PIMP MY RAV4.1!

[JJCRU23R]

Hey guys,

Its been a few months since Ive sold my 2003 Corolla Conquest. I needed a larger car, with a towbar, hopefully an occasional 7 seater. But due to financial issues that would have to wait, and since my wife has earnt her red P plates, we needed a 2nd car in a hurry, so with the little $$$ we do actually have at this point in time, I found a 5 seat Toyota Rav4.

Bought this 1996 Rav4.1 for under 2 grand, came with a month of rego , 2nd engine, auto transmission, pretty decent interior compared to the panel damage outside, a few light bulbs missing here and there inside, a couple broken seals behind the tyres, a few dents, cracks on the outside.. but it drives straight and i can mod it bit by by bit.. make it better than it was coming out of the showroom!

the family are really excited about the potential of this car... hopefully i can bring it back up from the wreck it was when i found it! post comments or if you can hook me up with aftermarket parts.. that would be totally awesome!

[JJCRU23R]

Current definite plans so far...

*Replace brakes/brake shoes/seals to pass pink slip.

*2ND hand side steps.

*Source a passenger side sun visor and rear cigarette lighter since they were both missing.

*transplant my corolla RF split speakers, kicker sub and buy a new head unit. The Rav4.1 has the stock 1 din cassette am/fm unit but there is space down below for a 2din unit possibly!

*Front bar.. (if you remember my experience with the aftermarket frontbar i got for my corolla... hopefully itll be a better experience with this one!

would probably need the rear skirts too but how will it look with the side steps?

*Tint.. what colour though?

*Install keyless entry

Optional...

*To fully pimp it out later on I'm looking to get some black 20's, respray in black and gunmetal, possibly lower?

*custom body kit?

Edit- I said rear cigarette lighter... I actually meant ash tray, which is mOunted on the centre console

[ToyotaFreak]

The kit looks like a Bomex-style one. Few RAV4 world members have it on their cars if I'm not mistaken.

The sunvisor and rear 12V could be sourced second hand from the wrecking yard, or you can also try Yahoo Japan Auctions. If you can, try to get hold of them from the facelift model, being newer and that most parts are interchangeable between the pre & post-facelift RAV4.1.

You can probably convert the cubbyhole area to accommodate a 2DIN unit, though that would mean relocating the 12V outlet somewhere else. Speaking of which: http://rav4world.com/index/cupholder.html

Oh, and here's rear parcel shelf DIY http://www.rav4world.com/forums/94-4-1-d-i-y-modifications/80631-diy-rear-parcel-shelf-2.html

[haydos_sx6]

Good luck 

[JJCRU23R]

Thanks Toyotafreak. Will try the rear parcel shelf mod since I was thinking about making one anyway! Thanks! But I'll mod it so it clips to the headrest rods and can still cover the back even when the headrests are tilted just like my 03 corolla parcel shelf.

[JJCRU23R]

Ive seen some black headlights on eBay, one with just black surrounds and another one with projectors in them?! From what I read, they only fit the 1997< models... I'm also looking at possibly getting the facelifted rav4.1 tail lights. is it only a wiring issue to get these fitted or do they not physically fit the prefacelifted 4.1s?

[JJCRU23R]

Looking for aftermarket grills too. Not much out there on eBay right now.

[Branno]

Needs more turbo and Subaru bonnet scoop!

[juvenile]

Looking for aftermarket grills too. Not much out there on eBay right now.

Sorry to say but I think the grille is the least of your worries,also it's the only part not damaged..

You say a month rego left, do you think it would pass pink slip? Doesn't look roadworthy at all, unless you know someone ofcourse

I'll be watching the build, good luck with it ;)

[Cee-Lo]

It's a bit rough looking as it is, but if its good mechanically, then it's easily worth what you paid and should clean up nicely with some fresh panels. :)

Is the chassis all good? Ie: not bent/rusted.

Best of luck with the pink slip. If you wish to keep the car fully legal, 35% black tint would be the way to go. But if you wish to take your chances, 20% black or reflective would be nice and wouldn't hurt visibility too much at night.

Edited August 17, 2011 by KRS-093

[JJCRU23R]

Hey juvenile, from what I can see and after having a mobile mechanic neighbor check underneath the car and inside the hood, the more immediate things to fix are the the result of wear and tear- brakes and seals which from past experience isn't a huge job.

To be honest I've gone through a very similar situation with my 1985 landcruiser bundera after that was stolen back in 1999-2000! Was stolen and went missing fr weeks until it was spotted in a paddock near Australia's wonderland. Every panel dented, the new tyres were swapped for 4 old tyres each a different siZe, interior filled with animal hair and stink,windscreen needed replacing but thankfully the engine and tranny were untouched!

Pretty sure thinking back, the bundera was in worse condition. Will be bringing it to my mechanic who is also a family friend, wholl also be doing pink-slip when the rego is closer to being due.

[juvenile]

I thought you would have checked it but ofcourse i'm going by the photos, looks rough but it runs right?

