parrot

I’ve recently stripped down two K motors. The amount of crud in the water galleries is astonishing. Intriguing how the water jackets in block and head are often separated by the head gasket. I was looking closely at this the other day and assume this is to ensure coolant remains in the head, as the simple water pump impeller would struggle to maintain sufficient pressure if coolant could simply drop down into the block. Not sure about that. But otherwise, numerous head gasket passages were completely, or nearly so blocked. I have removed quite a lot by this point

I work in Haematology, blood cancers mainly. Old Toyota's just an enjoyable way to amuse myself. The latest twist to the saga is that the hospitals offered to takeover much of the case tracing and various other aspects of the response. Initially the government thought that was a good idea, but quickly backed away when the public service got worried some people might lose their jobs. Meanwhile, the source of our latest outbreak was happily infecting other people hours after he was identified due to logistical 'issues' within said department. Outcome, longer lockdown

Another thing he did was carefully drill a little hole near the end of each chrome strip at the rear quarter. I remember Adam saying he was a keen sailor, and I wondered if he might have set up a tarp off the back of the car, secured with fishing line. No self tapper this time

So finally I’m underway. After years of waiting I finally have some space and don’t have to jam cars down the side of the shed. The KE15 is as I got it other than taking the tow bar off which got sent to Harry. and some series 1 RX7 wheels that actually really suit it (and hold air!) I also replaced the seats with a perfect set with headrests I got from Japan. The old ones going to Klayton only needed some small repairs, but I wanted headrests and ended up changing over at modest cost. Otherwise it has sat quietly under cover waiting for some love. Adam had some engines issues in that it started blowing a lot of smoke and struggling under power after running for a few minutes. I’m convinced it has a cracked piston. A quick compression check was even across 1, 2 and 4, but cylinder 3 has nothing. So work started on the weekend with pulling the engine. I’ll whip it out next weekend having disconnected everything yesterday. Planning to stroke it with a 3K crank. I went back to Adam’s original thread to see if he had comp tested it, and realised I bought the car 9 yrs ago! A bit longer than planned. Would of loved to meet the original owner. Went to extremes of screwing self tappers through the boot badges, and added extra bump strips down the flanks and under the guard badges. The body will need a bit of work but is extremely solid And issues are mainly cosmetic though there are a few areas of house paint doubtless hiding things. The bonnet will need a bit of work. Anyway, kids are old enough to amuse themselves, so plenty of time to work through all the spares I’ve built up

These are the sorts of one’s I’m talking about. Not my engines unfortunately

Has anyone worked out a source or way of replicating the red moulded hoses used from brake reservoir to master cylinder, and for carb and PCV applications?

Just like Dr Dog (that’s a dad joke for those who read to their kids) I’m in Madrid at a bone marrow transplant conference. Or I would be. Instead I’m doing it remotely over a live stream in chilly Melbs till 2am each night. Fascinating the ways covid has affected people around the world in just this one small area of medicine. Australia is well placed, but we really need to keep our borders closed till effective vaccination is available. And I mean closed closed. Please don’t see that as some sort of racist perspective because it isn’t. Interesting to see Frydenberg ranting on the news about the current grade 4 restrictions in greater Melb. Not sure what he expects Dan to do, but at least on this occasion Dan has got it right. He just has to hold his nerve. I know the advice he is getting is to hold, remains to be seen if he does as he didn’t follow the advice last time. Financially of course it’s a disaster on many levels

I should add I’m in health, and we are kept fully informed of where we are up to, and Dave is right, misinformation is rife. I will tell you this is a very real, and very serious issue, and I have no wish to end up a statistic

We can ‘eliminate’ it, but that refers to removing it from circulating in a specific area, then stop it being reintroduced. NZ have proved this, the question is how did it get back in there again. Of course this raises hard questions about economic impact, and my Teenage daughter getting upset she can’t go to parties and see her friends. Unfortunately this is the goal until such time as an effective vaccine is available, as only that will break the cycle. And that’s likely to be a good 9 mths away. It’s the same as polio, small pox etc. All virulent deadly diseases that killed millions and severely harmed others. But in our first world bubble, we forget these realities. In some areas of the world, vaccine preventable diseases continue to kill thousands.becaude of political/ideological resistance

Sorry guys, but this is semantics. This is a highly virulent virus, which means that if you are exposed there is a high probability of infection. There are complex reasons why some people are severely affected, yet others may only be mildly affected. But that relatively unaffected person can easily pass it on to multiple other people who can also be variously affected. For example, the moron security guard I spoke to in the servo last night who doesn't need to wear a mask. You know what dumbass, yes you do. When this originally came out, I was not especially worried. Masks are essentially about minimising droplet spread into the air or onto hard surfaces that other people can then come into contact with. Back in March there was no presence of the virus out in the general community and therefore they were of no benefit. Kids could still go to school and people could largely do normal things. But since the virus entered the community from the overseas travellers quarantine farce, things are very different. Masks are very important to minimise spread. But continual hand washing, not touching your face after touching a potentially colonised surface, and by far - minimising contact with other people, is crucial. I am now very worried. Infection can result in a severe inflammatory response which leads to lung damage. If you already have existing lung damage or other health issues, your ability to cope with infection is highly compromised and risk of death or serious consequence of infection dramatically increases. The nursing home situation has come about from one person being infected via the security guard farce, taking it home to a family member who works in nursing homes. The casual nature of nursing home work means it was easily spread. Same story with abattoirs. If the virus gets out of control, thousands of people will die. Including people just like you and your family. Some people who survive will be left with prolonged serious consequences even after clearing the virus. We are seeing younger people being left with ongoing cognitive effects (i.e brain function problems), ongoing lung and heart damage. It's like the road toll. 300 people die from road accidents, but others not killed outright are left with long term injury concerns. Don't assume you will be OK just because you're not in a nursing home. Younger people die too. This is exactly why we need a government. Failures in government allowed it to escape into our community from quarantine failures. Success in government have so far limited the spread. Make no mistake, if we fail to restrict the virus, people like you will be at risk. Hard decisions are required to limit mobility of infected people and therefore the spread of infection; and lockdowns and curfews, along with stopping more infected people arriving from overseas is the only way to ELIMINATE the virus. Only by eliminating the virus can we ease the restrictions. Then we need to stop more infection being brought in. The eventual defeat of the virus will be effective vaccination, but it is unlikely we will have access to effective vaccination before May- June next year earliest. So we will need to maintain high levels of vigilance, and international travel restriction until at least then. India and Indonesia are a huge concern. Understand the problem, and deal with it. To have any prospect of returning to lower restrictions, we all need to do these simple things.

