Midori

[ueru]

Thanks! Yeah, the HVAC panel needs to be replaced; it's blistering. It's on my list, along with shift/handbrake boots, and a handbrake handle. Someday lol.

[Ihatecars]

Your interior looks exquisite. I definitely agree with Dandy. You need a new HVAC panel.

[— Vegard —]

That center console looks exactly the way I want mine. Very nice!

[ueru]

Not a big update:
Sewed a shift boot for myself. It's not really perfect, but I'm happy I made it myself and it was only ~$3 in total. Learned to sew, too.

First, I bought some scrap leather from a store called Tandy's (in case you're in or around San Antonio). Kinda waxy, but really cheap.



It cleaned up nicely with some 320 grit sandpaper and leather cleaner. Sanded very lightly, then rubbed the cleaner in with my hands very firmly, removing the top-most layer of wax and grime. Repeat until clean or hands hurt.



The stock boot is made of 4 sections; 2 slightly wider sections and 2 slightly narrower sections. This is to accommodate the rectangular trim the shifter sticks out of. I'm using a circular shift ring, so I mathematized a little and made each section equal size.



After sewing the boot together, the set ring is glued in. This holds the boot in place on the tapered part of the shifter. I'm using a shift knob from an M2 1028 and it sits higher than the stock knob. The stock ring sat too low (inside diameter was too wide) and left a gap between the bottom of the shifter and the boot, so I bought some nylon washers from Lowe's that were roughly the right size. I used a dremel to trim some material from the inside to fit well when the leather was wrapped around and glued to the ring.



Finished, except for the shifter ring bolt holes. I'll punch those in a day or two.

[—atank—]

^^ueru I love the hand made shift boot!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mini_fd]

Impressed with your craftsmanship or should I say craftwomanship Jk... I'm impressed.

[ueru]

lol, thanks guys. Next up: handbrake boot!

[— fwdtamiya —]

Dreamy

[ueru]

I haven't updated in a while, so I thought I'd catch up.

The GV tail light panel arrived from Rev9 back in March and I installed it for a test fit...



...then test fit it for a couple more days.





Now it's back off, awaiting paint.

It'll be a while before it's installed, though; some of you might have already guessed, but I'm abroad in Kyoto right now. I'll be here studying at university for a year.

Before I left, I rolled myself some film...



...removed and packed up some car parts...



...and took a final, crappy phone picture of my car for a while.




I miss her already, but don't feel bad for me lol. Japan's awesome!



And I've already experienced some great Roadster culture.



It's not like my build will completely stop either. I can at least grab some parts while I'm over here. After all, the Super Autobacs in Kyoto (where I bought my Prototipo last year) is a 5 minute walk from my apartment...

[— fwdtamiya —]

I hope I'll be able to do the same Are you taking Japanese? If so, how far along are you?

[— Phatmiata —]

awesome, SuperAutoBacs is like a huge candystore for gearheads, I remember seeing the 4wd dyno they had set up for the Skylines, Evos, and Subaru's, too much cool stuff !!

[ueru]

It's an exchange program, so all I'm allowed to take here is Japanese language and culture. I've been studying Japanese for 3 years at university back in Texas (and a tiny bit before that), so I can get by alright with the language (as long as it's spoken); my goals are to expand my vocabulary (I had to ask for some 'fluffy' envelopes at the post office yesterday since I didn't know the word for padded/bubblewrap lol), generally polish my speaking/grammar, and some serious kanji practice. Hiragana/katakana are no problem at all, but I suck at kanji. You should definitely go abroad!

And Super Autobacs is awesome! I'm going to try to make a trip to UpGarage next...

[— fwdtamiya —]

I don't know if my school offers Japan, I know they offer one or two places in Europe, I need to look into it more. This is my first year though and I just started Japanese.

[ueru]

It's been over a year since I last updated! Not a big update, just catching up.

So, I was in Japan for a while.


said Japan

Found myself at UpGarage often, understandably...


Hardtop for ~$180

Ended up buying something not quite so big:




A 17-year old Recaro!

Which was really fun to pack, ship, and bring back. First from Tokyo to Kyoto, then from Japan to the US. It got here safe and sound in the end though. Hopefully soon, the Momo will come out and a pair of SPGs will go in, with 5 and 6 point harnesses.


Karuizawa

Also some smaller things, like an Okuyama (Carbing) tow hook from the Car Make Corn's shop, an RS Factory knob, and a used 360mm Nardi from UpGarage to use as a daily wheel.

Since coming back, I've found time to refresh my tombstone setup with a better paint job (used hi-temp clear this time, should resist the Sun's wrath), blow up my amp, replace it and possibly ruin that one as well, and install a Racing Beat catback+intake.



I also picked up a KG Works license plate mount at Karuizawa, so I finally mounted my front plate:







And last, a box came from Japan not too long ago:


And it was all selective yellow

There's a bit more, but I'll wait until it's all installed to post. My goal is to have it all (ALL of it, all this, everything; maybe even the GV panel) on before the next autocross in about a month's time.

[— Vegard —]

Great posts, if you have more great shots from Japan, I'm sure everyone, including me would love to see!