Project KE30

Toyota's fate hangs in the balance

2013-03-21T20:27:00.001+01:00

For a few days after the sunny afternoon work session I was feeling so uneasy, a little absent not knowing really why. Then it came to me very clearly. I realized that this suspension state was a result of my unconscious fear related to the outcome of the technical validation I was about to undertake. Despite my optimistic nature I was fully aware that Toyota could not obtain a passing grade, but I was fed up with all the waiting and doing nothing so I decided to make hay while the sun shines not wasting more time. I wanted a clear answer so as to how far I need to go in order to meet all the technical requirements to fully enjoy the ownership of the car! On the Internet I found a page describing all the parts that the diagnosticians usually check. It was in Polish, so pasting here the link would have been pointless :-). Below you will find the main points and my subjective grade of each element.

1. confirmation of the data included in the car's registration document: VIN number, chassis number, engine number, etc. [OK]
2. possession of warning triangle and fire extinguisher. [OK]
3. condition of license plates and all other car's markers e.g. control label [OK]
4. conditions of the tires and tire pressure. [OK]
5. condition of the lights: their performance, location, number, etc. [OK - probable problems with the rear fog light]
6. condition and performance of the braking system. [OK in general, but the technical validation will verify that]
7. condition and performance of steering. [OK in general, but the technical validation will verify that]
8. condition of the chassis. shock absorbers and equalizer springs. [the biggest unknown]
9. condition and performance of the transmission system. [OK in general, but the technical validation will verify that]
10. condition of the bumpers. [perfect :-)]
11. condition of the fuel tank together with the tubing. [OK]
12. condition of the electrical installation: battery, cables, electrical devices, etc. [OK]
13. condition of the body including mirrors, glasses, windscreen wipers, washer, seat belts and speedometer. [someone overzealous could find something]
14. level of noise. [I have conerns]
15. pollution emission. [I was not able to check it :-)]
16. leakage of fluids. [no signs]

Based on the list I estimated the stage of my preparations. Taking into account the elements I was able to check I didn't foresee any problems. I drove around my neighbourhood and as usual I was only concerned about the noise coming from the exhaust as it was drawing attention to the car. I was not used to driving a vintage car and my current car is very quiet, so I didn't really know whether that was something normal or not. Thus, I asked Mr. Bohdan to do me the kindness of driving my KE30 for a while. After finishing the ride he stated that according to him the car in general should pass the technical validation, but the only uncertainty was related to the condition of the bottom of Toyota. In that case, there was nothing else left to do than to go and find out how the reality looks like. Stay tuned as this will happen in next post!

A sunny afternoon full of work

2013-03-20T16:21:00.000+01:00

           A few days before my holidays I called Mr. Bohdan asking if he would like to devote some of his time in order to help me using his experience and expertise with regard to faulty electrical wiring. I had to do that, because this case was still on my mind and I wanted to resolve it once and for all.
           When I came back from holidays I dived into an endless whirl of work, sleeping off a jet lag and after that - tiredness. Then I had to enjoy some sweet laziness due to EURO 2012 successfully taking all my afternoons and evenings. At this point of time I received an unexpected and totally fantastic gift from Adam, who must have sensed or correctly predicted a drop in my motivation and gave me a needed push back that put me on the right track.
           I arranged a meeting with Mr. Bohdan on Saturday when Poland was playing with Czech Republic. We spent a few hours in the afternoon together performing verious tasks. First of all, we decided to blow the air in the left rear wheel up as it had been escaping since the change of tires. In the process we discovered that there is a problem with the cigarette lighter that didn't work not allowing us to use an electronic device to deal with the flat tire. Thus, I had to a good exercise for my muscles. We also checked the engine as some problems had been previously noticed. When removing first 2 spark-plugs a drop in performance could be noticed (correct response), while there was no change after removal of the other 2. We replaced them with new ones and everything was OK after that. Our next steps involved spraying all the plugs with a special agent and then we started analyzing my previous efforts. It turned out that my assumption with regard to the correct grounding was fairly correct, but I should have found a better place to attach the cable to... A screw with a nut were more than perfect for this task and the rear lights stopped flashing once and for all! ;). However, a short circuit appeared preventing the left turn signal from flashing. Quick observation indicated that the culprit is the front left turn signal located on the bumper. How did we know about that? Well, he was the only not having the adequate spark, spark of life - let me say :-). A careful examination showed a strong adhesion of the metal part of the light bulb with the lamp casing, which prevented proper operation of the turn signals. I had to do some serious scraping with a knife in order to get rid of all the rust, I used the special agent and voila! Mr. Bohdan said that if on one side of the car there had been such a problem there were good chances that we would encounter a similar one on the other side. So we did check it and it was a lot worse :-). After a lot of effort from my side I was able to deal with it and everything worked as it should! Great feeling!
           When the afternoon was coming to an end I asked Mr. Bohdan to do a mini technical validation before the real one. We did some state of the art work by placing black sticker on a crashed putty that was coming away pretty badly. It was quite a funny way to fix things, but a man has to do what a man has to do, right? :-). As the match against Czech Republic was inexorably approaching I had to say goodbye and leave the rest of work for later. I cordially thanked Mr. Bohdan for his help and support and I know we really enjoyed that afternoon. So did I! :-)

Windscreen wipers

2013-03-19T14:01:00.000+01:00

In preparation for the technical validation of my Toyota I replaced both windscreen wiper blades, because the rubber was so old and brittle that there was really nothing to clear the windscreen with, which can be seen in the photographs presented below. New wipers were purchased in TESCO and although they do not have the same size as the old ones they fit perfectly. Moreover, I adjusted the windscreen washer's nozzles and for the first time in my ownership history Toyota had had a clean windscreen. You can't even imagine how much dust is in the garage! :-).

2 license plate lights joined the rear bumper for life!

2013-03-19T10:21:00.001+01:00

In order to fulfill all requirements of technical validation I undertook a systematic verification of each and every single element of the car I could lay my eyes and hands on. Rear bumper was my first choice due to the relatively easy detection of defects or missing things. It required a refresh, but more importantly, it needed license plate lights as there were none.

