nira74

The Ford Laser is also a Japanese car..... only issue would be that spares would be a little more rare and therefore more expensive than the equivalent Mazda 323. Mechanicals and performance are pretty good and the 1300 model very economical too.

Actually if the car is in good order it gets checked only when servicing..... Otherwise I usually pop the hood and have a look at the coolant level if I feel the heat is a bit too high.. But on older cars you should do at least a weekly check of not only coolant, but other fluid levels such as Engine Oil, Brake Oil etc.... If the coolant level drops regularly and you can't find any sort of leak, you should check your radiator cap to ensure the seal is OK - otherwise your coolant may boil if it is not providing the required pressure. Another possibility is a faulty engine gasket.

I would agree that NGK is best but strange as it may seem , from experience i've found that Denso s work better on Toyotas than NGK. In the past I've wasted pots of money trying out all sorts of so called 'Performance plugs' such as splitfire and gold tipped ones etc but they turned out to be totally useless. Nothing works better than the Manufacturer recommended ones and make sure u buy from agents. Also on the newer cars with electronic ignition you run the risk of damaging your coils and other electrical components if you experiment with the wrong spark plugs. Especially on model which platinum tipped plugs are recommended. (Bluebirds, Xtrails etc.)

--> QUOTE(Channa B @ Mar 22 2007, 09:28 AM) 43547[/snapback] Wow...thanx for the quick reply and ideas guys. All are taken aboard. Well what I forgot to mention was the car came with complete bodykit, spoiler and low profile tyres (195/50R15). 82V Tubeless. Would these make any difference..?????? Help please... My bank Balance is on a downfall....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Me Bro ran an automatic pulsar back in 2000 and fitted it with 15" Alloys with 195/50 R15 Eagle F1 Tyres. Fuel economy went from 8.5 down to about 6.5 km/l. Economy improved only when the tyres were pumped up pretty hard but then the ride was pretty hard. Fortunately most of our running back then was on Colombo carpet roads only so we persisted with them because the improvement to the handling and cornering of the car was too good to give up.....

Was following a car badged as a 328 the other day, and in pretty good shape too. Any idea how much one like this would go for ? The performance would be superb.....

You can also check whether the Bumper stops (above the shocks) are OK - but if these were faulty the noise would be heard only when you hit a big enough pot hole to make the shock compress fully. But also from the way you describe it...... you can also check the rubber knobs that hold the bonnet up. Sometimes if one of these wear out the bonnet vibrates and you can feel as if it were the front wheel or something.

Man, then you're lucky,... actually i thought of you just last evening when i ran into another one at the garage..... 10 year old single owner ZR-II (must add that the owner was very pleased with the car)... it was in for front shock replacement... originals would've cost 26k a piece and they said the KYB equivalent is not available so they were contemplating getting a similar set of KYBs and modifying the mountings.

Not sure about whether it is good or bad, but i've done it many times with no adverse effect to the cars.....

The vibration could also be due to the engine misfiring at a lower RPM. When was the last time you had a tune up done. If the spark plugs and injectors are OK (if yours is an EFI model), check your distributor and spark plug leads for any shorting.

Yeah, And the downside with most new Jap cars these days is that you cannot simply replace the lower arm bushes, you have to buy the complete lower arms at about 20k a piece...... (I've seen this in Hondas and Nissans.... not sure about Totyota though ....) Another very annoying source of noise from the front end can be caused due to worn out brake caliper pins.... this problem is common on Nissans.

There is also a 1300 cc engine which comes standard on the Gypsy - maybe he could look for one of those.

It was a Pajero Mini... which he had bought Unreg.... agents quoted him over 25k per corner for the shocks and parts weren't available outside.... he took it as sign of things to come so decided to go for a Nissan with a little more space instead....

Check the prices of spares first........ a friend of mine had to replace shocks and sold the car instead of buying the shocks when he got to know the price of spares....... Otherwise the normally aspirated engine should last longer than the turbo.

Heh, Heh.... There'a a WP-K..... registered 'SAMSUNG' 318i Parked outside the Singhagiri Showroom in Darley Road.... Fortunately he has not removed the BMW badges......

You'd be surprised to know that since the late 80s the alloys used on UK production Minis were Japanese JML wheels as well as the Denso Gauges and Meters in the 3-Meter Dashboards. I guess by then the Brits had finally figured out that the Japanese were way ahead of them in terms of Build Quality, Finish and Reliability. When I bought my first set of UK imported alloys for my Mini back in 97 I was rather surprised to find that the wheels had the JML Logo on the inside.

Soluna was Thai assembled and was replaced by the Vios

Look closely at the 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander and you will see the similarities.

Man very few Standard Cars can come close to a City on our roads..... I remember this time where our 300- Manual City left a ministers Petrol Prado the rest of his defenders to eat our dust on Galle Road from Panadura to Moratuwa.......

Practically anything manufactured abroad is Street Legal here.... Including unsafe looking three wheel contraptions and all sorts of 'brand new cars' which cannot be sold in other markets because they cannot pass the required safety and other fitness tests

Hey, Looks like a cross between a Harrier and a STi, don't you think ?

I think you're referring to the W215 CL Coupe ? - Sure would like to see one of these on our roads...

Three years ago the guy charged us about 4000 bucks for dismantling carb cleaning with petrol and refitting. I dread to think what he would have charged if something actually needed to be repaired. Also I was advised to go early in the morning as there usually was a crowd there and he is said to be sometimes a bit 'Intoxicated' later in the day.....

Any Sri Lankan who has lived/worked abroad (legitimately of course...) for over a certain number of years can Import his car into Sri Lanka on his return. He also has to prove that he has owned that car in the former country for over 3 years or something like that. Some time back there was also a 'Gift Permit' scheme where such a car could be gifted to a relative in Sri Lanka without the expat acutally having to return. - but that scheme was sadly scrapped after a while By the way that MG was in pretty bad shape when it first arrived and was restored over here to the condition you saw it in. I know the owner and he's pretty proud of it.!

Whoops..... didn't see your thread there.......

Hey Guys, You're forgetting the Car chase through the streets of Turin in the Original Italian Job. That has to be one of the all time greats......