Not using this blog as much as I thought I may... hope to get more into it as the weather gets worse...
Car wise it's been an interesting year! Sold the mint K11, bought an overpriced rusty Yaris T-Sport. Also picked up a JZS141 Toyota Crown Royal Saloon, I'd like to write that up separately.. But the main project for me this year is the Roadster...
I've had this car about 7 years now, it was the first car I actually purchased for myself (a family Corsa C and a string of company cars was actually first), so I do have an attachment to this pile of metal. I dailied the car for 2.5years before deciding it was best to keep it out of the salt. Over the years it had MeisterR Coilovers, Work Emotion Kiwami wheels, an interior covered in carbon and an exterior consisting of a Tuckin99 front, Mazdaspeed Type II skirts and an Murakami M2 Carbon bootlid.
I love the car. I love how it looks with the white wrap and gold wheels, I love the kit combination and I love the interior. It drives really well, the engine has never let me down, well, except for the time I decided it would be wise to accept a drag race against a Testarossa, but that's another story, and it's got enough poke to have fun with...
All great..
But.
I think everyone into modifying cars gets to a point where all the affordable and "easy" mods are done and you kind of just... stop. That's what I did 2 years ago. All I have really done is wrap the car and I won't lie, kind of lost the love for it. Couldn't justify spending big money on the car as I knew it was rusty and I needed to move house, so I just ignored the problems and drove it.
It wasn't until I went on a sunset drive with my friend Micky where I became inspired again.. Micky owns a Toyota MR-S. A fairly underappreciated car, but, when you know what you're doing, one of the most capable. He's got it set up for grip, so this thing was leaving me on every bend, impossible to keep up. And as a bonus, it looks great too! Functional height, intake ducts and front lip make for a subtle but meaningful exterior.
I got home from this drive knowing I needed to make some changes. I've always had an issue with my car bottoming out. My exhaust hangs low and my suspension is too soft. So I picked up a set of BC Racing DS Series, some nice 3pc wheels, and got to work taking the car apart to fit. Now, this has escalated somewhat.
My train of thought kind of went like so... Clean up and fit the Mazdaspeed Cover, done. Polish thermostat housing, done. hmmmmmm, maybe a wire tuck would look good... done. hmmm, I should take my intake off to paint, done. I can't refit that intake and piping, let's just get ITBs now, ordered. Need an alloy rad as well then, ordered. Shit and an ECU, ordered. Might as well refresh all the piping, hardware, new fans blah blah blah.
So yes, it has snowballed. The BC Coilovers are still in the box and the car is in pieces. But the good news is this car is going to look, sound and drive better than it ever has before. So, I leave you with the knowledge that for the first time in 3 years, I am thoroughly enjoying working on this car...
I'll keep you posted