INEEDNAWZZZ

Drove behind a lowered green N/A, with a big exhaust and with UKSO stickers just outside Birchwood today on the bypass. Driver waved but I wasn't sure if you'd confused me with someone else since I didn't have any stickers or anything on mine!

After my 5-door was written off, I decided to focus ahead and buy a cheap run around so I could save up for a good GT or Glanza in the future. What I ended up with was this:



A 1991 K10 Micra. Cost me £200 and looked very tidy both inside and out. Its MOT was due the next month which was when I found out it wasn't as tidy as I thought it was. Long story short, the work that was needed would've been more than the car itself, so I cut my losses and got it scrapped.

To be fair, it was an impulse buy as I needed a car quick. This time, I thought out some more sensible, modern, reliable choices. 1.0 litre Yaris, an 800cc Daihatsu, even an Aygo on finance. My choice?



Yep. By far and away the tidiest red 91 I've seen and it was only a few miles up the road. 1998, 66k on the clock, all original (apart from some stickers) and immaculate inside and out. The best parts are that it was enthusiast owned, it has all the past receipts, recently been fully serviced and has had the bonnet, front bumper and panels resprayed. The scuff on the bumper was done a few days before I purchased it. Not too fussed about it, I may get it redone if I have some spare cash and time.

I'll let a few more pics do some of the talking.











So much nicer than my 5-door, both visually and to drive. I've already gone ahead and put my old head unit, strut brace and oil cap back in that I scavenged from my 5-door. Wheels and the parcel shelf speakers will be put back in as well, once I figure out how to wire it. Since its so clean, I don't want to go overboard with mods really, especially since I'm saving for a GT/Glanza (again). Plans are:

• Take off the stickers
• Wheels back on
• Remove the bump strips
• Clear indicators and repeaters
• Import sized plates
• Paseo dials
• Lowered springs
• TTE front lip

• TTE rear spoiler
• Glanza skirts and rear bumper
• New back box

Not sure where else to go with it. Part of me just wants to go all out with it and focus on the smaller, hard to get details (headlight covers, original mats, etc.) but those go for big money, especially considering what they are. I've got it booked in for an MOT early next month so I'm hoping there's no nasty surprises (although I really do doubt it) and then we can see where it goes after. Comments/suggestions welcome!

Shame. Easily one of the nicest K10s out there and would've been great to see finished.

Loving this build mate, recently bought a K10 Micra to replace my written off Starlet. Really wish there was a Super S like yours for sale at the time though!

Good to see one going back to OEM spec. Modified ones are great but its still cool to see a stock one that's been well looked after!

Small update; car is officially written off. I get the choice of it getting it crushed or having it dropped back at mine and dealt with privately. Might go for the second option so I can rob a few little bits of it to keep for future use (blanking plate, battery, etc.). From here on out, I am now saving up for a tidy GT or Glanza and the insurance to go with it. To do that, I need a cheap car, and what I bought as a replacement is this:



I may make a thread for it in the Other Motors section, even though I probably won't be doing much to it. Rest assured, the Starlet bug hasn't gone and I will be back in one at some point, only it'll be making choo choo noises. And it'll be a three door.

Thanks to everyone who suggested stuff for my car, even though I'm probably one of the worst users on here since I did fuck all with it haha. I'll still lurk around and comment occasionally, which is what I did anyway.

6 months without an update, jeez.

And sadly, this isn't a very good one. Got punted up the rear by a Vauxhall Mokka. He got off with two small dents and some paint scuffs. My Starlet meanwhile...









I'd say its a complete write-off; a lot of that damage goes the entire way up the rear panel and up to the where the roof starts. Even if it was salvageable, the cost of it simply wouldn't be worth it. Tire was scrubbing like crazy when I limped it home, and that was after I ripped out the inner guard and tore apart half of the bumper, otherwise it wouldn't even move. I've already taken out my headunit, strut brace, clear corners, oil cap etc. out so pretty much anything of any value has been saved I guess. Managed to get my parcel shelf free as well, since shelves with factory speakers are quite hard to come by IIRC. Insurers are gonna send out their team to assess how much I'd get for it soon.

Want to get another Starlet, preferably an SR but they're getting rarer. I could probably get a ropey GT or a Glanza on my budget but I sure as hell don't have the money to keep it going if when it goes wrong, or insurance for that matter. Other choices at the moment are a Yaris T Sport (ideal choice right now), an Ignis Sport (if I can get insured on it) and a Daihatsu YRV Turbo (if I can find one and get it insured).

Any other suggestions for a decent, sporty small Jap car are welcome. Cheers for reading!

Black, K reg Mk. 1 GT with a glow panel, leaving the industrial estate in Horncastle early this morning. Anyone from on here?