I will be following its progress B)

[JJCRU23R]

I've been driving it to work for the last week! No engine leaks, steers straight n smooth, starts instantly... Besides brakes making a slight noise, when you're inside the car you don't notice what's wrong on the outside. The only things to fix inside the car is the petrol gauge that only reaches 3/4 of the way up when I've filled it full. The low petrol light works still so I'll know it's low when that lights up.

In all seriousness ive got my wife n kids in this car when we go out, wouldnt put them at risk if I thought the car was seriously damaged.

I'd describe the car as having plenty of bruises, but no broken bones if that makes any sense.

It's going to the mechanics this morning!

[jeffy]

The only things to fix inside the car is the petrol gauge that only reaches 3/4 of the way up when I've filled it full.

hmm, my cousin has the same problem on his rav4,

good luck at the mechanics :) !

looking forward to seeing your completed pimped rav4,

[JJCRU23R]

Great news as the 4.1 didn't have any hidden surprises @ the mechanics. The brakes and brake shoes on the rears to be replaced, both rear tyres to be replaced, (I knew that the car had 2 new tyres at the time of buying), )broken boots causing greasy mess behind the front rims to be replaced, and since rego is more or less a month away, pink slip will be done as well. Just waiting on tyres to come in and I can pick it up tomorrow!

[JJCRU23R]

Got the car back this afternoon, and the only surprise was how much 2 new tyres cost! car has new brakes n cv boots.. Drives awesome! Pink-slip passed as well so there's definitely no probs with rego next month!

[JJCRU23R]

All uP I paid just over 700 @ the mechanics.. The two new tyres cost almost 400!! I may wait until after rego at the end of next month to do anything worth mentioning on the 4.1, since its going to be a busy few weeks heading into September.

[JJCRU23R]

Been quoted 450 for supply only of the bomex front bar.. But i just noticed id Need to buy the facelifted front indicators to suit as well! I think it would be much easier to fit since its a straight line across the top whereas the carmate front bar I had on the 2003 prefacelift corolla had parts that wrapped around the grill. When the time comes for panel beating, since it's cheaper to keep the 4.1 the original metallic blue, I'll style it up by painting the bare plastic panels and the bomex front in some shade of dark metallic grey or gunmetal shade. Will experiment in photoshop today to show you what I'm planning...

But obviously besides rego, cosmetic mods that are only a few $$$ away are:

Panelbeating dents- same guy who worked on my bundera back in 2000.. Should get a good price with him.

Painting panels back to original metallic blue

Passenger side headlight replace due to slight damage

Bomex front lip- will order after the panel beating is done.

Replace the bare plastic panels that have been damaged and paint gunmetal.

Tint dark chrome, same installer and same tint used on my 03 corolla.

While on the inside, gotta make a custom parcel shelf ala the rav4world forums..

Build a new slimline box for my 8" solobaric kicker and the kicker amp.

Not sure if I'll transplant the DVD headrests I had in the corolla, because i've already been installed them in my wife's '98 corolla.

But before that I gotta give the inside a proper vaccuum! That's gonna get done today!

New headunit to update the outdated stock cassette am/fm

[JJCRU23R]

Just had a look underneath the rear to see whatever is underneath.. Realized that both the rear shocks are KYB Excel- G's!?!

Back when I had the 1zz corolla I was looking to get a set of these if I ended up lowering it. Couldn't tell what the front shock absorbers were, but it makes me now wonder.. Can these shocks handle lowering the rav4?

[JJCRU23R]

Also, I vaccuumed the inside for the first time today since buying the car, also wiped the inside of the windows and saw that there were 2 tiny chips in the windscreen, the larger of the two is around the diameter of a 5c coin, the other is really only about 3mm long. Went to the obrian website and saw a quote starting from $139 to repair.

[JJCRU23R]

Other updates.. I fixed the waterpiping under the hood so that I can spray the windscreen! 4 bucks!

Also, dad happened to have a spare passenger side visor (of all things) from his 1zz sedan. Turned out to be a near perfect fit! Different colour, and because dad accidentally cut a crucial part of it off the end of the pivot, it had to be glued in and you can't rotate the visor to face the door window, but it still works! FREEBEE!

[JJCRU23R]

[JJCRU23R]

Here's the big windscreen chip- with my finger underneath

And the tiny one under my finger-

[JJCRU23R]

FATHERS DAY UPDATE!

Went with the wife to the local Autobarn and bought a cheap and ultra practical head unit for the 4.1!

Excuse the stupid rotation, couldn't adjust it even though I took the shot with my iPhone the right way up.

Anyways, this is the same headunit I put into my wife's corolla. I installed it a few months ago and I remember it was at least 10 bucks cheaper last time. I bought the Toyota wiring harness as well which made the install so much easier to complete. The most difficult part of the install was cutting around the facade that surrounds the head unit in order for it to fit. It's too dark to take a photo now but for only 30 mins work it fits perfectly and works awesome! The only bummer is no rear speakers since I'm sure they must have died years ago. Will check the size of the stockies and hope to search for decent rear (& front -maybe) speakers to suit. I'm considering wiring up an amp n sub too. I'll see if there's enough extra wiring in the garage to do it, but at this point I'm not too keen on spending the $$$ to do that.

[jeffy]

are you in vic, i got

6x9 pioneers that i dont need if you wanna buy it ill let it go for cheap