Banjo

Ed China's workshop Diaries OK, if you watched & liked Episode 1, then here is Episode 2, released in the past 4 days, I believe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xlm3oJZU5A P.S. Can't wait until Ed catches up with the Project Blinky pair.

Quotes of the Week# Dave, maybe you'd like this one. There are currently 295 off 86GTs on Carsales.com.au. The bulk of them fall between $20K - $30K. The very few that are listed at less than $20K, either are olde (2013-2017) or have lots of klms on them. P.S. Hey Dave, I've just found one for you under $5k . . . . . . . . & it still drives well. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=452122952037071

For all of you who have been a fan of Ed China on Wheeler Dealers, Ed has launched his own utube channel, & Episode 1 can be viewed at . . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snL20nBCi04 So what's this got to do with Project Binky ? Apparently, in an upcoming episode, he meets up with those two mad Mini eccentrics on Project Blinky, & they get to share some stories. P.S. Actually, I bought his paperback "Grease Junkie", and it is a really good read. I've lent it to two other guys, & they both loved it also, so it's obviously not just me, that enjoys Ed's style. Cheers Banjo

Hey Pete, Maybe you'd warm to it, if it had a Ferrari engine in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_QF_PGPQXk Sweet Dreams !

Appears Episode 33, where they paint the Mini, has been out for 2 months, & I hadn't picked it up. It took 9 weeks to paaaaaaaint ! Most painful episode yet. I reinforced what I've always known; that painting a car as not something for the novice. Although I nearly fell asleep watching it, there was one thing that caught my eye, & one that caught my ear. My eye couldn't work out why Tony the unbelievable painter, did not appear to be wearing any eye protection. (maybe he has disposable "contact lenses", which he discards regularly). I thought I heard the comment, "Don't know why we go to all this trouble when the car will probably wrapped around a tree in a few months !) Cheers Banjo

Hi Col, It's all yours ! I just registered it in your name, but you'll have to come up here to QLD. (COVID-19 allowing) so I can have a drive of it also.

Now that's not very Toyota-ish ! They must expect that sometimes it is going to depart the road; or need dragging back up onto a "tilt-tray" ? Maybe it is for when Colin takes it "bushwalking" ! Cheers Banjo

I admire your patience, which you need with body resto work. Not something you can rush. Great work ! The rain & moisture in the air here in Brisbane, of late; does not lend itself to achieving good paint finishes. I have a very soft spot for the Celica. I had never owned or driven one even; until I met my wife. She had an RA40 lift back, with that enormous rear "expanse of glass". I think it was a 21st birthday present from her Mum. Looked like this, & I think it was a 1979 model. We did a few interstate trips in it, together; & I fell in love with it. It was a great cruising car, & extremely reliable. It had lovely long legs ! I think the only thing that failed in it, in all those years was an electrical oil pressure sensor/switch, somewhere slightly north of Mildura, on a trip to Adelaide. We put so many klms on it, but were in rented accommodation, at the time, so couldn't really work on it too much. Only thing I recall, that was wrong with it, when we eventually sold it, was the timing chain tensioner, which was oil pressure operated. The chain used to slap a bit, & was very noisy when you first started it up. Cheers Banjo

Hi Ben, Remembered there was a discussion on this subject about 12 years ago. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/27658-replacement-seat-belts/ Have read through others thoughts, at that time. Cheers Banjo

Here is another collectable, with an incredible British car, of which the reading of the description, is a sheer delight. An Aston Martin DB4. James Bond, anyone ? https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1960-aston-martin-db4-series-ii-lightweight Having been to a couple "All British" cars shows over the years, & I can never get over how strong & devoted the British classic car market is ! Enjoy. Cheers Banjo

Believe initial 1000 off, sold at basically $ 40K, Next batch at basically, $ 45K. Third price hike was around $ 50K, with an extra $ 5-6K for the Rallye WRC version.