Few new bits to update!

The old headunit that was in the car has been a bit temperamental lately; cutting out going over speed bumps, skipping CDs, never picking up radio signals and so on. Plus, my little iPod radio adapter has been giving up the ghost too, so I decided to invest in a good quality headunit. It's a Pioneer DEH-X3600Ui. Pretty basic in terms of features, but it allows for iPod connectivity, has a USB input, and interchangeable colours, which is all I really wanted. Never done a headunit install, but luckily with it being a Jap-made system in a Japanese car, the wiring was more or less just plug and play!

Plus, my (fake) optional TRD oil cap is here from Hong Kong! Quite surprised at the quality, especially for a fiver; even the box looks legit.

And here it is fitted. Yes, the engine bay needs a solid clean, but that's for another day.

More updates hopefully soon!

Not to worry mate. I've been in the same boat since December, just doing crappy little jobs/selling stuff to make whatever money I can! Everything done to my Starlet so far has been only £70, not including stuff I've been given, found, or necessary to keep it going (petrol, tax, etc.), so you can still have fun with the car even with no money!

I didn't to now the Yaris was the spiritual successor to the starlet...... Toyota just need to release one with a turbo charger or a 2zz engine and I'll have one

They did do the Vitz RS Turbo: https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3532/3924138335_1ae6374910.jpg

It's basically just a Yaris T-Sport but with a tiny turbo strapped on it. Made nearly 150 BHP from the factory! There's a few knocking around in the UK, but they were on a limited production run (unlike GTs or Glanzas), so there's very few around and they're quite pricey for what they are.

Looks great! Really wish I'd waited for a decent SR now!

I personally liked how they knew how popular GTs/Glanzas are, but couldn't really go in-depth since manufacturers aren't really supportive of grey imports that much.

Like Phil said, its cool its based on UK delivered models, especially since its hard to get detailed info on them. Also, that press picture of the SR is awesome, wouldn't mind that on a poster!

Vanity tray (if I'm thinking of the same item) sits up on the dash. I'm guessing you mean the one with the little mirror and the extra cupholders right?

Cool to see something different from the usual Glanza reps! Is this an Aussie-spec Starlet or an import? Just wondering since it has Carat taillights, and a blanking plate instead of a clock from the Jap-spec base model Reflet. Good to see another Mighty Car Mods fan too!

Keep us updated on how the swap goes bud!

Auto Glym Tar Remover would be my first suggestion, especially since its fairly fresh glue, it should come off pretty easily. Plus it has the advantage of being useful for any other glue on your car (like the glue from the bump strips). I'd try washing it off with hot, soapy water first though, just to see if it makes a difference.

Just about any splitter would fit mate, provided you don't cock up the measurements when cutting it like I did! Mine was off of a Megane, and I used a heat gun to make it flex a bit easier so that it'd mould to the bumper correctly, but it might not always be necessary. Mine was about £20 from eBay, so they aren't all that expensive, but some of the more high-end ones (Seat Cupra splitters for example) cost a fair bit more.

TTE did do splitters for N/A models, but real ones are rare as. I think ID Workz does a replica though.

Update time, and its a fairly big one for a change!

After 8 solid months, I've finally got around to fixing the splitter.

As you can no doubt tell, it really isn't that great, but it does look way better in person than in the photo; the seam between the gap is nowhere near as noticeable for a start.

But the big thing I'm excited about is these...

...new wheels! Kosei Prauzers. No idea on the exact model of wheel, but I'm pretty pleased either way! Centre caps need a solid clean (one needs a good amount of superglue), but they're amazingly tidy for their age.

The more savvy people will have noticed that they are still 13" - the same as the standard steelies. They are also the exact same width and offset as the standard wheels. I know that seems arse backwards to get new wheels that have no difference in dimensions, but I have a few reasons for my purchase:

1. Black box. Putting bigger wheels on a car gears the whole thing up and the speedometer could be out by a fair bit - something which usually happens on cars that come with small wheel. Having a black box that reads off my actual road speed instead of the speedo means I could be putting my premiums up without me even realising, so having the exact same tyre dimensions stops that from happening.

2. Price. These were £50 with £30 delivery, whereas brand new tyres would cost £90 alone and that's not including labour.

3. Tyres. Other than being a bit dusty, these are virtually brand new, which was my main priority. One still has the remains of the label!

4. JDM. Yeah, shoot me for saying that, but after a bit of research, these are like the Halfords Ripspeed budget wheels of Japan, and that seems to fit my car's cheap and subtle theme perfectly. Usually fitted to stuff like Toyota Estimas and Kei cars, these ones came from a Nissan Figaro. And they suit the car way better than those curbed, over-sized Wolfraces I had months back.