I must admit that I did not expect that the bumper on the inside will look so badly, but I assume the reason for that was the beautiful color "black pearl", which was covering it on the outside. Then it came to me that in all my fascination with the car I didn't notice the lack of chrome bumpers that were in the original version. However, the overall effect was not bad at all and from an aesthetic point of view it was more then bearable :-).

Before I started to work on the bumper I first brought him to my hometown, where my dad had already done some research on local auto scrapyards in order to find appropriate license plate lights. Knowing how they should look like we bought two lamps from small Fiat 126p and adapted the holes in the bumper so that both would fit smoothly without falling out on every bump. Results of our work can be seen in picture no. 4. It was a noisy uphill struggle during which a huge file, which we used, let out terribly plaintive moans, causing discontent among ladies forced to listen to the cacophony.

When both holes were ready I got rid of the old screws that had to be drilled numerous of times in order to wrench them of the bumper (picture no. 5). After that it was time to have fun with a wire brush during a hard work of getting rid of rust. Moreover, the bumper was secured anti-corrosion fluid and finally, after waiting an appropriate amount of time, I coated it with a paint that can be applied directly on rust. As you can see in the pictures the bumper was patched a little bit and a hole was cut for a fog light. After the painting I think that the bumper looks really nice and I hope this is reflected in the pictures :-). In addition, new bolts contrast nicely with the black color giving it an overall elegant appearance. License plate lights were mounted on the bumper and they work sensationally!

rear bumper on the inside

some welded patches

a trained eye can spot a welding there :-)

the effect of an uphill struggle with the holes

old bolts

new bolts

the effect of my work

a closer look on one...

... and the other side of the rear bumper

license plate lights - view from the top

nice, isn't it? :-)

license plate light - behind the scenes

have the right one blinked? :-)

Solidarity of rear lights

2012-05-17T20:08:00.001+02:00

Now it's time to cast a little bit more light on the matter of... lighting, which generally works fine let alone a small exception - the rear lights. I believe, if I am not mistaken, that I have mentioned this in one of the first posts, but if not, surely, it was easy to see it in the video of the reception of the car. The following video was shot after two-month stay in the garage and was the first opportunity for Toyota to take a breath of fresh air. The blame, for turning the high beam on and not turning the switch hard enough to get the sidelights, I put on the stress of appearing before such a large audience :-).

For a long time now, I meant to get to solving the problem with the rear lights. The problem appears when a right direction indicator is put into position. There must be a kind of short circuit and the right turn signal works, but accompanied by all the other rear lights. Oh, this lights solidarity. The following movie beautifully describes how it works mainly due to the night time. You have to look closely in order to see it because the blinking frequency decreases with the transition from right to left, but blinking on the left side can be seen. Frankly speaking, not only after I unscrew both rear lights panels did I saw with my own eyes that all lights are flashing - not only on the right side as I thought in the very beginning.

I asked among countless number of people, what could be causing this blinking problem, and all as one man said - grounding. Naturally, other answers were given as well, but "grounding" was the most frequent one without any doubt. The first think I did was cleaning contacts and I used this opportunity to have a better look at the rear lights on the right. Mariusz (you remember him from tires changing operation) told me where I could buy such a nice reinforced rubber gloves as he had and you can see them at work. I also cleaned light bulbs siled with paint after the last body spraying. There was a dramatic situation, though, as I let one fall to the fround, by accident of course, and it burst into pieces ;-(. I had to buy a new one and because I bought the wrong one, I learned there is somthing like filament in a bulb... joke: D. Double filament was needed. Now I have it. Thanks to that I also learnt the English word for it. Ha! I am so lucky and happy that TESCO is open 24h/day, except for of all sort of holidays, of course. So I cleaned the contacts, I saw how the cables go and I washed the lights cover on the inside and outside. I am pretty sure that those more observant of you, while looking at photos from April photo session, noticed that the right panel looks much better than the left one, not only because of the sun shining from the right side:-).

Basically it is everything I have for you today. No success story from that day, but some cool photos and a few interesting pieces :-). If anyone had any idea how to approach the subject I am willing to get the show on the road!

right rear lights seen from the perspective of someone locked in a trunk

that's how the wires look like on the right panel

o, this is where the wires are plugged in

this is the place of the right side indicator that needs support from other bulbs

and this is where the double filament bulb fits into

no, no that's not the double filament bulb - having it here would be too painful...

old, crusted rubber looking appalling...

right rear lights panel from behind...

... and from the front (dirsty, isn't it? :-))

Waclaw's curse or how NOT to renovate an old car

2012-05-15T16:33:00.000+02:00

Reality is starting to outpace the one currently existing on the blog, so it's time to knuckle down and catch up with it, especially, that recently I haven't been spending as much time with Toyota as I should or would like to. Therefore, there's a chance to make up for it.

After changing the tires I wanted to focus on the next element of the car in order to make another step in the process of renovation. I also felt like tiding it a little, so I came up with an idea of concentrating on something not-very-challenging. Hence, my struggles with the steering column began. I think it's the right moment to confess to my ignorance of the names of particular elements I had to deal with while working with the column. I don't even know whether I named this element correctly at all! From this place I wanted to apologize in advance for all the mistakes I made, and thank for all remarks and pieces of advice on the matter. I hope that photos will help in deciphering this subject :-).

In the beginning, I wanted to dismantle the steering wheel. Hmm... how can I even do this? At first, I thought that it's going to be a piece of cake – I unscrewed two bolts, which enabled access to the main bolt on the shaft, which I unscrewed and the wheel was ready to be taken off. And there it was where the first problem appeared. As a delicate and gentle man by nature I didn't want to abuse my strength while dismantling the steering wheel. But it just didn’t want to come off! I struggled harder and harder and… nothing. I came back home, read Haynes, checked with Piotrek and I knew what to do. The site I got from Piotrek contained some examples of real-life experiences with high level of wisdom in them. I followed the guidance and I put the bolt on its initial position on the shaft before another attempt to take off the steering wheel. These smart safety precautions would save my nose if the steering wheel suddenly came off after a very strong pull. I made it, without hurting my nose! :-)

Afterwards, I unscrewed the bolts from the steering column’s cover and then removed the cover itself, revealing the steering column, which can be seen in the photos below. I was so excited about the whole process that I completely forgot about Waclaw’s interdictions and his Waclaw's interdictions and his curse [1], which I learnt a couple of weeks ago. Truth be told, it crossed my mind to take some photos during the work process, but I just didn't feel like interrupting this interesting task and going all the way back home just to take the camera. Naah…Thus, this manifestation of laziness was to get its revenge soon!

