9 days till my New 2 Me Camry. What to do first?

[Drewfuspx]

Hello Everyone! So I'll start out with the goods first:




This is the 1995 Camry LEV6 that I will be purchasing for $4500 on the 18th of June 2010. It currently has 86,000 km's on it, is bone stock, and in great condition. I recently sold an AW11 that I owned in favour of purchasing this as my wife and I have taken to loving road trips and wanted something that would eat up the miles in complete comfort!

I've been lurking for a few weeks on the website trying to glean the differences between then gen 3.0 and the 3.5. Being made very happy by the fact that I'm getting the 1MZ-FE and hearing about how crazy reliable this car is.

In terms of modifications on the car the first things that I will be looking towards are upgrading the stereo. The deck obviously has to go and I'm thinking of getting a JVC Arsenel KD-A615. I appreciate having both the USB and Auxiliary input, and the fully adjustable color scheme. Part of the reason the color adjust is important to me is that eventually I would like to try to replace my gauges and/or redo the LED's in the dashboard to achieve a nicer than 90's green look.


Along with the stereo I'm going to go for JL 10W7 sub and matching amp.


At this point b/c the sound system has rarely been used I'm not planning on upgrading the speakers. I do understand I'll lose sound quality because of this, and don't want it to be a bass only sound system (I hate that) but figure it'll be good enough for now and then I can get some premium components later on.

2nd thing I'd like to do will be new rims and tires, but it's coming with 6 new tires and so I will be wearing those out before I do anything crazy. Something moderate like this

ROFL HUGE RIMS.

ROFL HUGE RIMS.

I think this is Durrby's and it's wicked, but I'm just not ready for bags yet.

3rd I'd like to Tint windows, Maybe Smoke Tail Lights (with shadowshield film so less permanent than spray basically tinted 3M tape), and possibly do a blue tinge headlight film. I have connections to a company called XPEL where we order all of our clear hood/headlight protection from. Looks awesome, but not sure if it'd go with white.

3.5th Also I want to Clear as many of the indicators as possible and replace the bulbs with LED, that way there completely clear unless lit. Amber bulbs under clear lenses tend to give the lens a color and I think white would look slick w/o that. Unfortunately LED swaps are not just plug and play but I've always wanted to mess with resistors!

4th What do people think of Cold Air Intakes on the 1MZ-FE and is it worth my Dollars? I like the concept and have not had it in a car before and so think it might be fun.

5th thing I'll be looking for a replacement for the black rectangle cover on the engine, I'm thinking that one off a Lexus ES300 might fit. Same engine right?


6th Replace or Cover Stock grill. Any favourites or tips where I can pick something up?


If the pictures don't give it away I do work at a Toyota Dealership and that is how I found the car. I manage the detail bay at Lethbridge Toyota. Though actually today I gave notice for the 25th as my wife is having some medical issues so we are moving to Calgary. Anyway, I have been able to look at it's history and he's taken care of it well. The first things that I will be doing when I get the car are a T-belt, Water Pump, Coolant Flush, Tranny Fluid, and check over numerous other things that I always do with a new car. But I have some questions and would like your input.

1. The Grandma Car: So the car is 15 yrs old with very few Km's on it. With the 1MZ-FE engine do I have to be concerned about carbon buildup? The Tech's at work don't seem to be concerned and have said that I should throw some premium in it and take it for a romp on the highway and that'll clear up any carbon buildup. I have also been reading about the 'great seafoam debate' and am still undecided whether I think it would be a good idea or not.

2. Toyota Rust: I may just be oversensitive but coming from my AW 11 with holes big enough in the fenders to ventilate the trunk I want to make sure that this car does not rust. Currently the only spot of rust on it was the Driver Side Rear fender which has been treated with steal wool down to bare metal and then covered with Paint and Clear from a Toyota Touch paint pen. Are there any problem areas for rust on this car that I should look into. I know how to keep a car from rusting, but just want to know if there are any problem areas.

3. Debadging: Not that I don't like the gold emblems and all... but truly I hate the gold emblems! I've searched the forums but gotten mixed results in terms of which badges will be adhesive only and which will have bolts. If I remove the fabric from the trunk lid will I be able to determine what's what on my car?

So theres my HUGE first post! (But Pictures make it fun!) I'm looking forward to being a Camry owner. To comfort, to v6 power, to A/C, long comfy rides, Toyota Nation and many hundreds of thousands of km's on the tarmac!
RUFUS~

[71Corolla]

If it was me, I'd leave the car bone stock except for the headlights. I would also put in a Toyota stereo/CD unit and not an aftermarket, but that's just me I like the stock look of the stereo. The factory stereo in my Gen4 is surprisingly good, when I get some spare cash I'm going to put the exact same unit into my Gen3. (they fit)

Does that car have 14 or 15" wheels? I think the are 15s, if they were 14" I would buy them off of you. (I live in Calgary)

Nice car looks very clean. Good luck with the rust repair, got any tips? I have the rust in exactly the same place.

[uuuuu]

Check the hoses and rubber seals. Cars that have very low mileage tend to be rotting or hardened in these areas.

