The Golden Egg mod thread. Mostly minivan modding

[orange4boy]

I've been wanting to start this for a while to keep everything under one banner. My impetus for getting off my proverbial ass is the new and somehow also improved Previa wheel skirts!!

They look rather dapper IMHO


In the first picture, the thingie on the front is my "lexan air deflector" which gives a partial grille block and deflects airflow over the bumper/grille crevasse. Missing is my small airdam which I am rebuilding in black coroplast.

[Daox]

Mods look good so far.

Curious though, I looked at your fuel log and your fuel economy isn't consistant at all. Do you not have a normal commute?

[i_am_socket]

Curious though, I looked at your fuel log and your fuel economy isn't consistant at all. Do you not have a normal commute?

Plus filling up after 5-10 miles doesn't really let the tank average out...

Mods look good though

[orange4boy]

My honey takes the van to work 4 days a week on bowen. We live on a small island which is very hilly. I can coast almost all the way into our little village of snug cove but the drive back consists of 5 steep hills with a flattish section in the middle. Speed limit: 40KMH. Gas here is $.20 more than in town so I could fill here and get a "bowen mileage" reading or fill in town and get a slightly mixed reading. We go to town on the ferry once a week and drive all over Vancouver and then take the highway about 70KM to my in-laws to stay overnight. I try to give some detail in the log entries but there is no way to really compare my tanks accurately except for the highway readings.

What I try to do is some highway readings by filling just before the on ramp and then ASAP after the off ramp but i'm usually rushing around picking up supplies, shopping for groceries visting friends so I can't do it every time. And I can't do any A-B-A runs to test mods. Although I did just order an MPGuino so that should help with tracking.

That's the long explanation.

[Tango Charlie]

Sweet!
The discs and skirts look really good together. Very well done.
I like the KISS grille block. Would it be beneficial to close up the triangular hole on either end between the lexan and headlights/grille?

Those Previa's are a strange bird with their centrally located engine...
Brings back memories of my brief stint at a Toyota dealership.

Is that an Edsel in the background?!

[Sean T.]

Previas are definitely one of my all-time favorite minivans.

IMHO, If you painted it seafoam green, it might go faster...

[orange4boy]

Thanks!

I was thrilled to find the discs close to me and cheap from California Import parts. I used to go there for parts for my orange '71 california style hot-rodded bug.

I like the KISS grille block. Would it be beneficial to close up the triangular hole on either end between the lexan and headlights/grille?

KISS? as in Gene Simmons?
I thought of that but for now I'm leaving it till I cover the headlights with plexi. I'm planning a large air dam which will eliminate the high pressure area below the bumper so I'll probably do it then.

The Previa is an engineering marvel. Toyota went all out on the engine design creating the lowest profile passenger vehicle engine by a large margin thus making the centre of gravity low enough for the minivan to handle like a car.

Seafoam green? My honey loves it but alas it's next colour will probably be creamsicle pearl orange.

Is that an Edsel in the background?!

Good eye. Not an Edsel but the same vintage. My honey's 1958 Ford Meteor (Canadian version of the Fairlane)



Ecomod this!

[almightybmw]

KISS - keep it simple stupid.

Assuming this is the 2wd auto Previa, not the manual, or the awd?

[orange4boy]

Darn, I was hoping for KISS as in these profound lyrics:
"Gimme some lovin'. I'm hot like an oven."

I looked for a manual but for some reason I didn't see one in the Vancouver area and I got the RWD instead of the 4WD for FE reasons, although there are some winters here I wish I had 4WD. It would be sweet to hook up a traction motor to the front diff and have an instant parallel hybrid on one of those.

I actually think the Previa would be an ideal EV conversion. The S10 is one of the most popular conversion vevicles but the Previa is superior in all relevant areas.
Higher payload,
More interior space,
More passenger capacity,
Vastly better aero,
Space shuttle dashboard.

[Tango Charlie]

Originally Posted by orange4boy

Not an Edsel but the same vintage. My honey's 1958 Ford Meteor (Canadian version of the Fairlane)
Ecomod this!

Don't you dare!