Tornado's Unwanted British Harem: Magnets will never stop me.

[Tornado]

Princess Ayeka Jurai - 2005 Lotus Elise 111R

190 HP, 133 lb-ft of torque
6-speed manual

Sassy, strong willed, loudmouthed, spoiled and beautiful.



Space Pirate Ryoko Habuki - 1994 Chevrolet Corvette Z07

300 HP, 345 lb-ft of torque
6 speed manual

Strong willed, powerful and sexy, with curves in all the right places​

 

[Silver Arrows]

weeaboo, weeaboo!

I'm more surprised about the vanity plates tbh.

 

[eiriksmil]

This thread is super crazy and I love it.

 

[homeforsummer]

'Gratz on the Vette, looks fantastic in that colour. (Also I ticked the first two boxes).

 

[niky]

I voted.

You're welcome.

What's under the tarp?

 

[Tornado]

Steps to removing crappy BOSE system:

First you buy the non-BOSE speaker mounts for 6X9s:

Then you add a bunch of wood to it after spending 5 hours thinking of a baffle because you're too much of a chicken to drill into it because the speakers you bought don't fit:

Then you rip it all off and throw it away because it won't fit under the speaker grill and just drill into the enclosure like you should have in the first place:

Then you test fit:

And compare:

Then you measure once, cut twice:

Then you build the entire enclosure and head to bed after being up for 26 hours before you realize you mounted a speaker on the wrong side when uploading photos:

Then you wake up at 6:30 to fix/finish it because you're going to go install all of it at noon:

Then you test fit it (but only one side, because I'm sure they are both identical, right*), and pull the damn shields off and have to remount them completely differently because you're an idiot for even thinking they might fit.

Then you go to a friend/your boss' house:

And you're done!:

​

​

Fun fact: All of this could have been avoided if I had just checked the front left speakers before I bought everything, since the amp was not, in fact, blown up. The tweeter, er... came unplugged; as I learned after I had already done everything but build the second front enclosure.

​

Oh well. Sounds way better now, and only need a bit of tweaking to finish it for good; then have Best Buy or whatever wire in the dimmer circuit.

*They're not. Will have to fix the passenger side because GM ran a big monster shielded cable (rear lights?) down the right side.

What's under the tarp?

 

[ImaRobot]

Thats a rather large dog house you had under the tarp.

 

[dice1998]

This...this is amazing!

 

[Tornado]

Let me look up instructions on how to fix the damn window regulator:

"Wait, what's this? 315s will fit!?"

"You mean like..."

"315s? So they do?"

"Let's order some 315s then."

Oh. Well, let's check fitment for sure.

I mean, should work.



Let's investigate for sure. But how? How shall I gain this knowledge?

Oh, right.

They fit!

But now I need wheels. Oh, what to do...



Oh, duh:

What do you mean no one in the area can mount a 35 profile tire on an 11 inch rim? Fine, I'll go to a dealer.

Oh hey that was easy.

This is going to work.



But they are missing something.

I always liked those wheels. I'll do the opposite of that.

It's good!

Success!

Oh man. Kinda worrying me...

No problem!




"But surely you jest," I can hear you say, "for the C4 has the chassis of a wet noodle and you always drive it with the roof off! Take a corner too fast and it will just twist in half. You'll die faster than in a Beretta convertible!"

Oh, cool. An inch and a half metal bar miraculously attached to the shock towers!
And only sort of destroyed the front temperature sensor in the meantime!

And those bars! Now they are finally adjusted! Now she is strong!

Cowl shake almost eliminated. Steering wheel judder with roof removed completely gone.

It's like I bought a C5, except it doesn't have that fat, fat, fat fat fat fat fat ass. Or the HVAC out of a Silverado.

Future's so bright...

But has anyone seen Ayeka while I've been doing all this work with Ryoko?

Eh, I'm sure she's around.




























Bonus!

She is so smol.​

 

[Tornado]

Hmm. Been a while.

"I'll go on vacation!"

"LOLNO THAT WILL BE $600 PLZ!"

"Well, whatever."

Oh cool I ran out of gas on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Not pictured: Leaving the lights on while at a Bills' game. On the same vacation.

Anyway...

Ouch.

But hey, parts!

Fixed something that was messed up.

Offset GM's typical late model run cost cutting there. A great haul for like $8!

Maximum Aero!

Maximum... okay that actually didn't add any light output like they said it would.

And it cost like $35.

I'mma take the spare off, since it's shot and those wheels won't fit in the tray anyway.

