ill-minded's L70/L80 Mira

[ill-minded]

So at the start of the year, I took delivery of this little beast for a meagre sum as a project to keep me occupied in my free time while I'm not at uni or working on assignments, or just generally bludging. The basic rundown is that it's an Australian L80 Handivan, which is essentially the same as the Japanese L70V with the exception of being powered by an 850cc motor instead of a 550cc turbo motor. There are a few other subtle differences, but for the most part, they're the same car.



This particular vehicle was originally found as an old customer courtesy car for a car audio workshop in Moorooka, where I first saw it. At the time, I was as poor as most uni students are and let it slide, but told John (xsoarerx) about it, who later bought it and stashed it under his house for some months. Late last year, he offered it back to me, so I found a bit of spare change and it became mine

Upon getting it back to my residence, I checked over most of the car to suss out what would be needing repairs or replacement. I already knew the motor was pretty much cactus, but went about listing the other bits that needed attention. Main issues are:
- Dead motor
- Rust in roof/windscreen surround
- Crack in windscreen
- Busted tail light
- Steering column surround busted
- Mismatched/worn tyres
- Drivers door sagging

So, the process of stripping it out to begin repairs began...





Some of the bad patches of rust





And that's about as far as i've gotten over the past couple of weeks. Currently waiting to pull the motor and gearbox out, remove the windscreen and get the rust tended to.

Initial plans are to just get it running and registered, then lower it, find some wheels (110PCD ) and maybe look at a cheap respray. Funtimes!