[ASG14]

SuperCharge it.....

[Drewfuspx]

Originally Posted by 71Corolla

Does that car have 14 or 15" wheels? I think the are 15s, if they were 14" I would buy them off of you. (I live in Calgary)

Nice car looks very clean. Good luck with the rust repair, got any tips? I have the rust in exactly the same place.

They are in fact 14" rims so when I get up to Calgary with it we'll have to see what we can figure out. They are steelies with hubcaps though not alloy rims.

What do you recommend for the headlights? Going to something projector style? Or doing an HID conversion?

As far as rust goes, with my extensive detail knowledge... I have found that a very tiny amount of steel wool will go a long way in getting rid of it, but of course you have to be careful about the paint around it. Then just something to seal it, and you can get a colour matched paint pen from toyota for about 10 bucks, this works well for surface rust. My concern with the rust location on your car and mine is that it indicates rust in the seam of the wheel well and that is much more difficult to take care of.

Originally Posted by uuuuu

Check the hoses and rubber seals. Cars that have very low mileage tend to be rotting or hardened in these areas.

That's right! Thank you for reminding me. When I get it on a lift at work I'll have to give all me hoses some squeezes! Thanks!

[ASG14]

^ Your camry has 15's, not 14's.....

[Drewfuspx]

Originally Posted by ASG14

^ Your camry has 15's, not 14's.....

I could very well be wrong. I checked another 95 Camry with the same package as mine and it had R14 on it, but I did not check the rubber on the car I'm actually purchasing. Time will tell! Thx

[ASG14]

V6 all have 205/65/15. The reason the V6's are 15's as the 14's on the I4 won;t clear the front Calipers. The V6 has about a 1" bigger rotor over the I4. Oddle, many of the OEM spares were 205/60/15 or 195/65/15

[Drewfuspx]

Originally Posted by ASG14

V6 all have 205/65/15. The reason the V6's are 15's as the 14's on the I4 won;t clear the front Calipers. The V6 has about a 1" bigger rotor over the I4. Oddle, many of the OEM spares were 205/60/15 or 195/65/15

Awesome. That's really good to know! All information is good information, so 71Rolla, It turns out I have 15's not 14's, so there.

[71Corolla]

Originally Posted by Drewfuspx

My concern with the rust location on your car and mine is that it indicates rust in the seam of the wheel well and that is much more difficult to take care of.

I checked mine on both sides from inside the trunk, I didn't see any signs of rust or failure of the sealant. But the folded seam is a rust magnet, there is just enough space for moisture to get in. The best (and maybe only) way to protect it is to spray in a penetrating oil a couple of times a year, I find this works fairly well. I've tried spraying rust paint but it just doesn't get in there. I think I've tried every kind of rust "cure" out there (a 1971 Corolla defines the word rust).

As for carbon, many people like Seafoam, I like to use it in the oil and the fuel tank, but I am not a believer that it should be sucked into the combustion chamber. Others will disagree with me, I just don't like the idea of raw petroleum sucked into the engine while it's running. I wouldn't worry about carbon build up just because the car was driven lightly, it's not like the old carburetor days when the engine would run rich and if you didn't wind it out, carbon would build up all over everything.

When you do the timing belt job, might as well replace the rad hoses, thermostat, and rad cap. Use Toyota parts here, especially the thermostat they just plain work better.

The wheels yea I was pretty sure they were 15 inchers. I want to buy aluminum original wheels but having a hard time finding them, thought I might settle for some good clean steel wheels.

[Drewfuspx]

Originally Posted by 71Corolla

I checked mine on both sides from inside the trunk, I didn't see any signs of rust or failure of the sealant. But the folded seam is a rust magnet, there is just enough space for moisture to get in. The best (and maybe only) way to protect it is to spray in a penetrating oil a couple of times a year, I find this works fairly well. I've tried spraying rust paint but it just doesn't get in there. I think I've tried every kind of rust "cure" out there (a 1971 Corolla defines the word rust).

As for carbon, many people like Seafoam, I like to use it in the oil and the fuel tank, but I am not a believer that it should be sucked into the combustion chamber. Others will disagree with me, I just don't like the idea of raw petroleum sucked into the engine while it's running. I wouldn't worry about carbon build up just because the car was driven lightly, it's not like the old carburetor days when the engine would run rich and if you didn't wind it out, carbon would build up all over everything.

When you do the timing belt job, might as well replace the rad hoses, thermostat, and rad cap. Use Toyota parts here, especially the thermostat they just plain work better.

What I am planning on doing with this car is to use some of the rust guard protection package that we have available. It's called a 'migratory polymer' meaning that theoretically it hits the metal and will travel into the seams pushing out moisture and providing a barrier. If you buy it through the dealership it comes with a lifetime warranty. One of the perks of working in detail, like the undercoat that my car will be getting!

Thanks for your thoughts on seafoam. I am thinking I agree with you. The amount of smoke that shoots out of the car when used in the combustion chamber just seems scary.

I will definitely consider getting those things done. Why would you say the thermostat per se? Just one of those items that wears over time or for a specific reason?
Drewfus~