrink, and plastic insulation tubing. I now have a lot more faith in the electrical system, and I have confidence the car will actually start first pop every time now :)


A week driving the Soarer brought to attention two things. 1) My Corolla is slow as hell (man it was nice driving a fast car every day). 2) My Corolla is cheap as hell (it was also bloody expensive driving a fast car every day).


Stay tuned for when the Rollabus is dumped on its guts :)