After unscrewing all the screws and unplugging the electrical wiring I removed the steering column and gladly took it home, where, using toothpicks, cosmetic sticks, spirit and other cleaning agents, I started to clean. By the way, I learned how the indicator lever works and how, by turning the steering wheel, turn signal switches off automatically. I also noticed a problem with the mechanism responsible for turning on high beams, and despite strenuous attempts I could not do anything about it. I should have taken some photos…

A couple of days later, time came to pay a visit to my parents’ house, so using the opportunity I took with me the steering columns with everything else. I arrived quite late and barely had time to enter the house and greet with everyone when my dad took the stuff I brought and got down to action. Together we managed to work out the mechanism and everything works like new. I should probably go home more often and bring gradually with me pieces of the car. Maybe after a few months I will manage to relocate it without having to drive it :-).

"All's well that ends well". This time I managed to trick Waclaw's curse, although I know that in the near future it will have plenty of opportunities to remind me about itself. I will have to be vigilant and stick to the bushido code of people renovating old cars. Thanks to this experience, though, I was able to understand the mechanism and the logic behind the important elelemnt of every car. If anyone ever had similar problems or had any questions I would be more than happy to help :-).

[1] This is a set of rules/laws one has to follow in order to complete restoration of an old car without problems. Upon those who don’t stick to the rules a curse has been cast. Available only in Polish…

steering column after dismantling it to pieces

overview of the steering column

quasi view from the top

attempt to have a closer look

en face view

tore rubber protecting some wires

overview

not working (at that time) indicator

this is how it looks from the other side - the module responsible for sidelights and high beam lights located on the left side

A day of good fortune

2012-05-03T19:15:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, as I normally do at least once a week, I was monitoring the Internet. On Allegro.pl (Polish eBay) nothing new - no parts at a good price, no similar models, no offers; on Mobile.de for the last few weeks - nothing new; on Ebay.com generally always the same things, although someone in Australia (I suppose) was selling KE55 parts, claiming that they would certainly fit KE30; on Gumtree.com.au, as always, a lot of ads and cool stuff, but generally in most cases, the sellers were interested to sell locally. Well on the other hand I don’t want to collect everything there is, because I have no space to store it, nor money to buy it:-). I was amused the most by the option on Alibaba.com, where our Chinese brothers for a few dollars can do any spare part for the car. A prerequisite is the order of at least several dozens of pieces :-).
So, while I was going through various pages I found something I was interested in from the first day of having the car. It was namely… the dash cover, which in my Toyota is in an awful state - destroyed by the sun and cigarettes extinguished on it (?). This is the first element that strikes the eye as viewed from the outside. Anyway, see for yourself how it looks like up close.

And this is how this piece of interior should look like. Time will come to buy it when I will be taking care of the interior of the car.

Dash covers can be found under the following links:

http://www.stockinteriors.com/DashCaps.asp?Itemid=11479&MakeId=28&ModelId=406

http://www.dashtops.net/products/dash-cover-1975-1979-toyota-corolla-ke30

Another example of the good fortune that day was finding a person with Toyota Corolla KE30 in Austria! Marion, because that is her name, published information about gasoline usage the car on www.spritmonitor.de and thanks to that I managed to find her. In order to send her a message I needed to be registered and so I did. It was a small price for the opportunity to speak with the owner of such an iconic car :-). I was very pleasantly surprised by the quick and positive response to my message from her. I am very happy because of this acquaintance and the possibilities to exchange mutual experiences and valuable pieces of advice. That is very important. I'm so happy! :-).
I wonder how many more KE30 lovers are in Europe. I can’t wait to get to know more if them. After all, it is just 98 people with this model of Toyota Corolla I have to find to be able to order spare parts from China:-P.

April photo session

2012-05-01T09:31:00.001+02:00

Spring, or to be more precise summer, has come to Poland for good. That is why I was so happy to use that opportunity to get out of the garage and take some photos. There was also one, very important reason - the fothcoming application deadline for the Discovery Channel contest I wanted to apply to, but I didn't have any nice photos - all of them in the garage, without sun, a little bit depressive :-).

For those who don't know about the fan page of Project KE30 on Facebook or prefer to follow us only on the blog I decided to upload the newest photos taken on April 27th.

Wheeler Dealers - the contest

2012-04-30T22:08:00.004+02:00

Quite recently Piotrek has sent me a link to a site containing a piece of information about the contest organized by Discovery Channel with Cyfrowy Polsat and Auto Świat weekly. This time Mike Brewer and Edd China, the characters from the series called Wheeler Dealers, are heading for Poland on a mission to restore another vehicle. The repair itself is the main prize in the competition and the budget is 5 TPLN (ca. 1,2 TEUR) . The contest consists of several stages and the final one lasts until 1^st July.

More was I shocked by the fact that I didn't find any information about the contest myself rather than I was happy after finding out about it from Piotrek. It's kind of a weekend tradition that we watch these series together with Milena and sometimes, which is odd, she watches it alone :)

The first stage assignment was to apply until 29^th April. It was really hard to fulfill this condition using less than 2000 characters. As a person known for verbosity and taking delight in using flowery language I find it quite a challenge. I have two witnesses to confirm that writing 1995 characters (I wanted to finish at 1979 – the car's production year) certainly wasn't an easy thing to do and took several hours. Luckily, I made it to the deadline and below you can see my application no. 64414.

In all, there are 66776 applications in the contest (!!!), 5 of which will make it to the next stage... After reviewing several pages with the cars I must admit, that there are really interesting car applications. I had no idea that there are so many nice cars in Poland! I congratulate and envy the owners at the same time. I didn't find any Toyota similar to mine, which of course doesn't mean there aren't any in Poland. I would love to meet the owners of this model of Toyota. That would be FREAKING FANTASTIC!!! If you know someone or maybe if anyone is reading this right know - I would be more then grateful for contacting me :-).

