KP Build - Part 1 - Before you start your journey.
KP Build - Part 1 - Before you start your journey.
I've had my Toyota Starlet (KP61) since 2000. The reason why I started kp61.net was to build a community for others to share their experiences and find help restoring and modifying their Starlet.
These set of articles I will publish will be accounts from my own personal experiences in hopes that others can avoid certain pit-falls that I had to go through.
In my own Starlet project, I wanted somewhat of a daily-driver and weekend track star. My mission again was to enjoy the car by driving it. This wasn't, by any account, going to be a trophy show car filled with rare-parts. With that type of setup I knew that my stock 3K and stock suspension wouldn't suffice. Here's part 1 of the problems you will encounter.
DIY or Mechanic Shop? A very common problem any project leader will encounter. Do I have time to do it myself? Do I have the knowledge to do it myself? Are there resources out there to help me out incase I get stuck? You need to be honest with these answers. (Alot of kids get into this as an overflow from the Initial-D craze. Any project isn't cheap so don't go crying to your mechanic if he charges you his time to do it.) Time is money, simply put.
If you do go to a shop then you need to know your mechanic. I have finally landed the best mechanic for this task and hope to continue the relationship. (Thanks Ray)
The 3 major things I considered after many failed attempts are the following:
1. Know your shops limitation.
2. Successful projects of the shop, their customers.
3. Know what you're paying for.
1. Understand the shops limitations. Alot of people don't consider that point. It's a very important thing to understand. The KP is not a common car to modify. It takes someone with experience but along with that you also need to understand, "what sort of experience" they have with it. If you know their limitations then you will know your expectations. Just because you throw money at the guy doesn't mean he has the correct knowledge to put it together. Don't be disappointed if what he gives you is not what you expected, for all you know that was the extent of his knowledge about it. Maybe that's how he modifies his car, maybe thats all he knows. Do your homework on the guy, you can't blame him for doing his best when his best isn't to what you expect. Blame yourself for not doing the homework. KP knowledge is passed down from buddy to buddy and that's not always the "best thing to do". What you want is the best, not the Disney Way. (Mickey Mouse)
2. Do your homework. Find out if there are any success stories from that shop. Happy customers with running projects is a good sign. Check out the work. Ask around. When you approach shop owners and ask if they have done similar to your project, they might be able to tell you which of their customers did a similar thing that you can possibly check out.
3. Understand what you're paying for. This is not a bolt-on project. This is pretty much all fabrication. If you can't handle the cost, it's best to DIY. Others try to haggle down. This isn't china-town and they're not side-shop vendors. Real good mechanics give you their price based on their time. I don't haggle down because I know what fair is to me. Don't pull the bullshit, "well that guy charges this or that" They're time is worth it because the work is quality. They're knowledge is being transfered to your car, the product. So when I look for a good mechanic, I look for honesty and quality. Those are 2 things I would pay full price for.
If you do choose to DIY, then what I would do is document the project. It helps me follow the progression and manage the cost. There's not much I can cover for DIY at this time. It would take several pages to cover that area with all the pitfalls that I had to go through. I'll cover that at a later date where I can add a DIY section.
In the next article, I'll cover the types of performance upgrades, my journey, and pitfalls.