rust is not my friend

Here at the tofu shop alot of time is spent making sure the cars i own are nice, when i purchased the blue bird i was aware of a bit of rust in the boot starting to come through, at first glance nothing to major, then i started chipping away and discovered that it was a bit worse than first thought. after failing a w.o.f for said rust, i decided it was the time to fix it before it rusted beyond repair. 

The rust itself situated around the boot seal, has progressively gotten worse over time. needing to be addressed i removed the boot seal and lights all interior carpet from the boot and anything that could catch on fire when it gets repaired.here is the extent of the damage..

a bit of plating is needed to repair so its not the smallest job in the world but to a skilled fabricator is fairly simple work. i, unfortunately cant weld, so on monday, the job is being handed over to MB Minitrucks. Mark Bouzaid does alot of custom work including all air suspension needs and even Turn key Hotrods. Skilled and very competitively priced, he may be the man you need to do your custom work. i will photograph all his work before i get to painting it to show you all the quality of his work.

Stay tuned

Jim

Go Fast Bits

With the Corolla being stripped and ready for the motor and box to come out, I thought i had best tell you all what is going to happen once that happens and what i have to go back in the car.
Firstly, When the motor is out, The engine bay is due for a quick spruce up including a spot of welding to cover up a few holes in the fire wall ( Toyota intended, Not rust ) that aren't needed. Or a nice new rubber bung put in. then prepped and painted, Most likely in black.
Once that is completed and a clutch is purchased, this bad boy will be slotted in place of the 4AGZE that currently resides in engine bay.

This motor, As previously mentioned, is a Small port 4AGE. The block, a 7 Rib 4AGZE with bottom end to suit. The top end Consists of Small Port pistons and head with a TRD metal head gasket sandwiched between them keeping the compression nice and high. The AE85/86 Often come fuel injected, but mine unfortunately, or fortunately came with a 3a Carb motor from factory, Unfortunately, because it would have been a fairly average car back in the day. Fortunately because it means it may have had a less brutal 30 odd year life span. The previous owner obviously intended for the car to be fuel injected so fitted the better AE86 fuel lines which works well for me as my fuel system isnt intended to be the most economic. Even though i will be slotting another 4AGE between the struts, i will be slapping carbs on the side of it, Something Toyota/Yamaha never intended, However there are power gains to be had when working with only a lightly modified motor. The carbs in Question are these...

Two, Twin side draught Dellortos. Measuring 40mm in size they arent the biggest but they are certainly bigger than the carb on your standard nana spec Corolla. These in particular, were a standard feature on a 70's Alfa Romeo sports car with a capacity of 1800cc so they are jetted to suit, meaning they will suit my 1600cc 4AGE just fine. Obviously, Being an efi motor from factory they will have to be fitted with custom manifold, which fortunately for me, Wasn't to expensive in the grand scheme of custom manifolds. These will give me a sound hard to beat, giving the motor a point of difference and some old school flare which is all me.

The item pictured above will sit in front of the motor aiding the cooling of said motor a weeee bit better than the standard plastic tanked OEM item. Although it wont make it go any faster its a cheapish item that is more piece of mind than anything. Other than it looks mad cool.

On the inside keeping me strapped in are the items above. A set of Racetech RT1000 seats and Silvester Harnesses, Paired with the roll caged that will be welded in place should make the Corolla a much stiffer and easier car to drive, Not to mention Safer.  None of these items are cheap, Especially the roll cage. But as this car is being built for me to learn to drive well in on a track, i am bound to make mistakes so Skimping on safety is something im not willing to do.

The Gearbox Pictured above is an AE86 T50 22 Spline as opposed to the 20 spline item currently in the car. The box is a bit stronger all round which is crucial when slamming gears. So when i get round to getting a clutch, its all go. heading out back to the an AE86 2 piece driveshaft then off to the AE86 TRD 2 way limited slip, disk brake rear end.

Now you know where its headed come back as i show you the ups and downs as it all goes together, Slowly but surely.

