-89 Piazza Turbo HBL - Kaizen Racing Project 2

[Piazza_man]

Nice work Tomas. Keep posting and sharing mate. Can’t wait to see what the new wheels look like on the car too.

[Nismo]

Alright time to add some more stuff to the TO-DO list since I've noticed, for a pretty long while ago, that there are some leakage in the trunk...

TO-DO
[ ] Kakimoto or HKS muffler
[ ] Custom stainless exhaust
[X] Quad lights
[X] Wax and polish
[ ] Fix squeaky panel
[ ] Re-do window tint
[ ] Paint wiper arms
[X] Change spark plugs
[X] Change ignition cables
[ ] Fix gasoline gauge
[ ] Fix radio
[ ] Fix steering bushes
[ ] Fix hood latch handle
[ ] New gold line stripes
[X] Change thermostat
[ ] Fix heating/cold air
[ ] Add front lip
[ ] Fix leaking rear windshield - NEW
[ ] Rust fix in trunk - NEW

I went to a friend of mine working with car glass that was quite optimistic to find the leak, and I was quite doubtful. It turned out that the whole windshield wasn't sealed or glued in the bottom line! A result of a repair job done on the car when last owner had an accident!

We discovered a whole lake in the spare wheel well of rain water, and rust beginning to grow in the bottom! Fortunate enough I think I can still just dry it out, and clean up as much as possible and paint on rust stop!



Windshield is out!



Glue removal and preparation for new sealant.



Also just got news from the wheel company that they are still delayed....dammit!
Good news is that the Zoom lowering springs now are soon to be shipped from Japan! Yay!

[Piazza_man]

Good to see the glass sealing job is being sorted properly. Only minor surface rust in the spare wheel well, but should spray that with zinc paint just to be sure.

[Nismo]

New updates!

Been quite busy with the Piazza this summer, and I feel real good about now!

New wheels are on the car, but it still needs some fine tuning and fitment with correct spacers to look 100%. So satisfied with them though!
Here's some pica from a local meet couple of days ago:









Just changed the gear boot cover and gear knob to a nice Bride/Momo combo!





Then it was finally time to build that custom stainless 2.5" exhaust! With help from a collegue that is good at welding it took a weekend at there it is!
It sounds quite much, but damn I like it!







End muffler is HKS HiPower replica but sounds damn good!



Updated list:

TO-DO BEFORE JAPDAYS 2021:
[X] Kakimoto or HKS muffler - DONE!
[X] Custom stainless exhaust - DONE!
[X] Add front lip - DONE!
[X] Fix leaking rear windshield - DONE!
[ ] 40mm Zoom lowering springs
[ ] Correct spacers mounted
[ ] Fix radio
[ ] New gold line stripes
[ ] Re-do window tint

[ ] Rust fix in trunk - NEW
[X] Quad lights
[X] Wax and polish
[ ] Fix squeaky panel
[ ] Paint wiper arms
[X] Change spark plugs
[X] Change ignition cables
[ ] Fix gasoline gauge
[ ] Fix steering bushes
[ ] Fix hood latch handle
[X] Change thermostat
[ ] Fix heating/cold air

Next up is the lowering springs and a "new" cassette stereo from John Player Special!

[Piazza_man]

The wheels do look good against the black bodywork. What is the tyre width on those new rims?
Just need to lower it a little and you’re done in the looks department. Awesome updates mate.

[Nismo]

JapDays 2021 are now over and the work with the Piazza continues! Unfortunately no prize this year either, guess I have to modify it beyond recognition to have a shot at it.

I had the lowering springs mounted and maaaan is it low now! I have not scraped on anything below the car yet, but the spacers are all off like hell.
had to turn back to the garage the same morning we left for JapDays to take off the rear spacers since the scrubbed the arch like hell. Front wheels scrubbed the inner arch real bad on uneven road, but wth I had to get there!!



Also had a friend install a really cool retro John Player Special cassette stereo, but when I played the bluetooth cassette adapter it only plays for a couple of seconds and switches side, so I guess you can say that it isn't really working the way I want to...

