KE70-from-mt-panorama Posted January 19, 2008 Report Posted January 19, 2008 (edited) Hey all. Well my mate told me that his grandmother had an old corolla coupe, as i was searching for a nice daily corolla. So after a few weeks with him getting in contact with her in wollongong we arranged a day and time to go down (from Bathurst) and have a look (Friday). So we went down in my mates ute and went to look at the car. it wasnt as nice as it was made out to be but it was still really good. She was the owner of the car since new and it had always been looked after. It spent the first 27 years of its life outside of the garage as they had their "big car" (falcon) in the shed. But she sold that when her husband died so since then the corolla has been garaged (past 7 years). The main appealing thing about the corolla is the amount of miles it has on it Thats original and hasnt gone around The car was mechanically sound, but cosmetically dirty. It has never been in a prang, and this is the only dent There is minimal rust. Its only surface rust, but i will fix it all the same. After much surveying of the car, i negotiated the price (as you do) and then we decided to head off back home at about 5pm. The coolant in the radiator wasnt too good so we stopped at supercheap which was just up an alleyway from the house. Picked up some ready to use coolant looked for a new radiator cap as the one on it felt a little bit spongey, no luck. So we filled the old girl up with coolant, drove to the fuel station and filled her up. and while doing so i got the first wise crack..."Fill her up mate, she needs it!" by a young drongo with a skateboard. my reply "goes better than your skateboard does" he didnt like that and walked off. all within 1/2 hour of owning it. Anyways, we moved on, i was still getting used to the MPH speedo but wasnt too difficult. 50mph = 80kph. 5mph = 8kph so just add or subtract. So it isnt that bad. It was raining and miserable weather for travelling (not complaining cause we need it). So driving along, get about 50km away and the temperature gague is quite high, so i signal my mate to pull over, so we did, popped the bonnet and all i can hear is whistling, the radiator cap isnt sealing properly, and is pressurising the coolant enough to let it out. So i let it cool right down and topped it up again and we got some rag and put it under the cap to get some pressure happening. so we were driving along, it wasgoing great guns, the temp gague was staying at 1/4 of the way up. so we got further down and stopped off at a servo/bottle shop in 1. grabbed something to eat and drink etc, then we headed off again. Well i didnt get too far down the road when the temperature gague was reading high again. I was wondering what it could be this time. Get out and there is coolant all through the engine bay, i looked around the radiator and saw it had a quite sizeable leak in the core. so i let it cool down and we went back the 5 mins to the servo and got some "bars stop leaks" to try to fix it but didnt help. We filled it again after put the cap back on with the rags underneath. Got a little bit further down the road than previously before we had to stop again. We were getting closer and closer but it was taking a long time. Kept going for a while stopping, refilling and going, stopping refilling and going. We got to Blaxland after a good while and stopped in at a servo where we had shelter from the weather and where we had plenty of light. We got very desperate so we tryed the whole mythbusters style radiator hole repair method (which was successful in their tests) as suggested by a fellow rollaclub-ian "Fat Bastard Customs". This sealed the hole until the coolant got moving again and ripped the egg away from the hole which it started to leak again. By now it was about 10pm. So we were quite tired and i was soo sick of stopping. So we decided on driving it back with no radiator cap, just some rag tied over the top to stop it spilling out of the top. this method worked really well. We managed about 45 mins driving with this method before the gague started to rise a bit. So pulled into another servo and let it cool down a bit, then topped her up again and she was ready to go. She went really well and didnt leak out very rapidly, while ever i kept it moving. We stopped off at one servo where we filled it up and stayed a while and we then looked at the pool of coolant on the ground, so the new method fill it right before we left the servo. By this point i was much less frustrated as i could get much further without stopping. i made it home safe and well. Besides the radiator the car went brilliantly. didnt miss a beat, When starting it started the moment the starter motor moved, didnt take a few go's like other cars i have driven. you can't even react to it starting when you turn the key, so its almost like your overstarting it. (this is only when it has some form of heat through the engine. When cold it still starts really well but you need some choke. Now for some of the pictures This is pretty much how it was when i bought it and how it is now. When the weather clears up a bit i'll get out and clean it right up and take some more photo's. Edited July 5, 2009 by KE70-from-mt-panorama Quote