Currently the second stage is in progress and until 14^th May, three-person jury will choose only 5 the most interesting cars. If my application gained acceptance of the jury I would inform you in the first place! In the meantime, please cross your fingers! :-)

Mazda 323 FA '79 - a movie from the inspection

2012-04-22T14:26:00.001+02:00

This short movie presents Mazda 323 FA from 1979 that we visited on our Saturday's excursion to look for vintage cars. Acknowledges should go to Janek for making it available in a short notice and all the time he spent editing it.

If anyone was interested in the car I have contact to the owner. He said that on April 25th the technical validation of the car finished and before that time it would be possible to buy the car. Afterwards, he will do the technical inspection himself and probably will keep the car. So, all interested - ready, steady, go! :-)

On the lookout for vintage cars

2012-04-22T14:11:00.001+02:00

           On April 14^th against all odds I decided to go on a search trip for another car, which I could take care of. In fact, I wanted to write that I am looking for my next victim, because most likely the car would become a victim of my vintage cars greed. Probably I am too concerned that old cars in decent condition are becoming too hard to encounter that my heart spontaneously reacts on every interesting opportunity appearing on the market. It was like that for the past few days when, together with Peter, we selected two cars that were worth our attention - Porsche 924 from 1981 and 1982 Toyota Celica. Both in the vicinity of Krakow, so it was easy to gather a team of experts.
           The first car is a classic car and by far the cheapest model of Porsche. This was the first car Mike and Edd took care of in their program "Wheeler dealers." Some might say that this is not the top league and stuff, but Porsche is always Porsche, even if it is a one with the “weakest” possible engine. In addition, it is said that this type of Porsche is a car a student could afford to have and maintain because it is really not very expensive. Availability of parts is relatively good, and as they are mainly parts for VW it is not so that expensive.
           On the other hand, the second car, Toyota Celica probably TA60 or TA61, representative of the third generation , is quite rare to come upon in Poland Rear wheel drive (RWD), two carburetors, more than 100 horsepower - all of that makes it a pretty cool sport car. In the pictures on the website it looked quite interestingly and therefore got a chance for a rendez-vous. The only thing that worried me was the mileage of the car of ca.270,000 km, but it was perhaps just the slightest problem of all as it turned out in the end.
           Actually, I should have started by telling you that the main reason and initiator of the whole trip was 33 years old first generation Mazda 323 FA. In USA it is known under different name – GLC, which stand for Great Little Car. It is the one with the beautiful square front lamps, which you can see in the picture below. I was also fascinated with her overall beauty and age, of course ;-). I had never seen a similar Mazda and quick search on the Internet had shown that it was not a popular and commonly seen model in Poland and neighboring countries. It was reasonable to assume that spare parts will be, firstly, really hard to get and, secondly, very expensive. Eventually, this car was rejected after the talk with the owner, who said there was a hole in the floor on driver's side. Fortunately, the fuel is not that expensive to behave as Fred Flintstone :-).
            The whole band of brothers was gathered in Krakow – two guys with the same name Janek, Piotr and Lesław. The plan was the following - first Porsche and then Toyota due to better value to price ratio. At least that is what we assumed from the advertisements on the Internet.
            So, we did as we planned and after a short trip we arrived at a dealer’s place where the Porsche of our interest was. The reality quite roughly verified what was in the announcement. Namely, it turned out that the geometry of the vehicle was likely to be affected as the body gaskets were coming off the body. Moreover, the front was covered quite a thick layer of plastic filler, which in addition has already started to crack revealing the secret of what might have happened to the car and what awaits the unaware buyer. Peter honed me a bit on sensing the thickness of the body paint with the fingers and how to distinguish the original paint from others. A steady hand and a smooth the eye is able to capture many of the shortcomings. There was also an unclear story of LPG installation, which presence could be seen, but for some reason it was removed. Last quick look under the hood and we were ready to hit the road.
            To our next destination we got without any problems and a surprise awaited us. We walked to the owner, shook hand with him, we stood for a moment waiting for him to leads us to the car, and suddenly he showed a motorbike standing nearby and said, "Well, as you can see," and we laughed and said that we had come to see the car: -). A garage sale! :-). The car was on the other side of the house. It underwent a thorough evaluation of mainly two experts while I was gathering additional pieces of information to these I obtained during earlier telephone conversation I had with the owner. An interesting car, no doubt about it, having common problems typical for old cars. If it was not for the experiments of the owner (welded right door handle from the outside, suspicious LPG installation, converted bonnet, home-made body paint), it probably would have been an interesting potential purchase candidate. In these circumstances, the price to value ratio was not very favorable. Therefore, we decided that it was time for us. Piotr said that we could check the Mazda 323 as it was just off the road on the way back.
           So we did and literally after a few minutes we were arrived at the place. As in previous cases, we all went directly to work and checked the car. The general impressions on Mazda were very good and even with one indentation on the back and the front fenders solidly cracked it looked very decent. The interior was super nice and if it was not for the awareness of the holes under the feet of the driver it would have really been a good car. The owner took a good care of the mechanical side of the car and we made a point of test driving the car a couple times:-). Video should follow soon, but it is still in the post production :-). Well, I was struggling, struggling awfully. Guys were giving the car maximum 5 years and some welding work to do. All in all, I would judge her status as a slightly better than my Toyota, but eventually it got to me that I should focus on one car, and not to have several irons in the fire, as I normally do. We thanked the owner and returned to Krakow.
           It was a very nice trip indeed and beyond its obvious social value it contained educational value as well. I learned new skills very useful for recognition of hidden traps always waiting for inexperienced buyers. I know where and how to look and more importantly I know what to pay attention to. Moreover, I learned that I must finish the thing that I have started before taking another one into consideration. With such a strong mindset and commitment I returned to Warsaw on the same day and from this very place, I wanted to warmly greet my travel companions Konrad, Julian and Paweł :P.

Fuel Cap

2012-04-11T15:51:00.000+02:00

I am pretty sure that many of you reading this blog have though once or twice about how does a dismantled fuel cap look like. Today I decided to present the naked truth about this important element of the car, who defends the cleanness of the fuel! Names of many of its parts are not know to me in Polish, let alone in English, but I did all my best to clean and polish it perfectly. Now it shines like a true star should shine :-). I will just add, with inherent modesty of course, that after putting everything together there was nothing left and the fuel cap works like a charm! Currently the cap is not in use, because this will take place after the body renovation and painting when time will come to deal with the interior and some exterior accessories. Feast your eyes upon this marvellous piece of art! :-).

