I’m John and I wanted to introduce myself (I’m a completely novice to forums, so please forgive any rookie mistakes I make). I’m a furniture maker and designer based in Adelaide and often work with my wife, who is a glass blower, making a range of products combining glass and timber.
I’ve had my Cuore for about 6 years, but only started getting interested in maintaining and modifying it about 2 years ago, when I discovered Mighty Car Mods. Since then, I’ve had a lot of fun tinkering in the garage and the list of mods I’ve done so far include installing:
RSR lowering springs
Copen rear sway bar
strut tower brace (from Woodworx Garage)
Sirion front brake upgrade
electric windows from a Sirion
keyless entry kit from eBay
Next on my list is a Gino body kit, but will need to save up for the purchase as furniture making isn’t the most lucrative industry
I’m also interested in upgrading the performance a little bit. I don’t know if I’m supposed to ask this in a separate thread, but I was wondering if anyone has had any luck finding a bolt on supercharger kit for the EJ-DE engine? A K3-VE engine swap is also a possibility, but finding a cheap donor Sirion GTVi is not so easy in Adelaide. From what I have been reading, I was wondering if swapping a 2NZ-FE engine from a Toyota Echo is possible?
I’ve attached a photo of my Cuore but I’m embarrassed to attach anymore until I’ve had a chance to wash the car properly
It’s great to find a group of like-minded Daihatsu fans and I look forward to contributing to the community more in the future.
Welcome John. Great car. Some here love the Gino front but I’m not such a fan. Would your rather spend the money on that or on performance? With regard to the engine upgrades there will be meagre gains from a supercharger as compared to the K series route. If you want a simple well trod and already documented process go the K series. It is an upgrade that never disappoints. With regard to the Echo engine there is only one way to know if it is possible and that’s for you to pioneer the swap since I don’t think I’ve ever seen/heard of it being done. There are still plenty of GTVI Sirions in Qld so that’s the simple route for me and having helped a mate do that swap its what I’d recommend. Anyway, you’ve made a great intro and have a really good looking Dai. I’m really looking forward to hearing and seeing more.
Welcome John,
Never be embarrassed by your car for not being clean, You have a great L7 there. I would have to agree with most of what @Mr_Gormsby has said there and agree (even though I have had either) that the k3 swap is by far the best you could do in performance wise as you get the reliability of a really good engine and no added headaches of turbo’s and/or supercharger’s. As for the Gino Kit I like the look of them. They will never be a mini but have they’re own Quirkiness about them.
K3 swap definitely makes the most sense. I’ll have to cast my net wider and look interstate for a potential GTVi donor.
I do like the idea of a challenge, so I might visit some local wreckers to take measurements of a Toyota Echo engine bay/sub-frame and I’ll report back any useful findings. The reason I started thinking about the 2NZ-FE as a swap was because I had read on another forum about someone swapping a K3-VE into a Toyota Echo.
Thank you once again for the replies and for welcoming me into the Daihatsu community.
I really enjoyed reading your thread and can’t wait to read about the K3VET conversion!
My only worry with seeing all these cool projects is how I’m supposed to hide the credit card statement from my wife . I keep telling her it’s cheaper to fix the car myself, but I’m not sure how I can justify an engine swap yet
. I keep telling her it’s cheaper to fix the car myself, but I’m not sure how I can justify an engine swap yet