Do you take him on occasionally (and get whupped by the look of him)? Looks a lot of fun

My thighs are sore just watching

You are very unlikely to find a better bonnet unfortunately. Best bet is to get it repaired. It's also missing the trim across the front of the bonnet which will be difficult to find. Be very careful if you are removing any of the plastic trim, it will be pretty fragile.

It's always a good idea to query the postage cost with international sellers, especially if you are looking on ebay. You may find they can do it substantially cheaper as often postage is calculated by ebay automatically, and sellers are not aware of what postage costs come up in other countries.

Congrats on your purchase, and welcome. Ideally your best bet is to try and find a parts car, but they are few and far between. If you need specific parts, it can be a long, hard and expensive process. Everyone wants grilles, bonnets, grille filler panels and front guards. As well as the plastic corner trims and tail light surrounds. interior stuff is a bit easier Put a list of what you need in the wanted to buy sub forum and see what turns up. Unfortunately a lot of it involves trawling various Facebook pages, gumtree, ebay and yahoo japan. Mechanicals are not to hard to find. Expect to be asked eye watering prices and go from there.

I can tell you 100% that if you put a 4AGE in it, it requires engineering. Purely and simply because that chassis never came out in Australia with that engine in it.

The first time I installed the aftermarket cooler in my AE86, I installed it upside down. After some thinking about fluid dynamics, I eventually worked it out. I'm sure that was their thinking above also

I'm not aware of a generic Japanese club, and with everything going to facebook, the clubs have remained pretty much as what was around 10 years ago. If you go to a TCCAV coffee cars and donuts you will find a wide variety of cars, not just Toyota's. I reckon once restrictions ease off, the first CC & D will be a popular event. If I remember, I'll message you so you know its on. I might even get my AE86 on club reg by then.

TCCAV is great, but Victorian based obviously. Where are you? They are still a very social group with an active competition programme, plus club meetings when COVID doesn't get in the way. As with any group, there is a smaller core of active members, so don't be put off by thoughts the group is too big, many of those (including me) are remote and not directly involved in the internet era.

So no surprise, the genuine KE2x strut tops are out of production and unavailable. Not very happy with the service from Amayama on this occasion, and that's got nothing to do with the unavailability of the part, rather their requirement for payment 3 days ago without any certainty of part availability.

The big part wholesalers can be a good source but unfortunately the catalogues can prove pretty generic, especially with older models. The Thai ebay guys are usually on the money with the right part, but some of their stuff can be a bit generic too, for example the door locks. They sort of fit, but not very well as tey use the same one across multiple models. And quality can be variable. I think an issue with some of the aftermarket strut tops is that people put them in cars with rock hard springs, then wonder why the rubber in the strut mount splits. Essentially something has to give. Amayama have come back to me saying, "We haven't heard back from the supplier regarding availability of your order #123456 however there's a 95% chance they are in stock at the supplier. Please, make payment to process the order." Not quite the usual service i expect from them, but it's been a while since I bought anything through them. I'll pay for it and see what happens. Previously they ascertained whether it was available and THEN you paid. Have also ordered some rear spring insulator pads and some control arm bolts.

Be warned that part number is for a KE70/AE71/TE72 or Tercel. Will it fit a KE20? I have no idea. With respect to your question though, the daily driver item notes: The Shock/Strut mounting is exposed to strong demands and influences of the weather and therefore it is among the commonly replaced wear and tear parts. The consequences of a defect are perceptible: Loss of exact wheel control Loss of optimal road contact of the tires Unprecise steering behavior Prolongation of braking distance Increased noise Decreased absorption of vibrations Which one would you choose? I once ended up in the middle of a freeway jammed on the end of a barrier rail after an aftermarket tierod end failed. My wife to be ended up in hospital with a jaw fracture. We were very lucky. I always try and buy genuine for something like this if i can. Or think ery hard about aftermarket if it isn't

Glass is glass, although it can vary in thickness. And a seam is a seam. Any other older style car with a fixed window is going to have a seal with the same construction. As long as it is long enough, it could be cut down. Amayama have come back to say they are checking stock for the strut tops and a couple of other items I ordered. Experience suggests some items will be NLA, while some others will be. Knowing my luck, only the lower control arm bolts will be available....... I should say, Toyota Heritage are a great business. Gary is very responsive to filling demand, but tooling up suppliers for his products is probably far more complex than we realise.

As above, coming up as available only means they aren’t definitely unavailable! But fingers crossed. Do let us know the outcome either way. I’ll do the same with the strut tops.

Wenisman that’s spot on. I would be stunned if they were available. I would be looking for something ‘common’ and more recent with that type of window, and buying a seal to cut down