Hi from QLD. My 2nd L701 Cuore

[WinningRun]

Hi there,
I just picked up my 2nd L701 Cuore a couple of weeks back. I’m so happy to be back in a Cuore!

I got my first Cuore back in 2011 when I was on my P’s. A green 2002 automatic. I loved it dearly.

I had this one for about 4 years, then sold it onto my dad, who cherished it as well. Then he sold it to a mate of mine at work, who had 4 accidents in it and wrote it off

I have had an itch to pick another one up since. I have owned plenty of other cars in the interim, but there was something special about the old Cuore. I managed to find one for a pretty good deal a couple of weeks ago. It’s nowhere near as nice as my old one, but it will clean up nicely with a bit of TLC.

This is my 2000 L701 Cuore. 3-speed auto, no aircon. As barebones as it gets.

Since picking it up, I’ve replaced the CV shafts, done and oil and coolant flush (the previous owner had mixed up green and red coolant), new tyres and wheels, new alternator belt, a new single din headunit that I’ve color matched to the lovely green glow of the dash.

Cleaning up the headlights and front bumper is next.

Seeking some advice as well. I had my last Cuore when I was a much slender 20-something. I’m now in my mid 30s and have put on a few kilos (to say the least). It’s a snug fit. I look a bit like Donkey Kong in Mario Kart driving it.

I need a slightly bigger seat. I have read Sirion seats are a little wider and more supportive. I need the wideness for my butt and some more back support for my hips. But I don’t want the bolstering to be considerably more aggressive. How easy is it to swap these seats in? I’d also love to lower the seat. I’m open to aftermarket options. But I don’t really want a bucket seat.

Has anyone reupholstered the door cards to fabric in similar fashion to an MX-5 or a 240z? I’d love to get the bump from the door out of the side of my leg.

How labour intensive is it to retrofit aircon? I have the blank switch on the dash, and a nice big cavity in the engine bay where the condenser use to go. Is it something worth pursuing?

Your advice is most welcome.

[evilhighway]

Welcome to the forum!
Whislt I cant answer most of your question’s. I can say the the seats from a gtvi are wider than a an L7 (cuore) seat. I put a set in the move I had years ago. While they were wider with more bolster but not over the top. I found them to be quite harder than the factory move seat in which I would assume the factory cuore seat is more comfy too. You could maybe look at Gino seats also they maybe a bit wider but not really sure.

[Butch_Butcher]

[quote=“evilhighway, post:2, topic:7254”]…I put a set in the move…[/quote]Did they bolt up to the MOVE’s floorplan plug & play or did you need to manufacture adapters?

[enshiu]

green one has A/C?

I have retrofitted A/C on the L701

Its 5-6hours average to fit it.

Dashboard doesnt need to be removed.

A little fiddleing and its good

Project Mülheim a.d. Ruhr L701 5d resurrection

Got the evaporator installed in the car. And the A/C button, need to swap the whole panel over as the blank button is not a separate piece. For the evaporator, some reinforcement needed to be cutted inside the box to fit the sirion m100 evaporator [image] [image]

[evilhighway]

slight modifications but nothing major. I know @b_hoves did it also and after seeing his I had to do the same.

[b_hoves]

From memory 3 of the bolts lined up and I drilled a hole for one of the rear bolts. That was about it.

[Butch_Butcher]

[quote=“evilhighway, post:2, topic:7254”]…I found them to be quite harder than the factory move seat…[/quote]MOVE seats are remarkably comfortable. Some of the reviews published about these cars complained about taking longer trips with them, because of “discomfort”. I found the opposite to be true. Perhaps, they meant how harsh these cars are sprung, when fitted with the original low-profile tyres?
In any event, I could trade off some seating comfort, if the seat’s height had provisions for adjustment. For a bloke my size, my legs are unusually long and my torso shorter than average. Which means, I have to sit with the seat fully at its back stop, to the point to where I can see even less of the car’s front end than I would if my legs were short. If I could swap my torso with one from another person my height, I’d be probably 6 foot seven or something. The other way around, I’d be looking Danny DeVito straight at his eyeballs.
That’s presently a hassle at M.O.T. visits, because they make me remove the adapter blocks I made for sitting up properly. I’m assuming, Daihatsu assembled MOVEs using Cuore seats, in order to keep production costs down. It’s sad, considering how much cabin space is left unused.
If I can’t find height-adjustable seats of which I can make fit, I’ll have to see about casting blocks from some of my scrap aluminium or maybe try out soliciting 3-D printer casting? If the blocks look like a factory option, M.O.T. tyrants would likely leave me be

[WinningRun]

Updated photos. Polished and cleaned up the headlights. The old girl passed roadworthy and is registered since the last photo.

I have a nasty rattle from the rear hatch that I need to sort out. I’m not quite sure what the culprit is. Everything is secure around the spare tire. The small rubber stops are present on the bottom of the hatch. The interior panel on the hatch is secure. Very prominent when the car is in drive but not moving. Anyone got a guess?

[Butch_Butcher]

Whatever is hanging the exhaust, probably