rentaspace

Well, Nothing much done on the cali... yet. But, recently I landed myself a new job which requires a daily 74km round trip, so I got myself a new daily simply for to and from work and runabouts. A 1996 EP91 Starlet. 125k kms on the clock, 3 speed auto (GG). It's slow but good on fuel This leaves me with the cali free, so watch this space cause the build is just beginning!

Yep they are very very grippy.

Again, it has been a while! But I now have a larger update! I have replaced the Standard 17" GT4 Wheels (Which I am sure we are all familiar with being on JFX, Josh's and my old Celica). This happened a few weeks ago, but I didn't have access to a decent camera to take some snaps of the car I recently bought myself a Canon 6D, so now I do not have that issue So some info, I decided to replace the wheels as the tyres that came on the car from Japan were starting to camber-wear. I decided that instead of wasting money on the daggy looking sanded back caldina alloys that I would look around for a new set of wheels. After getting numerous conflicting opinions on what would and wouldn't work and measuring many sets of specs, I decided to trust my gut and with some reassurance from Alex on OzCaldina I purchased a set of wheels from Autotechnik Tuning. The wheels I bought are Rays Gram Lights 57DR (17x9 +38). In order to fit them I required the inner rear guard to be cut and the front splash lining cut with the front slightly rolled. After getting that done, it was time to find some tyres that would fit. I decided on using 235 width as this would allow a slight stretch to minimize any guard issues if they were to come up. After that was decided, I checked local tyre shops to find some deals. Bridgestone had a deal which was buy 3 get one free. So I went for a set of Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE003 which set me back $520 total including disposal of the old tyres. Once I got back home, it was time to install the wheels as everything was ready. Well, wasn't as smooth as I thought. The wheel nuts were put back on so tight that neither I or my dad could crack them and we did this to our wheel brace: Ended up having to go up to the local tyre shop which used their heavy duty air impact gun and got them loose. While I was there I asked if they could throw the wheels on for me, which they did. Also a shout out to Tyre Plus Menai as they did everything for me without charge! Anyway, on to fitment, Rear: Front:

Replacing headunit is cheaper than the Toyota OEM option lol.

Its on my 'to-do' list lol iv sused out how to wire a switch in to disable the vcs and traction control if ya keen to no i did so much research and came up with nothing i found someone who sused it wid a gt turbo from that i worked out how to do it to a gt4Might be something worth doing down the track lol :P And for the reverse cam, mines not a stock one, its some random aftermarket.

Its on my 'to-do' list lol

So it has been a while since a proper update. I've had quite a bit going on in my personal life lately which has included moving out for the first time and dealing with all the associated stresses that entails lol. I have only just gotten my internet connection up and working so I can now post an in depth update. But, I haven't forgotten about the Caldina. If your car is lowered and you put the exhaust on, get ready for it touching almost all driveways lol. You quickly learn how to get up and down xD Now this next one is going to be picture heavy and details my whole experience with getting my Super Circuit Dump Pipe on. About a week a go, a mate and I decided to tackle the dump pipe and figured that we'd have it done in about 2 hours tops. Boy were we wrong..... Everything started off smoothly, got the Intercooler off and found the leakage around my Rocker cover is slightly worse than expected and oil is sitting on top of the plugs, so gotta replace the rocker cover gasket ASAP. Replaced the plugs and the old ones were white (as expected from a lean running motor). Next was the heat-shield, and the world of pain started... The bolts were so tight that no amount of WD40, Inox or any other rust penetration was budging them. We almost rounded one attempted heat, cold, sprays, breaker bars and nothing no dice. After 6 hours of trying to remove the shield we retreated and put the car back together. (I don't have a drill at this point). The only one bolt that budged was the lower bolt, which we though was going to be the hardest... lol After that days struggles we started discussing what we could do. A few days later and his Volvo was off the road after a control arm snapped and the front windscreen cracked from nowhere (not a good week). Since he was stuck at his house for the day I said why don't we get the maintenance done on my car and I headed over. At his house we had a a lot better tools and space available (The garage shown below is a common area for the two townhouses and it fits 3 cars snugly, or two with room to work. Behind is his actual garage which fits another two cars). As we were setting up I said, you know what lets try this dump pipe again, I'm sure the extra tools will get them off. After trying more sprays and stuff the bolt still wouldn't budge so we got the drill out and went through both of the bolts. One was actually fused to the Heat-shield. We breathed a premature sigh of relief. After these came off, we came across the next challenge. Stuck just as much as the Heat shield bolts but with about 1/2 the room to work with. These are the bolts on the left side, there are another two on the right side which are under the turbo itself and even harder to reach. (Amount of room from above shown in pic two) We used more Innox, more WD40 and more hot cold and we couldn't get them off. We tried to get the from above and below and still no luck. At this point we were a 4 hours in and determined to get the pipe on. My mate wasn't letting me leave until it came off, so we focused attention onto the bottom bolts holding the bottom of the stock dump to the rest of the exhaust system, and surprise, surprise they wouldn't budge. Luckily, the dump pipe I purchased also came with the bolts needed already attached so We whipped out the angle grinder and cut the bastards off: AT this point we retired for some food, we had begun at around 10am and it was now 4pm in the arvo. We had to get the bolts off. My mates dad got home from work (Army) and he started assisting us. He got his largest breaker bar out and got under the car, he had his whole body-weight on the bar, doing literal pull ups and pulling the motor down and all but one bolt broke. The final bolt resulted in a further hour of sprays, mallets, breaker bars and finally it broke. It was the loudest bolt break I have ever heard. After they were all off, we still couldnt move the dump pipe. We removed the oil return line and finally the pipe came out. Putting it all back together was easy, none of the messed up bolts needed to be put back, so they all got binned.

