'Night Oppo

"whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU" (whiskey-business)
03/24/2015 at 23:49 • Filed to: None

DISCUSSION (11)

D > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU
03/25/2015 at 00:31

Kinja'd!!!

squee

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU
03/25/2015 at 06:47

Hnnnngggg.... That's one sexy A-Dub.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/25/2015 at 09:49

Indeed it is Sideways. . . Indeed it is.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/25/2015 at 09:54

And speaking of A-Dubs, I need to pick your brain about yours. I found a bunch near me inscribed upon the mighty list of Craig and they're starting to make more and more sense.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU
03/25/2015 at 09:56

Yeah, sure. What do you want to know?

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/25/2015 at 09:58

I'll try to keep it brief.

1. How difficult is the normal maintenance stuff for someone with little car-specific knowledge (fluid replacement, suspension components, brakes, normal car stuff.)

2. At what point do they become money-pits? (I know this varies a lot, but from your experience when do they start to get unreliable/expensive?)

3. Will it daily?

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU
03/25/2015 at 10:30

1 - Very easy apart from the front of the engine where the accessories are (belts, alternator, water pump's a bitch) and the cooling system requires special care because of how long it is. Air bubbles in the coolant can be a pain, but there's a very specific procedure that's well documented on most AW11 blogs and in the BGB (big green book - the Toyota factory service manual - you'll need this - http://manual.teq.org/ ). The suspension might be a pain depending on the condition and what you want to do. I rebuilt mine from the ground up (ie - everything between the chassis and ground was at the very least taken off, cleaned, and replaced if necessary) and had to replace a few bits that were too rusted to be removed correctly. I'd run into a component that had to be cut off and replaced, but the wait was more annoying than the expense. Most of the suspension hardware is pretty cheap, but it does definitely add up, or did for me. My end-goal also changed-mid build. I was going for a LeMons build, but then fell in love with the car, so went all out. Brakes are easy. Discs all around, so you don't have to deal with drum bullshit. There's a special tool you'll need for the rear caliper piston to turn it in order to get the slot in it to line up with the notch on the pad, but this was like $7 at autozone for a socket wrench adapter. It took longer than it should have for me to figure that out... The stock brakes are more than sufficient for pretty much anything you can throw at it with just a pad and fluid upgrade.

2 - It really depends on what your goals are with the car. Project cars are always going to cost twice as much as you're expecting and take twice as long, so keep that in mind. If I was just dailying it and didn't want it to be as ridiculously tight as I do, I could have driven it from the day I bought it without putting a penny into it.

3 - Yes. The engine's rock solid and somehow will always get you home. I had a problem a few days ago that I couldn't figure out. It turned out that a rather important sensor was unplugged that I didn't think the car could even run without. It was fine. It just ran a bit rougher and burned more gas. The passenger compartment is surprisingly roomy and well laid out, and you have two decent sized trunks. Neither is a good shape for bulky items, but the passenger seat is really easy to remove and then you have a huge square area there.

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU
03/25/2015 at 10:37

1. It's just a front wheel drive setup with the drivetrain between the rear wheels instead, it's not all that complicated. The cooling system is a bit crazy but other than that it's pretty normal. It's not hard to work on, at least I don't think so.

2. Body work. Get a good body. Engines are cheap. Rebuilds aren't bad either. I think all said and done it cost me $1,100 and a month of evenings in the garage to rebuild my engine.

3. Absolutely. It was my only car for like 6 years. I still alternate it as my daily with my wagon.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/25/2015 at 10:44

Thank you so much for your knowledge, this is becoming a more and more attractive option for me!

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig
03/25/2015 at 10:46

I appreciate your reply, and its funny you'd mention alternating with a wagon. I will likely do the same, as my Focus Wagon is my daily and work vehicle at the moment!

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/25/2015 at 10:56

I agree with everything but the brakes. While they are great for daily driving and good for autocross, if you start trying to do full road course track duty they are just too small and will overheat quickly. At Summit Point Main circuit I had to go from around 125mph down to about 30 every lap for turn 1 and after a few laps the brakes were very spongy.