P.S. For those interested more in how the fuel cap works an opportunity exists to make a short instruction movie! :-))

Mr. Bohdan and his collection

2012-04-10T13:04:00.002+02:00

In this post I would like to present another interesting person, whom I met as a result of my new interest in vintage cars. The person is Mr. Bohdan and his name is quite unusual, because normally in Poland it is with „g” instead of „h” – Bogdan. The way in which we have acquaintanced one another is quite unusual and worth describing in a more detailed fashion. I hope you won’t mind :-). So let me start from the beginning.

When I was buying the new tires for my Corolla I made an appointment with the seller to meet at the parking lot at the supermarket near the place I live. After the transaction I was slowly returning home using a route that I rarely use. What I mean is that I do use it, but mainly for going from home to various places :-P. That is exactly why I had a chance to see something that normally I would probably not see :-). Hence, I was slowly driving on the right lane scanning surrounding car parks in search of any old- or yountimers. Taking into consideration the material status of people living in the area chances to encounter any of such cars are quite low :-). Nevertheless, I wanted to give it a try. I was so surprised when I saw a beautifully shaped car covered with Yellow Bahama paint (as I learnt later) having old Polish license plates with white letters on black background going perfectly with it. Without thinking too much I turned to the parking lot and quickly, so as not to arouse any suspicion, I briefly inspected the car. It was the Opel Kadett ‘67 and at first glance he impressed me very much. On the way back home I cooled down, but in my head the images of what I saw remained and an action plan slowly begun to develop.

My “partner in crime” was chosen to be Milena and it was her I took for the night action under the cover of darkness. All of that in order to send a proper message to the owner of the beautiful car :-). The message was written on my business card and I was thinking of putting it under the windscreen wiper, but due to a bad weather it could have not reached the owner. Therefore, we decided to insert the card into the gap between the door and the chassis, which would result in its falling out when someone opens the door. We returned home convinced of accomplishing the mission.
Very soon my dreams had to give way to dull reality and so with each passing day I occupied myself less with questions about the message we sent. And then, when least expected, the owner of the Opel Kadett called me! Of course I had no clue that it was him calling, because I was in the middle of conversation with Mr. Slawek at that very time. I didn’t answer the phone, yet I decided to call back on the way back to Warsaw. When I did so, while still being under huge impression of the meeting with Mr. Slawek I didn’t understand a thing from what the person I was calling was saying. If it was not for Milena, her full of expression gestures and the excited words “this is the owner of THE car” I would not have gotten a slight idea of what was going on. From that point it was much easier :-). We arranged a meeting on Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Bohdan turned out to be a very nice and humble man who has a passion for collecting and renovating old cars. He is an electrician from education, a mechanic born from passion and need. All his cars whenever it’s possible he tries to repair by himself on the parking lot in front of his blocks of flat. More advanced and demanding proper equipment works he commissions to persons or companies he got to know during his renovation activities. He has enormous knowledge and reliable contacts, which makes him invaluable person and source of needed information to me :-). Once he even appeared on a television interview for an automotive channel. I am sure he will be mentioned more than once on thi blog.

The meeting was great! Three hours passed in a flash. During the meeting I learned a little bit of Mr. Bohdan’s car collection, which includes the following specimens: already mention Opel Kadett '67, Skoda Rapid (pictures below), Opel Kadett '84 and Opel Kadett from the 90's, Skoda Octavia from the 80’s I suppose, Opel cabriolet and a few more which I cannot recall right now :-).We had a ride with the oldest Opel on the parking lot only, and then with the one from 1984 we got to Skoda Rapid, which we took a small trip. Afterwards, I invited Mr. Bohdan to see my Toyota, and he confirmed what everyone already said that I would spend some time working on the car, but it was a very nice car. He also checked the if there was no slack in the steering wheel and if by any chance the strange dots on the body paint were not rust centers under the paint. Of course I have such as well, but in this case he was checking the countless number of dots on the paint. My every Sunday football game was getting closer and closer so I was forced to end the meeting. I took Mr. Bohdan back to his parking lot, thanked him warmly for his time and showing his cars. Mr. Bohdan said that for him as a vintage cars enthusiast sharing his passion with others is the greatest reward and happiness. Let this serve as a commentary:-).

Mr. Slawek and the spare parts for KE30

2012-04-05T21:11:00.003+02:00

In order to fulfill the promise from the last post I would like to present an account of the meeting with Mr. Slawek, who at a certain point of his life was a proud owner of two Corollas and one of them was KE30! I got Mr. Slawek’s mobile number from Piotr, the previous owner of the car. I do not remember exactly now who was contacted by who, but I’d rather bet on Mr. Slawek contacting Piotr with the offer of spare parts. I had a telephone conversation with Mr. Slawek in January and he promised to search for the parts and contact me again to arrange a meeting. When there was a chance for a free weekend at the end of February I didn’t hesitate too much, but I called Mr. Slawek immediately and proposed a meeting, which Mr. Slawek was very pleased to agree to. Due to the fact that he lives a little bit farther than Lublin together with Milena we wanted to use an opportunity to visit some interesting places in or near Lublin. One thing we were sure of - we wanted to go to Majdanek. Unfortunately, the weather was not very good at that day, very, very windy, so we abandoned our plans. Eventually, it turned out that we will have to pay one more visit to Mr. Slawek, so we weren’t very disappointed.

Arriving at the place was not much of a trouble, because Mr. Slawek described the route very well and GPS also did a pretty good job. However, I must admit that the last few hundred meters were tricky even for GPS so we had to ask representatives of local community for help. We helped them in return, gaining a few points of karma, so it was a win-win :-). We were warmly greeted by Mr. Slawek and his wife Marzena. Milena was invited to the kitchen by the lady of the house for a chit-chat, while I was dragged to the garage, where Mr. Slawek gathered substantial number of spare parts. I learned many interesting stories of Mr. Slawek’s two Corollas and even saw a few photos with one of them. The history or rather the end of history of one of them was really sad as it was set to other less glorious, yet still useful purposes – the bonnet served as door for cows in a shed, the driver’s seat was transferred to a tractor to serve a new master and the roof of the car was transformed into an outhouse roof. As a comment I will use Mr. Slawek quote - "in the countryside nothing goes to waste" :-).

