IMB055

+3 no

....with the added suggestion of taking all the bits you like off your Ascent, sell it close to stock, and grab a Sportivo and bolt all of your good bits onto it.

That way, you get a 6spd manual rather than a 5spd, climate control, leather, and a bit more power and fun to go with it!

You could spend anywhere from $2000-$4000 on a gearbox changeover, and it will not be the best investment you ever make, in my opinion anyway.

Good luck!

The place I had been to is King Wreck in Fairfield - they always had a few wrecking!

King Wreck

0297210023

98 Fairfield Street Fairfield

Oh, I forgot to mention....

I was concerned about having a cupholder in this location as I was worried that this might foul the action of the stock gearshifter.

Fortunately, it doesn't cause any problems when the unit is mounted far back like I did. If you were to try and install the unit without cutting out the back of the pocket, you will not be able to fit this unit.

I need to advise that I did cut away a fair bit of plastic off the unit and the original pocket to make this work, so this "soultion" is not exactly what I would call "plug & play" - as the pic will show.

G'day guys,

I, like a few other ZZE123 owners, have had the hinges on the compartment above the ashtray fail. I have seen it fail in different ways, some having the hinges break, others having the spring closing mechanism fail

Toyota's only option was to replace the whole section, at around $700.

Wreckers had a few, but most were scratched, and expensive.

The design of the hinge does not lend itself to any kind of easy aftermarket replacement.

So, I decided to try something different. At worst, I could always go and get one from the wreckers, right?

I found this eBay Cupholder

Then used a Dremel to trim the back out of the original pocket, and the front off this unit, to allow it to fit.

I completed the installation using screws to securely mount the unit from the sides, and a little adhesive to apply the original fascia panel to the front of the cupholder. There was a little learning done along the way, and I think next time I would do a couple of things differently. (I cut away a bit of plastic from the back of the unit that I would not have if I was doing the same job again!) So, for somewhere around $30 my interior doesn't look bodgey anymore!

The cupholder is not in an ideal location, as it obscures your A/C controls if a cup is fitted, but I have gone from having an ugly black hole in my dash to having a cupholder and a felt lined tray which, when closed, looks stock. It's also a handy size for iPods and phones, but not quite big enough for a GPS.

I'll post up a pic when I get a chance.

Cheers, Nath.

I know this happened a while ago, but stupid kids nicked my Buddy Club valve caps. Replaced it with other crap but just doesn't look right.

Still fuming thinking that one kid out there is rocking Buddy Club gear on his bike :@

LOL - maybe he is racing the little s**ts that have my TRD valve caps on their BMX's........

(sure, they eBay were cheapies, but still, that's not the point, is it?)

I hope the stolen valve caps give them high speed wheel wobble and they turn their snotty little faces into tomato paste as they go over the handlebars into the asphalt at 35km/h

What is it with these petty theives?

Nice post - thanks for that!!

Any idea where to get the carbon mesh from?

Traded in my 2007 Presara for a 2007 TRD 3500SL build number 0493.

Picking it up next week as the dealer is fixing up a few scratches and doing the 30,000km service. I am also having a factory towbar fitted at the same time. It's a silver one instead of black (my preferred colour), however, I think I can tolerate the silver.... :P :P :P

How much did you trade in for If u don't mind Im asking? Had the thoughts of upgrading it too but now it's 2 late with all the mods that's been done.

I got $30K for the Presara and I paid $35K for the TRD. The TRD was built in late 2007 and first registered in March 2008, so the TRD still have 1 year NCW with Toyota Service Advantage. B) B) I paid $2K for another 3 years bumper to bumper new car warranty just in case something goes wrong .

I have monitored the car first advertised for $46K :( down to $43K, $40K, $38K and then finally down to $35K :P over the last 3 months - I was very lucky to pick it up for $5K change over. With the money saved I thought I'll spend it on the extended factory warranty for added insurance.

THAT is what you call a deal! Holy Moses, that is the best 5k I have heard of someone spending in a long, long time!!!!

Welcome!

Your easiest conversion would be the 2ZZ 141kw motor out of the Sportivo, and if you need more shove than this you can turbo, or supercharge it.

Speed costs money - how fast do you want to go? :)

Congrats on the new car - you'll find plenty of good info on here for you.

G'day, awesome to come along for half of the cruise yesterday (Kiama to Kangaroo Valley) and meet many of you and put a face to the cars!

Great to see many ZRE's looking the business these days.....my old ZZE must now be a "classic" LOL ;)

Anyhow, it was great to hang out and meet you guys, I'll get myself along to another cruise soon!

Cheers,

Nath.

G'day guys,

What is the go with the Club Bot posts from US eBay in the traders area??

Toyota eBay Yankee Deals

If this is assisting in keeping the club running through sponsor $$$, fair enough - but how relevant is a used car for sale in the US to us here??

