9 replies to this topic

[J-Calico]

This is my initial GX61 F/L Sedan
Purchased around mid-late '09 from memory.

Tard-me pic from just before I bought it


Pics at home, some time not long after getting it.

[J-Calico]

AS with many 'apprentice OS users' I've been a reasonably long time lurker and felt I should finally post a build thread and contribute.
and, as with many young people into cars, I grew an intrest in/appreciation of old japanese vehicles.
The more I found out about toyota (and also nissans) intruiging and tough range of awesome old school luxo spec cars, the more the urge to own one grew.
Early run-ins with RWD japanese cars had been through the common models and my love of the EX lancer, but i beagn to find not everything has bland low spec interiors(&exteriors?).

After seeing a factory turbo one on trademe years ago,







and numerous tastefully modded examples in Japan, (always leaves you in awe)
(gogo6171 i blame you..)
I decided I wanted a GX61, and more precisely a Facelift MarkII Sedan. Now im not so sure which X60 series version I like the most, but the markII sedan seems to be the platform for the other models and also seem to be the easiest of the F/L's find find in NZ. I do love its tough 'square as hell' look.

After this decision around mid '09 the search was on. It always seems like exactly when you want something its hard to find, or I don't look hard enough/in the right places. (Dont think i browsed OS for one around that time.
Until november, when one sat arvo a tidy looking example pooped up on TM in Nelson. I called the guy that arvo, told him I wanted it but was in the North isl.
He seems really astonished someone wanted it without seeing it in the flesh, and that he could sort shipping it across the strait no worries. For some unknown reason he wanted it done As soon as poss, and we ending up organising it for that coming Tuesday night. (he wanted to do it on Monday..)
Me and a good mate took my trusty '32 gts-t sedan, with very bald rears on the newly purcashed wheels i had bought from being on a lowered (read-cambered) S15, to fetch the big ol' Toyota.
We arranged to meet at the train station in wellington and he was in the car park when we arrived.
I checked it over with him briefly, admiring its deffinately early 80's squareness.
It wasnt as tidy as I'd hoped, but i wasstill really happy. It ended up being about 2300 after he got it over the strait for me etc
which wasnt too bad. As i said, I'd hoped it was tidier but it was complete and alomst everything worked perfectly so there wasn't much to complain about.

The guy selling it was quite buzy, with a 'flying-by-the-seat-of-his-pants' type approach. He hadn't even organised accomodation, and wanted to go to the casino.(why there, now?)
The car wasn't dodgy, it was sound as, I think he was just a character, although he did say to me on the phone
pre- buyig it if he kept it he wanted to paint it (matte?) Black, "because there is just so much chrome on this thing"
I felt I had to rescue it.
After unsuccessfully trying to get us to drop him at the casino (we didn't know where it was either..)
we dropped him a little closer to the central city and tried to convince him bunking up at the backpackers would be his best/cheapest bet.
He left me with this piece of advice when exiting the car,
"careful, it's longer than you think" and he was right, it was odd driving it for the first time, much different to R32 Gts-t
I'd drove down in, and with that we started the journey home.
I instantly loved it.
I even thought it smelt kinda cool, and pictured a japanese business man, smoking heavily, rolling a mint example down a highway in the mid 80's. (though it didn't smell like ciggy's)
The comfy interior, like a old lounge suite, the quiet engine, seemingly effortless and apparently great on gas, according to the guage on the trip home.
After a 'moment' of my friends doing in my r32, and a long stop at BP in Otaki(?) yarning about how awesome it was and how it kinda looked like a smaller version of a late 70's early 80's Caddy we made it home to Palmy pretty late.

[J-Calico]

Bone stock and with everything in order.
The heater control makes something 'click' repeatedly when set to anything other than full hot or cold
(this thing)


but it worked and was a minor flaw considering the gadetry they have stock, which is now 25+ years old.

