Randy is gonna hook me up with some coilover sleeves, perches and 250lb/in springs for the front of the AW. That’s nice. Problem is they come with flat top hats, which won’t work. I’ll have to try and find some conical ones somewhere. Ryan gave me the all his OEM mounting hardware for the factory sideskirts. I’ve drilled holes for those. Sideskirts seem kinda silly on a car that I intend on thrashing in gravel… that in mind I probably shouldn’t be putting them on. They’re even fiberglass and not urethane… bad news. But… they just looks so good, and do a lot to give a shapeless car a little bit more flavour.
Plus side is… they’ll save my kick panels from rock chips. I have three sets of skirts now… to sacrifice to this cause. Other useless stuff will be a front lip which I’ll grab from a junk yard car (I won’t say which I have in mind yet) and fit to the existing bodywork. This one will be urethane at least…
Car is starting to look like a car again… Nardi wheel is one, front body panels are all back on straight, and I’m making preparations to mount my East Bear Buckets…
Thinking about my old AE86. Stock motor, great footwork, good looks… there is no reason this AW can’t be a car as nice as my old AE86. I could swap in an AE111 20v, build brand new nice coilovers (one’s that don’t involve Illumina’s) do all the other little things I have planned currently, and still have less than 1/3rd of the money invested in the AW as I did in the AE86.
That… and I should ultimately be a lot faster…
… and not look like a drifter wannabe clone.
I still have massive love for AE86 though… doubt that will ever fade. But something about this tight, totally dedicated interior, mid-engined layout, and a suspension that’s already more adjustable than any AE86 ever was or could be, is starting to move me.