That's a pretty beefy IRS setup.​

Looks like I could put something there...




DOUCHE IT UP TIME!

I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH!

(Also: I broke the headlight seal, and the black grill. And those lights actually suck for distance and one of them leaked anyway.)

Let's try again!

Much better! One that doesn't cost $15 actually projects light. Imagine that.

(Not pictured: Absolutely destroying the headlight with the broken seal while trying to fix it)

What's going on now?

"You might as well have bought an SN95 convertible, dork"




Bonus!

It still works great! The rear speakers even work again (?)


And that huge light bar that I tried to jam below the bumper of Ayeka never really fit, so...

Not Pictured: Not wiring it right so the harness set on fire about thirty seconds after this photo was taken.

Coming Soon: Mods that aren't douche.​

 

[Tornado]

These headlights always kinda sucked. They run all of everything through the headlight switch, which is some kind of weird 70s wiring.
Only push about 10 volts to the bulbs. Very dim. Very unsafe. Why on earth would this car made in 1990 have that?

Wacky!

Let's run some new wiring, since more voltage = more bright.

Science!

Oh boy. I seem to have strapped four Bat Signals to the front of my car. And those are still inherently crappy sealed beams! Imagine once some E-Codes get dropped in.

Also, a rearview mirror that isn't ruined, and is about 30% larger.

Safety!


Bonus picture:

Two nearly identically-sized German convertibles.







So that handles... uh... Washu (no, the Volkswagen isn't also getting vanity plates. They are expensive enough). But what about the other cars?

People can see when I'm turning (to the left so far, at least, since that took 4 hours and that mirror was already broken)!
​

Also, GM can eat it. This was the most expensive car GM sold, but they were too cheap to install them when the Deville got them even though they are almost identical:

But wait. The brakes are kinda... bad. Mostly because I drive like a sociopath and chewed them up.

More rotors unnecessarily overbuilt for a car bought mostly by retirees!

But wait.

The expensive pads I should have gotten last time.

No more having to clean the wheels every 🤬 week for dust.

Safety!



Also, someone hit Ayeka when it was being borrowed and screwed up the bumper.

Dramatic recreation, as no photos of damage exist.

But now it's fixed! Better than when I bought it! And I needed it repainted anyway, so win-win!




So how about Ryoko? What safety can be provided for a car with great brakes, 12 inch wide tires and $250/piece headlights?

Um...




Now... uh... I won't accidentally hit any blind people, since before it sounded a bit like a Buick and made almost no noise whatsoever like a communist socialist electric car.

Uh... safety?

​

 

[CDailey]

Ugh that STS sounds so good. I almost got a 2002 STS as my first car but it ended up having a blown head gasket I think that had gone unchecked for too long and was gonna cost too much to repair. I have a real soft spot for them.

 

[Tornado]

Yeah I know all these pics are broken in older posts. Edit: And, as it turns out, this one too apparently even after trying two different image hosting sites, so I'm probably not going to bother with this thread anymore so ignore everything after this.

I'll update this thread with stuff I actually did months and months ago with one car per post (since it was a lot). Make it an end of year wrap up for each of the three, if you will. Possibly the last update made before...


Ayeka II.


Universe Ayeka, if you will.


Anyway...

Let there be BASS:

Literally the only amp I could find that would fit in this car. Good one though. Fits exactly where the Bose amp use to be.

(Yes I cleaned these up afterwards)

Can't even really tell it's there. Time to party.

But my dumb ass also always gets lost, so...

But you still can't hear anything when someone sits in the passenger seat, so...

Audio probably as good as it can ever be in a C4 without filling it with sound deadening.

But it's still kind of dark in the car. I wish the interior panels were color coded like in 1993 and back...

I know, I'll buy some broken ones and glue them back together!

As it turns out, what a stupid idea!

Screw it I'll just paint the ones I had.

(After spending nearly $200 on paint and various other ancillaries plus bad hoop panel I ultimately threw out I realized new tan ones are available for only ~$150)

Oh great I left the cylinder cover on the front wheel and ran it over.

That'll be another $90!

I hate this terrible pickup truck shifter.

Much better.

I don't like that Android Auto doesn't work because I never bothered running the parking brake wire. Also now I want a backup camera.

Now I need a light for the licence plate.

Okay.

I hate that the engine bay is always filthy.

I hate this torn-up original headliner.

I hate this 🤬 powered antenna.

I'll spend 5 hours working on it. And then the motor will blow completely apart the second time I drive the car.

Hooray.

That looks stupid; I don't care what the NSX guys say.