Jim.

rollin on dubs

Today i went out, Camera in hand to visit good friend Reuben Bemrose. He is the owner of a very special WRX. In my opinion New Zealands best. a car that has seen alot of parts put on, and taken off over the period of time Reuben's owned the car. At first glance you can't help but notice the absolutely immaculate paint work. A candy concoction that sets it apart from any other. then you look closer and notice the detail outside of the pristine paint work.

A Quick run down of the car only half exposes the extent of modification. From the HKS suspension and every adjustable arm and rod under the sun to the Flipped STM fabricated intake manifold that allows the air to be pushed through into the motor by the top mounted, Truck size Garret turbo. Stopping it are all round Brembo Brakes from a later model STI. Big brakes need a rim that can handle their size. Previously running a set of Speedy wheels as seen when he was feature car in NZPC,  A nice set of wheels but they just wouldn't do. See, Reuben has been bitten by that stance bug. His aim? FLUSH. and here, The results speak for themself...

The car is Slammed, Cambered to the max and sitting STAUNCH. Perfect stance is hard to achieve but this car, Spot on. but this isnt the only thing going for the car, No. With the newly purchased Link G4 ecu and a tune on E85 its expected to be pushing well over the 300kw Mark. No easy task with Subarus Boxer motor. With that much power planned, The car has received a gearbox upgrade of epic proportions in the form of a PPG 5 speed Dog Engagement box topped with a sequential shifter. making for one hell of a daily driven... When he decides to get his restricted that is...

The car, currently running a Bolt in cage will soon be shipped off to recieve a real deal jungle gym in the coming weeks thus the whole car being stripped inside in preparation. then off to tune followed by cert so this thing can actually be driven, Still stanced out, But driven. enjoy a few more photos taken by myself today.

Proudly brought to you by James Blance of JimJims Tofu Shop.

Achieving Stance Perfection

HellaBlazd

what was in, is now out

Today i took a trip down to the shop again. My car full of stuff i got chipping away at removing everything. bit by bit i pulled everything out. Finally giving me a good amount of space inside the car to move around. with that done i got to taking everything bolted into the back of the car, out. this including seats and seatbelts and some remaining interior trim.

With that done, I moved towards the front of the car. The engine bay to be exact. Looking to undo anything that holds the motor to the car, bar the engine mounts. As some of you may have guessed the engine is coming out as soon as i get a moment on the hoist, to be replaced with the motor originally purchased for the Starlet. Currently, the car has an AW11 4AGZE converted to rwd sitting between the struts. soon to be replaced with a hybrid 4AGE made up of:

• Supercharged Seven Rib Block
• Supercharged Crank and Connecting Rods
• Small Port AE92 FXGT head with minor port work
• Small Port pistons
• TRD Metal Headgasket (raising compression)
• Two 40mm Twin side draught Dellorto Carbs with Custom Manifold to suit

With all that done, I closed the bonnet and had a sit in the drivers seat to makes some car noises and ponder what to do next... Im a happy bastard.

Although im a happy bastard i still couldn't think of anything i could do except pull out the rest of the fans and aircon unit from under the dash. Unfortunately for me im not well and sucking up a whole lot of 80's Toyota dust wasn't sounding to appealing. so i packed up and headed outside, And guess who made an appearance!? Nick and his Silvia freshly put back together and running minus the exhaust leaks! This is also the first time i had seen the car in the day light, so it was absolutely necessary to take a photo.

This car is tough. And with a bit more loving, has everything to make an absolute weapon. Keep an eye out for this in future posts as he slowly makes this car his own. Living in a house full of S chassis he wont be short of ideas.

Heres a few more shots i took during the day as i worked away...

And with that i must leave you. Tomorrow, Camera in hand, i will visit good friend Reuben Bemrose and his Candy painted, Sequentially shifted, Dog boxed, 300+ kw , stanced as F**k Subaru WRX. STAY TUNED

a trip to silvia avenue

As i said in a previous post, i was taking a trip to see nick at his residence. a trip to see his new purchase, an S13 Nissan Silvia. unfortunately the car was in the garage... and it was night time... aaand he needed to replace some gaskets. so there weren't many good photo opportunities. not letting that get me down i brought the camera in with me and took what i could.

as usual, Toms S13 greeted me as i drove up the street, A cool car, but not the car i was here to see. Nicks animal hiding in the garage with the man himself tucked up under the bonnet. With a few gaskets needing to be changed the manifold needed to come off to do so. 

