Javal's Mechanical Spirit Guide / 18RG XT130 Hate Machine

[xphoenixxx]

...Ugh and i still got side tracked, problem i have is lack of people and funds to work in my corona, so any suggestions would be gratefully hoarded away until such a time as funds or desperation causes me to get it worked on.

Ie, body work, respray, dash retrim, seats retrim, engine work, chroming etc etc. Nice rims too maybe Although I am given to understand that both my wheel arches are conveniently quite wide from factory (as you recently noticed) and that celicas also came with 4 stud rims.. hello

Would love a way to transplant that ute's complete air con unit to the wagon too :/ im no engineer or air con specialist tho.

Also this is really important, and forgot to mention - the R series as I said parts are almost all interchangeable - this also means newer hardened/stainless california spec ones setup for unleaded fuel too. Your old school /LEADED/ engine can be safely converted to fully unleaded with the right valves and seats if you can find the parts!

[Javal]

Wow, gee.

Thanks for all of that useful information.

[AJPS]

lord have mercy

"Hi my name is ** and I have a problem with coronas"

[Sprinter86]

Wow.

[xphoenixxx]

You probably knew half of it, but i figure from your updates you've not got as far as dropping the 18rg in there yet; so i figured share the Corona love and let you know what i found when my 18R slipped into mine. In some ways I am more impressed by you, taking that xt130 of yours as far as you have.

Pity you are in SA; or I might ask you how much i need to start saving up to give my corona the same treatment you gave yours already Still you may be able to give me some pointers too, in return :/

To the other guy... ye Corona's anonymous.. ha! it was the original cult classic sleeper. 4 door family looking thing, with the same monsters living under the hood as the Celica - and if not, one would bolt right in. In my case the original sports wagon IMO. Tho it generally pulled harder than the Celica, Celica's went faster. The XT130, looks wise was't as neo steam punk looking as the round headlight version, and the GT concept Corona; Also lacks the Aircraft cockpit vibe of the old roundys curvy hugs the driver dashboard. But the odd choice to use a holden engine along with crazy suspension (you can nail speed humps at 80km/h like they dont exist) payed off by making it a cult car as far as versatility to modding.

Plus the brakes, dont appear anything special, but in practice they stop the thing like hitting a brick wall when you need them. Probably designed with towing heavy shit in mind. Thus the family car vibe.

How many cars can you honestly say, you could bolt both toyotas greatest hits of the 70's and 80's under the hood with virtually nil modification; and at the same time would also do the same for a fair selection of holdens too. Both of which have performance upgrades available off the shelf as a simple bolt on in the form of side draft and/or dual carbs/manifolds/headers!

I am surprised not more of these made it into cult car circles.. but then i guess you had to be there so to speak. Perhaps back in the day if a few more Corona GT'z did a few laps at bathurst they might have had more of the Torana appeal.. ah well. Those days are lost. What with Oz now being considered the land of the driving undead given the unholy crusade against the imaginary hoons and speeders which if you listen to TV apparently kill more people than old age and wars. (while in practice apparently is the smallest cause of deaths but meh)

Oh top speed of a factory pre-emission 18r in an xt130 is about 180 in a 4 speed and about 200 (est) with a 5. Tired one like mine only goes about 160 tho. That is in wagon configuration tho. Assuming the 18RG is in good shape you should expect to at least get it up to 200 on the track from factory. If not check your timing and fuel system.

As for reality. I admit i am looking at my Corona through rose colored glasses. It was my first car over a decade ago. Hard to get over that first car! When you get older you want it to look and drive like you imagined it did when you first got it! Ha!

[AJPS]

can somebody please pass me the bucket?

[xphoenixxx]

Sorry, I am all out, Settle for bucket seats instead?

Apologies to Jarval for hijacking his thread for a page. I'll shut up now, I am waiting with anticipation to hear how his car is coming along; I am dead curious how that 18rg he has got will handle in that cherry sedan of his.

[Javal]

Let me preface most of this by saying I am very well versed in almost everything related to the xT13x series, all of its engine and gearbox combinations included. From the Starfire and B/W 504 through to the 18R-G with P51 combo. I've worked with and driven them all. Come to think of it I've owned almost all of them. I've carried out 1X (starfire) to 18R conversions amongst many others, varying from dead standard to well-warmed over motors. I've been there and back again. For better or for worse, I live and breathe these cars, or what's left of them at least.

All of that said, I do appreciate your enthusiasm for Coronas but you really need to take it down a notch with your post content.

Want my advice? Sit back for a bit. Do some reading. Lurk, accustom yourself to this forum environment, get a feel for this place. Being a lot more concise with your posting would be a fantastic start. Apart from mentioning that this is a good thread and that you have several Coronas yourself, there's really not much there apart from an unfiltered rambling stream Corona factoids and nostalgia. I'm not saying that I don't appreciate your sentiment, but it's more than a little bit too much all at once.

Also for corona owners I'll always recommend as a good resource. Sit back and read for a long time before posting there though, it has a very different dynamic to this forum.

Anyway, the Corona is progressing. The diff is getting modded, the fuel line is getting bent up next week and i'm spraying the underbody on the weekend. All little things, but once they're all done i'm a lot closer to being ready to put the engine in for the first time.

[xphoenixxx]

Oh' i am well dialed down. Was the shock discovering I may not be the sole surviver of the Cult of Corona I've put down all my cards now anyway, so i got nothing left to give but respect now!
I've poked about on toymods before, nothing really jumped out and grabbed me by the throat like your story. Although I made a nice aquaintance with a guy who had a full scan of my 18R's manual.

How far you planning on taking the xt130? Chrome? Spoiler? Airbrushing? retrim? Aiming for classic restoration look, Mustang Style; or hot 4's pimped out,Sex spec style?
(Oh and out of curiosity - have you ever taken a look at the front of a mint XT130 with the bumper removed? Remind you of anything?)

Good luck mate!

[McLEVIN]

I think the look hes going for is autosalon circa 1999