New Paseo Owner seeking advice....

[davesyd]

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Dave and i'm from Sydney, Australia. I just bought a Toyota Paseo 1992 model. This is probably my 5th car so far and definately my favourite so far. I would like to turn this car into my project car and have some plans. I have already put in a sound system and done some interior modding. Next, I would like to install a bodykit and pod filter (possibly exhaust).

Here is where I need some advice. The car has 250,000km on the car & 80,000km on the engine. I have had the car serviced and everything is good, except the radiator has rust and needs to be replaced (i have sourced a replacement at the wreckers and can do the install myself).

I would like to know what parts I should look at replacing or repairing to prolong the life of the car. e.g. fuel pump, shocks, etc....

Thanks for your time guys,

Dave

[the_random_hero]

The engines don't really have any commonly known issues, so all I'd really be doing is keeping up the services (use a good synthetic/semi-synthetic oil), making sure it's up to operating temperature before you give it a good drive and you should get heaps more kms out of it.

Personally, I'd avoid the body kit. I'm not a fan of any of the ones I've seen available - in fact, I think they look absolutely terrible. All I would do is put some decent 16" wheels (matte black, etc is great, avoid chrome as it looks tacky) on it and enjoy the car. There's also the option of upgrading to an EP82 Starlet GT rear axle - it's a direct bolt in jobby, should be able to do it in a few hours if you've got access to a jack/2-post hoist and some tools, chuck some new rotors and pads on there and you'll be in business. You also need to get the brake bias valve from the donor car as this needs to be installed otherwise the rear wheels have a tendency to lock up.

[davesyd]

The engines don't really have any commonly known issues, so all I'd really be doing is keeping up the services (use a good synthetic/semi-synthetic oil), making sure it's up to operating temperature before you give it a good drive and you should get heaps more kms out of it.

Personally, I'd avoid the body kit. I'm not a fan of any of the ones I've seen available - in fact, I think they look absolutely terrible. All I would do is put some decent 16" wheels (matte black, etc is great, avoid chrome as it looks tacky) on it and enjoy the car. There's also the option of upgrading to an EP82 Starlet GT rear axle - it's a direct bolt in jobby, should be able to do it in a few hours if you've got access to a jack/2-post hoist and some tools, chuck some new rotors and pads on there and you'll be in business. You also need to get the brake bias valve from the donor car as this needs to be installed otherwise the rear wheels have a tendency to lock up.

it came with 18" rims and the stock 13" ones...

at the moment its not lowered, and not sure what shocks or springs are installed. but when i go over speed humps slowly i can hear a 'hiss' come from the shocks... doesn't this mean that their on their way out?

what will i notice from changing the rear axle? handling??

i've uploaded some pics here....

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/david.lawso...feat=directlink

[the_random_hero]

The engines don't really have any commonly known issues, so all I'd really be doing is keeping up the services (use a good synthetic/semi-synthetic oil), making sure it's up to operating temperature before you give it a good drive and you should get heaps more kms out of it.

Personally, I'd avoid the body kit. I'm not a fan of any of the ones I've seen available - in fact, I think they look absolutely terrible. All I would do is put some decent 16" wheels (matte black, etc is great, avoid chrome as it looks tacky) on it and enjoy the car. There's also the option of upgrading to an EP82 Starlet GT rear axle - it's a direct bolt in jobby, should be able to do it in a few hours if you've got access to a jack/2-post hoist and some tools, chuck some new rotors and pads on there and you'll be in business. You also need to get the brake bias valve from the donor car as this needs to be installed otherwise the rear wheels have a tendency to lock up.

it came with 18" rims and the stock 13" ones...

at the moment its not lowered, and not sure what shocks or springs are installed. but when i go over speed humps slowly i can hear a 'hiss' come from the shocks... doesn't this mean that their on their way out?

what will i notice from changing the rear axle? handling??

i've uploaded some pics here....

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/david.lawso...feat=directlink

Ditch the wheels, they too big for the car. You should be able to sell them for a bit, use this money on a nice set of 16"s and decent tyres. Swapping rear axle will give you better braking, which is always something you should aim for.

If you want a good upgrade, something like KYB shocks and Koni springs would be decent, otherwise just speak to a suspension shop and see what they say. Lower it a maximum of an inch when you have the new wheels fitted otherwise you'll throw the suspension geometry out too much.

[davesyd]

thanks for the advice.

i will ring around to get a price for the rear axle cause i would like to have a good braking system installed especially with the amount of cruises i do.

i will need to wait a bit to do the wheels, shocks and springs, cause i would like to do them all at the same time.

EDIT: i don't have access to a 2 post hoist... would 2 jacks be okay? and welding required? or just screw it on??

thanks

Edited April 13, 2009 by davesyd

[the_random_hero]

thanks for the advice.

i will ring around to get a price for the rear axle cause i would like to have a good braking system installed especially with the amount of cruises i do.

i will need to wait a bit to do the wheels, shocks and springs, cause i would like to do them all at the same time.

EDIT: i don't have access to a 2 post hoist... would 2 jacks be okay? and welding required? or just screw it on??

thanks

http://www.tercelreference.com/articles/re...conversion.html < You can do it that way, or replace the whole rear axle in one go. Both will take you around the same time, if you're going to change pads/rotors/repack bearings do it the way that's in that link.

[Sic Sera]

I'd go the rear disc brake upgrade. Then start on performance. My first car was a paseo. I did the 4efte motor upgrade with a couple of extra mods like intercooler, pod, exhaust etc. I flew! It ate v8 commodores, falcons, everything! Got away with it all for under $2500. Now i have a sera. I've spent about $5000 on the 1.5L and i should have 200kw.

Depends on how much your willing to spend. :D

[davesyd]

I'd go the rear disc brake upgrade. Then start on performance. My first car was a paseo. I did the 4efte motor upgrade with a couple of extra mods like intercooler, pod, exhaust etc. I flew! It ate v8 commodores, falcons, everything! Got away with it all for under $2500. Now i have a sera. I've spent about $5000 on the 1.5L and i should have 200kw.

Depends on how much your willing to spend. :D

i'm not really looking for performance.

the car at the moment handles nicely enough. the most i would do for performance is headers and exhaust...handling would be 16" wheels instead of the 18"s.. good shocks and springs... already have a pod filter (about to build a CAI box for it) and sway bar installed...

thats my plan for the next 12 months