[dorifto]

So my liking for Corolla's came about when dad bought me my first car: an AE92 Seca with a mighty carby (dyno proven 48.8kw @ wheels - haha)

How she looked


I still have her to get me around while this car undergoes engine/car work and what not.

I MUST stress, do not expect hektik chrome wheels, chopped springs ect ect on this car. It will be built for handling/tackling corners and possibly track days.

The CAR
The quest for a "new" car came about when i needed something with slightly more power and aircon without the extra costs involved with insurance, turbo's and general maintenance fees. Initial plans was to find a Seca SX as i didn't mind the shape after some time of acquiring mine. However, after numerous inspections, i found myself getting into SX hatches. And one in particular.



Specs are:

'91 model
267, XXXK's
Air con/ power steering/mirrors/ Series 1 "kit"
Generally the car was kept fairly well, albeit some minor panel blemishes and dents here and there. Interior/Tinting was immaculate. The engine drove and responded well, until i discovered a pretty serious oil leak...




General maintenance

... which we discovered was a leak in one of the front seals. So i had all the front main seals (including dizzy O ring). Timing Belt and service done. I was poor

Suspension
Prior to buying an SX, i bought some gear beforehand. Namely KYB Excel G (short strokes) and a set of custom wound Kmac springs. Fitted everything together: bump stops and dustboots with aforemention suspension components to make the install easier at the workshop.



How she sat after installation



Brakes
The next day was for the brake upgrade. Like the shocks, i purchased some of it before hand. Got the Hubs/slotted rotors/calipers for a good price. After some prep work, i painted the calipers gold and put in the brake pads. Specs of brakes are:
Series 1 238mm slotted rotors (unsure whether it was DBA or RDA)
Bendix pads
Castrol DOT 4 fluid

This post has been edited by dorifto: 27 March 2010 - 04:47 PM

[dorifto]

Wheels/Tyres
After having the brakes and suspension sorted, it was time to swap over my wheels/tyres. Specs of wheels/tyres:
Tom's Racing 15 x 7, +35 offset, 4 x 100 approx 6.9kg/wheel
Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin 195/50/15
Vision lightweight lugs
And installed...



Low-ish ride height with offset-win wheels = scrubbing fail. So after a quick ring-ring i had booking with the fender bender a.k.a Dan



Interior lights
With the exterior sorted, attention turned to the inside: namely the lights. As the car was nearing 2 decades, the original bulbs had started to dim quite miserably even on the highest setting. With the know-how help of some the guys on the forums and much reading, i set about tearing apart the dash and it's associated gangster cluster cable and bad ass shrouding. King Chrome tools make short work of such nuisances.


The steering wheel is "Personal" brand from Japan. 350mm with red stitching completed with Momo "Toyota" horn button

The aftermath


The accomplice. I opted for coloured light "condoms" as they were less hassle than LED's and was a straight plug'n'play style fitting. While i was at it, i put in all new Phillip's "Premium" T10 lightbulbs. The regular Narva one's will do the same job really.


The results:


Since i've had it, about 2 weeks now - i've also added a new Exide battery with gold terminals (no pics) as the original started to show signs of Calcium formation on the Positive terminal. Here is a pic of things to come


The battery is in. In around 2 weeks time, i will be doing the transmission. Includes JDM gearbox, h/d clutch, short shifter from Ajay and Brad's shifter bearings but more on that later.

Thanks for looking, will constantly update with pics and so forth when i can.

For the buttons, i used the smaller condoms cut to size.

This post has been edited by dorifto: 27 December 2008 - 01:25 AM

[lolgti]

Sex on wheels. It's nicely done without being ricey. I want my car to look like this.

[Rolla_Boy]

Nice lookin brakes you got there ...

Car looks great...

[dorifto]

cheers for the input

Rolla_Boy, got more pics of the calipers when i was painting. They are more gold than the pic suggests, stupid camera phones.

[GUN16V]

Looks great mate. awesome work so far.

[Riley]

looks the goods....nice wheels

[xjustinx]

Good work, now sell me your wheels.

[Blind Kid Seeks]

My pants just got smaller

[CH-33-KE]

transfer the lip from the seca to the hatch... Then ur set!

[dorifto]

cheers for the input guys

Justin, swap you your SX for the wheels. Win/win? lol

Small update, i changed the headlights (to Phillip's) and parkers to more whiter one's. No pics yet, will be back in a few days.