I'm not Burt Reynolds.

There we go.

I hate that the cornering lamps retain more water than a bucket.

I hate that I'm going on vacation in one day and nothing bad has happened.
(Ayeka = flat tire. Volkswagen + battery died as I stopped for gas on way to get a new battery. In the past two days)

Shave a bit of that off...

And there. Group 78 fits now.

Pretty much.

Smol battery and smol front tires for size comparison.




I hate that I haven't done anything truly, outrageously tacky with this car yet...

And that's 2018 for Ryoko.

 

[Tornado]

5 Years Ago...

That one.


2003. Two owners. Extremely detailed maintenence history for the second owner. 86 grand on the clock. Every option you could get on them except the compass in the rearview mirror since the compass on the rearview mirror couldn't be had with navigation.

​

Two weeks ago:

It was always an Adventure, the good times and the (occasional, front-suspension-blows-out-in-Boston bad)




Stuff since the last update included having all of the brake lines replaced, replacing the CHMSL when some of the LEDs died, installing bluetooth to the OEM radio and adding a 12v socket (both of which I should have done literally years ago since the hole was already drilled for a battery kill switch I removed):

Fixing the headlights (again):

Fixing the dash separation:

All, ultimately, to prepare to hand her off...

Goodbye Ayeka.

Though I guess I'll see her at work, occasionally.​

 

[Tornado]

WOW! I can buy a Porsche, or another Corvette, or a different Porsche, or a different another Corvette! I'll ask GTP their opinions on all these cars and follow them much more closely than I did the first time!

DAMN IT


​

​

Two weeks ago:

​

Ayeka II Inbound








BONUS PICS!

TWO AYEKAS!?

 

[KinLM]

Nice! Looks like a very solid car; both inside and out. I wasn’t so much a fan of Cadillac’s design language 10-15 years ago, but I think they’ve really refined it into a coherent ethos, and it definitely shows on that car.

 

[Tornado]

I awoke one day and wondered, why does this car with a famously rattly structure that I put what are essentially straight pipes and foot wide aggressive tires on each corner make so much noise when cruising?

Stuff like that probably doesn't help.

Let's fix it!

$50. Notable cut down in tire noise, if not exhaust noise.


I'll do the doors next, as that looks fairly easy and is supposedly another big benefit.



​

Also, decided to try a nav upgrade (I actually did this first)!

That will work.

All done. Spent 5 hours rewiring everything, correctly this time. Cleaned up some wiring. Wired the illumination directly into the headlight circuit instead of the dimmer HVAC dimmer circuit (so I can douche around with the parking lights on). Also fiddled with amp settings.



The results? Audio quality took a sizeable step up. FM reception better. Screen dramatically better.






Oh wait.



That interface is atrocious on that compared to the Pioneer. Doesn't-even-show-you-the-time-on-the-map-screen bad.


So back it goes.


Except I already sold the Pioneer before I decided I hated the Kenwood.

Just going in circles.







BONUS PIC!

That's a much more dramatic difference in stance and proportions than I expected side by side; even going into this purchase knowing that I didn't want the sedan because they looked kinda frumpy in person.​

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

ATS is dope.
C4 is dope.

That's all.

 

[Tornado]

"Damn, my Corvette is still so loud. I sure wish it didn't sound like I had put practically straight pipes and foot wide tires on it."

And the headliner fell off again.

​

I don't know what's worse: that about $80 and maybe 3 pounds of duct insulation virtually eliminated rattle, tire drone, excessive heat transfer and the hollow thunk sounds from the doors and cargo area; or that GM didn't bother to do it.

That was a pain in the ass for something that's supposed to bolt on. Definite improvement in steering feel/turn in, though.




And now, for the thing that's actually important...



"Damn, my Cadillac is too quiet. I sure wish it didn't sound like a brand new luxury car with active noise cancellation"

A rectangle : O

Off to install (why do people even buy pickup trucks btw?).

Bringing the humongous travel luggage originally installed back home.

Before

After
You can see how much space was set aside for the briefcase they had back there.

​

There's little "V" logos on the exhaust and it is supposed to stick out further than the stock one so they can be seen, but that's not how the shop put them in. And to be honest, I'm fine with it. Fills the space better, but still looks pretty much stock.

Until you get on it.

​

BONUS STAGE:​

Crafted for you

This sound system has been designed and engineered specifically for the unique cabin acoustics of this vehicle. It reflects our obsession with bringing the power of sound to you. We apply our expertise in cabin analysis, listening evaluation and custom-tuned equalization to deliver an accurate and lifelike listening experience you’ll enjoy with every ride.