After the freezing cold ousted us from the garage to the house we found a table full of refreshments, which was really nice of the hosts and more stories about family, work, nowadays and in the past, about the crisis in Lublin, relations with neighbors, and about a shrine which protects the house and provides it with adequate grace :-). There is no doubt that Mr. Slawek has an oratory gift, so we were not aware that so many hours passed since our arrival. Time flies - as it usually happens when spending time in good company.

Now it is the time to write a little bit about the main purpose of the visit. Mr. Slawek’s possessions are presented on the pictures below. Frankly speaking, my knowledge of the overall mechanical condition of the car and its individual components is quite negligible, thus it was hard for me to identify and divide those things into necessary and unnecessary group, and determine whether the items owned by Mr. Slawek will even fit into my model. For sure I have different tail lights, his grill is larger with cut-outs for 2 additional headlights, which I don’t have at all :-). When it comes to other things – we will see. The things that brought me the biggest joy were the original manual for KE30 Mr. Slawek had (in German and French unfortunately – another languages to learn...: P) and a door mirror (!!!), which is a very crucial part! I was equipped with the fuel pump, racing steering wheel for Corolla, if I felt like changing something, brake cable and light casings, but not all of them fit. Last, but not least, the original fuel cap, which I will describe one day in a separate post to present one of silent heroes of Toyota Corolla! :-).

Before departure we agreed with Mr. Slawek that we would contact him again in forthcoming weeks after he brings the other spare parts, which he still keeps on his garden plot located ca. 60 km from the place he lives. I'll call him probably today or tomorrow, to pass happy Easter wishes and schedule our next meeting. Talk to you soon!

PS. If you ever hear that someone has some spare parts for old Corolla or maybe you come across any please let me know! :-)

discs, clutch parts, parts of the steering column, etc

a silencer, a shaft, tail lights, dashboard's component, etc.

a water pump, a shock absorber, a distributor

front and rear windowscreen and a grill

closer look on the tail lights

THE OFFICIAL MANUAL!

my booty :-)

Changing tires - part 2

2012-03-21T08:06:00.000+01:00

It had to be like never before and it turned out to be as always. Almost exactly the same as with our national team as it plays like never before, and lose as ever. Sad, very sad :-). But let's focus on the things of the recent past, because there are so many of them that it is really hard for me to keep writing everything down regularly. Besides, the weather is so nice outside so it is possible to boldly look to the future restoration actions.

The previous post described the first part of the garage change of tires, so it would be just right to complete it of course. Following suggestion given by Mariusz I brought the remaining tires to him later that evening. In order to have a better access to them I had to move the car further from the wall leaving little space for my garage neighbor to leave/enter his car. That’s why I left him a note explaining my reasons and promising him amending the situation soon. The next day when I was getting back home from work I took my tires, however due to substantial amount of tasks in the afternoon I was not able to mount them. When I finished all my chores it was too late for the whole operation to take place so all I did was to take a wire brush and work a little bit on getting rid of excess rust on front discs and shields. Moreover, together with my new friend WD-40 we unscrewed some little screws that haven’t been moved for a long, long time. During these activities I destroyed a heavily rusted wire, which name I do not really know, but I learnt from Piotr that it was responsible for stabilization of the brake pads. The second wire was missing already so the front right pads don’t have any wires at all right now. On the other side of the car both wires are in place, but time has put its mark on them as well so there is a chance they will be damaged or destroyed soon as well. Luckily, I managed to track down a set of brake pads accessories and I am preparing myself for making the appropriate investments :-). I was so lost in the scrubbing and destroying things that I returned home at 1 am ... :-)).

The next day I finished replacing the wheels, which I have to wash, so I'm glad that we are having such a nice weather right now! In addition, Mariusz once again proved to be a very nice person, securing the wheels with rust binder so that at least for a while there will be no need to do anything in this topic. My heart has undergone a massive contraction during the examination of the bottom of the car where I saw what rust did to the car’s body. The fragment is located under the radiator and it is presented in the pictures at the bottom of the entry. I accidentally learnt that there is a need to weld the exhaust pipe, which is barely, really barely holding on some makeshift spring.

Subsequent posts will contain accounts of really nice meetings with even nicer people who share or have shared a similar passion. I invite you cordially to constantly visit and contribute to this site! :-).

The front disc brake on the left side

the wire you can see there on the left side is not there anymore :-)

Under the radiator - I can't look at this it's too painful :((((

the wheel that Mariusz secured with the rust binder

jack in action on the rear axis

a closer look from the other side

the exhaust pipe with the silencer

the rear drum break in the act of scrubbing

the rear drum break after the act of scrubbing

Changing tires - part 1

2012-03-06T22:37:00.000+01:00

All recent activities are aimed at bringing the car to a state where it will easily pass the technical examination that is a must for registering the car and using it for driving of course. It is also essential in order to proceed to the next stage of renovation – the issue of car’s body and paint which, let’s face the truth, have seen better days. I do not exactly know how to approach this topic yet and a lot of people is telling me I cannot do it by myself, which is obvious, but it would be nice to at least save some money, do something by myself and learn a new profession :-).

Anyway, what I was about to write is that (only few people know about it) the person responsible for all my latest actions is Piotr. He is my brother’s friend, a veritable treasure trove of automotive knowledge, a person who stretched out a helping hand to a rookie, a great enthusiast and a good spirit. I am totally aware that, if it was not for him, his suggestions, links he sends, checklists he does I would still be like a child in the dark. Thanks to him at least I am not in the dark :-). He puts the necessary structure and order to all my actions. What is really interesting is that he is another Piotr, whose name will be written in golden letters in the history of my Toyota!:-). From this place, I thank him immensely!

After running the car for the first time the plan was to check all the fluids in the car.

Test of the engine oil showed very good results - maximum level, which can be seen in the picture.

There was no brake fluid at all (picture below), that is why I used fluid DOT-4.

When it comes to the coolant I am not exactly sure how I should verify its level, but for now it is not that important, because I am not going for long trips in the near future. I will refer to Haynes in the forthcoming days to check it.