Due to a not so ideal Christchurch customs engineering fail it was not the easiest task, with odd sized bolts and tight spaces mixed with a flexi-less exhaust being the issue, Nick and Mathew slaving away eventually getting the thing off. not without a bit of wriggling around underneath the car.

With the manifold and T28 off the car a bit of a clean up and check over was done for added bling and piece of mind, unfortunately what was found on the car was a bit of a let down ( and a laugh ) on purchase it was apparent that an engine mount was broken. however it wasn't apparent that the engine mount was backwards and not even the right mount for the motor... Not so good.

While Nick and Mat were cleaning up his fancy turbo, I had a bit of a nosey into the dark corners of the garage looking for a photo op. not venturing past the mass amount of tires ( a house full of S chassis you can only expect one thing ) something caught my eye. a piece of art that PHRESH AND PHRUITY may take ownage of...

With Nick finishing up the cleaning of the T28 he decided he wanted to take hold of the camera and shoot away after telling me his photography exploits and wanting to show off his hard work. Taking a beautiful shot of a fine piece of engineering.

and then leaving, with this shot. a simple, irrelevant sticker sitting on the back of Nicks S13.

Enjoy

A voyage to heaven and back

Yesterday i got my camera back. Which means i am most definitely back in action. Unfortunately i have contracted some sort of illness resulting in me taking time off work. Jade was free today, so after grabbing some lunch we decided to go have a drive down to the shop to see the corolla.

For jade this is only the second time she has seen the car, but the first time she has seen the car up close so i was excited to show it to her, As i am to show it to anyone.

she seemed happy

Although i didn't actually do anything today it was a chance to get out of the house and have a good look, and take a few photos. Unfortunately due to lack on space in the shop it wasn't the easiest task to get a nice wide shot of the car... or anything really so her are a few shots i came away with in the short visit...

Fortunately for me, The shop is located right next door to apex car rentals. This place is the employer of nearly all the boy racers And if you don't work there you sure do visit. After being Stabbed in the leg by Mathew Viggers with a a really sharp wetness detector i took my camera and photograph of Mr Hemana's S15. A car that seems to be popping up on all sorts of blogs on the interweb.

Then no other than Nick Mallinder showed his face, eager for a photo. Nick is the new owner of an S13 silvia which i will be popping over to see tonight. keep an eye out for some photos of his new ride THEY WILL BE HERE.

look at that, there he is.

and with that, i must go photograph.

From one Corolla to the next.

Recently i sold my wheels to a friend, Logan DeBoer. After realizing that the 17 inch FWD offset wheels on it were really cramping its style. The wheels were on my AE85 when i bought it. At first sight the wheels looked a little bit shit, the tires were stuffed and had to come off any way. So off they came, and into the car headed for tire shop. The tires were taken off and although filthy, were in surprisingly good nick for their thirty odd years of duty.

To be exact, the wheels are Bilbo 14x6 with a +15 offset. i wacked them back in the car and off to mums work to give them a steam clean. A 200 degree steam clean to be precise. Looking a damn sight better than what they did, They went back into the car and off to work for a quick dose of trusty Autosol.
And here is the end product...

Not a bad job if i do say so myself.

The car they are now on is, as you can see a KE70 DX Corolla. Not just any beater DX though. The car is mint. finished in a dark silver/grey it features many things including good condition chrome bumpers on the front AND back. Very straight panel work and mint paint inside and out. The chrome work and trimmings are pristine. but where this car really excels is under the bonnet.

Your Standard grandad spec DX Corolla comes with a small, yet mighty 4k. a 1300cc carby motor that isnt all that powerful. This DX however, Features a 4AGE sucking through twin side draught  Dellorto carbs, Making this corolla a bit more peppy than the norm. Making Logan a very proud owner indeed.

The change of wheels is like night and day. Taking this car from Boy Racer cruiser to an authentic piece of JDM steel that anyone i know would be proud to own. Now all thats left is a muffler change and the car will be perfect.

