Do you have a photo of the hoist fall?
Was sure I did. I have not looked. To post that one I would ask permission and though EFIMira and I still talk we donât mention Daihatsus but rather discus his Dodge Ram or Ford F350 (No reason not to discuss but all the talk is on his current projects). The re-shell was under the house here from just after I painted the engine bay at Nerang and towed it here to my place so we could do the body, prime and sand. It was here right up till it went to the spray both - and I canât find a single picture.
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I think there was some video of it going over as well as pictures where it lodged. It ended up very stuck and half the damage was getting it out.
Dangerously armed with a little experience, dubious knowledge, delusional aspirations, a shed full of used (plus some new) junk and a workshop full of abused tools Gormsby has spiritedly cobbled together many a Daihatsu, Subaru, Audi, Ford, Holden and so forth. At the heart of the cluttered space where all this happens is a mig, tig, some hand tools, drill press, hydo press, a swag of power hand tools, a dodgy little 60yr old mill, Hunter wheel aligner and a lathe.
Plans are a foot to expand the work space and get some small hobby size CNC machines out of storage and up and running. For now, at home, all the chip cutting is done manually. Such as simple tasks like making some M48 x 1 thread to go over some 44mm strut legs with 1 7/8" springs.
Fortunately he has friends with some big machinery and a CNC router plus fairly powerful laser cutter at work for times he wants to make bigger chips or do some accurate work (with the laser cutter there is not more buying gaskets unless they are MLS ones). Work too is where he keeps his tire changer and Biesbarth wheel balancer.
While a reasonable workshop set up is a big financial investment it does pay for itself over time and does allow bespoke solutions. With DIY solutions come other problems, mainly âtime and spaceâ.
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The ill-fated attempt at an L200 petrol over electric hybrid
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Although the pictures only show the results they do show how caster adjustment was managed for many years. A true radius rod was the preferred option, however, a decision couldnât be made at the time for where to locate its pick up on the K frame such that squat and dive could be controlled easily. Instead the sway bar was removed and the large front washer carefully ground off. A 20mm section in front this section was hand filed so that it was flush with the existing shank thread. A series of delrin spacers were made up such that 20mm stacks could be shuffled in front, behind or a combination of such behind/infront of the new urathane bushes. The images show all sitting in the factory location. Latter it ended up with a 15mm piece of delrin where that black spacer is and a 5mm one behind the washer/nut.
4deg castor. -1mm toe. -2.5 camber. plus LSD and seeking to maintain high (legal) corner speeds makes for fair tire wear.
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i would be interested to know more details about this project 
Just moving a friendâs generator. Have thought about electric, esp after seeing this Datsun http://www.plasmaboyracing.com/whitezombie.php
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I would love to have the setup that you have rob. I have managaed to aquire an drill press, 6 tonne press small bench grinder, engine hoist and an assortment of hand tools. I would love a lathe or mill and often find myself drawn to searching for them online. The truth is though that being a renter now has its drawbacks when it comes to moving and finding suitable places to house everyone and everything. Oh and the actual having to move all the stuff.
holy crap that is a really good with the electric datto.
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Other than basic hand tool and some hand held power tools Iâd find it hard to live most without a lathe and then a mig.
Of course youâve seen my setup first hand and can vouch itâs way to crammed with barely room to move. Sometime one outdoes oneself and ends up with too much crap
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EFImira hasnât exactly left a good name amongst the dai enthusiasts of today. He liked to hold back information and refused to help people unless they paid him money. This gave his car the nickname âsecret Miraâ and is often joked about due to the secretive nature.
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Not always true. He and I first met when I answered an add for a set of wheels and tires. I paid-he supplied, in fact he went beyond the ad and gave me an extra set of wheels asking no more cash the the original add. He delivered to my home, I had the full cash amount ready, he stated surprise I didnât offer him less, he took me for a ride in the blue car and I offered to let him drive mine. Suffice to say we became friends. He was often asked for a lot of free advice or when he did give info freely it was at times questioned. I was on the spot with him quite a few times when this happened. Where there was a free flow of good information back to him after giving a secret then he was exceedingly helpful. Certain things that he spent money developing, say engine modâs that required dyno time and cost him personally a lot, are in my opinion fair enough secrets to sell. He did work as a mechanic, then was at Repco as a parts interpreter just prior to leaving the country and had many other varied jobs in-between also (currently works as a BMW and Merc specialist) and at times when thatâs your only income charging seems normal. He often seemed frustrated with a failure of people to do there own basic research or look outside the box.
Iâd like to know if you were personally asked for cash in exchange for information. Same goes for any other name you can come up with where money was asked for in exchange only for knowledge. We spent considerable time together and I never heard him talk about âcash for knowledgeâ. Some in the community often shed a bad light in my mind wanting an awful lot for nothing. I did see people get upset when they sought to haggle over prices for items he had for sale and he would not budge.
Iâve shared quite a bit of knowledge and at times wondered if I really should. Both EFIMira and I are fairly pig headed in our own ways. And I am sure a few people scorn my presence (similar to your notion about the view of EFIMira), especially when I question when people get caught up in image, pretentious mods and or romanticism âof cool buildsâ. I have no need to feel like I belong to the community but there are a few close friends here who have âbeen real friendsâ and guess I am hoping to find some pearls of good advice sometime. People can take or leave what share. My knowledge I give out is free, but you might find I will advertise some bits for sale at times (just wanting to move some rubbish on but not to make a steady income), some bits will be fair market value and others will be value added due to applied processes (ie custom parts). Mostly I find only a little helpful info come through from Daihatsu people, whereas the members of my car club just shower associated knowledge in each and every interaction. But some of these guys spend more annually on their cars than I earn in a year. Llike me I find Daihatsu people to be real tight arses. So maybe I do kind of belong. EFIMira was not like us, he was not a tight arse.
