I best start saving, if you say it is possible. I read the MR2 gearbox doesn't fit straight on though, but it does work with the engine seeing as I think it was the US spec XLE Camry v6 was fitted with them. So I'll want to buy myself two Cat-C cars right? The other thing you'd need is the US spec manual ECU? I suppose you could go after-market though?  I'm not clever enough to know if you can't just trick it into thinking it is in neutral or something?

In honesty I'd be cool with it being an auto if it was half the cost - I doubt you'd leave L or 2 in the Paseo with a V6 and would add to the oddity of the car. The stock Camry auto box is a 4 speed with over drive which will happily churn 130mph at around 4000rpm towing along the beige boat - so a friend told me.

if you are happy with an auto box then its just a =n issue of finding the right set or fabbing a set of driveshafts then  it'll quite easy with a set of custom engine mounts and away you go!

So the V6 has somewhat fallen from favour from me...

Just a quick update - Paseo is still going strong and doing a few more miles now. My foggies are now hooked up to high beam and supplement the otherwise very dim full beams to make quite a bit of light appear in front of you down a B-Road.

Also fixed an issue with the alternator belt being loose and making the worst noise known to man on a cold wet day.

Some very friendly passer-by decided to pull off one of my wind deflectors too, so now I don't have either on the car.

Oh no, what happened with the V6?

I've had that issue with the alternator belt before when I first collected the car, sounded horrific when I took it down the road. Dealer who sold it to me was a right muppet and tried to fix the squeal by spraying WD40 on the pulley *face palm*

After many many moons, I'm back!

Almost a year to the date here's a little update.

Early in 2017 I was busy with work, life and driving to Leeds every weekend - putting lots of miles on the fleet. Not much time for car projects!

Since then my paseo had been off the road with an issue stoping it from running at all. It'd start and move but unfortunately die out on idle and acceleration. When it did run it'd just hesitate and die out eventually. To make matters worse it had also snapped a handbrake cable and developed some super noisy brakes, not looking too good!

With this I pulled my modded parts from the car and slapped on a car cover - unsure what I'd be doing next with the Green Turd.



Over the months that passed using the Camry, chewing miles down on that thing is no problem at all. As it was so comfortable I thought it'd be best to ruin it with some 17" Lexus alloys and a 2inch drop. As well as some Toyo's to match the Paseo.



Although only a few weeks after lowering, a speed bump soon made a new drain hole in my cooling system...



Enough was enough, I can't be that guy with two broken cars... Now several months in hibernation it is time for action.

Off with the cover and on with the parts!



- New TPS
- New air filter
- Oil and Filter
- New Fuel Filter
- Handbrake cable
- Another new battery



Currently the car runs and drives better than it has in years, still needs a handbrake and I need to chase down a hesitation problem on acceleration (Probably timing or TPS position). It is only minor though and I'd imagine only made worse being used to a big auto 3 litre! 



The Camry is still leaking...but I'll get to that soon.

More soon!

Yay! Welcome back my man!

Glad to see she's back up and running again.

That’s looking great still, glad to see it again. Did you sort the handbrake issue?

Handbrake is sorted finally!

Got an MOT now so we're looking good - need to sort the hesitation, have got myself some coolant and a new Thermostat which I need to fit at some point.

There's a horrid rattle from one of the rear struts well that I'll need to investigate - looking good so far though!

My money is on the shock top mount. I’ve changed 3 recently. Jack on the jacking point with the tyre about an inch off the floor and with a lever between the floor and the tyre lift the wheel up and down. If it’s the top mount you’ll see it.

I'll have to give it a go and see - thanks for the tip!

I know the rear suspension can be a bit weak on these, it has already had new rear struts - lucky they're easy in and out!

Alright Guys,

I feel like you all deserve a bit of a nosey to see what I've been up to....

So to start with, over the winter the Paseo saw some action. I got it out and drove it around in the snow, tonne of fun!


Being a pikey of course there was plenty of bad behaviour.

Unluckily the Paseo developed a few faults - namely still not running right, it still didn't idle and had terrible choke issues. I had installed a new TPS already with no luck. Now the handbrake was working, of course the nearside rear drum seized to high hell.

Given neither of my cars now ran almost at all, I had to do something.. So in with the radiator.




Considering the Camry was now running perfectly once again, It proved its mettle by towing a 106 in the snow and heavy traffic one night. After 2 and a half hours in the car. Not one beat was missed, not one sign of faltering. What a champ!



After winter, I discovered the Camry had pretty aggressive water ingress both into the interior and the boot. After that was fixed, it received a full interior clean, removing the seats and wet vac of the floor carpet.



Now attention to my little Paseo, a full strip down of the rear drum, clean and refit fixed the brake issue, but still woes with the ignition system meant I could only do a few miles at a time before the car cut out and died... not looking good....




So time went on - Camry munching miles and the Paseo sat unhappily on its own! Until one weekend I decided enough was enough, I'll do a coolant flush and thermostat on the Paseo to try and figure out the cutting out when warm!