Enjoy the wheels.

JimJim.

giving credit where credit is due

I spend alot of my time at work, As cars are expensive. Very expensive. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying my hobby. Mobil seems to be a meeting spot for anyone with a car, which works well for me because i can pass alot of time chatting to people who enjoy the automobile a bit more than your average Joe.

I have met alot of new people through work. Some good, and some, not so good.

A few of those people even come back for a chat. Most notably, My good friend Michael Crowley.

 

Although it wasn't Mobil where we first met, it seems to be the place we find each other. We soon found we shared common interests, The 4AGE and anything 80's Toyota. Michael himself owns a JDM spec AE82 FXGT Toyota Corolla. A car which is generally overlooked for its sedate styling and fwd layout. what most people don't understand is that the car came with the bulletproof 4AGE. All it takes is a ride in one to realize that these cars are no push over in the twisty stuff. Feather light construction and good factory suspension wrapped around such a good motor make these cars a cheap and easy way to get to the top few positions in events such as autoross and gymkhana as well  as street sprints and hill climbs.

Michael has Owned not one of these beasts, but two. the first being a red example with a bigport 4AGE. unfortunately for him, although a good car, it happened to not agree with any form of moisture, subsequently rusting in some not so desirable places. the car was sold on, but not before he had bought his second one. this being a white example. At first glance very un loved but was a very rust free car. the car was standard to look at but was hiding something very positive. a Smallport 4AGE. 

Not the prettiest car on the road, Its dirty, used look is something Michael is proud of. And for good reason. 

a car this age deserves the right to have this look. like an old man deserves his wrinkles and beer gut. A look no audi or merc could pull off. 

Michaels new found employment will see this car get a birthday sometime soon. Something i personally can't wait to see and maybe even take up the supervisor role in the fitment of new parts it is gifted.

 Every now and then you will see thing pop up on this blog that are a little different. But i can also use this as a way to show appreciation for the people that help me with my cars, offer advise or second opinions and are most importantly my friends. so if you see something pop up, have a read. they have done alot for me and the least i can do is give them a mention.

jim.

all in the image

As some of you may already know, I have been bitten by the photography bug. not a recent thing, But dating back to 6th form when i first picked up a digital camera and started learning. the bug stayed with me so i purchased my own DSLR. A Canon 1000d to be exact. Taking this, i can now combine my two hobbies together. over time i will be bringing you updates on things and try to capture them in a photograph so juuuuust in case you do not quite get what im trying to say, or don't actually care what i have to say, you can just look at the hopefully well presented image.

As well as taking photos of my cars, I also enjoy going to events of the Motorsport kind and taking photos of other people having fun, not only because i enjoy it, but also because when your driving you really can't take photos of yourself, meaning you have nothing to remember the day with. and lets face it, everyone loves a bad ass photo of their car. So if you see me at an event and i have my camera, come say hi i will gladly take a photo of your car in return for a thank you. 

I also like taking photos of random car stuff that i see or have lying around, Be it car parts, panels, wheels or workshops. If i think it will make a good  image i will take a shot at it. or of it. For the first few blogs associated with my AE85 you will be seeing and/or reading about the things coming out, and going in to the car so expect some more detailed shots of parts or lack of parts.

The AE is finally getting emptied of all the parts that were in it and the air con unit is out and the motor ready to be pulled out, Next up, i have to decide if i will be keeping the fiberglass widebody dmax guards, or sell them and either get new ones, or spend the money on some fiberglass doors. Another decision to make is to paint, or not to paint the carbon bonnet. Its nice and all, but its not overly period correct. my wheels need to be widened at some stage, and on that note the wheels that were on the corolla, a super rare, jdm as set of Bilbo wheels measuring 14x6 inches with a +15 offset were pulled off, steam cleaned and polished soon to be sent off to a new home, a nice silver 4AGE KE70 corolla.

Keep an eye out for some pictures when  they are fitted to the car. im sure they will be a damn sight better than the 17 inch fwd offset not so niceness currently fitted to the car. he will be pulling the bitches in no time.

jdm fo lyfe

yours truely,

tofu man