TOM

I'm still here! My mate still has all this equipment, but I don't think he's used it in years! I'll check with him, but not sure who else does whitewalls in SA now...

Awesome car, looks pretty tidy too! I believe you should find good resources in the Phillipines - see link below. I remembered that there was a guy there who was right into Toyota stuff and had the fabled 3K-R engine for sale, and there it is on his home page! http://www.motorsport-sales.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=320&products_id=3721 I also know that guys from the Philippines used to come to Australia and fill up containers with K engines and parts for Corollas, so I'm sure there are plenty of parts available - you just have to find them! Cheers and good luck with the project

Ah that explains it - yes will look much better with the front guard done and the chrome strip. Yeah that other one is pretty beat up, but every time I see it I'm reminded of your car and how cool they would look parked next to each other. Saw the skid vid and was suitably impressed, what a massive improvement over the 4M and original running gear! Well done again man.

Old member logging in to say congrats on a job well done man, have been following the build and I look forward to seeing you on the road. The paint looks fantastic, and your attention to detail is a real treat! How's she drive? Are you going the full engineered route with the conversion? Mate of mine has an MS55-B with a 308 and Trimatic (built in Tas but rego'd here now through a stroke of luck), I would wager it is a vast improvement over that combo. If you want a really cool photo, there is a dark green MS85 usually parked on South Road directly across the road from the Monroe Building - since you started this I've been driving past that things meaning to message you about it. Curious about the black sill panels? Cheers, Tom

Great choice. Widely regarded as one of the most reliable passenger cars EVER built in the history of motoring. Great to learn how to work on cars, cheap & easy parts availability and plenty of help available on here. Light & fun to drive, with pretty good motivation from the stock 4K motor and plenty of options for making it go faster if that's your thing. Check out the Dog & Lemon guide - last time I checked they only gave two cars an overall smiley face for reliability - both Corolla's (KE series and 4AFE / 7AFE powered AE series).

Assuming it's an RN25 Hilux (12R engine), the grilles can be bought new off ebay for under $100 from memory. Sadly I had 2 grilles and a good bumper and scrapped them...but I do have access to an almost overrated crash pad for one if you do buy it. I know Telstra used these cars extensively in the 70's (in Orange colour) and they still exist at wreckers. Does it have a flat tray or tub? Tubs highly sought after epecially the LWB version...

There is a complete mustard colour two door KE30 coupe at Elizabeth in their cars for sale section near the entrance. It looks to be very straight and quite reasonable, although I only saw it from outside the fence as I pulled in there to take a phone call. Knowing UPI the probably have $2,000 or something ridiculous on it, but if it could be bought for the right price it would be well worth saving. Get on it if you're interested as I've seen them put cars from here out to the wrecking yard fairly quicly - there was a beautiful Mazda 1500 Wagon there a while ago which was way too good to wreck...but they did it anyway. Also a white KE55 sedan that I could see from the carpark, and stocklist is showing an AE71 and a KE70 too.

Hi chaps, Just a couple of quick questions regarding 4A-FE engines. 1. Are there any differences between earlier 4A-FE's (fitted to early 1990's AE92's and AE95's etc) and later ones ('96 and '97 AE101's etc)? 2. Were there any differences in power output and/or design of the 4A-FE through it's production life? 3. Would a 4A-FE from a '97 or '97 be a straight swap into an AE-95 wagon? Thanks in advance for any knowledge and/or advice anyone might have. Cheers

Saw you cruising the other day near Belair road Chris, looks awesome mate - such a transformation from many years ago, and such a huge improvmenet from when you bought it "ghetto spec". It's gone full circle this car - was overrated with whitewalls as posted by me on the first page when I nearly bought it (that photo was 2006 I reckon), then thrashed and butchered to within an inch of it's life (slammed with twin mega-canon exhast) before you bought it, and now it's back to being awesome again, only better than before! Dig the plans - it will only look better again! Is your mate still cruising my old '38 - haven't seen it around for a while? Cheers, Tom

Spotted elderly gentleman driving white KE26 wagon in Elizabeth before - have been told about this car before and it looks very, very clean and loved. I also see two young ladies (both on P's) driving their KE20's around the Goodwood road area - one is Orange and very tidy, the other is Willow Green (with bone interior - my favourite Toyota colour combo) but in ratty condition. Awesome choice of first car, girls! Also still spot the old fella driving his Mustard colour KE26 wagon around Kensington area all the time, but the car seems to look more beaten up every time I see it...

I believe he was referring to this: Lonely Island: Like a Boss Love it.

Wheels look absolutely awesome, Karl - as does the ride height. I freaking love this car and have a massive soft spot for these as I nearly ended up with one as my first car. Every time I see a post from you I think about my old smashed up willow green KE11 that your dad bought from me...makes me sad! Any chance you could take a picture of that car and send it to me one day? When it got crashed I was so upset I never took a photo of it all smashed up, and there have been many tiems I've wanted to show someone the remains of my dream car. Hows your dad going with his KE1* project(s) - anything happening? Say hi to him for me. Cheers Tom

It's a MS55 A Unfortuantely mate early Crowns are worth less than Corolla's in similar condition. This being the early (ugly) front style and 4 cylinder 5R motor makes it one of the most undesirable MS** Crowns ever made. You just need to take a look at eBay and check out how hard these things are to sell, even in really good condition. I personally think the MS55 B is one of the best looking cars ever made, but the A's are ugly as sin in my opinion - that front clip is just awful. My vote: Get it cheap, don't ever wash it...ever, supercharge the 5R (they're bulletproof) for the coolest rat rod in town. I'm with Adam and wouldn't pay more than $500

I'd say Willow green - lots of 10-B's and 11's came in this colour. It's my fave Toyota colour. My old KE11 with the best colour/combination Toyota ever did in my opinion - Willow Green with bone interior. Pimp. I should qualify this by saying that Willow Green has the ability to look completely different depending on the light etc...thats why I love it, but it makes identifying it through photos difficult.

I remeber starting a similar thread when I owned this car - just never got around to fixing it haha! Sorry mate! I tried numerous times to get those axles out, and they were very tight. As others have mentioned it could be more than just bearings too, and as you've discovered bearings aren't all that cheap. Neither will the labor be to remove those axles - it will require heat and/or one big-ass puller. The other option is to swap the diff for one out of a sedan (cheap and readily available). The wagon has a 4.5:1 diff, where manual sedans use 4.1:1 and auto sedan 4.3:1. Thus the wagon diff gives more take-off / less top speed and the sedan diff gives less take off / more top speed. In my opinion this is great as the car will cruise at 100kph more comfortably and give you more legs in the gear and better fuel economy, and it's a straight swap over with no mods needed as far as I know. A 2nd hand KE55 diff will cost you $free - $100 and is the best option in my opinion, unless you are mad keen on keeping the short wagon gearing. Hows that clutch holding out? Hope she's been treating you well otherwise!