Cuda's Cars, v2.0

[MR2 Fan]

nice. I've owned a Spyder before, the most beautiful car? no, but super lightweight and nimble with some good engine options, poor man's Lotus Elise

[CudaMan]

Nice grab!

Which reminds me of...

It's not a substitute for living right. But it's a little spark of joy/distraction. I wasn't looking for a car (everything's expensive now) but this rough car literally fell into my lap and I couldn't not get it.

This is going to be fun to watch.

This is one of those cars I wish I just had 10-15k lying around for to do it right and do it in a short time. Hopefully in another couple months it'll at least be a decent driver, maybe another 1-5 years for an engine swap, we'll see how things go. I am connecting with some local-ish Spyder owners and finding they like to have parts around that they're not using, so I'm finding deals on some things. Like some stock springs with Koni struts. The TEINs on this car were fine for their day but their rates are pretty stiff and the damping curves aren't digressive enough for my taste, so the ride is tolerable but busy. It also scrapes over speedbumps (long wheelbase for the size of the car!). OEM springs and Konis will be a quick fix until I can get proper coilovers with higher end damping some day.

nice. I've owned a Spyder before, the most beautiful car? no, but super lightweight and nimble with some good engine options, poor man's Lotus Elise

I learned an important lesson for myself when I was 18. I was driving the Cuda and got a cheap AW11 for autox. I didn't care for the AW11 styling but right away the car won me over with how it drove and how non-finicky it was. It was then I realized the driving experience was far more important than looks to me.

And yeah, the Spyder is a totally-under-the-radar car as far as potential, until the last 3-5 years. Now people are realizing what the chassis is capable of when modded. I was singing this song when the cars were new but nobody was interested. Until somebody K-swapped one, probably.

My sister owns a '97 Miata, her bf has an Elise. Someday it would be fun to get all our superlight open top cars together.

[Random]

The problem with being under the radar for potential is that nobody made anything for it--or maybe they did, but they don't any more 20 years later . Tony's been homebrewing so much stuff for his car (RIP).

[CudaMan]

It's smogged and registered! Axle shenanigans delayed me quite a bit (a boot was split open, the axle was stuck to the hub, and a toe link stuck to the hub, so I had to remove a lot of stuff and then the NAPA boot didn't fit well enough so I had to do it all over again with the Toyota part). I'm also constantly finding missing parts - clips, bolts, covers, etc. Fortunately Toyota seems to still have these and isn't charging a lot.

Spent an entire day degreasing the engine and underside by hand. Layers upon layers... wow. Before. After.

Took care of the precats (they were starting to fail) and got fresh gaskets for the exhaust manifold.

Went to inspect the spark plugs and found them sitting in rusty water. Had to clean that up first of course with a combination of screwdriver, shop towels, and shop vac with a couple narrow adapters. The plugs. The car idled just fine with them. Needless to say they've been replaced. Notice two of them are missing their washers. They were stuck in the head, crushed in there good. I had to get creative to get them out without dropping anything into the combustion chambers. Tools of the trade. Split/distorted the washer with a chisel in order to get purchase on a part of it and release its hold.

In general I've used a hammer on this car more than I have on anything else I've owned already.

Discovered the bottom bolts that hold the rear calipers in place were missing on each side. Sketch level 9000 when I used zip tie and a totally incorrect bolt (with the right thread pitch/diameter) to hold the calipers in place while I did OBD2 drive cycle procedures to prepare for smog.

Replaced the transmission fluid (with MT90 of course) since I had the axle out. This car has a fill hole at the top of the trans! So nice not to have to lay under the car and use a hand pump.

Removed a short shifter that had too much play (a faulty/careless design) and put the stock shifter in. Much better!

Replaced the LED headlight bulbs (which flickered in this car and aren't legal for the housings anyway) with good ol' H4s.

One handbrake cable is seized and the fuel tank has to be lowered to replace it. I just disconnected the cable at the caliper end for now. Looks like I'll have to replace or at least clean out the fuel filler vent tube too (the gas pump is constantly shutting off, takes forever to fill the tank). And roll bar installation requires lowering the fuel tank too. So I'll probably do that all at once. Roll bar shopping soon...



So I have 3 cars and the Spyder has the best in-gear acceleration below 3k RPM out of all of them. It's sure eager to go for a slow car. Add lightness...

I still need a name for it other than "the Spyder" or "the white car."

Eventually when it's a track car I want to do something unique with the look, and I have an idea in mind. White is my least favorite color on these cars but I think this might make it look alright. Inspiration.

[dodint]

Love the before/after of the underside. I've been pressure washing stuff before putting the E46 back together and it has been satisfying.

[Kchrpm]

It was then I realized the driving experience was far more important than looks to me.

I say get both!

[CudaMan]

If you can swing it why not!

[Rikadyn]

My white car is named Lunaire.

[Leon]

Tomorrow, I shall be a fellow Toyota MR-S / Spyder owner. What have I done ....

[CudaMan]

Seen the light, my friend. Through the soft top from the sounds of it, but still...