Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

This is my current project, a 1993 Daihatsu Mira, 659cc of pure 3 cylinder power.

these thing weigh around 550kg and have a huge 32kw of power.

Plan is to use it as a daily and enter some Motorkhana action in it, get the missus out there and let her tear up the bitumen.

Spotted this for sale ages ago, but def didn't need it at the price that was being asked, but i saw it had potential.

IMAG0059.jpg

IMAG0058.jpg

IMAG0060.jpg

So someone else snapped it up, drove it around for a while and well and truly molested it, then he broke it

I saw it up on the forums as a give away, grabbed the bosses tow car and trailer and went to pick it up, I gave the owner some cash toward the rego and some beers too.

This is what he had done, pinked out, stickered up, JDM blackoutssick.gif

IMG_0234.jpg

IMG_0233.jpg

IMG_0239-1.jpg

Turns out the clutch was knackered and the LHF hub was stripped of all its splines.

Time for the motor to come out, with the help of my lovely wife we got the car in pieces

IMG_0249.jpg

IMG_0502.jpg

IMG_0494.jpg

Motor out and box off, we replaced the clutch and the clutch lever. put it all back in and replaced the LHF hub.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/
Share on other sites

And then one of the lads mention he had some WRX Recaros laying around in the shed.

So now i have to make him a new dump pipe for his S14 and a full 3" system in exchange for them but i do have sick seats

IMG_0518.jpg

cut the old mounts off of the rails and welded some new tabs on, all fairly easy really

IMG_0531.jpg

IMG_0533.jpg

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/#findComment-6055388
Share on other sites

Stripped the tyres off of the rims and started stripping all of the paint off, still unsure whether to paint them black or get them powdercoated white, sorta all depends on the colour of the car.

they ar 12 x 6 minilite style rims, they don't sit anywhere near inside the gaurds, so i have some 145 tyres to stretch onto them, might have to pump the gaurds slightly once the car is lowered

IMG_0548.jpg

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/#findComment-6055418
Share on other sites

Maybe, can get turbos for these for under $200, then i can just make a manifold and retune. it's already EFI so it's be easy. gotta get it back on the road first.

i was thinking more along the lines of a turbo Charade conversion, you could go from 55hp to a massive 68hp!!!:laugh:

Edited by tweety bird
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/#findComment-6055458
Share on other sites

i was thinking more along the lines of a turbo Charade conversion, you could go from 55hp to a massive 68hp!!!:laugh:

maybe if the motor lets go, we'll see what happens once i make up some headers and better flowing exhaust for this motor first, gonna strap it on the dyno for before and after runsthumbsup.gif

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/#findComment-6055478
Share on other sites

maybe if the motor lets go, we'll see what happens once i make up some headers and better flowing exhaust for this motor first, gonna strap it on the dyno for before and after runsthumbsup.gif

cool, i look forward to it. :thumbsup:

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/#findComment-6055507
Share on other sites

got some more work done over the weekend, polished the outside lip of the rims and painted the centres all black, just gotta fit tyres up tomorrow at work

IMG_0589.jpg

IMG_0591.jpg

then i continued the boring job of bodywork, roof and bonnet all rubbed back, all the hideous pink flames are gone and the bonnet has been smoothed out and primered up.

IMG_0596.jpg

IMG_0597.jpg

IMG_0599.jpg

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/#findComment-6063901
Share on other sites

dropped the tyres on the rims tonight, brand new 145/70 12's for the front and secondhand 165/60 12's on the rear,

these will get torn up by the bitumen when the motorkhana hand brake action begins, so i don't want to waste any good tyres back there

Hope to do some more bodywork tomorrow and get started on the big bore 2 1/4" exhaust on the weekendthumbsup.gif

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/#findComment-6066319
Share on other sites

Got some more work done today, flushed the old Black coolant out of the engine.

Then I had some fun, time for low, started lowering and just couldnt stop, now Dave is a Slammed Mira.