KE70-from-mt-panorama Posted January 19, 2008 Author Report Posted January 19, 2008 Some more photo's 5L of coolant, Lots of water, and 1 big and 1 small bottle of bars leaks to get home The engine minus the radiator which will be taken to get fixed on monday Quote
7shades Posted January 19, 2008 Report Posted January 19, 2008 mmmm... mylanta greeeeen....... :D Quote
KE70-from-mt-panorama Posted January 19, 2008 Author Report Posted January 19, 2008 A few More The Original Tool Kit, All except 1 of the spanner sets is original by the looks of it Thats all for now Cheers Jake Quote
PMP020 Posted January 19, 2008 Report Posted January 19, 2008 lucky bastard its willow green aswel. please tell me its going to stay a stocker and bring many more years of daily driving action. instead of many more years of sitting in a shed half stripped because you don't know what holden colour to paint it. in short, drive it everyday untill you die, or sell it. its what these beautys were made for. oh and u could have driven it home with no water, aslong as it had oil they will go for days. cheers, scott Quote
KE70-from-mt-panorama Posted January 19, 2008 Author Report Posted January 19, 2008 I'm undecided if its going to stay a stocker or not. I'm leaning more towards fixing it up and returning it to its original glory. But even if i don't ill keep the original parts and return it to stock if i sell it. It has 7 months rego on it so yes it will be a daily once radiator is fixed. Quote
KE70-from-mt-panorama Posted January 20, 2008 Author Report Posted January 20, 2008 Thanks for the replies. I forgot to add in the original post as i was quite tired, We didnt get home from driving back until 1.30am. So from 5pm till 1.30am from Wollongong to Bathurst. Quote
PHATKE20S Posted January 20, 2008 Report Posted January 20, 2008 you don't know what holden colour to paint it. Yeah Scott i'm guilty there :2thumbs: Anyway mate you have found a very rare item there :hmm: Return it to its 'former glory' because it should be a lot easier to do coz it is sooo clean & tidy already. At least you don't have much bodywork to do on it. As Scott said You ARE a lucky bastard :yes: Hope you get many years of happy travelling from the 25 Well Done :y: Dougy :cool: Quote
JiP Posted January 20, 2008 Report Posted January 20, 2008 Yummy!! Nice find mate and all the best. I'll be watching this thread. Nice tool kit too... Quote
KE70-from-mt-panorama Posted January 20, 2008 Author Report Posted January 20, 2008 Progress wont be happening too quick on this one, although the radiator is getting taken to be fixed in the morning, don't know how long it will be or how extensively it will need repairing. Still undecided on what to do with the car. Will find out how it cleans up, then decide i guess. Whatever way i go this will be a daily. Quick question: How hard (if possible) is it to find the chrome strips that go in the window rubbers? Mine are trashed so will need replacing. Cheers Jake Quote
Gavclassic Posted January 21, 2008 Report Posted January 21, 2008 Some Mazda 626 or 929/rx4 13" steelies and 185/60 x 13 makes for a much better ride for a daily. Tyre choice is much better as well. You can actually fit the KE 55 centre cap on the Mazda wheel to keep it all factory looking. :hmm: Quote
KE70-from-mt-panorama Posted January 21, 2008 Author Report Posted January 21, 2008 The radiator is completely and utterly rooted. So its getting recored at the moment. Should only take a few days and it will be done. Woop. Quote
PMP020 Posted January 23, 2008 Report Posted January 23, 2008 (edited) Quick question:How hard (if possible) is it to find the chrome strips that go in the window rubbers? Mine are trashed so will need replacing. Cheers Jake u can buy it new form Rare spares off the shelf. http://www.rarespares.net.au/Parts-Accessories.aspx give them a yell, quickly explain what your after and they will be able to help you out. i have used there product on many of my ke20s and it realy finishes them off. Pt No. RLS120F or RLS120 just double check with them which one done fornt and rear and which one is chrome. cheers, scott Edited January 23, 2008 by PMP020 Quote
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