12 High-Performance Speakers
Feel the power of your drive. Become enveloped in rich, spacious sound, with each speaker carefully and precisely engineered for optimum performance.



AudioPilot
Noise from the road can often interfere with your music. AudioPilot® Noise compensation technology monitors any sustained background noise and adjusts the music so you can hear it better. It happens automatically, so there’s no need to adjust the controls or turn up the volume.




Centerpoint
Most music is recorded in stereo sound, or two channels, left and right. Centerpoint® surround technology converts your music into multiple channels, so you’re fully immersed in a surround sound experience.


SurroundStage
SurroundStage® signal processing puts every listener in the center of the music, no matter where they’re sitting. It uses every speaker optimally to ensure a rich and immersive audio experience within the confines of your car.

TAILORED TO YOUR PERSONAL SETTINGS
Your driver preferences can be personalized and saved using distinct cloud-based user profiles.

SAVE YOUR FAVORITES
Save up to 60 of your favorite radios stations including Pandora†channels, songs, places of interest and more.

Me, an Intellectual:

 

[Tornado]

Here's a story. There once was a Corvette internally named the C4. It has a really cool clamshell hood that exposes the *entire* front end of the car.

See? It's cool! Just like it was on the Viper.



Unfortunately, that hood weighs like, 90 pounds. What helps open it on the revolutionary new 1984 Corvette?

Right. I won't even get into how it originally locked into place with a release like on a stepladder:

Like what even the hell. It's not even on the driver side.

​

Now eventually they at least put a locking (unassisted) strut in place of... that...



But then, in 1988! 3 struts! All assisted!

"Wow, it's so light." - 1988, 1989 C4 owner.*​

Alas, this is GM. And what's owners being satisfied with their cars if they can save, like, $3 on their borderline handbuilt halo vehicle. What a farce that would be.



So then the small ones went away:

​

I mean don't get me wrong, that main strut is a serious piece. But I yearn.


And then:

Oh, well... but...

I should have taken the hood too, just to make a mockery of the pick and pull pricing list.



So a couple trips to Tractor Supply later:

​

"Why the hell do you think any of us... nay, anyone on this entire forum, cares about you installing hood struts or the history thereof?"

​

Well, harsh, but probably true. Okay:

lol even louder than Ayeka I

​

*This car is a 1985-1987

 

[Tornado]

I hate chrome.

I hate body roll.

I hate not having douchey yellow Subaru foglights.









Next time in things I hate:

Optispark.

Also I hate that deer that ran into the rear fender of the VW when I was going to work one night.​

 

[Tornado]

Export taillights are not easy to get working on a 93-96 C4.

LIES.

It's as easy as 1:

2:

3:

Plus some other, minor steps (build an entire add-on wiring harness because the OEM one hasn't been in stock for twenty years, take apart the steering column to find the brake wire after it junctions off from the CHMSL wire because GM decided in 1992 that a brake light switch with two wires was too expensive, cut the brake wire at the brake switch because that's what the instructions said and then have no brake lights at all because the instructions were for 1989-1992*) that aren't that important.

(The signals work as fast as the hazards when the engine is running)
​

I actually did this in September, but realized I never mentioned it.

​

*optional

 

[Tornado]

Gut it.

Damn it, I said GUT IT.

I want quiet.






​

Now this may seem like a rationale for "Just go buy a C5 you idiot," but that's not actually what "Buy the car you want instead of the car you would like it to be" is referring to.


For that, let's visit GM headquarters, circa 1993 for a very real transcript:

We just aren't saving enough money on this car that we debuted a decade ago and charge the second most for in the entire corporate range.

I know! We'll put the most awful, poorly assembled, panel gapped plastic crap interior ever designed into it. We'll design all the pieces, have them made to tight tolerances out of material easy to work with, and not actually bother to see if they fit well together. We'll definitely save $5 on this car that cost $40,000.

Brilliant!

BAD.

(I actually didn't use any of this, but it came with the center console carpet that I did need. This stuff was all like new but starting in 1994 the carpet was much higher quality so I just cleaned mine)

Also I'll change the seatbelts to something other than that awful side buckle crap from the 1970s.

Much better.

Also I painted the stone guards.

And found a like-new roof on Craigslist for a song.

​

Some notes:

1. Certain used Corvette parts stores say things like:

   The Dash Frame “Skeleton” is the same for 1990-1996 even though the dash pad and trim pieces have differences.

