Tweet
Not much to see here. Just an old Cressida wagon built in May of 1986. It’s rusty, burns oil, and handles like an old horse carriage. This mistreated, poorly maintained, and misguided hunky of JDM goodness needed a new home on a cold and rainy day of November 2011. After being sideswiped and losing my IS300 (pictured below), I decided I needed a challenge. Have I bit off more than I can chew?
For the most part, I’ll have my Iphone pictures do the talking. I am not a mechanic nor do I even have a garage (just a carport), but I have some amazing people around me that have helped me along the way. Not only this is a complete budget build, it is my daily also. Either I am a genius or a complete moron for trying to resurrect a rare piece of Japanese luxury. I get some flack from people trying to tell me ‘how to’ or what ‘not to’ do, but at the end of the day, it is my POS wagon, not theirs.
Chapter 1:
This is what Larry looked like when I first got him. We arrived at this name for the wagon mainly because of his age, the musky and shaggy brown interior, faded and scratched paint on the exterior, and his bulky dimensions.
It was not long until I got a set of Modenas to change things up. 17x8.5 & 17x9.5.
Since the fronts were converted to 5 lug (X8), I had to get 4 lug to 5 lug adapters for the rear live axle. The wagon is sitting on Stance coilovers and stance shocks/cut 4.5”ID springs in the rear.
Final offset was +6 in the front and +7 in the rear. It was good enough, for now...
After a quick tune, a wash, and wheel situation figured out, I moved onto the little things. Firstly, I pieced back the front valance and ripped out the ricey ebay HID kit.
Nothing much happened for a few weeks. I got approached by the Speedline Film Werks guys to do a little video shoot. I agreed in a heartbeat. With only one day of shooting, the video was posted. It got even picked up by Japanese Nostalgic Car. http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/2012...ressida-wagon/
Here is the original Speedline Film Werks Video:
VHS 1986 from Speedline Film Werks on Vimeo.
On the way home from the shoot, that is when things started to shit the bed. The wagon began losing all the electronics. I hurried home to find the alternator take its final breath.
This is where things started to turn for the worse. One morning I woke up to this...
So back onto the tow truck it was.
At this point, bad things must come in threes. After having dealt with the previous issues, the rainy spring weather did not make it much easier on me.
It would not stop raining which made the wagon a daily driven sauna. The windows would steam up so bad, I had to Ace Ventura it every time I was late for work. This needed fixing as soon as possible. Finally, my luck turned for the better, and I met some amazing new people (Padraig and Anthony). We pulled out the rear carpets and bench and found this...
With no more time to waste, we got to work. Cue montage music...
We stripped the interior and made a fort
Safety First!
With the major leak fixed, we hit up a local car meet and got some pics.
Meanwhile, I ordered some JDM goodies...1985 JDM corners since mine were cracked
And Big End JDM Woodie wheel... It was time to put the carpets back in.
We even test fitted the COTD’s Meisters...
The modena phase did not last long. I decided to sell them and got a set of Work Ryver Touring.
With more aggressive sizes and offsets, this is where fitting them became interesting. Measuring at 17x9.5 et -10 and 17x10.5 et -25, I was slowly becoming a bodyman, along with my friends’ help.
Meanwhile, I got carried away with plastidip...
And back to rolling/hammering more fenders... Big thanks to Josh and Ben for lending a hand on numerous occasions.
In June, we hit up the Old School Reunion in Bothell, south of the border. Larry ended up picking up Best Wheels 2012.
It was back to work at the DeathSquad Headquarters. Retrofitting the JDM corners.
Since the front fenders/valance was cut up by the previous owner, I wanted to give the wagon a more aggressive “low” look. We came up with the Death Squad junkyard special.
And finally...
Overall, the bumper/lip sit okay. Still need to work out some kinks and integrate it into the body much better. I got a chance to do a photoshoot with a local photographer and have Padraig edit some photos. This is how the wagon sits right now...
Chapter 2:
Summer End Update.
