Car 1992 Daihatsu Cuore (Kei car)

Originally bought in 1997 from my father's employer at the time this car has been in the family for over 14 years. It was originally driven by my mom's and was passed down to me on my 16th birthday, not having a license I was limited to driving it around in the community only.
Inspired by work done by a friend of mine here in JA as well as other build I have seen on the net, I always wanted to switch out my stock ED-10 engine for a EF-JL or JB-JL, but was unable to actually get the funding for because of school. Decided to still do a bit of modifications and so I started adding my own personal touch.

Got the car basically stock.


Changed the stock rims in favour of some universals wearing Radial UA603s 815/60/R13.


Also changed out the radio to a Fusion CD Player I got cheap.

 

The car originally came with 165/60R12 tires, if i remember correcty. It also came from factory with a 3 cylinder non-turbo 850cc engine, I am currently in the process of changing out the pistons to those of its 600cc turbo counterpart that will effectively make my engine approximately 882ccs. The main problem I am facing however is locating a 12 valve EFI head, preferably twin-cam, from said 660cc engine to replace the SOHC 6 valve carb'd head that came with my engine from the factory.

My other option would be to use the current head, modify an intake manifold to fit and install a Megasquirt EMS to control my fuel and ignition. I have already located a manifold that would be perfect for this application, it comes stock on the 4EFE and should be easy to modified for my engine.

Pic of the 4EFE tubular manifold


Being a 3 cylinder engine I would just have to block off one of the runners (can probably use it for a vacuum tap) and have the flange remade to fit my engine.

At the end of the day my aim is to have the car running 110whp reliably and maybe compete at my local track in the streetcar category. Really just trying to get a peppy street car that can keep up with my friend's 89 Nissan Sunny with a turbo'd SR20.

 

I really have my sights set on the circuit closest to me but I would want to make a few passes on the strip as well. My biggest problem though is that the stock engine came with approximately 40 horses at the crank. The new pistons I installed raised the compression and displacement a bit, but I still doubt I will be far from the stock figure. In a shell weighing just over 650kgs the power to weight ratio is not all that bad but I really want to be upwards of 100bhp before I start competing.

 

At the circuit I was planning to enter the B45T group, that would put me up against a quite a broad range of turbocharged street vehicles, practically anything that can lap the track in 1:45. My strongest competition i would face, IMO, would be from the evos and imprezzas and a few hondas. The rules for that class make it illegal for us to overtake in corners and I think at 100 to 150whp I should be able to at least keep up on the straights and hold my own with the right suspension setup.

 

Do you watch MightyCarMods on YouTube? They did an awesome Cuore build with a custom Subaru turbo and all the other goodies. It turned out awesome. You should give it a look! Awesome car, by the way.

 

Thanks. Please forgive my late reply as I live in a remote part of the island and don't have proper internet access at home.

I actually do view their videos whenever I can, I have also been following the continued build thread on their forum. Shortly after completion the car was stripped of a few parts and sold to a member of the forum who goes by the alias "Jenga" he then went on to turn the car into a fully street-legal ride. I have not really had much progress with the car recently as I am still in the process of getting it registered. Apart from a few problems that were identified and sorted, it is running pretty strong, I have actually begun to feel the slight difference the higher compression made and can't wait to actually experience boost .

 

Due to financial difficulties I have been unable to do much work on the car... I was able to change all the bushings on the front as well as both control arms, tie rod ends and all four CV joints with their respective boots. At the moment it is parked at home in Trelawny while I am at school in Kingston. I am hoping to get my license before the end of the year so I am able to bring it up with me next semester.