Picked up a pair of FC seats on modified rails today, and while I was there I also nabbed a rear seat complete with load cover, my seat had a small split in it, and my load cover handle was twisted.

grubby boot carpet on the old seat...



clean carpet and new seat



FC front seats



leather gear gaitor



boot loaded up with tools, cloths, folder of old magazines and dealer stuff

now you see me...



...now you don't - new load cover is perfect



The FC seats hold you in really well, so will help in the twisties

Great stuff!

I really like the seats in my old FC too, even for leather, they were super supportive!

In my quest to find a suitable front splitter/spoiler/bumper...whatever, I think I have found the solution. I wanted something pretty subtle - I picked up this front bumper a while ago, but it's far from subtle, and a bit too "chinny"




anyway, I went for a test fit today, and the new one seems to work pretty well. Excuse the rubbish pics, I'll take some decent ones when it's fitted...and yes, the box is holding it up








I need to trim the sides a little, but it fits well enough, and should be easy to mark up and fit.

Next up is working on the rust

Fitted the spoiler today, trimmed the sides to match the bodywork and bolted it on. Looks coooool

Started the task of stripping the bits of and sorting out a few rust spots on the bodywork today...I can feel a few late nights heading my way





you can see the new head unit in this last pic...nice retro looking unit from pioneer




the only way (in my opinion) to do a decent wrap job, is to remove the doors etc...this made for a nice chilly drive around the unit

Got some filler on last night, and went over tonight to start sanding. I have a couple of orbital sanders, so I used an old vacuum to make an extraction system, kept the dust down a treat



this bit was tricky, and needs another go



but bits on the bonnet and roof were quite easy







I put some primer on to see where the pinholes etc are, needs a bit more work tomorrow night...but still on schedule for a respray this weekend

Should have covered up the sunroof! Even with the Paragon Dust Removal System™, it'll still get all your interior dusty! Right in the bits the hoover won't reach too!

No need mate, honestly, our patented DRS really is that good
actually, I think the dust that went in there just blew out of one of the door holes anyway

it might be a good thing...the interior needed a good clean, this might be the kick up the butt I needed to actually do something about it

Masked the engine bay and doors...nearly ready to paint now, just a few more bits to mask up and a final wipe down. First up will be painting the inside of the doors, and the shuts, that'll take all day tomorrow - it'll need a good 8 coats



Hung tarpaulins on all sides, and stuck a big one on the floor too

Awesome

Insides of the doors are done





and the bonnet




and I started to get some colour on the outside, nice comparison between blue and grey

Oooo that grey looks lovely. Is it thunder grey by any chance

Er...dunno...maybe it's Paragon Grey

I mixed it myself, they sell gunmetal grey, I did the 6 grille with it...looked ok, but a tad too light sometimes, so I decided to make my own

A few pics of the progress so far...

doors back on, only way to get a nice consistent finish is to paint the whole thing together



getting there
















and here is the liquid wrap, peeled off the bumper and front panel...'cos I wanted to do them again

WOW, and wow again.

Respect to your gonads matey as in - the effort, time, enthusiasm and bottle to undertake a project that 99% of us wish we would like to do.

Top work Marc

Thanks Stu

The finish isn't great to be honest, bit too dirty, even after all my efforts with tarpaulins but it's ok from a distance

There are a couple of bits that I'll do again at some point, but I'll let the rest of it settle and see how it goes...

Looks absolutely fantastic Marc! Really looking forward to seeing her in the steel again.

wow!! cant belive how this one has moved on from when we first met it!

Nice work! Looking forward to seeing this fully complete!:)

looks amazing so far Marc! Excellent work and same as before....massive gonads on that man for taking this task on! Whats the plan with the wheels mate? Are you giving them a new colour or new wheels all together? It's going to look fantastic.

Quick question (just being curiuous) but whats the power difference like in vyv compared to the V6 ba mate?

Single car photoshoot at JAE this year?

Thanks all

The wheels are going black, so the car will be grey and black

Hard to compare the two Lee, the V6 has more grunt, as the rotary lacks torque...but the V6 is all noise really , once you wind up the rex it's a screamer...and the chassis is much better balanced - where the V6 is scrabbling for grip, the rex is pushing you round the corner, so it's a totally different drive

torque issues will be dealt with next year - I'm building a boosted, ported 12A over the winter

I did start taking off the masking tape last night, and I'll get it back together over the next week - got to wrap the badges and paint the wheels yet...and then re-fit all the bits that are currently strewn across the workshop

Got the wheels on, and some fly eyes on the front sidelights...and took it outside for some pics












left a little bit of brightwork, to contrast against the bodywork




Need to tint the windows next methinks...

Truly wonderful work Marc, quite amazing

Looking forward to seeing her again soon.

I quite like that

I've been after some new door cards, as the vinyl on the tops of mine are quite brittle, and had a few splits and holes.
Went for plan B last weekend, and re-trimmed them

they don't match the seats now anyway...



so it was off with the old





and on with the new...





fronts and rear quarter panels done



It needs a foam underlay really, to smooth out the lumps and bumps, but it'll do for now. I'll get the rear seat trimmed properly, I don't have the skillz for that...in fact, I might just let them re-do the lot


I also got my intake temp and leccy gauges fitted and working...






I tried tinting the headlights...I like the look, but couldn't get it smooth enough, so I ripped it off again




That's it for now...got a couple of shows this year, Retro Rides and JAE, then it'll be engine out time. Going to be an expensive winter

Mate that looks gorgeous You have done wonders to bring it back. Well done buddy

Thanks Wozza

My "Blue Peter" centre caps are complete...at last! I have 2 different types, one pair of each...they are a bit different, who would have thought that pickled eggs would come in a different jar?

Confused? well, read on...this is true budget modding, Peter Purves would have been proud


As you probably know, I have old Supra wheels, and the Toyota centre caps are massive, square sided things, with Toyota on them...I've been running without anything for ages now, and then thanks to Masse, I had me an idea...

Start off with some logos (Masse, these are awesome )...and, yes, you've guessed it, some jam jar lids, well, pickled egg jar lids anyway - they were the best fit



Stick the logos on with some 2 part acrylic adhesive



Prime...



and paint, and offer up to the wheel for a test fit







Told you it was a Blue Peter special - I even used double sided sticky tape to secure the lids, er...I mean centre caps, to the old can for painting


Not sure if I should risk driving with them on, they're not exactly a perfect fit...but they stay on well enough for show use. I might glue them on, but it'll be tricky to get them off to balance the wheels

Inspired! Need to make me some centrecaps... I have an idea

I'm trying to think of a way to attach yours to the car "temporarily" so that they stay on, but can easily be removed... maybe some sort of U shaped flat "bracket" that interference-fits in the back of the lid, and subsequently into the wheel?

Or actually, take a flat bit of stainless steel (0.75mm or something), glue it to the back of the lid, and fold up tabs at each end to clip inside the wheel, like most centre caps have!

EDIT: See the picture. Obviously the cap should fit closer to the rim but you get the idea hopefully! Only downside is you might have to re-bend the clips every time you remove the centre cap... but how often is that likely to happen?!

They're jamjar lids, I was going to thread the wheels