Another bonus is that my insurance is happy with it - £30 extra on my premium, but since I get monthly discounts anyway (because I'm such a pro driver ), it basically pays for itself. I was honestly expecting them to just go 'lol no' and put the phone down. Instead, I explained my situation, reasons, went through the tyre sizes etc. before they said they'd still cover me. I think actually phoning to declare a modification got me in their good graces, since most lads my age don't even bother.

Also got a few other tidbits. Got an original KP61 Starlet brochure from 1980, which makes for quite a good read, and I got a hammer/seat belt cutter similar to a Rescueman from Gainzy for cheap; he even threw in a cool TRD patch, cheers pal!

Also ordered a replica (read: fake) TRD oil cap from Hong Kong, which I'm still waiting for. I'll post pics when it arrives!

Bought a Rescueman style hammer off of him, got here very quickly and was well packaged well. Definitely would use again!

PM'd

Loving this build! Props for finding so much Tom's stuff; it isn't common and I can't imagine it'd be cheap either!

Thought I'd try and help. As sad as it seems, I tried translating a few English words into Japanese to see if their letters matched - and that had mixed results (Google doesn't take in tense, word order, grammar, etc., so some didn't work out that well). Here's the run-down anyway!

The fogs - only word that translated properly was 'foglight' sadly. However, just by looking at them, I'd say they have yellow bulbs and a slight tint to them, similar to the Snow Edition headlights. Don't know that for sure though.

Didn't need to translate anything for the spoiler, since it says LED in the brochure. Yeah, looks just to be a regular spoiler with a 3rd brake light.

Parking sensors are correct.

I don't think the last one is tinted glass. If you look at the decal picture and the picture underneath, they both have the same word, but what's in the brackets is what's different. This makes me think they're both for the big Starlet decal; the top picture is for the door, and the other one is for the rear quarter panels.

Wouldn't imagine it helps that much, but hopefully a proper expert (or someone who speaks Japanese) will clarify!

Sounds good man! My current callipers are gold, but gonna spay red as I think it looks better!

look forward to updates!

Cheers dude! Was thinking the usual red, but decided for gold like they have on STI Brembos to be a bit different! Can't go wrong with red calipers though, everyone knows they make your car faster!

trying to do exams and mod a car is stressful as shite! I remember doing my A levels and tryna take my old yaris out to shows was giving me feckin aneurysms, spending like one hour a night polishing, then the rest revising haha.

keep at it though! only seen one 5 door starlet ever in real life haha, never mind a modded one! Must admit a five door would be so handy for picking up drunk friends who seem to struggle with the pretty basic mechanism for popping the front passenger seat forward.

the first time I painted something with spray cans, it had to be rubbed down and redone because it was so bad... so well done!

if you're looking a set of yaris t-sport wheels you should check out Yaris Club UK. A lot of overpricing and poor form from the members but if you get one of the decent guys selling you'll get them cheaper there than anywhere else, I'd say!

Keep the updates coming, this looks like it could turn out a lil different than most which is never a bad thing!

Yeah, its tough to prioritise as stupid as that sounds. The way I looked at it was that good exam results mean a better job, which means more money for mods! Glad they're all over now though, love having all this free time!

To be honest, I kind of lost interest in the first few months of having it, since I didn't think I could make a 5-door look good or turn it into a decent Glanza rep (original plan). After taking all the stickers off and the Wolfraces, I realised I had a blank canvas then and decided to just keep it subtle, clean and make it sort of tough looking!

As a 5-door, it's actually pretty crap; I can't think of anybody who could get their legs in behind the seats, even when they're all the way forward. My guess is the 5-door was only really meant for small families (with a child seat, etc.), not really for putting fully sized people in there. Ah well, didn't buy it for practicality anyway!

Undecided on the T-Sport alloys. On the one hand, I think they'd be pretty good and quite different. On the other, I do like the look of standard Glanza or GT wheels. One thing is for sure though; either of those options is better than mismatched wheel trims!

Also, sorry for the late replies! Computer decided to shit itself, so have been out of reach for a while. Currently sorting out an apprenticeship, which (if I get it) means a steady income which means more stuff!

Yeah man, engine is in need of some love for sure! Wanna concentrate on the exterior mostly, but I do have a few plans for it.

Whenever I get new wheels, I'm gonna get some gold paint for the calipers (STI Brembo style), and I'm also gonna use that for the rocker cover as well. Don't know when that'll be, but I'd prefer to do all of that in one go!

Right, finally got around to spraying my strut brace back to black. Not the best job, but it's not too bad considering it's my first ever try painting with spray cans! Only one run in it, and its on the bottom, so it isn't even visible. Also, the flash was on, so it makes the middle look like its unpainted when it actually is. Looks way stealthier and standard - which is the point.