JPDDEP

Got everything back together! Gotta say, I'm pretty happy with it. Here's hoping the clips and glue hold 😅

This weekend's project: replacing my 24yo dead rat-looking fake leather shift boot with...

This is a cheap Amazon replacement boot for a 1995 Corolla with manual trans. It's veeeeery close...I ended up trimming the full circumference of the base, and also cutting out 4 little slots for the retaining clips for the metal trim ring. Took a lot of scissors, screwdriver poking, and mild swearing, but I think it's in there. I might hit it with a little rubber cement or something just to make sure it doesn't pop out when driving, but overall I'm pretty satisfied.

Pics in the car coming soon!

New picture in the daylight! Man, I am totally in love with these wheels...and I also really need to get my lowering springs put on...I think I actually *gained* fender gap

2 hours ago, Sam44 said:

What wheels are these.

Looking good. 

Cheers, sir!

These are Gramlights 57 Maximum by Rays

They look to be basically the same as a 57DR, just with those extra little reinforcing ribs on the rim, which I think look super cool.

Holy sudden unexpected updates, Batman!

So I was browsing UpGarage randomly after work this afternoon, and lo and behold, stumbled upon these at one of the locations nearest my house:

Rays Gramlights 57Maximum 15x6.5+38 with 185/55R15 Dunlop SP Sport LM705s.

90 minutes later...

After 4 years I *finally* have some decent wheels on the car!! XD

Better pictures to follow when I have some half-decent lighting.

OMFG, an actually meaningful update????!! 😲

New parts days are always good days, and I finally have a proper exhaust on the car. Ended up going with a Kakimoto Racing kit when Super Autobacs had 10% off on their web store. Gotta be honest, I really don't love the 115mm tip, but the sound is exactly what I wanted. Sounds almost stock at idle, no drone between 2,000~3,000 for sitting on highways, but when you lay into it, sounds way tougher than a 1.3L has any right to. High recommended piece, although it did take about 2mo for me to actually receive after ordering.

Obligatory "pics or it didn't happen" attached below.

Also had a set of Project Mu Bestop pads put on while it was in the shop. Nothing terribly special there, but they were cheap, in stock, and I don't know when the last time the pads were done was, so...yeah.

Anyway, in life news, expecting our first kid here soon, so as per usual, car updates will happen...kinda god-only-knows-when. But I'm planning on probably sending the car back to the US sometime next year to sell for something a bit newer and safer and bigger for family...so I intend to live it up while I've still got it; because, man do I ever love this little rattle-trap.

On 9/27/2020 at 3:56 AM, burty said:

Lovely car like where your taking this give some feedback on the springs once fitted

 

Thank you!  Will be sure to do that; very curious myself to see what they look/feel like.  Currently looking for a workshop that will let me do my own wrenching.

FINALLY the culmination of several months of accumulating parts - my suspension setup is all here!  Also JFYI to anyone looking to buy, KYB has discontinued the front New SR Special dampers for the Starlet...ended up ordering a full set of KYB Excel-G's for a Tercelfrom Summit Racing in the US.

On 3/9/2020 at 8:11 PM, Farley V said:

Any more updates on this fine original Glanza in it's homeland?

Holy gosh, I have been gone for a long time!  Apologies, all!  Got a fresh set of 185/55R14 Falken Ziex 914E's to go with my renewed roadworthiness certificate back in March and had big plans for this year...and then certain global events occured, haha.

But!  Currently have parts on the way from the US and locally; got BIG things in the works soon.  Well...average things, but they feel big to me.  Here's a bit of a preview of 1 part:

As well as a couple of roadtrip photos from last summer I forgot I had taken XD

Stay tuned for excitement and (finally) some actual, meaningful upgrades!

New snaps!!  Went back to Hakone with the Mrs. and her sister yesterday to see the last of the cherry blossoms on the Toyo Tires Turnpike.  Perfect weather and a great drive, with the notable exception of the horrific expressway traffic back into the city. 