[xjustinx]

dorifto, on Dec 27 2008, 11:28 PM, said:

cheers for the input guys

Justin, swap you your SX for the wheels. Win/win? lol

Small update, i changed the headlights (to Phillip's) and parkers to more whiter one's. No pics yet, will be back in a few days.

hahaha, stop pulling my leg.

Great to see you finally behind the wheel of SX Trung - it's been a long time coming.

Keep up the good work!

[gguni]

gold callipars FTW !!!!

[FLR-71N]

lol

[dorifto]

small update

replaced the blown bulb in the heater control and put in a new head unit, with more red lights lol



Pics of short shifter install soon

[xjustinx]

Wasn't too hard to do the heater controls?

[lolgti]

Yeh! I need to replace mine. Pics? PLEASE!

Haha looking good mate.

[dorifto]

Heater controls is fairly simple if you have a grasp on how it all goes.

When you take off the centre console shroud. You'll see 4 screws that hold the heater controls in place - one in each corner, undo them. It will then loosen up but because of all the cables at the back it won't come out all that much. To get it out just enough for to change the bulb you will need to pull it out of the lip at the bottom. To do this, have a firm grip on the heater controls and pull fairly hard upwards so it gets over the lip.

Once its pass that, the bulb is located at the bottom. You'll need "tricky" fingers to undo it. Keep twisting until it undoes itself. The bulb is fairly smaller than a regular T10 bulb. I got mine at a servo for a dollar or 2.

good luck

[xjustinx]

Hmm, sounds like a bit of work for some bulbs.

One day when I'm bored lolz.

[PooJou]

Car looks great mate - love the wheels! I never thought 15x7's would ever fit!

[dorifto]

lol poojou, they fit really well. When are you coming to a meet? Wanna check out your ride! Theres a honda meet im going to on the 17th - if your keen hit me up with a PM for details

Minor update

Fitted my Tom's gearknob and shortshifter


Won some floor genuine JDM floor mats from Japan similar to these

They have a "Corolla" inscription instead of "Toyota" and is the plush version

And lastly, trying to win this: Genuine Tom's steering wheel made my "Personal". Similar to what i have now but mine's the base version if you want to call it that

This post has been edited by dorifto: 07 January 2009 - 02:14 AM

[Otaku]

I like your style!
Hopefully mine will look as clean as yours once its complete

[xjustinx]

Nice steering wheel...

[LenjimanSX]

Keep up the good work!

[trdrolla]

Really clean dude love what youve done with the interior lighting i need to also do my heater bulb lol thanks for explaining the process, score!
hot car keep the updates coming

[Bowler]

Haha...no need for that dash then? hehe - so what are the grand plans then? Also, how are you sourcing all this TOMS gear - through auctions or direct?
Bout time you got yourself one of these though - saves the headf*** of a conversion...

[dorifto]

lol Bowler, yeh im good for now. Say.. would you have the SX cluster shroud with the Hazard lights? some of the screw mounts in the top is stuffed so i kinda need a new one

As for all the rare parts, i have a contact in Japan. I find the parts, he will suss it out and get back to me.

[dorifto]

Small update

Had my gearbox and associated parts fitted today.

Pic:



Components:

-JDM AE92 C52 gearbox w/ 44, xxx k's. Hard to believe but i bought it off Toby, ex mechanic for Meridian Motorsport who said that the import was in very good nick and showed very little wear for it's age and condition. Oh well, good score.

-Castrol VMX90 transmission fluid (x 3). Couldn't afford the Redline/Royal Purple gear so had to make do with this. So far so good.

-PBR heavy duty clutch kit. Scored it brand new from a forum member.

-Shifter bearings. Replaces old/worn bushings that near 2 decades and provides a more solid shift.

-Misc: While i was at it, i had the rear main seal and fuel filter replaced.

Car drives sweet now, there is virtually no noise from the gearbox. Anyway, thanks for looking and will keep the updates coming.

[xjustinx]

Glad you took the advice on the VMX fluids..

[sxtool]

dorifto, on Jan 2 2009, 11:51 PM, said:

small update

replaced the blown bulb in the heater control and put in a new head unit, with more red lights lol



Pics of short shifter install soon

So how do you now know when your RED LINING it?

Car looks good