Perhaps we could change it so the bot got it's info from eBay Australia?

I can vouch for St George tyres...used them to get the factory-spec advans for my wife's lancer 195/55/15

For $50 a corner less than I could get them from mates in tyre shops!

So there is every chance they may be able to get you a decent price.

Well done. The bottom end of the market is rubbish at the moment!!

Those dates do seem a bit arbitary, however I expect that the reason you basically got stooged for 3 months rego, is because you didn't require a blue slip. Probably if your rego had lapse to the point that you need one your new rego would be a true 12 months.

I guess the moral of the story is already read the T's & C's :P

Yep. Can't trust a government agency to do something that the average person would consider reasonable!!

True. If you did let it fall right out of rego and get it blue-slipped you get a full 12 months.

From my old days of owning dodgy cars while at uni the rule was always to try & avoid the blue slip inspection as it was more comprehensive (therefore more likely to find faults and cost money on dodgy old cars).

On a corolla it would probably have been no problem.

Get to the track and run a time by yourself.

Slap the timeslip on his desk.

By taking so long, he loses by default.

Case closed.

Manny, I have been in a similar situation.

I bought a ute when I was building my house that had been out of rego for two months.

Got a pink slip, went and paid the full amount to register it, and got the sticker which only covered the next ten months.

It is a rip off - as you pay for 12 months, but get less, but I don't know a way around it!

And the worst thing is, it is a rort on the part of the government and insurance companies which disadvantages those who can least afford to throw money away.

Best suggestion I have is to put six months rego on the 1ZZ, to get the rego time further away from Xmas.

Exhaust tip?

Black line added between roof of building and sign post with white signs on it (near where box on pole was)?

Impressive!!

How did you find your way into this machine??

My personal experience - (2003 Sportivo)

181,000ks.

Original clutch.

Original gearbox & synchros.

And no problems (touchwood!)

I have driven cars with a nicer clutch gearbox combo, but mine is comparable to other Sportivos I have driven.

I am struggling to think of something other than consumables that I have fitted to the car (aside from wheels/suspension)........I'll chat to my mechanic and check his file on the car to see if there is something I have forgotten.

changing your wiper is not JDM, it's RICE

whitestivo

I don't see it as "JDM" either, but I also don't see it as rice (and don't give me the old "Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement" because that ain't what rice is). It is purely an aesthetic mod (as there is no problem with snow in Aus) and some people prefer the vertical alignment rather than horizontal.

True, it is a mod of preference - not performance!

But I think the intention of the author was to do the mod purely for it's JDM-ness.

Personally, I reckon it would give me the irits to see the wiper constantly in my rear view. Rally dust excuse noted.

It is for this reason that Australia is a free country - do whatever you like to your car!

Even though I personally don't think it's a mod I'd try, it's good to see someone getting in there and finding out how it's done.

That in itself is worthy of respect - even if you disagree with the end result.

Good question. I'll have to dig back though my old copies of Wheels to get the numbers before you head off to the Salvos shop

(Note - don't spend car mod money on dresses. And if you have to buy a dress don't spend much money on it. Unless of course you wish to wear it regualrly, in which case I have no advice for you!).

But give yourself evey possible advantage too.

Ditch the spare tyre, jack and anything stored in the boot or glovebox before you hit the track.

Remove all possible excess weight that can be done without being noticeable.

Do not tell your hefty Ford friend this. (He's probably on the fordforums getting similar advice.)

There will be Aurion owners out there that will be able to give you more advice re staging/launching/tyre pressures & etc that they will have track-tested.

Good luck.

People who stink of body odour in lifts (or shops).

Seriously, I should just leave a can of Glen 20 in the lift at work here sometimes......

I have time for anyone who is enthusiastic about their car and takes pride in it.

But quite often we can get a bit too enthsiastic about what we hold the keys to.

Struth, I have see guys in the car pool at work with identical cars who reckon thier one is faster than their co-workers. Why? Just because they drive it?

It's great to see the TRD Aurions post up some good numbers, but at the risk of appearing disloyal to Toyota, I will add my piece.

I have driven an '08 3500S and a VE Series 1 Senator.

I am a realist.

They are both beautiful cars.

They are very different.

The HSV chews up, digests and leaves no pieces of the Aurion.

G'day CMELFT,

I have a Sportivo alloy and Bridgestone tyre you could have for $100. Rim perfect, tyre approx 50% (maybe more). Wollongong area.

Cheers,

Nath.

That sucks - sorry to hear you got ripped off. Hopefully someone sees or hears something....

I wouldn't be surprised if they name it 'Hachi Roku'

Gold. Let's hope so!!

So will Panda paintjobs be an option?

Factory option 8inch wide Wantanabe replica alloys?

In all seriousness, nice work. Provided they keep the weight down and the power not too modest, I'm in.

Anyone want a cheap sportivo??