It became my daily, as planned and has stayed standard for quite some time.
After doing a deal with the '32 and cash for another n.school turbocharged car, it
stayed this way after someones appetite for drivelines, \/

Broke this \/ After demo'ing the lay shaft of a (FS5R30A/r34 25T)gearbox, leaving the box useless, previously too..


in turn leaving me little cash for the MarkII's progression.

So not alot(nothing..) has been done to the car itself.. yet.

[J-Calico]

The plan was always to make a jap styled crusier to serve as the ultimate daily.
At the time (2 years ago) my commute to work was very short and flat. It would have been feasible.
Now, the want is still there to have it the same, but it really isnt needed or intended to serve as a daily.
So my plan was
-NA JZ engine.
I didn't want nor need another turbo car, and the package move to a far newer & smooth 6cyl seemt like natural progression from the old and gutless 1G-EU.
-W58 g/box (if i colud) get one or similar from the W-series.
-Coilovers to get that japanese-like 'its the super low ride height that makes it look so good' look
-3pc or similarly tough 14" Japanese wheels with widths around 8.5"-9.5" (at the time the Enkei 'Focus racing' wheel
alot of the gogo cars had.
-Custom stainless exhaust
-hopefully get it all running fine on the stock ECU or swap to a link and GTE engine later in the piece.

For some reason I had an obsession with the VVT-i motors at the time, and believed them to be far superior to the normal older versions. So i wanted one of them, but VVT 2JZ-GE's were thin on the ground and expensive(again i didnt read into it too much though) and normal 2JZ-GE's were asking good coin too, so I got a low km's VVT-i 1JZ-GE from Toyota's ulgly duckling, the 'PROGRES' for around $650-700 I think.

So during the long periods of ownership and no progress,
I've basically just been acumulating parts for the build.


Firstly i got an enigne



then a box. (supposedly a '58 from a G-GTE mk3 Supra) im hoping so, ratio check seemed right/.783ish.
can you tell another way?



Then coilovers From BC, I went with the AE86 set-up hoping it'd be easier to work with, (given they come without hub
mounts or stub axle set-up) and again hopefully provide that 'on the floor' ride height.



Then wheels via OS, (thanks Rob!)



and then a JZ-W bellhousing via toyota/Cusco NZ in AKL, which they listed for cheaper than nightparts/convert ltd sell theirs for. (but stated they 'retail' for $1600+!)

[J-Calico]

Also, more recently I got a flywheel from Nightparts/Convert ltd,



But not before buying the incorrect one! , for Pull type clutches/use with the R154 box



so if you are in the market for a good flywheel if your using the R154 in anything, hit me the fuck up, i need to recooperate some costs

And after stuffing them around at Auto Brake in clutch here in Palm. North with the whole flywheel ordeal,
I also got a 10" HD Excedy clutch for a pretty sharp price.



-Plus clutch alignment tool and spigot bearing in the pic /\

Also some other bits, some not super important but meh, everyone loves 'spruce-up not-so-important-to-the-builds-progress shit.
slave cyl

Open ended alloy wheel nuts

and another silly-ass dildo shifter..

[J-Calico]

So for the last 6+ months shes been living in some sheds I've rented from a really nice, if not rather excentric guy, which are behind some flats he'sowned for 20+ years.
Managed to score 'em for Only $8/Week! per side, so it had to be done. Not enough space round home.

Went down today 'cos my freind was going to sort out something with his car(which is incidentally my old CD5A GSR) in the other shed next to it.

Dragged the old girl out, took a couple snaps of it, took some things out of it home, and also brought down a couple of forms of cover for either car.



Bit Dirty, should have covered it initially.



I don't think i will ever tire of this shape

[J-Calico]

I know its another 'not crucial to the Actual build' item,
and im not usually a big fan of personalised plates unless they're lowkey and kind of scriptive.
But ever since embarking on, or even dreaming up this build I've wanted one of a few designs,
this being the most prominent one on my wanted list (that wasnt taken..)
and was a 'classic' not a 'premium', so a bit cheaper too. (thik because it has 2-3 letters first? like a normal rego..)



