I have finally managed to get all the parts for the Auto to manual conversion!
I met a guy through rolla club who had a whole bunch of Ke corolla parts and I ended up leaving his place with:
two nice chrome bumpers (front included indicator lights)
tailshaft
Ke30 Grille in perfect condition
Box of rubbers (including brand new windscreen rubber!)
4 to1 red extractors
So it was a good day! ready to do the manual conversion! hope to do it next week sometime...
Going to go to auto one and grab a few seals today (rear gearbox, and diff) just so I know everything is new and hopefully won't leak!
Oh and I know last time I said I'd post pics of the marquee.. but I'm going to have to post pics of the marquee being pretty much destroyed by epic wind... I think it will still be usable, nothing gaff tape can't fix ;)
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
The restoration begins!
Okay, I know I said the previous post was my last for today, but this one really is ;)
I just wanted to throw up some pics of the first few steps in stripping the body ready for painting.
Took the rear, bar, lights trim and rubber off.
So I decided I needed a better solution and also something I could spray paint in without getting overspray on the neighbours boat :-/
So I bought this..
Yep, a 'wedding' tent/gazebo/marquee.. whatever you want to call it, it is well big enough to fit the car and has a roof and four walls. It was also dirt cheap! :)
I put it up the other day and will post pics soon!
New Battery Holder
I also put a new battery holder in the old one was pretty rough, as you can see below.
This is the new one, slightly nicer!
I had to make some minor adjustments/fabricating to make it fit, but it's now in and the battery is stable again.
I just wanted to throw up some pics of the first few steps in stripping the body ready for painting.
Took the rear, bar, lights trim and rubber off.
This is how I've had to cover the car to protect from weather.
So I decided I needed a better solution and also something I could spray paint in without getting overspray on the neighbours boat :-/
So I bought this..
Yep, a 'wedding' tent/gazebo/marquee.. whatever you want to call it, it is well big enough to fit the car and has a roof and four walls. It was also dirt cheap! :)
I put it up the other day and will post pics soon!
New Battery Holder
I also put a new battery holder in the old one was pretty rough, as you can see below.
This is the new one, slightly nicer!
I had to make some minor adjustments/fabricating to make it fit, but it's now in and the battery is stable again.
Auto to Manual
Okay, done a bit of blogging today (bored at home...) but I'll make this my last..
I have decided to convert my rolla from 3 speed automatic to 5 speed manual. This will be much nicer for my commute on the freeway.
So I have had to search for parts to do this. This is where I'm at..
So far I have:
5 speed k50 gearbox
manual pedal box
New clutch kit
Clutch cable
Still to get:
flywheel (have paid for it but it's in the mail apparently..)
tail shaft
Will also have to modify the crossmember for mounting the gearbox, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it..
I'll post some pics of the stuff I've got so far soon..
4k..no wait, 5k?!?!
I gave the engine a basic clean as it was pretty grubby.
And lo and behold! On closer inspection, as I washed away the grime, I discovered that this rolla actually has a 1.5 litre 5k engine not the standard 1.3 litre 4k!!
Woot! I'm pretty sure the guy I bought it off didn't even realise this!
The mind boggles at the potential for getting more power from this engine now...
Paint
I was thinking, since I have to respray the new panels I have, why not respray the whole car! I mean there really isn't much more of it once those panels are done (boot, bonnet, tail and roof!)
So I went to Auto One and got some new paint!
Monza Red! Should be a brighter red than the Toyota red that it currently is.
So I went to Auto One and got some new paint!
Monza Red! Should be a brighter red than the Toyota red that it currently is.
New Panels!
I decided that before trying to fix the rust in the front two fenders and both doors I'd have a look around and see if, on the odd chance (as they are quite rare), there were any straight, rust free doors/fenders around.
I found a guy who was trying to sell a rolling shell of the same model rolla and managed to convince him to let me have just the parts I needed!
I found a guy who was trying to sell a rolling shell of the same model rolla and managed to convince him to let me have just the parts I needed!
Straight and rust free
Just need to be rubbed back for new paint
Doors are ready to spray
These door cards came with the doors but I'll replace them with the ones from the car.
Before Shots
Here are the 'before' shots of the rolla after a clean, I've taken shots of some of the rust..
Dented/twisted rear bar...
