Polished Super Red II

The Starlet was seriously turning pink and even white in places so I thought it was about time I gave it a polish to restore it back to the factory Super Red II paint it supposedly had before.

I think it came out pretty well, here is a moody shot I took on my driveway.

Sakura Starlet

I came across these lovely blossoms by accident today and I happened to have my micro four thirds camera with me and a tripod which was handy as it would've been rude not to snap a few shots in Spring with some beautiful sakura happening.

Lens Testing

I just got a new lens for my camera so I was out testing it and I kind of liked this shot I got.

Double Trouble

I miss having the Civic on the road, hopefully by Summer time I'll have both cars looking good and on the road.

New Photo Location

I came across this pretty smart looking location in Halifax, once the car is complete and tidied up I'll go back and spend some more time here.

Lowering, Service and MOT

It was turning out to be a potentially expensive month for me and the Starlet. I hadn't really planned on modifying this car but after the accident and converting the rear to a Glanza one it has spurred me on the complete the rest of the conversion. Since I installed the Sparco Racing NS-II wheels it looks seriously jacked up like a 4x4, so my first port of call was a set of Pi Lowering Springs -40mm drop, these springs have always given a generous drop from what I see on the forum so I decided to try them out, they really do look good and for only £110 you can't go wrong.

Another reason for installing the springs was that 2 of my shock absorbers were leaking badly and were totally dead, I bought a full set of KYB shock absorbers all round the car to help with the new springs and the lower ride height. Whilst I was carrying out this work I also gave the car a full service and replaced the cambelt as I had no idea when it was last done.

Overall the car looks really good now from the rear end at least, I've sourced some Glanza headlights fairly cheaply and I just need to source a bonnet and scoop then it'll be nearly complete.

Colour Coding

The weather was lovely today and all weekend in fact, so to make the most of the nice weather I decide to get on with a bit of painting on the Starlet. I started with the door handles and then got round the painting the mirrors too. The car looks a bit more modern and cleaner now thanks to this, the paint job came out pretty good to say I did it in my garage with a couple of spray cans. Here are a few pics to show.

The Mirrors




The Door Handles

Reflet Rear Lenses & Induction Kit

I got round to installing the Reflet rear lenses I ordered from Toyota a while back. The last time I installed lenses from another Starlet they didn't stay on properly, so I was determined to get it right this time. After a few modifications to the old lens holder I managed to get 4 out of 5 screws to fix in correctly, although only 2 line up correctly. This made a huge difference and made the seal complete all the way round the lens now so there shouldn't be any problems.

I also purchased some more Enigma indicator bulbs for the same Blue effect I have on the front indicators, I'll take some detailed shots of this soon.





Here is the inducation kit I created from leftover free parts stuck in my cupboards. Turned out ok I think, doubt it makes a difference to the performance, but it sounds kinda funky which is fun.



And my small tribute to www.ukstarletclub.com

Glanza Sideskirts & GLS Dials

I got round to fitting the Glanza sideskirts I bought when I purchased the bootlid and rear bumper, I personally think they look sweet fitted, only problem I have now is that the front end does not follow the lines of the Glanza bodykit.



GLS Dial Cluster


I'm looking forward to having a rev counter again, it's so annoying having to listen to the engine when to change gear and guess. I think I may need to do some re-wiring on the dials but I have the diagrams from the Toyota workshop manual so it won't be too much of a problem.

Getting there now

Got round to doing a few more things on the Starlet. First of all I cleaned up the Glanza number plate surround as it had sikka flex all over it from where the person before had installed the number plate, no idea why. Whilst I was tidying up the rear I decided to remove the side strips too as this has a big impact on how the car looks overall. Much cleaner looking now, so with this in mind I installed some clear front indicator lenses and funky coloured bulbs, and clear side repeaters to match. All looking pretty fresh now.

Before




If you are removing any kind of stuck on items you definitely want to use one of these Caramel Wheels for sure, what a piece of piss it is with this.


After


Can get a bit messy though!

LED Side Lights

Ok, first thing's first, I like to get the nice cosmetic stuff which is relatively low cost sorted first when I get any new car. Here are the before and after shots of the LED side lights I just installed. Xenon White is the colour and they match nicely with a 4300k HID kit.

Before

After

Well, here it is...

I've just bought my third Starlet now, I've owned an almost identical Starlet EP91 to this one now and I've also owned an EP82 GT Turbo which was an absolute beast. I have a few plans for this little one already, as always with my blogs I will show the process and progress of the modifications that I do. This car is only a cheap run around for me though so I won't be turning it into a crazy track car or anything, if I do feel the urge I may be tempted to put the 4E-FTE block in there and create some kind of granny sleeper.

Anyway, enough of the chit chat, here it is...





So there you go, a tidy looking motor I think. Here's my plans for it in the near future;

Colour Code Wing Mirrors

Remove second bar from front grille section

Install 50watt HID kit for headlights

Install LED rear number plate lights

Lower by 40mm on Pi Springs

Paint calipers and drums in Silver

Change cambelt and oil

Install Laguna front splitter

Purchase clear indicator lenses

Purchase Glanza V rear light covers

I'll think of more later but that's the plans so far.