   And to that I say I sure had to cut a lot of plastic off of the passenger side of the new dash to get it to mount up correctly for having an identical skeleton underneath. I ended up buying nearly everything from Mirrock in the end though.
2. Soft touch materials! Like, everywhere. Maybe GM actually saved $7.
3. This dashboard from a 1992 Corvette that I brutally attacked with a dremel to even be able to force it onto the frame sure fits an awful lot better than the one that was installed in the car in the factory; and sure has a lot smaller panel gaps between the doors and the base of the window.
4. I had to put my old stereo in it again because the one I had simply refused to fit the radio bezel.
5. I need a new cupholder.
6. I also replaced all of the carpet pad with stuff I bought at Home Depot and cut to fit.
7. I didn't even blow the airbag while dicking with it!
8. Yes, I've been extremely bored while being pandemic'd.

This was literally the one thing that I never liked about the car and could never fully deal with and always wondered about fixing; especially since before I got Ryoko I had driven two 1993s and loved the dash design on them.




And now it's fixed.

 

[eiriksmil]

Please do something with that steering wheel while you're at it. Seriously driving me insane Love the thread, it's gold like this that made forums cool.

 

[Tornado]

LIES.

I mean I had them. But they were all blown when I got the car and the previous owner removed them because he wanted the car to ride softer (!?!?!)




I tested the actuators before I committed, and they all worked (which is good because they cost more than the shocks), so...

Now the switch in the center console actually does something! And it actually does make a notable difference.
Tour rides about like it did before (albeit with shocks that are new), Sport tightens up the suspension movement when the roof is off, performance basically just turns the shocks into a rod.


With that done, I decided I was bored still, so...

And I got an actually correct passenger side panel

Which I immediately broke the mounting tab off of

Also brakes:

And the most important part of all:

The one designed for this style dashboard kinda sucked, so I improvised.












NEXT TIME:

I guess I need new tires.

Because ew.

​

Please do something with that steering wheel while you're at it. Seriously driving me insane

I'd love to ditch the Buick wheel for the one they had immediately before:

But as I understand it you'd need to change the entire steering column as well (and there are different columns for stick and slushbox cars on top of that); and if that's not enough the airbag system in that wheel has questionable compatibility with the one in the other wheel (in the sense that people think there may be compatibility problems, but no on has actually tried it because whenever they change the wheel they just yank it and put a Momo one in or something and I'm not that desperate to be the guinea pig).

 

[Tornado]

They don't make rubber bushings any more.

I needed new rear brake pads.






Unfortunately I haven't been able to get it properly aligned yet (the first place I took it to did it fine but I hadn't realized I had not fully tightened the toe rods. The second place I took it to completely screwed it up. Going to take it to a Corvette shop in a couple weeks), so Ryoko drives a bit...

​

 

[Tornado]

"Capacitive touchscreens have existed in common applications for half a decade now, so let's just put one in the car."

"Well, we could, but what if we instead come up with some sort of screen that does the capacitance from a gel sandwiched between the screen layers, causing every single one of the hundreds of thousands of cars that we ship with this center console to stop working when exposed to sunlight and the gel inevitably dries out?"

"And then we can charge people for the replacement!"

​

I also replaced the part that raises up with the secret compartment behind it, because one of the previous owners had nasty Cheeto fingers and had actually worn away some of the finish on some of the "buttons" (especially the heated seats) which looked awful. That was significantly harder than changing the actual touch element for the screen was, especially since there were no instructions on how to do it.



But that's all for Ayeka. Time for...

Spring refresh!
(I didn't do the rear hubs because it was too hard)

Stainless steel brake hoses.

New rear proportioning spring for the master cylinder.

New front sway bar bushings.

And...

New, fully-adjustable upper control arms (because it looked really complicated to replace the bushings in the OEM ones) and ball joints.



Also:

The replacement top I just bought last year separated from the frame like 2 days after I started driving the car this year.

Also also:

lol I didn't actually think this would work and it was a kind of joke idea, but it actually legitimately did make a huge difference.

 

[wfooshee]

...(because it looked really complicated to replace the bushings in the OEM ones)...

Your rationalization-fu exceeds all others known throughout history!

 

[Tornado]

Bye Ayeka II...

Hi Ayeka III!

(I'm glad I'm now in a state that isn't a People's Democratic Socialist Republic and is one plate, but I thought The South was supposed to be warm)



In Ryoko news:

Completely worthless might as well scrap.

Bonus:

And here I thought Ayeka II was a small car but I guess she was pretty huge.

 

[lbpomg95]

Love the attention to detail with sound insulation!