I cleaned most of the rubbers and dressed them with AutoGlym Rubber & Vinyl protect as I still had that on the shelf. It made a huge difference to the roof rattling. No wonder because the rubbers were super dry and dirty.
After that I paused the roof from opening halfway, loosened the latch bolts (5 point torx grrrrr ) and closed the roof. This way I could move the latches in the right position while holding the roof down. Tightened them most of the way and opened/closed the roof a few times to test the fit. After tightening them all the way I went for a test drive and it fixed the last rattles. Complete silence.
A bit of wind noise is still audible from the window rubbers. I suspect a better rubber dressing will do the trick!
I’m enjoying the autumn with this cute little car. It handles amazing, it’s super comfortable and it’s faster than I expected! Copen-ious amounts of fun!
A quick headlight polish does wonders. It’s not perfect and obviously temporary. I’ll wet sand them when I feel like it and paint them with 2k clear coat.
This is the 660cc JB-DET but it’s definitely not slow by any means. Especially compared to the 1.0 EJ-DE I had before this. I think I just didn’t expect a lot from such a small engine so I was pleasantly surprised.
True, it’s super fun and even at normal road speeds it was nice to drive
I’ve only driven one copen, but I expected a clear distinction of no power / power from when the turbo kicks in. The one I drove was very linear in power delivery which surprised me. Even my more modern 1L 3cyl fiesta has that almost oldschool turbo deliver of ‘nothing’ until the turbo steps in.
With my Copen the distinction is certainly there. Turbo on or turbo off so to speak . But even before the turbo kicks in it’s quite nippy. When the turbo feels like it it just keeps pulling somewhat linear. Although mine sometimes has a few flat spots that feel like a possible boost leak so I have some work to do.
Every car I owned until now had a rats nest of radio cables to fit an aftermarket unit. This Daihatsu dealer fitted Clarion luckily comes with a Toyo to ISO adapter. Thank you Daihatsu!
The illumination colour actually matches the Copen cluster quite well. The sound quality is amazing. I’m not sure these are original speakers. Damn, what an upgrade.
I enjoyed my drive to work this morning with some loud music
Something so simple can sometimes be so rewarding. The boot needed a damn good clean. I also cleaned up loose debris under the carpet as that moving around will just cause rust. The metal is now covered in a nice wax, just to be sure.
I found some signs of an old water leak. Probably from the brake light seal, it’s a common one. It doesn’t seem to get wet anymore but sometimes it’s a tad damp after a few days of rain. So I’ll just have to keep an eye out for that.
My boot would get water in it if it rained and it was parked facing uphill. If it faced down hill even slightly it would not leak. Check down where the hinges are deep in the sides for any signs of rust or water leakage.
Well, I opened the boot today after some rain. And it seems the water can just poor in on the corners. Seems to be by design? There’s nothing that could ever stop this from happening as far as I can see.
I also replaced the cluster because mine came with a 1.3 cluster. But this cluster seems to be English, it states both km/h and mph but sadly the counter is in miles as well. It’s ok for now but I’ll see if I can get one from Japan that’s in km/h and goes up to 10k revs.
I also took a headlight, the intercooler and piping to have spares. And the English leather Daihatsu folder (for a friend).
Lastly the junkyard Copen had a 1.3 fog light inside the boot. (Even though it was a 660cc. The car looked like a project that never was finished sadly.) My current fog light was bolted onto the diffuser, which doesn’t look good in my opinion. After I find a new diffuser, which the junkyard Copen didn’t have sadly, I’ll fit the fog light where the reverse light is.
It’s been a few days of rain. Lots of rain. And even though the car is parked on my driveway that’s as level as the tower of Pisa; the floor is dry as a bone.
After a few drives to work with the heater on my feet it seems to have dried up completely and it’s not getting moist at all after it rains.
Also the windows don’t fog up all the flocking time while driving. So that’s nice.
You can get some magic gloop called ‘Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure’ (seriously!) which might help if you have a small gap in the sealant somewhere. It’s the consistency of milk so you paint it on, then it hardens into a waterproof barrier. As the name suggests, it also wicks into gaps by itself so give it a good few coats and it should help
. As for now I’m just slowly giving it a good clean.
) and closed the roof. This way I could move the latches in the right position while holding the roof down. Tightened them most of the way and opened/closed the roof a few times to test the fit. After tightening them all the way I went for a test drive and it fixed the last rattles. Complete silence.
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