Got the 'spaced to the back' idea from a really choice 'onevia' that was at (*cough*4& roticery *cough*) nationals
a couple of years ago (Was [ 1VIA] i think?)
Bit of a subtle change on boring old centred
Also thinking I should also make them like old black plates after I actually get them made.
Sadly the MarkII had a personalised plate previously (TOMPRO ) so has white 'FBZ...' plates.

[J-Calico]

couldnt help myself...

15x9.5 w/ 195/45's
fronts are 9" and -16? also 195/45 NS-II's.

(measured [I think] at -16 for the 9"s, and -26, not +/- 0as i had thought/was told, for the 9.5"s)

[J-Calico]

Finally found a F series LSD.
3.7 Ratio too! (every little bit to help with tiny rolling diametre)

Paid way too much for it, as when I was bidding for it off 'the tard',
the other kat bidding on it was unrelenting. & I realised he'd also bought the last
F-LSD I spied on there, and upon checking his feedback, 2 open F-series' too!
how many did he fucking need?
So I wanted to make him pay as much as possible for it.
Ended up pushing him to his max bid, waiting then deciding to go one more, at which time his auto bid was done,
and I was offically owning it for a semi astronomical price.
Ah well, dont need one now, was recently rebuilt etc, and is a good ratio...

Worked in picking it up form Taranki with a sat morn @ work (w/ a trip to Wanganui)
and met him in Patea.
Was a really good dude shooting off to Aus, selling up his car stuff.
Also bought the W57 he had, as it was a decent price & to help him out, turning assets into cash
for the big move.

[J-Calico]

Crappy 'what you ain't got no pictures?!' update

As to be frank, I haven't even done Sweet fuck all lately.

Again I've been too busy with work and new cars(sorry, don't hurt me..) which alway keep me from prgress.

DOHC Whitey MarkII has been sold via the tard to fellow OS-member TMC-KE70/Rick, all the way down
in the mighty Timaru
Was the dream X61 car (in my tired eyes..) for this shit really, being factory 'TwinCam24' (as its badges bragged subtely ), white, manual
& WHITE ('cos it may be boring/common, but it looks so good on them!)
But alas always too many cars (at mine, dads rented workshop, and my rented sheds) and I dont really want to ruin the factory good spec one,
and can't bail on my previously aquired, and 'to-be-project' car initial gold MarkII
so off she went with a metaphorical tear in my eye..

Also sold an R32 Gts-t sedan i had purchased reasonably recently (I usually have cars for ages!) to a friend (on my gen. 17" Work Meisters! too!),
so more garage space (but not really at all...)

And finally sold my mistakingly purchased Chromo JZ flywheel for the R1 boxes to a local dude with a 1JZ-gte in a hilux...
I'm thinking one day im going to want to build something with an R154 and be thinking 'shit I shouldn't have sold that flywheel'.
but alas cash is priority over unuseable parts (well in theory maybe) so Im happy for now.

semi-eased the pain of mssing out on them sweet 14" mkIII's that were on the tard,
http://www.trademe.c... ... ermanent=0
(which I was(/had my heart) set on, but were alot of moneies' anyhows, so not a majorly regrettable 'loss')
with some more wheels From the absolute living Legend that is Kelvin/Mini'Yakuza'

TBH Im not even 100% sure if they'll fit and look good on the MarkII, but I convinced myself I had to have them/Closet
wheel whore in me coming to surface
Worse case scenario I wouldn't imagine they'll go down in value terribly, so new investment idea FTW?

and very recently sorted out a GX61 F-series subframe, as goldy is dirty old/small T-series factory
A part I have so desperately needed (yet down Sweet F.A about finding... ) until good old OS again came to the rescue in the
form of fellow member al_feinted, in all of about 20 mins after posting up the wanted add screening for one

(I still need that vvti JZ alternator if anyone can help though! haha)
Thank you so much Alex !
Truly another OSGC.

Yet to pick-up either of these items, unrealistically was looking at tieing it all in with a trip up to the big city
of sails to buy a car maybe.. Me trying to make it seemingly very worth while.

discuss/redicule @ disco link below