Havnt done too much to the car lately, My Girlfriend and I are moving out on the 30th and are saving as much as we can. That said, the car itself is more fuel efficient then my celica was and hasnt missed a beat so far. A member on Ozcaldina gave me a Climate Control Unit to test out to try and isolate my AC issues which were: - LCD Flashed for a second and then powered off, plus all the lights constantly on. First test of the 'New' unit resulted in a blown fuse, (I think this was my fault). Second test, and BAM: The AC fired up right away and went cold in about 15seconds. I then put the temp up and warm air came out; Unit was working properly! The front Fascia of my unit was in a lot better condition than the Second Working unit, so I started stripping the two units down to which I realised internally they are completely different. Behind the Second Unit, was myriad of Radio components, and a double-story circuit board. It appears that the 'top' board is for AC, and the bottom is for a Stock CD stacker radio system. (CD stacker front is ugly IMO). I started stripping out the LCD Circuit Board to realise that both boards are different shapes, so we got out the dremel and cut down the new board to fit into my Fascia. The internal Cage in my car that holds all of the separate systems in place could not fit the New AC/Radio board and I had to resort to cutting and drilling the One that was given to me. I managed to fit the Radio/AC/Storage Pocket into the Cage (which was never designed for anything more than The CD stacker and the AC. Along with fitting the Double-Din headunit that came with the car.

Cruising down to Robertson this Saturday. Meet up at Heathcote Maccas at 9:30am for 10am departure. Will be cruising through National Park, Sea Cliff and then up to Robertson Pie shop. Anyone that can/wants to come let me know. Same rules as always, no hooning/excessive speeding Plans have changed and cannot cruise.

Put the Mother of all Canon Exhausts on the car lol. Blitz Spec-R, sits about 5cm off the ground lol. Got a Cat-Delete Dump Pipe to install as well.

Sunday night at 6pm at Auburn Reading cinemas, OZcelica is holding a meetup. Anyone that isnt going to hoon/act like an idiot is welcome to come :)

Earlier this week I got the car, but on the drive home as I passed my dad we heard a loud grinding noise coming from the rear (Constant metal/metal sound). Upon calling the compliance workshop to find out if anything they have done could of caused it, they said that I'd have to take it back to them. This wasn't possible as they're over 1.5hrs away and any brake issue is a serious safety concern. Instead, I took the car to a local mechanic (Ultratune Next to Pulse Racing in menai). They put the car up on the hoist and sure enough the wheels were almost impossible to spin. He took the rotor off and the problem was found: The backing plate, along with the hand brake shoes were all bent out of whack and were touching the rear of the rotor. Along with this, the hand brake was loose and the disk had been badly machined (I had payed the compliance shop for all 4 to be machined as I needed new pads to pass). About 30mins of pushing and mucking around and the car was back on the road with no issues and Ultratune didn't charge me a thing for their time. Pretty bad that the compliance workshop (who assured me that there was no noise when they test drove it) didn't notice it. This would be my only complaint with the compliance workshop though, the rest of their work was fine, just seems the mechanic that did my car cut corners. Overall I am pretty damn happy with the car, the extra power is lovely and the coild are not too hard. I do have a few problems that I need to sort including the AC system not working at all (Including heater and demisters), Cigarette lighter not working and a bit of surface rust here and there to treat. Along with that the car needs a good clay bar and interior clean out. (Japanese owner was a smoker).

opposite bunnings :)

I won't be out for this one, still haven't got the Caldina. The meet end of this month will be 100% if it goes ahead as I will have car by then.

If I have caldina/dads car is fixed I'll be there...

Update: Still waiting for compliance to go through... Been 2 months since I bought the car lol

Possibly was damaged during transit since the auction sheets are usually very precise. They even listed damaged steering wheel (needing replacement) so quite a possibility. Auto only is a real stickler, but for now it will be pure convenience for my business (carrying large computers in the celica was a pain). I won't be doing any conversions whiles it is a daily. Got confirmation early this week that my car has had all work done on it for compliance, simply waiting for the actual compliance plate now. Once that comes in, Blueslip, Rego, Insurance and drive away. Just want to drive it already haha

So I inspected the car today, has a few bits of damage that wasn't on the auction sheet, but nothing serious. The car already has Tein Coilovers installed which is a bonus! Its also putrid lol, covered in dust and dirt. Pictures: http://s1326.photobucket.com/user/Ryan_Hutchings/slideshow/Caldina%20Import/First%20Compliance%20Photos/My%20ST246W%20N-Edition Damage: http://s1326.photobucket.com/user/Ryan_Hutchings/slideshow/Caldina%20Import/First%20Compliance%20Photos/Damage

Sorry about the late update lol, been a bit busy lately. The car arrived in NSW last week and is currently sitting at the compliance workshop in Blacktown. Preliminary inspection has revealed that the rocker cover is leaking (no biggy), rear brake pads need replacing, rear disks need machining and a few other things that aren't too much of an issue. I am heading out tomorrow to inspect it myself (this will be my first vieing of the car). If all goes smoothly, it will pass the blueslip and compliance easily and than have to wait another 1-3weeks for the Government to do their bit and send out the compliance plate. Than on with the boost lol.

Got my Bill of Lading today, Promptly searched for the ETA of arrival and the Caldina should be in Port Kembla on June 19. From there it will be shipped to the Customs house and than on to Compliance. Getting excited now!

I'll be in a Kia until late June at the least lol

Goal:

Yeah :) If turbo goes than why not bigger? ;)

At the moment, A/C is not functioning, so will be investigating that (hoping its due to the aftermarket head unit), I want a full exhaust, wheels and low as my immediate mods. Will be my daily so nothing OTT.

137000kms, which is 1k less than the Celica when I got it lol. Timing belt was done at 100k