Well, not really much to report, but I've done a couple of touches here and there to pass the time. Started off wiuth an important one - grinding out the powdercoating from where the lugnuts torque down onto on the wheels; had a severe issue with this with my Watanabes whereby the wheel almost fell off once! So, ground out the powdercoating using a Dremel grinder on a power-drill, worked fine!
Whilst having the wheels off, I also saw it fit to swap the wheels to the orientation I wanted them at originally...
Whilst it doesn't look quite as sexy anymore, I'm hoping turn in will be a bit special-er and more alert! I do really need spacers on those rear wheels though. Whilst I had the wheels off I also wanted to lower the car ever slightly, if not to really lower it, just to at least equalise the ride-heights at each corner! However, after much Plus-Gas'ing (yes, I've moved onto PlusGas), it was all to no avail. However, this did happen though...
...about half a coil had broken off the front right spring and was just lying there! Quite...interesting. Moving onto the 4E-FTE, progress is very sloooooooow...I cleaned out the sump, ready to have the new fitting for the Braided drain hose to be welded on...I just, need to buy said fitting. I also cleaned up the sump and head mating surfaces of the block a bit - still need some more sandpapering, but, nearly there I would think! 
I've just ordered a new Dremel which should hopefully mean I can clean up the piston tops and finally separate turbo from manifold, and which should hopefully mean I'll shortly be re-assembling this engine.
More updates may come shortly...
Well, nothing has happened with the car, but, after receiving a specific (and AWESOME tool), I've managed to remove the cylinder head from the block, and got the 4E-FTE bottom end onto the stand. From there, all I really did was degreased and cleaned the block, ready for a lick of paint. Whilst I was there, I did the same to the sump!
When I removed the head I was slightly shocked though at the state of the gasket and pistons:
...the original plan was to just do a straight swap! Oh well, at least once everything's nice and cleaned it'll be a better running thing anyway!
Well, they're finally on, they are SSR XR-4S Longchamps in a staggered offset (+7 and +27?) and....I don't know. The garage wouldn't install the wider offset wheels at the front as it's apparently illegal to do so (ok...), i'll change that soon. I'll need to have spacers on the wheels and the arch extensions before I'm completely satisfied.
Things to note: Steering is crazy light now for some obscure reason! And ride isn't much worse despite 45 profile tyres. I'll let the tyres bed in a bit more before I conclude on their grip and behaviour.
Well, seeing as I'm kind of ickle, I generally have some issues when I find my perfect seating position...i.e. I have small arms, so, with the fixed bucket seat in place its been very hard for me to liberally twirl the wheel, especially with harnesses in situ'.
And then came this!
The steering wheel is now perfectly to hand! Finally I can easily turn the wheel with the harnesses tightened. And...well, that's it. It's just a spacer! However, a major-ish update is due tomorrow ;)
Damnit, I wanted to use the actual title of the song but seems like I already have a blog entry sharing that title. Nevermind. Anyway, finally in what seemed like a bleak period of doing not a lot, I finally got to install the TRD Front Anti-roll bar, and what was supposed to be a 5min job turned out to be quite a bit more due to several silly annoyances.
Issue 1:
See the scratches on the end of the Anti-roll bar? Those are from my Dremel after I had to chop off a nut that the previous owner had seized, and since no endlink was attached to help stop both ends from spinning, I had to chop the nut off.
Issue 2: 
Seems like the endlinks were bent/stripped from the roll-over crash the car they originated from went through, which made starting the thread nigh on impossible - on this side I had to chop off some of the thread, cut down the underside bushing, and finally got the nut on, not fun.
Issue 3:
Not really an issue, but I had to drop the exhaust, which I didn't want to do, because I'm lazy, so, that irked me.
And here it is installed:
So far I cannot conclude much from the anti-roll bar, I will update shortly after a late night drive with no traffic, but the reduction of roll is slightly perceivable at higher cornering speeds, but not as much as I expected. What this objectively means for handling is difficult to clarify as the grip levels of the car aren't exactly lacking, so, probably track testing will reveal a difference. Saying that, this bar is less than half the weight of stock! So that's a useful weight reduction!
Update: The anti-roll bar has proven to be quite noticeable now, to the point of troubling front-end grip on the Goodyear Eagle's, never an issue before! Corners much flatter, settles quicker into corners. All in all, a good modification in my eyes - I want to try it on wet roads to gauge grip transition and adjustability!
Not: Just wanted to update on the current situation of things! Right - as the car stands, it currently:
- Sucks
- Burns lots of oil
- Sucks
- Blows
Issues are many, but there are a few that'll get immediate attention, particularly the engine. For months now I've noticed a particular harshness through the clutch pedal, that worsens at faster engine speeds, on which presumption I figure the crankshaft may have suffered some oil starvation damage, but there's no main bearing rattle! So, for that, I will get a new engine and swap it straight out, 4e-fte for now. Doing that, I'll also FINALLY install the C56 gearbox, and swap out the decrepid clutch, which started slipping badly about 2 years ago!
I also hope to buy some 15" tyres in order to finally get my SSR Longchamps wheels on the car, regardless of the fact that I have since slightly gone off them. The headunit will finally get fixed, so I'll have music again, I'll probably get the metal bushes transferred onto spare axle too.
What else? Not much really, I guess, get the Blitz K1 rebuilt, and start buying products in order to safely run the K1 (i.e. a Blow-off valve, finally!) including finally getting the HRF ECU on the car and a base map set, as well as buying more and more components for the 5E - I will also be buying and having machining done for the pending brake setup. Beyond that, just little jobs await, like hooking up the Catch tank and not just leaving it there, modifying the Carbing strut brace to fit, stripping down and tidying up the wiring loom and little trinkets like that. I also really really want a respray...
But, anyway, that's the short of it, so hopefully expect updates of that order shortly!
Umm, yeah, dramatic title...but in reality, it just signifies the gloom of coming back from Saudi Arabia to...well, here :(. Hah, anyway, no real updates, other than finally having a passenger seat, and a new driver's seat - necessary for the trawl upto JAE on the day I arrived.
That would be a Pink EastBear Elite FRP Bucket seat as the driver's steed, and a Bride Ergo I as the passenger side. I also got this whilst I was out in Saudi...
Pretty, but, unfortunately, doesn't fit...but, I won't give up, as it's too pretty/expensive not to keep so I'll get it modified, which I don't think will be too drastic. Otherwise, that's it. Erm. Yeah
Oh, also, I got this:
Although, it's the wrong one...organised a groupbuy for 3E-TE flywheels from Aasco, and they sent out some 5E-FE ones by mistake...but, at least its a preview for the correct one!