RH Door
Front right fender
Missing badge
Front left fender
Catching up - the rest of the journey
Okay, so I'm not great at regular blogging... (thanks dad for the "blog's a bit quiet.." comment).
So I'm going to try and cut a long story short and bring this blog up to date...
Following on from the previous post...
Day 2 of the journey I was feeling optimistic about making it home in the rolla. We had to get a jump to start the day but once we were on the road the car was performing similarly to the previous day (rough, but pushing on..) the first half of the day was great, we stopped for lunch and the car started again no trouble! So the alternator seemed to be working!
About three quarters of the way into the days journey we were pulled over by a policeman who had been called by a 'concerned driver' informing him that we had no plates... there was no issue as we had a permit, so he went on his way.. However, we had had to turn the car off when talking to the policeman and unfortunately it would not start again! (I had thought about asking the policeman for a jump but he wasn't in a great mood ;)
We were in the middle of nowhere so I flagged down a passing car, I asked the driver if he could help us out with a quick jump start... which he flatly refused! (this was the only time in the trip where we had someone object to helping us out.. pretty disappointing..) So I had to call the roadside assist again..
The roadside assist guy was really helpful again but told us that the alternator really was busted this time and even the bush mechanic's whack didn't help. So he charged our battery as much as he could and offerred to drive behind us till we got to the next town!
We seemed to be ok as we drove to the next town (thankfully the rolla has very few running electrics!), but I knew it would only be a matter of time before we came to a grinding halt..
We pushed on to our destination for day two, we limped the last 5kms or so, and ended up bunny hopping the last 500m to the hotel as the battery fully died.. as we got to the hotel the car gave one last shudder and stopped.. At this point I knew there was not much hope of getting any further in this trip without a new alternator..
So after many phone calls to my dad and younger bro discussing options for getting home, in an act of incredible generosity, my bro and his wife said they'd come in the morning with a car trailer and get us home! (we were 6hrs away from where they live!! and at least 5hrs from home!)
The next day they arrived around midday and we set about trying to get the car onto the trailer and tied down.. we'd never done this before and it was a bigger effort than we had anticipated and took several hours.. here's some photos and a link to a vid of the saga!
Total amateur hour! :)
I'm a bit of a blogger noob so couldn't quite figure out video embedding but there's a link below to see the Vid.
So I'm going to try and cut a long story short and bring this blog up to date...
Following on from the previous post...
Day 2 of the journey I was feeling optimistic about making it home in the rolla. We had to get a jump to start the day but once we were on the road the car was performing similarly to the previous day (rough, but pushing on..) the first half of the day was great, we stopped for lunch and the car started again no trouble! So the alternator seemed to be working!
About three quarters of the way into the days journey we were pulled over by a policeman who had been called by a 'concerned driver' informing him that we had no plates... there was no issue as we had a permit, so he went on his way.. However, we had had to turn the car off when talking to the policeman and unfortunately it would not start again! (I had thought about asking the policeman for a jump but he wasn't in a great mood ;)
We were in the middle of nowhere so I flagged down a passing car, I asked the driver if he could help us out with a quick jump start... which he flatly refused! (this was the only time in the trip where we had someone object to helping us out.. pretty disappointing..) So I had to call the roadside assist again..
The roadside assist guy was really helpful again but told us that the alternator really was busted this time and even the bush mechanic's whack didn't help. So he charged our battery as much as he could and offerred to drive behind us till we got to the next town!
We seemed to be ok as we drove to the next town (thankfully the rolla has very few running electrics!), but I knew it would only be a matter of time before we came to a grinding halt..
We pushed on to our destination for day two, we limped the last 5kms or so, and ended up bunny hopping the last 500m to the hotel as the battery fully died.. as we got to the hotel the car gave one last shudder and stopped.. At this point I knew there was not much hope of getting any further in this trip without a new alternator..
So after many phone calls to my dad and younger bro discussing options for getting home, in an act of incredible generosity, my bro and his wife said they'd come in the morning with a car trailer and get us home! (we were 6hrs away from where they live!! and at least 5hrs from home!)
The next day they arrived around midday and we set about trying to get the car onto the trailer and tied down.. we'd never done this before and it was a bigger effort than we had anticipated and took several hours.. here's some photos and a link to a vid of the saga!
Total amateur hour! :)
I'm a bit of a blogger noob so couldn't quite figure out video embedding but there's a link below to see the Vid.
