Another (small) project for the 7

[rotorhead666]

Did anyone see the RE Amemiya mirrors on ebay recently,for the 1st gen?I thought they just looked incredibly weird!Just had a thought as i write this-maybe they were meant for original sa22c cars,with the wing mirrors on the bonnet?Wish i\'d grabbed a pic of them now!

[MikeLMR]

I don\'t check the US site very often anymore ... shipping stuff is risky from the states and the stuff is too tempting  lost $100 the other year due to a package getting lost and the seller not having a tracking number for it ... sweet FA EBAY can do about it !

[MikeLMR]

Mirrors are now resprayed in satin black.

I\'ve also fitted a set of Tokico Illumina front struts and am just about to swap the front anti roll bar for somthing a little thicker.

Having looked over all the bushes at the front of the car I\'m not going to bother changing any that I do not disturb changing the bar as they all look in top condition ... which is great

The best bit of news :rolleyes: (kinda) was that the old oil filled shockabsorbers didn\'t look too clever when we pulled them appart so they new adjustable gas shocks should be a real upgrade !

I don\'t think I\'m going to bother with lowering springs as the car is already too low to fit a "proper" trolley jack under it ! I\'ll have to see what its like with a stiffer front bar and decide what next afterwards.

Mike  (AKA Lazy bugger who hardly ever works on his car!!)

[MikeLMR]

oops photo

[rotorhead666]

Hmm,fitted your Tokicos at last,Mike!I\'m still waiting for my konis,mot has now expired,and i\'m still worried about those wheels bearings...Did you ever find out about the RE Amemiya mirrors?Yours are looking shiny,not like my tatty old things!

[MikeLMR]

yes ... its right pain getting both the strut top nut off and the large nut that holds the strut insert in the strut body
one required mucho brute force and bodging and the other required a chisel !!! (not a problem as new ones came with the kit)

When you come to take your struts out please ignore the Haynes manual and do it this way.

1. Jack up car, secure using axle stands and remove wheels ... the usual stuff

2. undo the caliper bolt and slide it off the carrier.  Unclip the brake line from the strut and rest the caliper main body on the bottom arm to prevent straining the brake line.

3. wind on full lock in one direction and remove one of the bolts under bottom of the strut. repeat for the opposite lock

4. undo the 4 nuts in the engine bay and remove the strut.

much much easier than the haynes manual makes out ! ... I did use some slimline sockets (Koken Perfectlok) to undo the bolts though as they are a pain to get to !
you may also require an impact wrench to re tighten the strut top nuts as you don\'t want to damage the chrome on the new shocks.  ( I\'ve just got a new electric one so shall test out my new toy tightening them up )

Mike

[MikeLMR]

finished ... just need to get the paint polished/ touched up where the old mirrors have marked the paint. Its not too noticable so it can wait a while.