Cannot WAIT to get my bonus paid out in July so I can finally get a new exhaust fitted...any opinions on Fujitsubo Legalis R vs. HKS Silent Hi-Power regarding "sounds good, but won't drone you to death?"

On 3/7/2019 at 7:55 PM, Nanglebadger said:

uuhhh, just lush. Bopping around in a freaking Glanza in Japan. Absolutely lush.

Nice photos as always bud Hakone looks nice!

Phil.

Thank you!  Hakone is a really great place - nothing but twisties for dozens of k's in any direction 

On 3/7/2019 at 10:13 PM, Calum122 said:

Agreed, I need to get myself to the Japland for sure!

Highly recommended!  Never know what you might see!

By the way, just for fun, here's a bit of a sound clip of the new intake!  Apologies for potato quality.

In other news, pictures from my weekend in Hakone!  Great weather and great sounds from the BOV through the new intake that were making me giggle like a little girl on the highway the whole way home 

13 hours ago, rob_bower said:

Toms super ram 2 rare as rocking horse poo. Pinched the pick of google 

You had better luck than I did, hahaha.  Googling in Japanese got me as far as the name, and that's about it.  Well unfortunately, my attempt at an intake will be nowhere near that nice, but we'll see what pans out 

New intake is on!!  Please forgive the dirty engine bay...work's been busy and it's been rainy lately, so I haven't had the chance for a proper rubdown of things.

Very much looking forward to roadtripping tomorrow and seeing how she sounds.  Side note/question: should I do anything like disconnect then reconnect the battery to reset the ECU or anything?  Seemed to be running a little bit rich on startup, although that could also just be that I haven't driven in a while.

Next step is going to be trimming down the factory airbox snorkel so it doesn't rub, then reinstalling it to keep a cold air feed to that area.  In the future I'll be mocking up a heatshield template in cardboard, then properly putting it together with 2mm aluminum sheet.

On 2/20/2019 at 6:06 AM, Farley V said:

Cool Glanza, looks the spitting image of what mine was when I first got it 10 Years ago! Mine came over with RSR springs too.

Any chance you know the part number for the RSR springs you fitted? (May get another set).

Thanks

Thank you!  According to the box, they are T005D's.  They're just the basic RSR DownSus springs, though, not the fancy Ti2000 ones.

On 2/15/2019 at 8:17 AM, LeonL said:

Looking good, look forward to seeing more

Cheers!  On the way   The Mrs. and I are taking a weekend roadtrip up to Hakone this week, so I'll have fresh pics from the Turnpike and maybe a sound byte with my new Blitz intake.

On 2/16/2019 at 6:13 AM, Calum122 said:

Ayup! Is that a Daihatsu Cuore Avanzato TR XX in the background!

 

Car is looking fab!

Thank you, sir!  And it may well be...I honestly don't remember that specific car very well, but it does appear to be a Mira/Cuore of some description...

Today is a very good day 

As promised, new pictures!  The wife and I took a trip out to Gunma back in late December to visit some friends; sadly did not get a chance to make any Initial D-related pilgrimages this time around, but did get a pretty great shot of the car with Mt. Fuji in the background.  And then 3 shots from the Speedhunters' New Year's Gathering...mostly from when I got to Daikoku at 6:45 AM and was freezing my hands off.  Pork buns do wonders for your circulation early in the morning 

And thanks to some side work, I've got some cash in the bank and some parts on the way, so stay tuned for the proper modding to start!

11 hours ago, Calum122 said:

Stagea was my next guess.

Sweet looking motors never the less!

Anytime I go to Daikoku, I definitely feel how unmodified my EP still is hahaha  I'm hoping to having it looking a little less standard for the annual unofficial Starlet Owner's Meeting on 9/1.

10 hours ago, Nanglebadger said:

I spotted this on Speedhunters yesterday and messaged Joel to see if it was you lol!

