Daihatsu Charmant

[jdm86gtz]

Got her back tonight so the final build can begin now
Painted in 2 pack it's a Fiat colour from maybe 1856.

[jdm86gtz]

I don't have to flock the dash as I got a decent colour dash from Cloko.

Had to repaint everything (crossmember etc.) and have fitted a few bits so far. It's getting busy already in the engine bay :thumpsdown:
You can see the braided brake hoses heading off in through the bulkhead where I'll mount a T piece to split the fronts and rear bias valve before reconnecting back to the hard line for the rear brakes. No hydraulic handbrake for now. Fitted a small oil catch can behind the R/H headlight






W58 with adaptor bellhousing, also came with 212mm Illegal Garage clutch disc

[jdm86gtz]

Got the brake hoses sorted, just have to P clip up the hoses in the front.
Mounted a Jap rear bias valve and a T piece up behind the heater box and ran the hoses out through the wiring loom grommets. Sent the rear hose down through the tunnel and connected back to the hard line

[jdm86gtz]

Finished my dry cell battery fitting today, Nutserts are great yokes. 200 amp trip switch fitted along side the battery.
Edit I'll probably have to redo the battery mounting to something more secure.

[jdm86gtz]

Fitted the gold heat reflective stuff which is a pain to fit. It is like window tint and only like flat surfaces



Nice shiny Toda pulleys

[jdm86gtz]

Sealed up the engine a couple of weeks ago and fitted it along with a T50 for now(W58 sitting there patiently)
I know way back I said 2 seats and not much else but then Cloko had a decent interior for sale so I bought it, Then I got 2 black and grey Recaros and some bright spark said I should get the rear seats reupholstered to match. Also kicked a rear bumper off a scrap Charmer. Mostly wiring left to do as I removed a lot of unnecessary underdash wiring from the loom and finish the engine loom.
Getting it ready to get a full stainless exhaust made from turbo to tailpipe. I'm thinking an oval rear box something like the HKS Legal on my Trueno.

Oh yeah bolt in sump baffle fitted

[jdm86gtz]

I wasn't happy with the front 7" -12 wheels so I bought a pair of 8" 0 offset and wrapped them in Advan AD08 Neova tyres now I can get the cool Advan sticker for my wings like all those Hondas. Also wasn't happy with the AE86 front struts so I got another pair of Charmant struts, going to get them sand blasted and I guess I should convert them to coilovers also.

[jdm86gtz]

I'm trying to do something to this every day even if it's only 1 small job it's something off the list and closer to completion.
So the clutch hose, and fuel feed hose are done. Still have to mod the clutch pedal before the clutch is off the list.

[jdm86gtz]

One of the lads did a bit of work on the exhaust for me. He had advised me to buy a mandrel bent 90 degree and two 45 degree bends so I bought them and he Tig'd them together with a few inches of straight added in here and there. I still have to decide what to do exactly for the rest of the exhaust though, I was thinking of dropping it from 3" back down to 2.5" around where the cat would be on an AE86 or just go as far as the cat and run an AE86 catback.
Anyway I waited until it got dark to take a picture of course. Really had to cut the 90 down to make it past the bulkhead even with the bulkhead area flattened out. I hope it won't cause issues being too close to the turbo.

[jdm86gtz]

Got MCN inserts and made up coilovers with 450lb/ 8kg/mm springs so it's sitting a bit better now

As it was




Techno Pro Spirit coilovers with HTS insert, mine with MCN insert and AE86 strut with TRD spring and insert




As it sits now

[jdm86gtz]

Bought a Koyo rad from Sandy , fitted that to my Trueno and fitted my old Koyo to this



I decided to use a big port manifold and T3 adaptor instead of a cut'n'shut small port manifold

[jdm86gtz]

Got my front pipe back on Saturday. 9 pieces of S/S welded together. It consists of a CX Racing T25/8 to 3" V band adaptor, a 3" 90 degree bend, 2 3" 45 degree bends a few bits of straight 3", a 3" to 2 1/2" reducer and a 2 1/2" oval flange. I also got 2 lambda sensor bungs welded in, 1 for oem narrow band lambda and I'll plug the other for now but can fit a wide band sensor in it for a gauge in the future. The exhaust reaches as far as an AE86 manifold so I have a decat and Trust exhaust on the car for now.



Pity I have a crap wobbly hand

[jdm86gtz]

That's upto date for now. I have a few other things done and some still to do.

[carbd7age]

Awesome build, can't wait for action shots of this boosted sedan doin work.

[EJ86]

I love this build. Amazing...

[RuizXIII]

Amazing work so far, man! This beauty looks real flash.
It's always nice to see a rusty car restored and brought back to it's former glory and better!

[jdm86gtz]

I contacted the chap who made my exhaust to make up an intercooler pipe for me and fitted the actuator.
I had to shorten the actuator pushrod so used the adjustable end of a Lancer GSR.
I took it for a spin and it's making 0.6 bar of boost



Evo 4 intercooler



Which is nearly invisible with the bumper and grill fitted

[eTiMaGo]

talk about a sleeper... love it!

[0g buster]

This thing is badd a$$. Props to you.

[RuizXIII]

Awesome Car!
How did you guys make that replacement sill? It looks spot on OEM.

[jdm86gtz]

A friend of mine is a fitter so he cut out a section and then bent up the sill repair in work.
The plan was sleeper so it seems to be working out ok so far.

[boosted86]

Great job bringing this car back to life. Awesome build, definitely fits into sleeper territory

[Elvin Wes]

Love this car!

[jdm86gtz]

I finally stopped putting it off and made up the instrument cluster from 4mm alloy which my friend then copied in 10mm timber (Walnut I think)
Rebuilt the 4 calipers as they were starting to drag a bit and get hot.
Also finally got my custom covers painted and fitted










In between my Trueno and friend's KE70

[oldeskewltoy]

very nicely done

[HingaSPL]

This is the kind of build I absolutely love. You brought that car back from the dead. Beautiful work

[jdm86gtz]

Not much of an update. OEM style 4a-gte sticker looks a little crooked in the picture.
Also fitted an Innovate G3 wideband gauge, looks to be running high 11s on the gauge under boost but it's not in my eye line as it's only temporarily placed under the radio area.

[joel23]

looks good.. very clean....

[axacharmant]

hi i just read your build i am to building ah 89 charm ant any tips on updating front suspension

[jdm86gtz]

I fitted a pair of 2" weld on coilover sleeves, cut the struts 40mm and fitted MCNSport dampers along with camber plates.
The rest of the front consists of polybushed arms/rods and P/S knuckles with Uras tie rods.
I fitted an adjustable Cusco tower brace from an AE86 (the AE86 strut tops are closer together so it has to an adjustable AE86 brace)