IMG_0647.jpg

The front looks a bit higher, but it actually sits dead even along the sill panel. just need to lip the rear guards a bit more.

IMG_0653.jpg

IMG_0655.jpg

Did some more body work too, straightened out the lip on the front guards and started to tidy up the tailgate, then they got a coat of primer.

IMG_0667.jpg

IMG_0663.jpg

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/#findComment-6074305
Share on other sites

got some work done on the Mira over the weekend, smoothed out some dents behind the drivers door, and coated it in spray putty

This Mira is fairly rough, it is covered in carpark dents, and imprints from people leaning on the car. I'm just trying to get rid of the big ones, then i can paint it white again and ram it into motokhana cones biggrin.gif94B00CDF-orig.jpg81C5F7EF-orig.jpg

And then i did more fun stuff today. sports exhaust time! made a pretty simple mandrel bent 2 1/4 inch system for it. It's a litlle on the large side, but i had the mufflers and pipe laying around so it was very cheap(ie freeC75719F3-orig.jpg

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/#findComment-6084940
Share on other sites

well, just started it up, and it is very very......quiet, like surprisingly quiet, I had to remove the airbox just so it would have some induction noise.

I'm actually a little disappointed to be honest, I wanted it louder, Guess i might have to make some custom headers for it and a bigger front pipe.

Here's a vid of the first start up

http://www.facebook....v=2435666326031

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/379694-project-dave/#findComment-6084941
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • @soviet_merlin Thanks mate!  Nothing too major but will hold me up for a while. I've got lymphomas to get taken off the back of my neck and the middle of my spine which always conjures scary thoughts!  It sounds worse than it is. Yeah great, conjuring more rabbit hole deepening , just what I need! 🤣  
    • I'd argue the F50 kit I got is very good value. For ~2k I got the calipers (refurbed condition), adapters, pads, brake lines, rotors, and top hats. I think you'd be pretty hard to get Evo/GTR/350z brembos + the additional hardware for similar money. Used market for a pair of front calipers alone I've seen tend to run anywhere from $1500-2000 depending on condition.    That said, something like a GTR or 350z brembo is a lot easier to adapt to the Silvia. 
    • Is there a significant price difference between the Evo/gtr/350z brembos vs the F50? Looks amazing.
    • I was actually being a tightarse at the time LOL... My OCD is tickling me into running a 2nd 8AN Teflon hose all the way down and removing the 2x OEM hardlines. My other side of my brain is telling me to run 2x hardlines front to back (also acts as a fuel cooler, so win win).
    • As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had some trouble with the Silvia's brakes dragging back in 2023. I managed to sort it out then, but the same problem came back to bite me late last year. Just take a look at the picture – I had a feeling the handbrake was acting up again, and I was right. Anyway, I'd been wanting to upgrade to bigger brakes for a while. Not that the Silvia's brakes were bad, but it was more of a "want" than a "need", you know? It was funny, though – at the time, I couldn't find any Evo Brembos, 350Z Brembos, or GTR Brembos for a decent price (of course, tons of them popped up online after I already bought my kit!). I ended up going with an F50 Brembo kit, which came with adapters, brake lines, 330mm rotors, and top hats. The F50 Brembo caliper was used in a few other cars too, like the FPV. I also decided this was the perfect opportunity to ditch the Silvia's ridiculous rear brakes and that awful handbrake (some of you were definitely right about that!). I picked up some R33 calipers and all the necessary bits – rear drums, backing plates, and new hardware to refurbish the calipers. Of course, it wouldn't be a project without a few hiccups. Turns out the brake master cylinder was playing up and basically (to put it simply) keeping the brakes engaged. I had it overhauled, and after some adjustments, everything was working again. The whole process took a while, as you can imagine. To top it off, the front right wheel bearings were shot and needed replacing too. This is a rare occasion where I'm posting an update while it's all still fresh! These pictures were taken just this afternoon.
×
×
  • Create New...