BZ touing NZ

Hello from NZ!

I stumbled upon the bz touring wagon as the optimal combination of requirements for me:

• wagon and roof rack rails for transport convenience with sports/projects & occasional camping
  
• late gen (1997) 20V blacktop 4age for the wub wub intake noises and sweet engine sounds above 3k rpm, love smoothly reving to 8k
  
• also wanted an engine thats reliable and powerful enough stock as I am time poor, but I can easliy repair and upgrade with such a large following and abundance of info
  
• fuel economy & catalytic converter to satisfy the dutchman/greeny in me (~7.3L/100km highway, 9L mixed, 95 octane)
  

Basically I wanted an adventure car but not a subaru outback, and had fond memories of toyotas and the 4age from my youth.

Still have a bit of bodywork to do but nothing major, just occasional weekend entertainment!

I've installed stiffer springs in the rear since with a full load it would bottom out the suspension- I'm more interested in practicality than the street look. The fwd grip through corners has improved as it used to ride like a boat and get the inner wheel spinning.

Sadly its an auto which on the plus side may mean the engine is less thrashed at 285km... requires 1L oil topup between 5K services mostly leaking though valve stem seals I suspect.

Always on the lookout for parts for a 6-speed C160 LSD conversion... well worth the investment imo. Anybody have experience with difficulty in getting parts for rebuilding these?

Oh and does anyone know why it runs terribly when cold? No power below 3k rpm and rattling noise above. When warm it runs beautifully and there are no bad noises