GroovyCarrot wrote:The way I see it, the best way to approach modding is to bring the car up to the standard that it should have come out of the factory in an ideal world. Fit all the options it didn't come with, make it look and drive as well as possible without ruining the standard form..
That's kinda why, as far as i got with mine, you probably couldn't have told anything had been done to it if you didn't know your stuff.... doing the engine out was just a sideline.... the door handle trims, nicer seats inside, gearstick gaiter, rev clocks, front fogs, nice factory option wheels (for a while), eco 5-speed box, retuned chip etc.
It all made it nicer to own (rather than a pain such as i expect lambo doors would be, or changing a bulb on lexus lights) and felt a little bit "smarter", even if I never had chance to do any major work like dropping the suspension (don't think I would have either - practicality and giggles were always the watchwords rather than track-like performance).
One thing I would say... if you're wanting to keep it some time and carry on modding, but also have some speed from it... for the love of pete swap the engine for at least a 1272 CL, pref. an NZ or GT when you get the opportunity, cash and time. The more oomph it has there, the less taxed and less hard-worn it will get from someone who wants to go fast, as the balance will come down on the side of part throttle with lower revs more often than full throttle near the redline... so long as they can reign themselves in from automatically lead-footing it everywhere in any car!
maybe some of this is the fact that i have a job now, money and imagination can be dangerous sometimes.
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