Ooooowh ! That will be fun, working with one of those fancy French autos. Pictures please as it progresses, as being a half cage, I guess, the Renault Megane is not stripped or gutted ? P.S. French cars are the quirkiest & most unusual cars I have ever driven or worked on. Learnt to drive decades ago, in a Citroen ID19 Godess, I think it was. Only car I've ever come across, where you have to remove the back mudguard to change the wheel ! Cheers Banjo

Well the Yaris GR did not sell, so I'm assuming it didn't reach the sellers reserve price. Anti-climax ! Cheers Banjo

The Yaris GR auction broke the $ 40K barrier this morning. Appears to be just two bidders battling it out. Only got a few hours to go. Will be interesting, to see how much it goes for ? Cheers Banjo

The Yaris GR is starting to approach the $40K mark, so if that has placed it out of your league, then maybe you'd like to consider it's little look-a-like brother. https://www.carthrottle.com/post/the-next-toyota-aygo-will-be-a-crossover-judging-by-this-x-prologue-concept/?utm_source=carthrottle-related&utm_medium=content-rec Cheers Banjo

Suggestion: No: 1 Take the 4 off mesh tables down, & place them around said KE70. One guy stands on each, & you lift the KE-70 body down. Suggestion: No: 2 Scotty from Marketing has a few helicopters flying around NSW atm, assisting Gladys, with flood relief. I'm sure they wouldn't mind doing a little lift like that. They might even drop it off, back at the shed for you ! If a helicopter in NSW can pick up a Hi-Lux, it should not have issues with your KE70 shell. https://www.carthrottle.com/post/this-pickup-truck-had-to-be-recovered-by-helicopter-after-cliff-plunge/

The Yaris on auction, is up to $ 35,250, as of Monday 11:00am. Still got a couple of days to go. Cheers Banjo.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3361999/Laughing-face-disaster-Sydney-driver-sees-funny-tries-push-old-Corolla-raging-floods-losing-PANTS-mayhem.html Is this guy a Rollaclub member ? If he is, I'd be giving the thumbs up, & a few points on the Leader Board. He's not only put his Rolla, front & centre, but showed the whole UK, how resilient we are here, "down-under". P.S. I know it is an olde story (2015) but is topical, having the "wet water weather weekend" we've all had on the eastern seaboard. Cheers Banjo

