February 2009.
With a heavy heart, I have decided to abandon this project. It took me one year to make it to this phase. It gave me headaches and more than 100% over budget and it will cost a lot more to make it into the car I want it to be. So, being realistic and practical (which I haven't been from the start), I decided to let it go. I am parting out the car.
Thanks for appreciating. Standby for my next project car. Hopefully, it will not be over budget and won't give me headaches.
If you see any part that you want to buy, click on the link below. My friend is disposing it for me since I am out of the country. Disposing of everything except the Recaro njoy's, Italvolanti steering wheel, boss kits, quick release and sound system. The items can be seen here:
http://www.oldschoolpilipinas.org/viewtopic.php?t=75
Introduction
This is my project toy car. A 2-door 1981 Toyota Starlet. I thought that I could still change the name of my car. Apparently, I cannot.
I first noticed Starlets during my teen years when I watched slalom races in the late 80's. I was amazed by how it can run the course using a 2TG engine. It was very nimble and looked easy to drive. Sad to say, I did not get a chance to own one, until recently. The closest my brothers and I had were a 1978 Corona 2-door with 13T and twin sides, 1981 Corona 2-door with 2TGEU and a 1971 Celica with a 2TG. But being young and foolish, we all sold three cars in favor of more modern cars. Regret always comes last, isn't it? How I wish I kept our cars or even the engines only.
Fast forward to late 2007. I decided it is time to have an old school project. Some cars entered my mind.
- Toyota Celia 1st Gen - Parts are very hard to find in our part of the world. Also, a decent base car with a reasonable price is hard to find.
- Mitsubishi Lancer box type - Even though this is a nice car, there are a lot of them on the roads already. Nicely restored too.
- Toyota Corolla DX or Liftback - Parts can be hard to find also.
- Then, I decided on the 2-door Starlet.
When I made up my mind on what to old school to restore, I searched our local forum. Asked around about parts availability and the feasibility of my project. A few friendly people helped me out. Arnold (sonofthelaw - CLICK ME) introduced me to the owner of this base car. Salamat sa lahat ng tulong.
Before I started this old school project, I have set a budget. But the car is not yet running and I have already exceeded my budget by at least 50%. The extra expenses came in when I decided to buy brand new parts as much as possible. The chrome bumpers alone cost almost the same as the base car itself. The engine change cost more than the base car. I want this car to look like as if it recently came out of a Toyota dealer.
Along the way, I came to a point that I doubted my decision to go with this project. I almost sold the car and the parts that I bought. Luckily, there are some friends around who boosted my moral and convinced me to finish this. With my running total, I could almost buy a MB W124 or a BMW E34. These are the two European cars that I was also eyeing. But definitely it will not be a toy car.
Now, I am hoping that all the money spent, time, effort and headaches are well worth it.
BTW, this is my brother's current car. CLICK ME
The car is not yet finished. Don't expect to see the pictures of the finished project. It might be available February 2009.
Page 01: introduction
Page 02: finished project (no pictures yet)
Page 03: finished engine bay (no pictures yet)
Page 04: finished interiors (no pictures yet)
Page 05: how it all begun
Page 06: stock and aftermarket parts
Page 07: engine change
Page 08: painting
Page 09: sound system
Page 10: my inspirations