Not much has changed since the last update. I’ve been preoccupied moving and taking care of the little things. I did end up buying some matching paint in a can and spraying the fenders.
They did not turn out as well as I had hoped, but for now they will do. Need more blending and sanding. I'll have it figured out by next spring. I hope.
In my spare time, I ended up flipping and buying a bunch of sets of wheels. Not that I really needed them. It was just something to do.
I have decided to keep one set and run it in the meantime.
They also make decent couch legs
So, that means my Work Ryver Touring are for sale. 17x9.5 +5 17x10.5 +5
More onto the Riken Meshies. 16x9.5 et+8 and et-2 (with adapters)
The rears are not as aggressive as I want them to be, so ill be looking for another 20MM spacer.
I got an alignment done. Went from -5 up front to -3.5ish to save some of the wear on the tires over the fall/winter months.
And thats basically it for now. Ill take some more legit pics once I space out the rear a bit. These meshies will be up for sale come spring time.
Lastly, here is a video of my cat:
Chapter 3: Offseason
There were still some kinks to work out with the front end. For example; the lack of rebar.
Since none of this factory anymore, the rebar itself needed a slight trim.
The last thing left is to attach all the chrome trim and secondary turn signals.
While fiddling around with the that, I also mocked up some random skirts that might work as an aero kit.
After a few hacks and blows, this bitch was slim enough to fit in.
The support is finally there.
The other main purchase this offseason is this:
2JGE + W58 swap.
I am slowly assembling all the parts so I have most of the things when the actual install happens.
Eventually once this becomes a non-daily car, big turbo will be added for more stupidness.
For now, its still an oilburning, 5mpowered daily driver.
We also moved into our garage. Finally have a space to work, especially out of the rain.
Meanwhile, I picked up a model car of a gx70.
Happy Holidays.
Summer End Update.
Not much has changed since the last update. I’ve been preoccupied moving and taking care of the little things. I did end up buying some matching paint in a can and spraying the fenders.
They did not turn out as well as I had hoped, but for now they will do. Need more blending and sanding. I'll have it figured out by next spring. I hope.
In my spare time, I ended up flipping and buying a bunch of sets of wheels. Not that I really needed them. It was just something to do.
I have decided to keep one set and run it in the meantime.
They also make decent couch legs
So, that means my Work Ryver Touring are for sale. 17x9.5 +5 17x10.5 +5
More onto the Riken Meshies. 16x9.5 et+8 and et-2 (with adapters)
The rears are not as aggressive as I want them to be, so ill be looking for another 20MM spacer.
I got an alignment done. Went from -5 up front to -3.5ish to save some of the wear on the tires over the fall/winter months.
And thats basically it for now. Ill take some more legit pics once I space out the rear a bit. These meshies will be up for sale come spring time.
To do list:
Find a motor. 1jz/2jz/NA or Turbo. I dont care.
Different fitment, setup for next year. Staying either 16 or 17"
Paint.
Find a motor. 1jz/2jz/NA or Turbo. I dont care.
Different fitment, setup for next year. Staying either 16 or 17"
Paint.
Lastly, here is a video of my cat:
#Scumbagcat chasing water from Aleks Efremov on Vimeo.
Chapter 3: Offseason
There were still some kinks to work out with the front end. For example; the lack of rebar.
Since none of this factory anymore, the rebar itself needed a slight trim.
The last thing left is to attach all the chrome trim and secondary turn signals.
While fiddling around with the that, I also mocked up some random skirts that might work as an aero kit.
After a few hacks and blows, this bitch was slim enough to fit in.
The support is finally there.
The other main purchase this offseason is this:
2JGE + W58 swap.
I am slowly assembling all the parts so I have most of the things when the actual install happens.
Eventually once this becomes a non-daily car, big turbo will be added for more stupidness.
For now, its still an oilburning, 5mpowered daily driver.
We also moved into our garage. Finally have a space to work, especially out of the rain.
Meanwhile, I picked up a model car of a gx70.
Happy Holidays.
Comment