The "Green Panda" Hatchback

Another great haul for today! Got' em for 70€.
Now the driver's seat does look a bit worn out (and it is), but this picture was brightened up a little bit, so it doesn't look as bad in person.
Also i only just now realized i don't have headrests for the rear  . Need to ask the seller if he has them. (He is looking for them as we speak)

I felt like doing something today, so i got the rear seats removed and replaced with the better looking ones!

Finally got the last seat in place. But before that, I had to do some fixin on the head rest..

The problem. The metal bar was a bit loose inside the head rest.
The solution? Acrylic compound. Filled er' up, let it cure for a day, mask it off with some black pen paint and done dealio.



Like a glove!

It's finally off fellas! This bastard was a lot easier to take off than i would like to admit  
And i only figured it out because i decided to go full ham on my part out car (same model as mine) and ripped it open Haha!

I'll make a separate thread about removing front door cards. Sounds good?

Anyway after i figured this stuff out, removing the old and throwing in the new ones happened in a flash!




It's coming along nicely! Now i need to hunt down the rest..

Very nice! It's coming together nicely! Looks like the door handle came off how I'd expect (like it does on mine) but it's tricky to do it the first time. Good idea about the headrest fix, I wouldn't have thought of that.

So today i went and picked up this exhaust piece. My current one is leaking a fair bit.
I did get it emissions checked and it did pass it, so it wouldn't be a problem with the yearly inspection that are looming over me..
..Buuuut i rather fix things before they develop into a bigger problem + it's loud and smelly too 

Oh man it's been a while since last time i did anything maintenance related.. and it felt good!
The nuts were pretty tight in there (as expected), but the procedure was pretty much painless up until the oxygen sensor... those nuts were pretty much unrecognizable and were rust welded in there really bad so i had to get the angle grinder out.



Here's a better look at the damage on the pipe.

And here's the finished product! The underside is a lot more freshened up!
The installation procedure was a bit of a pain tbh. The catalysator side wasn't that bad, but the manifold side... oh man that side was frustrating! Lining up those manifold studs on to the front pipe proved to be a challenge in itself! But i got it in there at the end.


While i was celebrating a job well done, i decide to inspect the underside for more potential projects down the line.
Ball joints looked fine (at a first glance anyway), but some of the bushings on the control arms are hardened and littered with micro cracks and one of them were pretty much tearing apart. sway bar bushing in the front had couple good sized cracks in them. (haven't checked the rear yet)

So i guess i know what i'll do next ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I have been reading a lot about polyurethane bushings as of late, mainly about the positives and negatives and how they affect handling. While i was doings that, i discovered that swapping in polyurethane bushings to the sway bars and end links ("dog bones" as we like to call them) results in pretty much net positive, they don't really effect the NVH rating (noise, vibration and harshness) while giving better cornering ability.

https://www.suspension.com/polyurethane-v-rubber-suspension-breakdown.asp#swaybarbushings
https://www.suspension.com/blog/rubber-v-polyurethane-suspension-bushings/

These are a good read, i highly recommend if you are any bit of curious!

thanks for sharing those links!  I've been considering the same thing for mine with a suspension refresh, but that gives me more to think about instead of just going with all poly.  At least you were able to get the header off the engine and catback! Mine was all completely rusted together, had to replace the entire exhaust at once.

I hope those links goes to good use! I'm also on the fence about going all poly, but i feel like i'll go with the sway bar bushings and see how i like them and go from there. Maybe try to find someone locally and ask them to let you test drive one?

We also have a lot of problems with rust here, i just happened to get really lucky with this hatch. The underside is in surprisingly good condition, tho i don't know the history of this car so it might have received rust protection at some point.

The biggest rust problems i have are in the rear arches, upside of the windshield and some on the doors. I hope i'll get to address those issues this summer.

I have been looking for some better looking floor mats, of course the problem is that most of these are for RHD AE101's only... so i came across this one and i got the bright idea of making something similar


So here are some mats, OEM rubber mat, some aftermarket black mat (both of these for reference) and a regular door mat for cutting and fitting.


Obviously i wanted to do something similar like the one i saw on ebay and this is what i came up with so far.


Looks kinda dope in there, but this is only a rough "sketch" and i'll try to find someone who can make floor mats that look miles better!
But before that, i think i'll do more experimenting and see if i can come up with any other designs. (and i'll need to do the rest of the mats).



What ya all think?

Nice! I've never seen anyone cut their own mats like this

Today i had to move the hatch outside due to much needed garage cleaning and reorganizing, this was the perfect time to snap couple pics!