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Sorry your thread has gotten of topicâŚ
I would like to just say Efimira was a massive help to me building the TRXX that @Handigirl now owns. He helped me source the engine, ecu and engine harness. @601to602 helped me with flywheel, gearbox and body harness. Without these two guys helping me it would have taken a lot longer to get the car done.
Efimira also helped me with a mobile phone that was for sale near him, he went and got it and posted it to me in Canberra and did not charge me any extra.
I am not sure why me and EFI stopped communicating, I am sure he has his reasonsâŚ
Looking forward to your next post @Mr_Gormsby your build is epic!
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Iâm just confused who Mr Gormsby is lol. Nice build but 
Hereâs an introduction to who he is. You have to hang in there but it ramps up the further things go and you get a real understanding of whom Gormsby is
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Of course an excellent source of spare parts is in buying a complete spare car.
Gormsby went into Race Clutches to discuss options for L series pressure plates when they were still over near Cooparoo (nowStanthorpe) and happen to take the Mira. Jim (owner) said his neighbor had a Mira which looked identical to Gormsbyâs which had run out of rego years ago that he could probably have, since it had been left sitting, nigh abandoned, near the top of Doorknock Terrace at Highgate Hill (almost right in Brisbane). A quick swing by Jimâs place confirmed it. Sitting out on the busy road in a prime parking spot, covered in crud and looking like it had been dumped was the std one seen in the pics. At first the owner said âtake it before I am fined or it is towedâ. A quick dash to a friendâs place for a car trailer and back they went. The owner had second thoughts and asked for $100 since heâd put four new tires on some years before. Still a bargain. It drove straight up onto the trailer. Not much of it left anymore now though. The shell with glass and panels is still in the yard - sitting there ready just in case the main L200 suffers major damage The next addition would be a bit newer, parted out more and have one key part put aside if really big power ever came to the L200.
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Okay seems some pictures are missing. With the blue mira painted and a cash and car swap completed EFIMira ended up with an L700. It was a bit misserable to drive so he purchased a Sirion GTVI. A weekend was lined up and the two of them (could have been a third person getting in the way for a bit) pulled the 4cyl and 3cyl out of the respective cars
Gormsby ended up with everything left over, so body, panels, interior and gearbox. Only the gearbox and seats were kept (anyone want some Sirion GTVI seats?).
One weekend. Two people (or did we have third for a bit?) and the deep knowledge and understanding of the swap on EFIMiraâs part and presto.
Bobcat 316 excavator as engine crane and quick way to lift cars made things happen fast. Yep a weekendâs work to strip the bits from the Sirion, strip the un-needed bits form the Cuore, fit the K3 and have it running with interior back and all.
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Wow!.. Such a good read! Youâve tried and tested alot of stuff! although my favourite thing youâve done is your rear bar cutout! haha! Amazing stuff!
Iâve always been a mixed about that cut out. Itâs practical and works with the exhaust in the center but it did look stupid until I got the slim line number plates. Itâs also kind of the start of some aero benefits and a diffuser could be added easily. But finding rear end grip has never been a problem. The cut out is perhaps the one thing that might have raised suspicion that the thing is modified. The wheels - subtle. Paint - bland. Height - does not attract attention. Inside it looks like a delivery van. In fact used to keep a clip board with pen courier paper work as well as courier satchels under the front seat. Park in a loading zone anywhere and throw that stuff on the dash - no trouble. Even worked at Griffith Uni when parking in front of a parking guy booking others - put something in a satchel, grab the note pad, do you stuff and come back to no fine. I also have a local city council sign on fridge magnet material so I can park in municipal spots - has always worked a treat (gift from EFIMira). Plus the sleeper or stealth look means no ever being pulled over except for booze bus breath testing. The more recent modâs soon to be revealed are not discrete at all. This may mean it canât be driven on the road any more and I might look into club rego.
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Gormsby has been lucky enough to drive some really quick cars: modern versions of Lotus Super Sevens, turbo Porsches, some quick BMWs, WRX STI, EVOs, an 720hp Volvo and so forth. One thinks one has driven something quick but itâs not until you get to drive something with race radials that is set up to win championships that you begin to understand the compromises of even the fastest attainable street cars. Being on the track whether a race course, rally stage, hillclimb or khanacross in a road car with race radials (or mud n snow for rally) and then step up again to a race car is an experience every car guy or girl needs to do. Better yet was doing a Formula Ford experience and getting in forty-five laps with the rev restrictor lifted.
The mechanical grip in corners and braking is phenomenal. Consider that a Formula Ford is only 3.5 seconds slower than a V8 Supercar at Phillip Island. But a Radical is 3 seconds faster than a V8 Supercar. So it was that a trip to Highlandpark while in the South Is NZ was orgainsed so he could have a drive.The point here is not to boast. Gormsby is probably a lot older than most people reading this and many of you will go onto far more exciting things. Rather this is about giving perspective to the build. Race experiences can be bought. The cost is a bit but such is attainable. The corner speeds that the aero allows was mind blowing (Tony Quin [track and car owner] had said, âstuff the waiver and just Fân go for itâ - thanks mate). To go from road car to a Radical and back to road car provided massive insight to Gormsby for where he wanted to take the L200.
It would never end up as quick as a Formula Ford or Radical. But in targeting the right club motorsport events it might just be possible to make the L200 a top three finisher in its class and maybe even a record breaker.
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