{Blacked Out}

To match the black paint I had the windows tinted by All Style Automotive in Seven Hills. I had 5% limo style tint done all round and 17% on the drivers window and passenger window so I could still sort of see out at night time.

Edited March 15, 20188 yr by Kebin

{Throw Sum D’z On Dat Bitch}

Finding wheels to suit the shape of my wagon was difficult in two ways. 1. There are a lot of shit looking wheels out there and 2. All the good looking wheels only come in a 5 stud pattern. (ae95 being 4x100)
I found 5 spoke design wheels to suit the shape of the car best. I researched new styles of wheels that I didn’t mind and got a friend to photoshop them on. I found out later that the wheels I chose only came 5 stud L

Ended up settling for some Tempe Tyre specials:

ok ok i know many have been waiting for this.....

{Pop, Lock, and Drop It}

Next up was Suspension. Since my wagon is technically a 4wd, I might as well try to use it somehow, You know have the best of both worlds and stuff.
Height adjustable suspension is where its at these days being more affordable to the average car enthusiast…..Not me though after searching and searching for a suitable height adjustable coilover the end result was nothing available. To custom build a height adjustable suspension setup would cost way too much and I might as well fit air suspension….. So I did :p
I emailed all the airbag businesses around Sydney and the only shop that was helpful was Tuck Shop Customs in Seven Hills. They were able to explain and answer all my questions and were all too happy to help. 
I chose to go with a FBSS setup using ½” airlines. The wagon runs a live axle diff in the rear and shock/struts in the front. Fitting the airbags required multiple modifications to the existing suspension.
The rear diff required both the bump stops and spring perches cut out. The bottom perch wasn’t flat so a flat plate had to be welded to the diff where the original perch was so the airbags could be bolted to the diff. 

The bump stops also had to be drilled and cut out as they were the wrong shape. A spacer was made up so that the top of the airbags could be mounted without fouling on the body above the diff.

The front suspension required complete struts to be made up. They come as a pair in a “build it” kit and they incorporates a 9-way adjustable shock absorber.

Cont.

After some adjustments while up on the hoist, we were able to determine the lowest point the suspension could sit without causing “too” much damage.

After Tuckshop was finished modifying the suspension I brought the wagon home for me to finish off the plumbing and electrical… pretty much the rest of the job. They plumbed up the airbags and filled them with air so I could drive home.

Most kits come with a single 5 gallon tank but I wanted to keep my boot space so I sourced a couple of smaller 10L steel tanks. Between them they added up to just over 5 gallons. I first had them acid dipped to clean them up. I then had to weld stands onto the tanks to mount them where I wanted them in the rear foot wells. 

I spent a week designing and installing the rest of the setup in the wagon. I tried to hide as much as possible as I could so I wouldn’t lose the cargo area in the rear. I’m running twin viair 480c compressors and mounted them inside the side walls of the boot to tuck them out of the way.

Cont.

Mounting the valves for each corner was the next mission. For the rear valves I tucked them under the car beside the fuel tank. The airlines come up through rubber grommets in the floor and continue to the airbags and air tanks. To mount them I had to drop the fuel tank.

The front valves were a little more trickier to fit. I mounted them behind the front bumper in front of the tires. The fittings I got were identical so I couldn’t make a left and right side set so I had to make do with what I got.

Wiring up the interior:

Cont.

I was able to tuck all the electrical and air fittings under the the front of the back seat in between the frames.  Surprisingly the back seat base fits over everything snugly. 

Next thing to do was test the air compressors and the pressure switch making sure they cut out when the tanks filled up. Initially all was good until the compressors cut out and all the air leaks could be heard. Another hour spent re-tightening all air fittings and checking for leaks. Finally it was time to test the system.

I was surprised at how quick the car moves up and down. I had a feeling the sway bars would resist the airbag force but the bushes must be worn or something. Now all to do was fit the interior back in.
Video:
[video]https://photos.app.goo.gl/EB7CtaeyTSJOcGSi1[/video]

[video]https://photos.app.goo.gl/MBDE78fK7VnXKQCv1[/video]

And there you have it.... Height adjustable suspension at the flick of a switch.

Edited March 15, 20188 yr by Kebin

A couple more random pics from the Air Suspension build:
The wrenchman…. couldnt of done it without him

Some guard rolling:

For everyone that kept telling me to lower it… is that low enough? ;)

Wheel alignment:

Added a pinstripe between the two tone:

Out cruising with the Radrollaz crew:

Its been over two years since the last update. Not much has happened, i have put the wagon into storage while i sidetracked and concentrated on other things/cars. 
Recently i picked up a 3sgte manual box from Ichiban in Moorebank. They reckon its from an ST185 GT4.
To my surprise when i compared the 3sgte box against my spare ae95 box, there was so many similarities that its not funny! Even brackets/mounts appear to interchange.
 Heres my ST185 VS. AE95 pics:

With the ae95 vacuum difflock attached:

Without:

st185 transfer case:

ae95 transfer case:

ae95 gearbox mount:

st185 gearbox mount:

ae95 speedo drive and gearshift cable bracket:

st185 speedo drive and gearshift cable bracket, note the electric speedo drive attachment:

 

Edited March 15, 20188 yr by Kebin

ae95 measurement:

st185 measurement, its roughly 30mm longer overall:

A couple of random shots from Toyota Fest 2010:

I'm not up to much on mine atm as i concentrate on other cars/house etc. So far just collected parts namely an ST215 Caldina 3sgte front cut and an ST185 5 speed
I have however done some research over the past year and found this guy over in W.A. has dropped an st185 engine into his ae95 and i have managed to track down some pics for you guys.

Found some E series gearbox info on MWP's gt4 website. Some good information on the pdf.

Here's a funny pic from a while back... Purchased a 2m long solid timber low line for the home entertainment... One word : Versatile

couple of shots from the recent Radrollaz photoshoot for Hot4s Magazine.

Some more pics from the shoot