TDSAutoMag

Today I’ll be bringing you guys a first look at Dominic’s 1984 KP61 build. What initially started out as a small modification, later ensued into an all out restoration build like no other.

Dominic first fell in love with the KP61 Starlet when he acquired one in his late teens and started to mod it. The car was well maintained – some days it was cleaned as many as three times. Some years after, he made the decision to part ways with to pursue business ventures. Because of this, Dominic had always promised himself that some day he would like to be the owner of another KP Starlet, not only to serve as a reminder of the fun times he had, but also to create some new ones. Knowing the type of guy he is, Dominic kept putting the idea out of his head, largely because of the fear. Fear? Yes, the fear that he may end up going a tad overboard and wind up spending countless amounts of money on modifications that weren’t possible when he had his first one. Also, the amount of time that would be spent working on it, as we know, when it comes to cars, money and time go hand in hand. Needless to say that phase didn’t last for very long as you are currently reading about his KP61 build haha.

One of the 4 KP61 shells that were imported from New Zealand was up for sale and after taking a look at it, Dominic didn’t need much convincing before he eventually gave in. Complete with a 16 valve 4A-GE motor with 45 Weber carburetors mated to a T50 gearbox and Starlet rear end, this was enough power to take for a spirited drive and have some fun. At the same time giving Dominic a chance to build back some seat time in his once beloved place behind the wheel. To go along with the motor swap, the suspension was also upgraded to Techno Toy Tuning coilovers.

Now that you guys have a little story behind the build, let’s get on with today’s post. We’ll be taking a look at the car when it first arrived at home and also some shots of the slight changes that were made…

How the car looked when he first brought it home on a set of 13″x7″ fig wheels…

Admittedly the interior was a big rough around the edges…

Recyclable bucket seats…

Rear quarter panels could use some attention…

The material on the rear seats saw better times…

Missing from the trunk was the carpet and the parcel shelf…

On further inspection of the body, Dominic found that flashband was used to cover some holes around the tailgate…

After having the car for a few months and being frustrated with the constant issues associated with carburetors and their reliability, Dominic decided he would dig a little deeper into the build…

How the motor sat in the bay with the 45 Weber carbs…

Full sized radiator removed…

Then came the next phase in development, a coil on plug set up…

Test fitting to get some measurements for the custom aluminum coil plug cover…

A shot of it completed and bolted down…

Moving forward, a set of  TWM 40mm individual throttles were acquired to replace the 45 Weber carbs…

To accommodate for these new changes, some wiring will need to be done and  the car converted to fuel injection…

Meanwhile…

It was time for a full cleaning…

High in the air… time for a wash down…

After an underbody wash, with the wheels and bumpers removed…

This is how the car sits…  Awaiting the next phase in development…

That’s it for today’s post, I hope you guys enjoyed the first look at Dominic KP61 restoration build. Stay tuned for much more to come on this build, this is one you guys don’t want to miss…