Howdy… its nice to see a forum still active. I miss build threads!
I am a Daihatsu tragic- first new car in my early 20s was a G200 5 door, and used a G201 Detomaso for club racing duties and still kick myself I sold that car.
Anyways I wanted to join the Nugget Nationals crew and go racing with them. Their rules are pretty simple… cars are mostly stock… 1500cc engine capacity… $3k purchase limit. I figured an F2 with its relatively light weight and rear discs would be a reasonable contender… and given I still had my sparco race seat and a set of race brake pads on the shelf, it wouldn’t take much to turn one into a decent racer.
I searched for ages… they rarely come up… or if they did, they were priced at a point I could not get it past the minister for finance. Then this jigger came up not far from home, and I did the deal $550. Bargain! Paint is rooted, but other than that at the time I thought she was pretty good value (still do… I think)
I don’t think its an actual F2… missing the stickers… and though the body kits has Daihatsu logos in it, it clearly was fitted by these guys
Once I got her home I gave her a service. Woweee… airfilter was horrendous… as were the spark plugs
A good mate had been using the wheels from the Detom on his cars, and struck a very generous deal so I could have them back. Gave her a wash (looks shiny if you don’t dry her!)
I also fitted one of my favourite steering wheels - off an ST162 Celica. Not perfect in terms of reach for the wiper/indicator stalks, and actually slightly bigger diameter than stock, but it feels nice.
That is how she stands now… she is off getting a roadworthy, along with new driveshafts and engine mounts… and then I will fit yellowspeed coilovers, some race parts, and hit the track!
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Yeah, I love build threads. You have a great Dai and made a fantastic contribution with the write up. Build threads and not losing info into history puts the forum in a different league to FB, here you find depth rather than the shallow waters of social media. Looking forward to hearing and seeing more.
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After an inordinately long time sitting at the mechanics she is back. He claims engine mounts are all fine but the thunk I get on occassion tells me other wise. Never got to the driveshafts either. Oh well they can remain on the to do list… which no doubt will come back to haunt me later 
Made progress on getting it ready for Nugget Nationals this past week:
Tow hooks 
Battery triangle
Seat and harness
Momo (decided toyota one was too big)
Fire extinguisher
Front pads, rotors and coilovers (if they arrive in time) and first event at Broadford on February 2. Otherwise it will be a lesson is driving fast but careful on stock gear.
Cannot wait!!
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So coronavirus has been a dud for many reasons, but it has let me get my build finished without missing too many Nugget Nats rounds.
Coilovers didn’t arrive in time for Broadford (Chinese New Year), however that round got cancelled as the track resurfacing failed and was being redone. So that meant next round was to be Winton in March and gave me the time to do the suspension and brakes.
First up - Yellowspeed coilovers, as I am all about off the shelf performance, and they get a good wrap from mx5 guys.
Also installed my v-max slotted front brake rotors and project mu club spec pads (spares left over from years ago from running the detomaso!)
4 days before Winton the car was sitting in drive way ready to go for a wheel alignment.
Except it didn’t happen… I ended up in hospital with a kidney stone. Do not recommend!! So I missed the Winton debut 
Then coronavirus sent us all into lock down so nothing much happened. My first real catch up with mates was getting the wheel alignment.
All done
At some stage during lockdown someone was advertising headers and full exhaust off an F2 they were wrecking, so we did a deal and they shipped from Sydney to Melbourne. This weekend I fitted it.
When I took this photo I didn’t realise I was capturing a future problem. Those headers occupy the same space as the airconditioning thermo fan. There is about 0.0001mm clearance, even with the most troublesome pipe massaged to give clearance. Hopefully they find a way to live together! Sounds fast anyways!!
Next weekend is called Round 3, but is technically Round 2, to be run at Broadford. I love Broadford so am really looking forward to it. Stay tuned!
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