I gotta say, that FX Badge Crowns the front really nicely! It makes it feel "complete".

Also i got a question for you all, should i paint the side "moldings"? to body color? Or leave it like that? Can't really make up my mind about it.




It may look like the winter season is at full swing, but it isn't. This winter has been one of the WORST in recent memory, even this snow lasted like two days max because it's been unusually warm all year. Not to mention the strong winds that have wreak havoc all over Finland.

This post also serves as reminder for myself as in how far i have gone with this project. Before i start my summer season cruising with this hatch, i'll get it partially repainted (mostly to fix some rust spots) and have the spoilers installed by a local workshop. Those will probably be the only major updates that you'll see (unless i start to work on the coilover setup). This summer i shall enjoy my ride thoroughly.

Little update about me, i have applied myself to study as a Car Mechanic. I have a interview coming up this Friday and my chances are looking pretty good.

Wish me luck!

I painted my body moldings before I eventually removed them. But at this point, I think it looks fine in black, matches everything else and is "period correct". Good luck with the interview!

Welp, i have coilovers installed now. I intended to do this over the summer, but i figured "ah what the hell, i'll let the workshop do it" and here we are.


The height is pretty spot on out of the box, but there is still need for adjustment since every corner has different heights according to my measurements (i measure from the ground to the fender on a flat surface), i'll probably set it to something like 60cm or 65cm.
As for the rebound (i assume)...  Not gonna lie, bit too hard for these Finnish roads.

Also i have made the decision to get the side moldings painted, i just think it adds a touch of "refinement" imo.

Okay i have some bad news to share. Remember the Liftback Corolla that i bought? Yeah it turns out that it has some unpaid extra taxes by the last owner. Why you may ask? Well most likely because the previous owner drove with it without insurance or something like that, the authorities got wind of that and here we are.

The amount is eye watering 1300€+ and i don't have that kind of money to pay and nobody wants to buy a car that you can't drive legally. so my only option is to part it out and make some of my money back.

So here is my plan, i'm stripping the wiring loom for the electric mirrors, cluster dimmer and central locking. I doubt that i can use that central locking, but i'll sure damn try! Also this model has a slightly beefier front speakers that i'm hoping to utilize them since they are also wired to the same loom.

Already got a pretty good start on this, i just hope i can convert these to the Hatch!

that's weird, that you get punished for the previous owner's criminal activity. Shouldn't they have to pay it? Sorry you're in that position :/

Yeah i did ask about that, but as it turns out. Whoever happens to be the CURRENT owner of the car, he has to pay the tax (if they want to drive it that is).

Oh yeah i don't recall mentioning these parts that i got last year. Well i did in the facebook group, but not here  
Here's a genuine OEM leather Shift knob that i got from ebay for 20 bucks or so. Bit used up, but i'm just glad to have something rare

And this arm rest that is apparently from a BZ Touring Wagon. It's not perfect, it doesn't latch on, but i got some ideas what to do with it.


I'm always on the lookout for rarities on ebay, almost daily. There was a underseat storage tray that popped up in there, but i missed out on it cuz i was bit tight on the cash at the time and i hate myself for it.

Here is today's purchases, Brand new Control arms and ball joints by Monroe. I still need a rear bushing assembly thing for the left control arm, i might have to salvage the old one and get a separate bushing pressed in. Though i much prefer to get some fresh steal in there, because you know... 25 year old steal isn't what it used to be.

Also wanted to ask if any of you have done this job before, if so, was the ride quality improved drastically afterwards? Just want something to look forward to.  

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Today i tried to see if i could adjust the mileage meter of my spare cluster.. and i succeeded!

It's quite simple really, all you need to do is to move those gears in there. Don't force them tho, you kinda need to wiggle them sideways first.

I'm thinking that i'll install this in the hatch for now (it should be plug & play), until i figure out the wiring for my white cluster.

classic old trick!

Things are starting to roll once again.

1. I sent my spoilers for painting to a local shop and i'm expecting them to be done next week.

2. I'll be replacing the front control arms + those bushing bracket thingies , ball joints and dog bones (end links).

3. And lastly i'll be doing the much needed oil change.

Hopefully i'll get some time to do those two things this week
Oh if someone was wondering, yes, the cluster worked like a charm.

Also i have been struck by the infamous car fever.. i have been daydreaming about owning an ST185 Celica or a good old MR2 since those seem to be some what attainable. There are other brands too.. mainly a Honda Accord Type R, those things are seriously badass (and practical, you know.. that whole 4 door business)! I actually test drove one last year and it was a blast to drive.