Some pics from JapDays 2021:









I can update the list with following:

Updated list:

TO-DO BEFORE JAPDAYS 2021:
[X] Kakimoto or HKS muffler - DONE!
[X] Custom stainless exhaust - DONE!
[X] Add front lip - DONE!
[X] Fix leaking rear windshield - DONE!
[X] 40mm Zoom lowering springs - DONE!
[X] Re-do window tint - DONE!
[O] Fix radio - Halfdone!
[X] New gold line stripes - DONE!
[ ] Correct spacers mounted

[X] Quad lights
[X] Wax and polish
[X] Change spark plugs
[X] Change ignition cables
[X] Change thermostat
[ ] Rust fix in trunk - NEW
[ ] Fix squeaky panel
[ ] Paint wiper arms
[ ] Fix gasoline gauge
[ ] Fix steering bushes
[ ] Fix hood latch handle
[ ] Fix heating/cold air

[Nismo]

The wheels do look good against the black bodywork. What is the tyre width on those new rims?
Just need to lower it a little and you’re done in the looks department. Awesome updates mate.

The tyres are 215 width on 8" wheels! Yeah sure looks badass with the lowering, now I just have to sort out the scrubbing...

[Nismo]

I just realized that the car does NOT look the same as when I bought it...

[Piazza_man]

Looks so much better now. Well done. Btw are they the same quad lights I gave you, or you bought a new set?

[Nismo]

Looks so much better now. Well done. Btw are they the same quad lights I gave you, or you bought a new set?

Nope those are the ones!

[Piazza_man]

I must say that front spoiler extension does look good too, and a quality job.

[Nismo]

I must say that front spoiler extension does look good too, and a quality job.

Thanks! Always thought that the Piazzas shape is to high in the front! And the lip combined with the springs makes it so much better looking in my opinion!

[Nismo]

Here's some more pics from JapDays at Mantorp Park! Actually got "featured" in a Speedhunters article hahaha!









Season is coming to an end here in Sweden unfortunately and soon it's time for the little Piazza to go to sleep! However I do have some meetings left to attend! First one was a super early "Cars & Coffee" kind of meet held by a classic magazine, so many older cars and a great mixure of new and old from all over the world.



Second one was a local held car show called Street Cars Meet 2021 where I actually won my very first show price! So happy!
It was in the category "Best Asian Car" and to be fair it wasn't a lot of cars but still managed to beat a RX-7, R35 GT-R, Honda S2000 and a Strosek 300zx for example!





A little feature from @_classic_jdm_



And finally a real nice picture with lots of retro vibes!



Next thing I will write about is the rust fix in the trunk and the mounting of a Japanese speaking backup sound!

[Piazza_man]

Great pics Tomas, you have set a high bar for Piazzas everywhere to follow mate. Keep posting.

[Nismo]

A little update on my TO-DO list:

[X] Kakimoto or HKS muffler - DONE!
[X] Custom stainless exhaust - DONE!
[X] Add front lip - DONE!
[X] Fix leaking rear windshield - DONE!
[X] 40mm Zoom lowering springs - DONE!
[X] Re-do window tint - DONE!
[O] Fix radio - Halfdone!
[X] New gold line stripes - DONE!
[X] Correct spacers mounted - DONE!
[X] Quad lights - DONE!
[X] Wax and polish - DONE!
[X] Change spark plugs - DONE!
[X] Change ignition cables - DONE!
[X] Change thermostat - DONE!
[X] Rust fix in trunk - DONE!
[O] Japanese backup light speaker - Halfdone!

[ ] Fix squeaky panel
[ ] Paint wiper arms
[ ] Fix gasoline gauge
[ ] Fix steering bushes
[ ] Fix hood latch handle
[ ] Fix heating/cold air
[ ] Adjustable Spax shock absorbers front - NEW!
[ ] New belts and pulleys (is it called that?) - NEW!
[ ] Custom Aero Discs carbon look - NEW!
[ ] 5 lug conversion, ev. Toyota Supra brakes - NEW! <------- This gonna be mad!

Here's some pics of the rust fix that got fixed at last!








Here's some installation pics from the backup alarm. It has a switch in the front that can be turned in three different positions. Off and sound #1 and sound #2. Then the sound can also be activated by a button placed pretty hidden under the dash. Just have to place the switches a little better before it's finished. Yatta!





These beauties will be installed during next year when this F***ING 6 months of shit weather is over...