And a couple more from the Toymods photoshoot night on the weekend

 

Latest JayDeeEmm accessory:

 

 

Doesn't seem to have memory so if it was running before you turn the car off it doesn't turn back on automatically when you restart (apparently it has some kind of learning function so maybe it just needs time)

Latest mods, and probably final for a long time (not my photos)

 

ZZT231/RS200/IS200 pedals (only installed brake and clutch so far, accelerator requires a tiny bit of work, probably just buy a second pedal arm and do it outside the car)

 

Keylight ring (pictured with additional downlighting, which I don't have)

Had some time to kill after Cara got admitted to hospital so went down to Newcastle Beach and the Ocean Baths to catch some afternoon shadow (makes photos of water sooo much easier when you're not fighting glare)

 

 

 

And some scenic shots whilst I was there too

So after 380,000km, one of the many original factory-fitted components has finally died. The mushiness and butt-load of freeplay in the clutch pedal turned out to be a master cylinder missing most of its seals (yet still not leaking) and filled with more sludge than Hexham Swamp. $300 later, and the difference is night-and-day, with a clutch that disengages within the first 50mm of travel rather than the last 10mm - so much so that it has taken quite a bit of getting used to, with the clutch picking up so high that it feels like you're still in neutral when pulling away.

 

Still, the clutch isn't slipping under power (what little power there is) and passes the old 4th-gear+handbrake test, so I should be able to coax it to 400,000km before it actually needs attention...

This does not look like a high 300k car :)

Coming back from Toyotafest, decided to drop by the old abandoned Yoothamurra Kiosk on the way out to Wiseman's Ferry for a couple of happy snaps

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the only one I took of my car at Toyotafest:

Charlie the Chook still remembers coming home from Charlestown Toyota on the backseat of my dad's brand new 1997 Corolla. *16 years on, and whilst he is starting to look a little weathered, he still takes time out to be a champ and hold up my entrant's number whenever I enter Charlene in an event

looks amazing hiro, as always!

So now that the Snoarer is a viable daily again thanks to the exhaust work, and the missus is working from home, I took the chance to get the front-end knocking noise finally looked at (it has been there pretty much as long as I've had the car but has gotten worse lately, and has been mis-diagnosed twice in the past as rod ends and then steering rack, both fixed with no improvement). Expecting the diagnosis to be either CVs or balljoints (although how someone could miss those twice in the past I don't know), to say that I was surprised was an understatement when the results came back - gearbox.

 

For those not in the know, this is the situation:

There is a front-end knocking (not clicking, think the same sort of sound as rapping your knuckles on a window) noise, linked to road speed (say 10Hz @ 20km/h), that only appears when going around a right-hand corner with the right-front wheel unloaded and no throttle (for instance a roundabout). It does not occur if you enter the corner from a standing start (so most T-intersections don't do it), and it goes away instantly if you accelerate.

 

Not really an expert on FWD differentials so not 100% sure on what it would be (bearing/inner tripod perhaps?). If it was easily fixable that would be great (would prefer not to have to change a whole gearbox now, although it would give me a reason to change my 385,000km clutch), but any extra thoughts/theories before I get it sent to a transmission specialist would be appreciated.

In "classic me" fashion, I finally got around to fixing a problem that has been on-going for probably 2 years minimum....my fuel cap.

 

So a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, my fuel cap release stopped working. Judging from my limited knowledge of Bowden cables, it seemed that the cable had stretched (was still attached at both ends but lever travel was insufficent to open the flap, and when closed the fuel-cap end of the cable sat several centimetres past the socket on the flap lever wheel. Because I could still open the fuel cap in a pinch by manually turning this wheel, I put it in the big basket of "I'll fix that one day when I get around to it", and it stayed that way for the better part of 2 years.

 

Eventually, the Soarer stretched it's bonnet release cable (classic symptom of front driver's side wheel rubbing through the guard splashguard and wiring, price to pay for living the low life), I decided to kill two birds with one stone and order both cables at the same time. A quick consult of my Gregorys manual showed that it should be a simple case of unhooking the cable at both ends, tying a piece of string to one end and then pulling the cable through the car, hooking the new cable onto the string and then reversing the procedure.

 

Whoever wrote that procedure should be shot.

 

Not only did the cable refuse to budge when unclipped from each end, I had to pull apart half the interior (boot carpet trim, rear seat base, rear seat side bolsters, both B-pillar covers, both rear door jambs, drivers door jamb, driver's seat belt, driver's seat) only to find that the cable is held in place by 3-prong clips in no less than SIX separate locations. Not even Hercules could have pulled that cable through, and even if he did there would be no chance in hell of getting the new cable to clip in as it was pulled through, thus making the point moot.

 

So an hour or two of swearing, scuffed knuckles and a front lawn strewn with interior plastics and seats, I got the new cable installed. Re-installed everything, only to find that the new cable still didn't open the flap (checked it for binding, checked it with the cabin lever moulding not screwed back down to the driver's seat mount, it all worked then, but when installed fully it suddenly stopped). In yet another "classic me" moment, I worked out that the old cable had not, in fact, stretched, but that a tiny piece of plastic clip had broken off the lever moulding, which meant that the cabin-end of the cable sheath was not anchored and thus half the lever travel was taken up in straightening the sheath. A quick visit to eBay sourced me a new cabin lever moulding (shared with the boot release), and 5 minutes later in the carpark the new unit was installed, with both fuel cap and boot release cable sheats firmly clipped in and operating smoothly, and for the first time in a long time I can now open the fuel cap without resorting to sticking my arm elbow-deep into the depths of the rear guard to manually turn the lever wheel.

Perfect condition never-fitted NOS ultra-rare optional Hella grille. Hella cool...

 

Even comes with all the wiring, just need a new grille emblem. Had to cut part of the air-con fan shroud off though, guess Euro models don't have much need for air-con...

 

Edited June 13, 201412 yr by Hiro Protagonist

Some of the parts you have sourced for this are incredible.

Love your work.

 

And you take some sweet photos!

Edited June 13, 201412 yr by B-Lugg

that grille is awesome. where did you manage to score this from?

that grille is awesome. where did you manage to score this from?

 

Netherlands, the Hella grille was a Euro option (for that rally-car look)

 

 

Netherlands, the Hella grille was a Euro option (for that rally-car look)

 

It ties in nice with the black headlight frames. It's a 👍 from me!!