jsnapsnz

Been a while since posting, so much driving happily 

I did have to rebuild my diff, bugger I took no photos but pretty cool setting the pinion and carrier preload, shame about my rubbish condition cwp...

The urgency for this job was of course in aid of attending another Chrome Expression Session!! Two days of solid track cruising with no issues except for a dropped alternator adjuster bolt (but not the gilly belt thankfully!)

I was pretty keen to throw new 165/65R14s on my Equips but my tyre guy couldn't get them to bead, hence the miss-match, running Riverside R-109 14x7j out back with the new tyres (stretching the sidewall so they can be mounted to my 8j later) 

I wore the wrong flamin' shoes too, dress shoes are not conducive to heel-toe but I sure made it work regardless!

On to the pics 

So much chur @Snoozin 

Alltrade!!! Loving the use of the $10 Bin signs :D:D

Closed road... The bro cracking up too much to hold the phone steady

Mmmmm expensive car diet foods

Follow up snap at the Marina, actually clean this time and with new wheels and grill as well as my lovely Goodline front bumper

Odd, it wouldn't let me upload more images in the last post, oh well here's the rest:

Prep time on Friday afternoon, shiny time!

New ride height, 'sensible' ie. ~100mm ground clearance(!) and no rub, needs to be 50mm lower however - blasted street driving considerations

New grill looking extra glossy

Using the 4 and Rotary nats as much needed motivation I got busy:

*Fit tyres to rear 8J rims (165/65R14)

*Replace wheels hardware, new capscrews ready to go

*Massage rear guards so no rub

-my excellent panel beating tool, used in conjunction with a heat gun (no paint cracking!), minimal guard lipping so little to no guard distortion

*Raise the front, lower the rear for even height (couldn't shorten rear shock, bloody nut was too tight - job for another day, springs won't fall out)

*Change oil/filter and find the leak (partial success, tightened some fittings on my remote mount, need to clean the shed floor to see if it's still leaking)

*Swap to new front grill

All in all a success, just a busy week leading upto and a poor diet consisting mainly of noodles as my car seems to have eaten up the shopping $$

Not particularly proud of my AE86s' cleanliness but what a backdrop! A bit of processing required to make the Levin red instead or orange but not too shabby spot Rangitoto lurking in the background shadow...

Pretty good lighting at the marina! Anyone need snaps taken of their pride and joy in AKL?

Sunday was quality time with my Son day so we watched Monty Python's Flying Circus and I re-polished my wheels. Fingernails are stained with Autosol and fingertips ache like buggery but it was all worth it in the end - ready to mount tyres and mangle my rear guards now!!

Makes the pissant 6.5J SSRs look like bikkies

I need to refurbish the Work capscrews - anyone got any ideas on a durable black coating? I thought about blueing but not sure how to approach that... Definitely don't want to plate them.

Well I've been driving the old girl pretty hard! Dailying it to work and getting out and about to events and the like

I did succumb to another TM purchase, more bloody wheels...

14x7J +0

I do wish they were the machined spoke version as they look a little too close to my Starsharks but whatever, a good width to mount my 225/50R14 semi slicks and hopefully still fit my rear guards once I roll them for my 14x8J -13 with 195/55R14 tyres

Just read your build man, nice work! Love the colour of the starsharks too I'm impressed with your brakes upgrade and front struts! I visited Sakai-san a few years back and now rock a Motorfix banner on my Levin's windscreen. What a nice guy (and nice family). I look forward to seeing how your build progresses and get together one day!

Cheers

Jordan

The other day I tightened my gilly belt for a bit more whistle, I noticed it was quieter than when the belt was first installed. She fair hums now but it still has a little slack.

I also upgraded my H4s to HID lo/hi bulbs with LED fog lamps to follow. I'm thinking I should have got the 6000K instead of 8000K - very white light and not great throw/spread from my Levin headlight housings. Amazing reflections off signs, road lines & cars though... Low beam performance is important when on the low buzz!

Anyway I took some night pics

Nah my friend just bought the one as a souvenir haha

Want to make me an offer? Or do you have some other wheels to swap?

That 5 stud Fortran Drag rim looks so dooope! Did you find a pair??

What a mission fitting the windscreen molding!!! I looked up the instructions in the service manual and it advised bending a screwdriver 90 degrees to work the clips. I found the perfect tool to stop damage to my motorfix banner - a kiwifruit/orange peeler/opener device I liberated from the kitchen:

Custom touch required - snap it in two for double the clip manipulation

Result:

Yeah they're in pretty good shape, I bought them from a big shop in Chiba that has tens of thousands of wheels that have been sitting for decades. Once I put a nice pair together (it is very badly organised there) I had to take them home with me, they were dirt cheap but I wouldn't want to sell because they have some very good memories with them!

 

Fair enough!! My acquisition story is nothing compared to bringing back from Japan I could be keen to swap... Let me know!

If you ever want to part with the Zed Compes let me know! I found a pair earlier in the year but a full set would be nice to rebuild

 

Wow those are in great condition!! Love the Zed Compe stickers on the lips... There's quite a bit of history making me want to hang onto them but you can always make me an offer I would consider a swap perhaps! I don't think I could afford to buy yours...?

Crowning glory must go to my new grill though - I certainly didn't need it but mine is a bit rugged... The pic simply doesn't do it justice!!

I also got some hard to find small parts while I was freighting the big trim (80 Euros shipping)

Clock surround, centre console lid, battery terminal cover and front grease caps

Fantastic stickers included too!

It's been a fantastic week - I had some new parts arrive from Flo's in Ireland!

http://flos.ie/index.php/product-category/parts/toyota/ae86-corolla/

Here's what I bought:

My windscreen trim blew off on the motorway while on the back of a tow truck, unpleasant surprise at the destination to say the least!!

So I had a ball at Chrome Expression Session! Minor probs only on Saturday, fixing my damn car in the freezing wind and rain, oh well I only dropped my bumper on track, boiled the coolant and the alarm locked my keys in the car forcing a break in... Sunday was awesome though!! At least I was able to skid it up on the wet track on Saturday

On a brighter note here's a bunch of photos from some talented photographers on the day:

John Jayme @ CookieKouki

Ethan White

My new AE86 friend spun in front of me! No trubs, I was following carefully, watching him skid his 4AGZE

Legacy Allstars

Lewis Huysmans @ Motoshots International

John Jayme @ Cookie Kouki

Tavita Stewart @ Driven Reality

Kane Pilcher @ Beast Mode Photography

Oh and myself with the only car I was able to hold my own against - thanks Todd Carswell!

Bowt time I made it to a meet, see you chaps there! My wheels got a cursory clean...

Aaaaaand good to go!

Can't wait to check out some old school radness

Safe speeding in an 80k zone

Wow man I loved reading your build! I look forward to a closer look at a meet in future  

I had a jam with my bernzo torch trying to heat the collar off my axle but no joy. I think I'll just take the axles and bearings somewhere and get it done... Bummer I gave away my mag base and dial indicator a while back so can't measure the backlash. It seems legit but I think I'll try and borrow and measure for peace of mind.

Need some photos:

Music cranking while working on the diff

Oooo what have we here?

That's right, hello kitty USB adaptor