The next step was the replacement of tires. With the car I got the following set:
- left front and right front tire - Roadstone (respectively 2004 and 2001),
- right rear - Firestone F-580 (2001) and the left rear Michelin (1995), but the latter was previously a spare one, and Piotr, the previous owner, used it to replace the faulty one. Having two different tires on one axle is something that should be avoided if someone goes for technical inspection. When it comes to TWI (Tread Wear Index) I was only able to find the mark on one tire and it showed 4 mm, so I know nothing about the condition of other tires.

I didn’t want to spend too much time on searching for the tires, but luckily Piotr reviewed internet auctions and prepared a list of the offers. We decided to go for the best affordable option - set of 4 Michelin Energy 175/70R13 82T E3B1. Three tires from the end of 2006 and one from early 2007. Tread 3 x 6mm and 1 x 5.5 mm. So far, it is ok - until I can find someone who will sell me Watanabe wheels:-)). I invested some money in two jacks and I could get down to action. Due to the fact that the car didn’t have the technical examination and there was a problem with the air pressure of left front wheel (see first photo below) it was not possible to drive to the mechanical workshop. There was as idea to bring the workshop into my garage, but it would cost me an additional 70 PLN than normal cost of replacement. So I decided on the option to change the tires in the garage by myself and take them to the workshop afterwards. I managed to find one workshop on the way to work and the owner Mariusz was nice enough to stay a little longer. Moreover, it turned out he lives nearby the place I live so he proposed that I should bring the last 2 tires in the evening to him. The effect of my work and the one of Mariusz you can enjoy below.

The story will be continued in the next post, which is coming soon. Sooner than you would think after my previous performance. Really! :-).

there was air in the wheel, but after my attempt to pump it up a little bit it was sneaking out of the wheel :-)

rear left wheel

a front disc and a brake together with a jack!

a rear drum brake and a jack

jack at work - the dent on the right is my fault unfortunately...

a closer look on front disc brake

a front shock absorber

jacks in action and the car without wheels

the car with newly placed wheels

I will have to clean the wheels a little bit :-)

as above

Toyota's wallpaper!

2012-03-05T20:01:00.000+01:00

It is already March and in order to please the eye for at least 2 months I am sending you the link to Toyota's wallpaper for March-April 2012 containing the 3rd Generation Toyota. Unfortunately, this is not the one that I own, but nevertheless it looks amazing! :-). Maybe it will look at least a little bit like the one below? :>

See the picture and decide for yourself (the link is below):

http://www.toyota-global.com/showroom/vehicle_heritage/corolla/downloads/wallpaper/mar-apr_2012_xga.jpg

Car running!

2012-03-05T16:01:00.020+01:00

When I saw the date of my last entry, it struck me how much time has passed and how awfully bad I fell about not having written anything since that time. I hope that no one thought that after the initial fascination with the car a moment has come where the car went by the wayside. No, no - none of this stuff. The task hasn’t overwhelmed me (yet :-)), but only a lack of free time in combination with the lack of access to the car caused this huge hole that should be filled with written accounts, pictures or videos. About the videos… In the present moment I don’t have the quality video camera with me, but this will change within 2 weeks! And now back to work, as I need to make up for lost time! :-).

Assuming that the problem with the engine firing is linked to a faulty electrical installation, I managed to convince my dad to come to Warsaw with a multimeter, so we could check what the real problem is and solve it. This allowed the whole family to come and visit me :-). Writing about this in retrospect, I feel a little bit embarrassed by my helplessness, but you must understand that at that time the car was for me, something I had little idea about, except how to drive, and even that is not certain :-). Now it is not that different, but it is certainly better :-).

Together with my dad we managed very quickly to fire up the car. However, it's really hard to say what was the main obstacle on the way to achieve this status. Before the main test took place I replaced all blown fuses (OMG getting the right ones was quite an adventure!) and bought a brand new battery (as specified). During the test, it turned out that the ignition cable was loose which was the reason for control lights not to flash while turning the key in the ignition. Fuel level was very low (we bought afterwards 20 liters + fuel surcharge), so this factor cannot be excluded as well, but I think it wasn’t that decisive. In any case, it worked! My dad drove a few meters in the garage in celebration until an alarm or something similar went off loudly. Surely emissions exceeded allowable concentration. We took English leave from the scene :-). Fortunately, the next day I had a week long business trip and I was hoping that all the emotions would go down within those days :-).

Last but not least, some pictures of the stuff I bought at the end of January:

blown fuses (I didn't have to buy those :-))

new fuses

Owners Workshop Manual - Haynes

Automotive Repair Manual - Haynes

brake fluid DOT-4 (there was no fluid)

air filter (a replacement was needed)

air filter from 1995, cool!

fuel filter in a package

fuel filter without a package

YATO YT-1268 tools

tools I got for free for buying YATO tools

clamps

Video footage!

2012-01-26T14:35:00.000+01:00

Finally! With almost 3 weeks of delay and with a huge help and support from my brother Janek it has been possible to assemble and upload on the Internet a short movie of the reception of the car. Few hours of footage has been narrowed up to only 9 minutes in order to present the events of that day in a very quick and approachable way. Taking into consideration relatively low experience in movie editing I ask you for understanding and comments! Enjoy it!

Acknowledgements also go to two lads of the name Piotr as they went down towards the creation of this movie and its colorfulness to a huge extent. Not only because Jasny was wearing a red jacket :-)

Acting on a different front

2012-01-15T10:26:00.002+01:00

Last week was gone in a speed of light, mailny because of a very tight schedule at work - year-end closing and external audit successfully kept me away from the car. The only conforting thing was that the previously mentioned distractors were not able to stop my mind from going back to my Corolla.

I decided to take some actions supporting the whole project, which I was thinking about even before I have become the rightful owner of the car. First of all, I wanted to write to Toyota company, not to Polish subsidiary, but to the headquarters. As the HQ is in Japan I visited the Japanese website of the corporation, however I was redirected to the global one. I was trying to find a "contact us" button, but the only thing I was able to find were the FAQs. I decided to head to a different, this time, American address. After introducing myself I shortly (approximately 5 000 characters :-)) described the purpose of my mail and I adressed my requests for help. I was not asking too much, only for:

- current number of Toyota Corolla KE30 cars in Poland,

- pictures (exterior, interior), specifications, documents, manuals, electric schemes etc. that could be of a huge help during the whole process,

- ability to check where and when my Toyota came to this world and who and where was the first owner,

- support regarding the replacement parts,

- contact to somebody, who would be able to help me in case of any technical problems or doubts.