Here is a little article from Techno Toy Tuning, that is a good read, & would find many of us smiling ! The Power of Potential So here I was lying in bed, trying to get my busy brain to just be quiet so I could get some darn sleep, and I started reviewing all the vehicles and projects I’ve owned over the last 30 years. I think I may have figured something out about myself. Maybe something about you as well 😊 For me it’s always been about the potential of the vehicle. From the very beginning, I’ve always sought the big, the bad, the most capable. I’ve always bitten off more than I could chew and rarely have my skills matched the full potential of the vehicle I was driving. Thinking back….like many of us….maybe I had a bit more luck than I deserved to have survived my various ill-conceived choices. My first vehicle was a 1986 Kawasaki KX250 two stroke dirt bike. I was 15, had been doing yardwork and land clearing for 3 years, and had $800 saved up. I had never ridden a motorcycle in my life. The dumb 15-year-old thought going straight to a 250 two stroke seemed like the best choice. I wanted the big bad bike. I wanted the FAST bike. I wanted the bike that could jump mountains. Back then, you had to look in the classifieds section of this thing called a “Newspaper”. I found a bike in a local suburb and went down the mountain with cash in hand. Embarrassingly, I couldn’t get the thing started. After trying about 5 times and having the kick start lever whack the hell out of my shins, the owner was nice enough to start it up for me. I climbed on board and rode 100 feet down the street. I rolled on the throttle and the front tire immediately came off the ground! With adrenaline pumping full bore, I turned the bike right around and came back and said, “I’ll take it!”. I’m afraid I didn’t even try to negotiate with him on the price. Every time I used even half the potential of that bike it let me know I had a lot to learn. But it was AWESOME knowing I had all that power at my fingertips if I ever wanted it! And frankly…as a 15-year-old, I felt special in some way for having all that power. Sometime in the next year, I happened to see a Toyota FJ55 Land Cruiser wagon at a local auto shop. I was smitten. Two-tone, blue and white, a body like no other on the road. To me, the “iron pig” had this amazing mix of military, science fiction, and “oh so Japanese” flavor to it. Those fenders! Those beveled headlight surrounds! The way the hood met up with the front grill! All those flat slabs of glass! Here was a vehicle that could take me anywhere to do anything! Bad-ass POTENTIAL, I tell you! I saved for 2 years and bought one for $1500 just before my 18th birthday. Two-tone blue and white of course! It was the most expensive vehicle my family had every owned (I grew up simply and without electricity, until I was 18 years old). I remember my mother saying that it was a sharp looking truck. I also remember being a little confused. I didn’t really think a wagon could be called a “truck”. But I was so very proud that she liked it. Again, that Land Cruiser was about potential! Having potential is like having an untapped superpower! That truck was going to take me anywhere I wanted to go! In all honesty, I went camping a few times, left the camping gear in the back for a year, went off roading maybe twice, and found out the 4WD wouldn’t engage because of a torn actuator diaphragm. I once lost my brakes coming down a hill into town. Apparently, you are supposed to change brake shoes before they cut entirely through the brake drum…. go figure! I also managed to rip the driver door off on a tree when I forgot to put the truck in gear on a hill (e-brakes on FJ55’s don’t work because oil soaks the E-brake drum that clamps down on the driveshaft). Winter came before I was able to find a replacement door, so my dad made me a plywood and plexiglass door to tide me over till a local Land Cruiser specialist brought a door back from his salvage yard in Montana. I must say, 3 years of Land Cruiser ownership with no maintenance other than oil changes and I was sold on Toyota reliability for life! From there I went on to countless other vehicles and projects. It’s always about the potential of the vehicle. Pretty much every vehicle I have owned has been modified to increase its potential. I can’t help it, it’s a sickness, and I’m pretty sure many of you are afflicted with it as well. For some of us, it’s about the sexy lines or mean angles of the vehicle and what that says about its potential. For others it might be the memories or heritage attached to a vehicle. A lot of us just like to tinker and wrench on things, refine our skills and be proud of what we’ve done. Building a car that looks, feels and drives right is truly an art form. Some like to use the hell out of what they build. I bet a lot of it still boils down to potential. As a great man once said, “I’m aiming to misbehave”, and all of us want the best, most capable vehicle in which to do that misbehaving in 😊 So keep it up! Get out there and #buildsomethingawesome! - Gabriel Tyler Cheers Banjo

Hey Pete ! Red paint "rattle cans", on special this weekend at SCA. P.S. Probably cheaper if you buy a 100 off quantity.

Well, with everyone getting hot & sweaty, & excited about the reviews of the Yaris GR, look what popped up on Collecting Cars. https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/2020-toyota-gr-yaris-1 It's in Perth. Damn it ! Don't get excited about the $ 11K figure. It's early days, with 5 auction days to go. Will be interesting to see what it fetches ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Pete, Considering building a full size version of this Toybota, a bit like the TopGear one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxmxgjFg5q0 Then I can go land or sea, & pop out to my island off the coast !

It's all related to the COVID-19 pandemic ! I looked up the dictionary, & this is what it says . . . Nothing about muffler noises or kids on drugs, or a does of microchips ! A strange word ! P.S. I'm thinking of moving to a South Sea island; I'm sure they don't get hung up about all these things. Vanuatu looks nice !

Does ! Yeah, a strange word. I try not to use it. DOE stands for Department of Education; Department of Energy; Department of Ecology. Therefore DOEs refers to people who work for those arms of government, doesn't it. There I go again, I've used it again. Except we spell it incorrectly. Duznit ? or maybe Donzen, which is when you get 12 off those staff together, who work for said departments. I might need to get my shot very soon. This is all messing with my head.

Hi Rune, Does your 10 off fuse cover look & is labelled like the one above ? Have you got a picture of your KE25 you can post on here ? Let us know what you find. Check those "fuse links" next to the battery positive terminal first. I think you will probably find that the horn & cigarette lighter power is not fed through the ignition switch. The wiring diagram, I've got, in my KE20/25 manual, is for an 8 fuse model. Anyone got digital access to a KE25 electrical wiring diagram, that has 10 off fuses ? Cheers Banjo