Hey everyone! I finally did it! I bought my donor car and will start construction this weekend! Woohoo! So what did I buy? Those of you who have seen me posting for the last 4 years know that I don’t like cars that everyone else has. I need to do my own thing. I also wanted to get a car that would be super-reliable, easy on the pocketbook, and actually have some potential. Thus, I bought a 1980 Toyota Corolla SR-5 Coupe. No, not the goofy lookin 2 door wagon thingy, the fastback version that is called the Levin GT in the Japanese domestic market. I started a post in Specific Car Models that has pics for those of you who are curious. Don’t let the spec sheet fool you about these cars. They are only rated at 75hp from the factory, but the engine is the 3TC, a 1.8 liter OHV Hemi. It was horribly mired down by the smog equipment, restrictive exhaust, and awful carb. All of these engines were intended to pass CA emissions and were stroked versions of the 2T motors, which were designed in the late 60s. The point? Lots of power on tap if you open them up. I should be able to give the best of ITB a run when the car is built and has some development time in it. These things have also been gaining a following, as their reputation for being able to produce, cheap, reliable horsepower has been growing. In addition, they are benefiting from the trickle down of interest generated by their successors… the AE86 Corolla made popular by drifting and Initial D.

Ok, enough of my ranting about the car. Im just terribly excited about the whole thing. Racing has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember and Im finally getting started. So, a few questions, if you would….

1. How do you decide what to call your racing team? This is actually really hard for me. I don’t want to do something boring, that’s for sure. Ive had several ideas, but none of them seem right. How did you guys come up with yours?

2. Since I going to start the build by pulling the car apart, Im going to be hacking away at the interior first. Anyone know where to get dry ice for pulling up the tar on the floor? Are there any special things I should look out for when pulling the interior? What color should I paint the interior, anyway? Should I remove the dash or just leave it in for now?

3. Is this a good time to start looking for some minor sponsorship? Im not looking for tons of cash, but maybe some to help get off the ground. Has anyone had any success with this?

4. Ok, last one. This isn’t terribly important, but what color should I paint the thing? Its some crappy burnt orange now, and that aint gonna be long for this world. Opinions for paint?

Thanks for all the support over the years. Its great to actually be starting!!!

Ryan