Friday, 29 July 2011
On the road!
So after our first petrol stop and jump start (from my wife's grandmother :) we set off coughing a spluttering up the road with only 850 odd kilometers to go!
On the open road! ....
... 15mins later however....
We had come to a grinding halt at a set of traffic lights.. and after a little look under the bonnet I thought I'd cash in on the Roadside assist arrangement and get someone to come have a look/ get us started again!
The RACV guy said that the alternator was, in fact, actually not working and the battery was not charging as we drove. He said the brushes were probably stuck or wrecked so he gave it the bush mechanics whack with a hammer and it whirred back to life! He then said "How far have you got to go?" to which I again replied "Oh, a bit of a way.."
We had planned to go about 350kms in the first leg and so far had gone about 20... but with the alternator working (just) we were on the road again!
The car actually ran relatively well for the rest of the first leg; absolutely gutless, and if there was even a hint of an upwards incline it decided (against my urging) that it was safer to roll back 20-30km/hr, but overall relatively smoothly. It even started again when we stopped at Maccas without needing a jump!
We made it to the town where we were spending the evening but had come in just after dark (had to use lights :( ) and we weren't quite sure of the address. The car stalled as I pulled over for directions and wouldn't start again.. So after spending about 20mins trying to find someone to jump start us, a really nice bloke and his two young sons helped us out and we were able to make our way to our accommodation.
Day 1 = Complete!
On the open road! ....
... 15mins later however....
We had come to a grinding halt at a set of traffic lights.. and after a little look under the bonnet I thought I'd cash in on the Roadside assist arrangement and get someone to come have a look/ get us started again!
The RACV guy said that the alternator was, in fact, actually not working and the battery was not charging as we drove. He said the brushes were probably stuck or wrecked so he gave it the bush mechanics whack with a hammer and it whirred back to life! He then said "How far have you got to go?" to which I again replied "Oh, a bit of a way.."
We had planned to go about 350kms in the first leg and so far had gone about 20... but with the alternator working (just) we were on the road again!
The car actually ran relatively well for the rest of the first leg; absolutely gutless, and if there was even a hint of an upwards incline it decided (against my urging) that it was safer to roll back 20-30km/hr, but overall relatively smoothly. It even started again when we stopped at Maccas without needing a jump!
We made it to the town where we were spending the evening but had come in just after dark (had to use lights :( ) and we weren't quite sure of the address. The car stalled as I pulled over for directions and wouldn't start again.. So after spending about 20mins trying to find someone to jump start us, a really nice bloke and his two young sons helped us out and we were able to make our way to our accommodation.
Day 1 = Complete!
Thursday, 28 July 2011
The beginning!
So this whole saga started when I felt that nagging feeling that I would love to own a corolla again...
Yep that's a gas fill plug just down from the petrol one :)
I learnt to drive in my parents 4 door Ke55 CS and have loved them ever since.
I have now owned 5 Ke55's of my own. The first, a baby blue 4 door SE, next a white 4 door SE (that I converted from auto to manual), followed by a storm blue pillarless 2 door coupe SE, then a centre red pillarless 2 door coupe CS and finally my current 'Toyota red' pillarless 2 door coupe CS.
When in my care I have always done little things to smarten up my corollas, but have never had the budget to really do what I'd like to in restoring them. So this time, while still having a relatively limited budget, I am endeavoring to do justice to this car in bringing it up to scratch.
Anyway, I did the unthinkable when purchasing this car and bought it through eBay, from interstate, without having had a look at it.... Luckily, I didn't pay a whole lot for it.. below are the photos I based my decision to buy on..
(very nice interior!!)
To make things more interesting, knowing the car was unregistered and had a few potential issues, I decided it might be fun to try and drive it back from interstate over a long weekend (usually about a 9hr journey). So I bought one way tickets for my wife and I (yes, that's right, my wife willingly signed up for this fools errand!), and the epic journey began.
When I picked up the car I was informed that the battery had run flat but was assured that the alternator was working.. It was started and it was pretty rough.. no smoke or any serious noises, but still pretty rough... and not for the last time in this journey I was asked "Are you going far?" to which I aloofly replied "Oh, a bit of a way.."
The first couple of photo's below show the first stop, about 200 meters from where we picked it up at a petrol station. Note the bonnet raised for the first of many jump starts!
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