After a full coolant flush and thermostat replacement I happened across a bad earth in the TPS connector. I bridge it with a bit of wire I found on the floor. The car instantly got it's performance, economy and reliability back... Looks like a previous repair (solder point) had gone bad and un-lodged!



That is all it was! Watch out for those wires behind the intake, they get extremely brittle!

Now I had two running cars, of course this just wouldn't do. So I immediately set about ruining the Paseo in order to maintain that I had at least half a good car between the two I owned.



Out comes the interior - the Paseo now becoming a weekend B-Road / TrackDay car!

I felt a little harsh doing this so I found compromise preserving the more vulnerable 22 year old sheet metal in a nice sealed garage.




The Paseo now having low mileage and only used for attacking B-Roads every other weekend has a relatively easy life and gets highly maintained in it's new home. Long term plans are to completely sort the engine and chassis and then use it as a summer car for the warm months, keeping away the miles and grit. The interior is safely stowed away too ready to return to stock should I change my mind.

My god do these cars handle - this little thing will out drive almost anything around a corner, now without the interior it is ready for anything. I really need to get a track-day booked in!

The Paseo enjoying a "session" in the cool summer evening air.




The pair together:


Life is good, my Paseo tucked safely, the Camry doing commuter duty well. But something just didn't add up.

No I wan't happy - the Toyota name plate just didn't satisfy me anymore. The 3 Litre V6 in the Camry whilst smooth and nippy just didn't provide me the satisfaction of other foreign brands.

Off to the "Bad Life Choices" section of eBay I went... Time for a change.... This time it wasn't to be a Toyota.

In usual fashion, I made the worse decision for a daily car possible. Rumbling past the 1.9TDI Skoda's on the motorway I present my big brown money pit:






The 1UZFE 4Litre V8 is equipped with VVTI pushing out 290BHP to the rear wheels through a 5 speed auto. Of course my questionable example has all 4 rear back boxes deleted producing the most ungodly roar down the road. My example also has the DHP "Dynamic Handling Pack" which essentially means there's some feel to the light steering and the bigger alloy wheels require more expensive rubber.

This car has many issues, all minor and completely overshot by the immense power and luxury a car of this calibre can produce. All mine for less than £1300!

With a heavy heart I am now looking to sell my companion, the Camry. I'd like to see it go to a Toyota loving owner but of course budget means I cannot choose! I'll be listing it at £1300 online but if any of you fine gentlemen are looking for an interesting older saloon - I'm open to offers!



She's been looked after with passion and deserves the best. I'll be fully cleaning and touching up the paint. The car also comes with the dashcam/reverse camera, iPhone/Android USB and Aux input with Remote as well as the original alloys, stereo and registration plate surrounds.

You’ve been busy lol I do like the Camry it looks stunning and it was great being chauffeured in it. A cool car indeed. A little thirsty for my meagre budget but great nonetheless.

V8 Lexus IS a great choice. You get the cars I would like but am too scared to so keep up the good work.
How’s it drive? Any plans for it or just keeping on top of it?

On the Paseo front, when you fitted the corolla manifold, where did you fit the earths that were bolted to the original manifold? It might be worth adding some extra engine earths. Adding a temporary one from battery to head would be where I’d try, possibly to the lifting point securing bolt and see if there’s any improvement. It’s worked for me in the past with mysterious electrical issues......

Good to see you with some input again Tom. As I've already praised, I love your Skoda. Perfect colour too. May I be Chauffeur again at the next meet? And does this lucky new lady sit in the back when you pick her up, or does she sit in the front? 

Thanks guys!

I've been thinking of making an earthing kit for the Paseo actually. The normal earth is connected the to throttle body housing. It could do with a few more, I started it up again today after posting actually it still runs sweet as a nut.

No lady friends right now mate haha, but yeah it is lovely in the back!

The V8 drives amazingly, the power comes on super thick, by the time you've dabbed the throttle it's lugged itself past a reasonable speed. Unluckily the heads up display holds an MPG counter, so you get stung immediately for racing it around. It suits more driving very calmly - the 5 speed is very reactive, you never feel like you want it to change up or down and more often it is so smooth you loose track of which gear it is actually in.

Above 3000 RPM it makes such a wonderful noise I can't explain, it bellows and echos around you - it's quite special. As with the Camry though, there's really nothing past 4000rpm - these engines are designed to cruise and pickup speed well. Above that they don't get any quicker just seam to start glugging fuel and eventually oil.

There are elements of the Paseo in the Camry and the Camry in the LS400 - the door handles are the same between the Camry and the LS400. All 3 cars share the same bonnet contours and lower trim patterns - some slight design language carry over between the three in that way. Nice to know it's some what distantly related.





As for future plans, mainly just returning the LS to a decent condition, it requires some fairly ordinary things doing to it. Maybe a few more in-depth things too! Already got replacement tie-rods. Also looking at getting rear curtains reinstalled.

Mainly looking to solidify it's position as a really reliable daily much like the Camry is/was - then concentrating efforts on the Paseo for 2019.

Just noticed the number plate lol nice touch 👍