Projects
There are always big plans for the future. I am excited about the possibility of building a 4A-GE-powered KP61 Starlet, but since proper race/sportscars don't have all that unneccesary stuff, and hence should weigh 1500 pounds or less, I will eventually build a Lotus Seven-esque kit car with a Toyota drivetrain. The most appealing option at the moment is a Sylva/Fisher Fury. I have also been developing an interest in other old school Toyotas. I would love to build a clean TA22 Celica or TE27 Corolla with a 2T-G, but I have more than enough projects for now, so someday...

Starlet

A Starlet offers a very affordable (<$500) RWD platform which is very lightweight by modern-car standards and has the potential for being very fast. Breathed-on Starlets just plain go like stink, and are especially fast considering that they are late-70's/early 80's economy cars, and considering how small a budget this type of project requires. Converting this little econobox from the 4K it has to a 4A-G is pretty easy and a fairly common conversion. Finding information on this process is difficult however. I know only a little bit more than what I have written here at the moment. I may add more in the near future, in the meantime, e-mail me if you really want to discuss it. Please e-mail me if you do know more than me, because I am thinking a lot about this project, and would like to talk to others who have done it before I actually dive into my own. I periodically go look at it, and write down some notes, but it will be a while before I actually start.

Click Here For:The latest on my KP61 Starlet Project
Click Here For:My Lotus Seven/Clubman Future Project Page
Click Here For:Fun Speculation About Projects I Will Probably Never Do
"Super AE86"
An idea has infected my brain lately...a new AE86, the ultimate track/street car! For a long time now, I have been very seriously concerned about the lack of a four cylinder rear-wheel-drive performance car (with 2+2 seating a roof, thanks) in the U.S. market. If there were a car of this type in this country for the low-to-mid $20,000-range, I would do everything in my power to buy it. Worrying about it so much has taken a lot of my energy...it has become a crusade of sorts for me, writing letters, test-driving Integras and Celicas, and then telling the salesman, "No, I won't buy it because it is front-wheel-drive," talking to anyone who will listen, surfing the web for new car rumors and tasty JDM offerings like Silvias and Altezzas. I finally starting really seriously thinking about what that money could do with an AE86. Instead of making payments, why not take a few years to build-up a Corolla? I could address the problems I see with my current car, the same problems that make we want a new car. So I am planning...JDM blacktop 20-valve 4AG...and a Quafie six-speed tranny with the exact gear ratios I want....OEM ECU...a stiffened, reinforced body shell...Tokico HTS dampers with low, stiff streetable springs...perfect body panels and Toyota Super White paint...all new seals, hoses, door hinges, and upholstery...JDM bumpers...another KAAZ limited-slip...RCA's and traction brackets...A quieter, stiffer, but not too unrefined, slightly more powerful, but no less driveable AE86 for pavement only, street and track. In one light it sounds like a ton of money to spend on a seventeen-year-old coupe, but in another light, it is exactly what I have been asking for. The current AE86 will still serve for parking outside on the street, rallycross, TSD rally, and dirt road fun. Anyway, I will put a more detailed list of what I envision up here soon.

Performance Rally Car
For a while now I have also been dreaming about building up a car for SCCA performance rally. It would have to be tough as nails, easy to get replacement parts for, cheap to buy, and very common, so I wouldn't feel bad about "using up" two or three of them to keep the project going, or keep the project in straight body shells. :-) For the simple reason that I couldn't bear to abuse a rare car that hard, I shy away from another AE86 GT-S, although it makes an awesome Group 2 car...just look at results from SCCA PRO Rally events to see how Jay Streets has done with his.

So I have sort of settled on a rear-wheel drive Celica...these cars are tough and they are _everywhere_. I don't think it matters much whether it is RA40, or RA6x, but I like the looks of the RA63 (or is it RA62? 65?) coupes. New bushings, rally springs and shocks, underbody protection, brake lines inside the car, fuel cell, roll cage, rally computer, intercom, racing seats in stripped interior, exhaust, carbs, tons and tons and tons of strong wheels and tires, and go for it! :-p So when should we start looking for one and building? :-)

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