It's been a long time in the mix but at last the rear disk conversion has been
done.
I eventually found a complete setup from the previous model Corolla GXi (AE101)
at Dewsbury Auto Salvage. Good lads there - though it did take several phone
calls to ensure that it had been sent out. What I got was callipers, disks,
pads, hub carriers, control arms, handbrake cables and flexible brake hoses. The
disks and pads looked as though they hadn't done too many miles and were
perfectly usable. There was surface rust on the other parts but nothing that a
good wire brushing wouldn't shift.
I took the lot to Kevin for him to check over and left it there for him to clean
up and prepare - he even gave the callipers a couple of coats of paint for me -
good man. I asked him to replace all the seals while he had the callipers off
the car and he also removed the disk back plates to improve cooling. I took away
one of the flexible hoses and went to Merlin Motorsport at Castle Combe where
they made up a couple of new stainless steel braided Goodridge hoses on the spot
- complete with pressure testing and all for £35.
A couple of weeks later Kev was able to book me in for the kit to be fixed. The
only real problem was removing the lower bolts from the hub carriers.
Applications of penetrating fluid and the use of a scaffold tube on the socket
bar eventually shifted the most stubborn one.
Brake performance has been improved especially under heavy braking - better
stopping power and less fade. The only down side is that it not so efficient as
a hand brake - and I now get brake dust on my rear alloys.
I must also remember to get the alignment done!!!!!!!
Within six months of buying the Corolla I'd had problems with the drivers seat.
The seat backs have side bolsters that are made in one piece with the foam seat
back but there is no frame to give it support. One of the side bolsters (the
door side) on the drivers seat had broken away from the back twice and I'd had
it replaced under warranty. I had spoken to a local car upholsterer who said
that he could repair it but before I could get the seat to him I was offered a
pair of seats from a 1995 MR2. They are in pretty good shape apart from a small
cigarette burn on the drivers seat - and they needed a damned good clean. These
are much more supporting and there is a substantial frame under all the side
pieces. They just needed fitting - Kevin reckoned it would only take a couple of
hours with a grinder and welder to get them in.
He removed the original seats and cut off the fixings used to fit them to the
body then fitted these to the MR2 seats. Doesn't take long to say/read but took
lots of to-ing and fro-ing to get them fitted correctly. But fit they do and the
fabric and plastic materials have that "Toyota" look so that even though the
coloured fabric isn't the same, the seats don't look out of place. At some time
in the future I'll take the old seats to the upholsterer and see if he can use
the original coloured panels when I get the MR2 seats re-covered.
These seats are much more supportive but they do seem to transmit more "feel"
through the seat and they have shown up some deficiencies in the suspension
system. You win some - you lose some; and it never ends.
There have been a few problems with the engine recently - it's using a lot of
oil. It's not dropping anywhere so it must be going out of the exhaust. So it's
time to take the head off and look at the rings and bores. Also the supercharger
is making nasty noises when you lift off the throttle - possibly a pulley
problem but needs to be removed to check. Once it's off it's easier and quicker
to fit a replacement rather than wait for replacement parts to fix it. A
replacement charger has been difficult to source quickly but another member of
the Toyota Owners Club had a "spare".
Car will go to Kevin for the engine check and charger replacement - it's a shame
that it will probably be with him (unless he can get and fit parts quickly) for
the weekend of JAE (Japanese Auto Extravaganza) the largest collection of
Japanese vehicles of the year in the UK. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that
I'll have the car back - but it's not looking good.