As a response I got a very long, praising my enthusiasm e-mail, but on the other hand there was a clash with rigid, corporate rules, which impose on each subsidiary a responsibility for the country in which it operates. They suggested me visiting the Polish website www.toyota.pl and using the provided contact links to request for assistance with my questions. And I did as suggested.

However, from the side of the Polish subsidiary I experienced a leftdown. In the response I got in a very formal fashion I learnt that Toyota in Poland started operating in the '90s and they do not have any documentation before that time. They didn't have either a possibility to support me with any data regarding the "car in question". I knew that tthere is little to learn from them so as a good-bye question I asked about a section or a person within the corporation where I could adress my quesitons. I was told that it is very possible I could find what I was looking for on Toyota Japanese website. Wow - thank you. On side I am able to understand that one doesn't have to be so thrilled with the whole case as I am, but on the other I could not resist an impression that everything was done in such a way to get rid off me politely. I didn't sense the slightes willingness to help. I won't give up so easily and I will continue searching for answers!

Homecoming

2012-01-09T16:29:00.001+01:00

English version coming soon

The die is cast! - here we go!

2012-01-06T18:47:00.001+01:00

Today morning I made the final consultation with the command center and received possible solutions to my dilemma. Actually, I can say that they weren't solving it for good, but for sure they were foundations to quite a good plan. The point was to ask Mr. Piotr to do the car checkup right in the morning at 7 o'clock, because if the car turned out not to go through the technical inspection, I would just go by train and organize a tow straight ahead. However, if Toyota went through the inspection, the courageous plan of coming back could be executed. It would save some money and avoid stress while cooling down all the emotions a little bit. Due to hasty preparations I haven’t even thought about this absolutely great idea.

I called Piotrek, disturbing him at a work-free day and asked if any minor changes to the plan could be included. He replied calmly that he had already got used to the fact that he would had to get up before 6 AM so we could continue with the original plan, but if there were any changes that would also be fine. I have promised to let him know after talking with Mr. Piotr.

Before reveling all the details of my plan to him I was hoping to convince him to cooperate, but I haven't taken one major factor into account. The car doesn't have the liability insurance so driving it would be quite risky, as, after all, it's pretty eye-catching and to a diagnostic garage is a long way. Saying this, Mr. Piotr has cut me down to size. There was no tragedy, though, as I was considering going to Kalisz anyway. We talked about the blog, the renovation of the car and the engine repair that have been done, he promised to give me some archival photos and bid me farewell.

I called Piotrek and informed him that there were no changes to the original plan. The weather forecast says there'll be 20% chance of rain tomorrow in Kalisz , sun on Sunday (Sun on SUNday :D) and snow on Monday. I looks as if everything has been shifted one day :-) Well, we will try to conjure the sun up with our good moods.

For the time being, the 'homecoming' operation plan is as follows:
- leaving to Kalisz at about 6 AM,
- arriving there at 9-10 AM,
- signing the contract of sale,
- buying a liability insurance,
- going to the diagnostic garage,
- buying a new battery and wipers (optionally we can do this before the inspection),
- coming back to Warsaw.

Now one knows how all of this will end. Life will verify everything tomorrow. Fingers crossed and follow everything on facebook.

Operacja "homecoming" - przygotowań ciąg dalszy

2012-01-06T01:59:00.001+01:00

English version comming soon

Operacja "homecoming" - czas przygotowań

2012-01-05T18:51:00.001+01:00

coming soon

Introduction

2012-01-04T11:42:00.003+01:00

I am a person who has got lucky recently. Namely, in a couple of days I will become the rightful owner of a beautiful car Toyota Corolla KE30 from 1979. This will make one of my dreams come true. The whole story from the beginning has had marks of exceptional. It was exactly like the proverbial love at the first sight and deep in my heart I felt that it is written for us to be together, forever. My friend even said “this car has already bought you” before I had even a chance to do the opposite – buy it. The positive energy combined with adrenaline kept me awake for hours while thousands of thoughts and ideas rushing through my mind kept me restless.

Amidst these sleepless nights an idea was born to share my happiness with the world and pass the positive energy further onto the world. That’s why I have started this blog. Actually, there were so many reasons, that it is too hard for me which one was the most important. I will just name the main ones in the order they came to my mind. Creating this blog I wanted to:

share my passion and happiness with people, which I have already mentioned;
motivate myself to hang on to my resolution based on the rule known from psychology – the more people you tell about something, the bigger the motivation will be to act;
receive broadly defined support from people sharing the same passion, especially these who are or were the owners of Toyota Corolla KE30;
inform onboard everyone interested in my actions about any advancements in the realization of the project;
create some kind of relic/monument/memento for this fantastic car and each of these wonderful people who had, have or will cross path with it;
reach people who, maybe inspired by my project, would like to follow my steps and decide on a similar adventure;
I finished George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire fantasy saga (4839 pages in 75 days) and I have to somehow fill this huge emptiness I feel waiting for next 2 books ;-);
have a refuge from this crazy world where I could simply charge my batteries, quieten a bit or meditate – in prehistoric times man stared at fire to gather strength – I will be polishing my car’s body while doing so ;-);
and many, many more.

So what is really the Project KE30? Project KE30 is nothing else then a set of accounts related to restoration of Toyota Corolla KE30 to its rightful, kindling great respect and admiration visual and mechanical state. When this goal is reached I will focus on documenting its further, heroic actions. The final form of this blog is not yet known, but I am sure that it will consist of a lot pictures, movies, accounts and even philosophical deliberations born during many hours spent together.

Coming slowly to an end, I would like to kindly ask everyone to share your impressions, insights, considerations and everything that comes to your mind while following posts on this blog, even though it is not directly related to the leitmotiv. I will be grateful for any suggestions, remarks and constructive criticisms to the same extent as for words of reassurance motivating me to persistence, tips or always warmly welcome acclamations :-). Write comments, mails, ask for the car’s condition, thickness of its body spray, level of engine oil – just stay in touch. From my side, I promise, I will answer you as quickly as my modest capabilities will allow me!