If you're very eagle eyed in the early pics on that story, you'll see the drivers side and rear end actually pop up in 2 other pictures - the early pictures with the R34 Skylines!

It looked like a hell of a meet!!!!!!!

Phil.

Yeah!  I was super excited to see that one of my taillights slipped in behind that blue 34, then it turned out I ended up in a full shot and I was a little shocked.  It was probably the best single meeting at Daikoku that even I have ever been to.  Fortunately, the Speedhunters guys have much better cameras than the 10 year old DSLR I've quietly "borrowed" from my wife 

Sorry, everybody - here are reuploads of all the old photos I could track down my backups of.  Hopefully shouldn't have those issues again.

10 hours ago, SpoonalTap said:

I don't know if it's just me but I can't see any of your pics except the one pic from your last post. If they're broken links, any chance of fixing them?

I know, I noticed the same thing recently...I'm going to try to reupload them all with a new source.  Apologies on that.

3 hours ago, Calum122 said:

Looking mega.

 

Is that a Mercedes you're parked next to?

Thanks very much!  That is in fact a WGNC34 Nissan Stagea, I believe that one was actually an RS-Four - imagine an R33 Skyline GT-R gearbox and AWD bolted to an RB25DET.

Happy New Year everyone!  Sorry for the long absence, work suddenly exploded a bit...  But it's gonna be a good year for the car!  Got some money set aside and a Blitz intake and set of RSR lowering springs on the way.  And even better...I made it out to the Speedhunters New Years' Gathering at Daikoku PA on 1/3 and managed to sneak into the background of a shot!! XD

Anyway, I'll be putting up some pics of my own both from some December roadtrips as well as the Daikoku event, so stay tuned!  2019 is gonna be fun!

23 hours ago, Nanglebadger said:

oooofffffft, I spotted Umihotaru from the plane when leaving, would have loved to get to Daikoku and/or Umihotaru but sadly wasnt to be.

And i was there in September in 2017, so that makes me feel no better at all!!! lol

Thanks for the pics bud, its nice to see pics from areas we're familiar with from the JDM blogs but from an EP-owner's camera perspective!

And I wouldnt worry about the paint chip, we all have them!! lol!

Keep the updates (and pics) coming!

Phil.

Ahhhh, too bad.  Next time drop me a line! XD

Glad to be of service.  Gonna try to keep putting pics up everytime I take the EP out somewhere.  To be honest, I like that the paint on mine shines up ok, but is not actually that good up close haha.  Keep me from worrying about chips and actually driving it.  Just trying to keep the car as 98% rust free as it is right now.

17 hours ago, rob_bower said:

Looks stunning.

Thanks very much!  Hoping to slowly start moving it towards more of an "OEM+" style...whenever I start making a bit more $$$ 

13 hours ago, Nanglebadger said:

New steering wheel and speakers look good bud!

Also, please share some JDM beach pics!

Words fail to describe my level of disappointment at not knowing there was a like-minded EP fan living in Tokyo when I visited last year for a few days

Phil.

Ask and ye shall receive!

Pulled up at Umihotaru PA on the way out of Tokyo.  One of my favorite places; big parking area on an artificial island in the middle of Tokyo Bay where the highway tunnel that goes under the bay comes out of the water.  Great views.

And the EP at the beach!  Unfortunately you also get a really nice shot at the big chip in the paint just above the grill...gotta get a touch-up pen for that...

Thanks for the kind words, by the way!  As for last year, if it makes you feel any less bad, I only had the car since the end of July '17, so maybe the timing would have made it not matter anyway :p

Completed my first actual "required wrenching" mod to the car yesterday!!  And...it's...ICE?  What has become of me hahaha   Anyway, 3,700 yen OEM-replacement Kenwoods from Amazon.  Piece of cake once I figured out which wires were pos/neg.  I was hoping for a bit more dramatic improvement in sound quality, but hey, at least shotgun gets a working speaker now.  Roadtripping to the beach on Friday, expect new pics!