2003 Suzuki Alto Kei-ish now with added lowness!

[aij29]

Hi Guys

I have a new project as the 306Gti6 Berlingo has to go due to my missus going self employed,

We needed to lower our fuel costs as this was a major expense we could do without till she finds her feet,


A couple of pictures of said Berlingo which is going on to pastures new this weekend (RR member)






So i started looking around for something cheap to buy/run and tax and it had to be quirky!

My dad found this behind a local car dealers it was cheap and had 12 months mot and costs £30 a year to tax and does 58 mpg,

And god its quirky!







Its an absolutely beaten 2003 Suzuki Alto (Indian built Kei car with an 1100cc Maruti Engine)

I know everything has potential but surely not this?

[aij29]

I spent hours on Google to try and find some inspiration to see if this ugly duckling could become a swan,

And all hope was lost till i found out its called a HA23S in Japan and within minutes i had found this beauty







So all is not lost EVERYTHING DOES HAVE POTENTIAL!!

I can`t afford Hayashi Street Fins so i looked around for some suitable 14" rims,

And found a set of 14x6 Panasport Pro Rally wheels on KKITP forum for £120 and the guy even delivered them to Cornwall for free (what a star)





I could`nt resist a trial fit

[aij29]

Tyres are ordered Nankang AS-1`s in 165/55/14 and are being fitted next week,


I`ve started cleaning the Alto it was absolutely filthy and belonged to a surfer so was full of sand,


The carpet had a huge hole in it so i removed it till i found a good 2nd hand carpet,

And came across this in the inner sills!!







This has now been welded but i am waiting to finish it off properly before posting pics.


I`ve also removed the side rubbing strips the same as the JDM one above and i think it cleans up the look of the car no end

[br00klyn99]

This has great potential, looking forward to more.

[qwerty]

Good to see someone doing one of these. My mam has one and its not a bad little thing

Front suspension looks as if Corsa or Polo coilovers could be adapted to fit.

Tom

[aij29]

May 23, 2016 21:42:25 GMT qwerty said:

Good to see someone doing one of these. My mam has one and its not a bad little thing

Front suspension looks as if Corsa or Polo coilovers could be adapted to fit.

Tom

Hi Tom

I thought the same about the coilovers they do look very similar,

As soon as the wheels are on i will start looking at suspension options


Cheers
Adrian

[vanpeebles]

Always nice to see more keis.

[JoshO]

I always hate reading through these "keicar" threads, as I inexplicably start looking for them on ebay afterwards.

Looking forward to moar updates, love the wheels my good man excited to see it with mad lows

[jallen]

This could be very interesting, cant wait for future updates.

[aij29]

Thanks for the comments guys,

I wasn`t sure if i should do a thread on here as the car is so new,

It won`t be super low as its my daily but i`m hoping for a similar ride height to the dark blue one above,


I would really love to get hold of a JDM rear bumper and a pair of rear lights i guess the shipping
would be extortionate from Japan?

Cheers
Adrian

[aij29]

Hi Guys

Fitted the rims today!

Really stoked on how it looks,

Lows Next!

Cheers
Adrian

[chris83]

looks good with wheels , these are very popular in indian i think they are called a maruthi alto there,

[ettorebugatti]

Add the lows, paint the window frames gloss black and colour code the door handles and you will end up with a very tasty looking car.

[strikey]

aaaah....that's what it looks like in the daylight!

the grill , or at least the chrome would have to go , I'd black out the slats in the bumper too and look at doing something about the headlights...other than that , very nice.

[aij29]

Hi Mate

Thanks for the comments the chrome grille part has been removed so it can be sprayed satin black to match the grille,

I was unsure about the headlights but they have grown on me the Japanese always like to give their cars a face!

Crappy phone pic from Sainsburys earlier



Rear is lower than the earlier pics but still have to fit new front shocks/lowering springs and top mounts,
Also clear side repeaters and J size plates fitted

Cheers
Adrian

[strikey]

aaaah...but there are faces and faces....could be a john merrick! stance was good thanks to boot mounted ballast. ;-)

[frogeyes]

what are you going to do for suspension?

[aij29]

Nov 3, 2016 6:22:04 GMT frogeyes said:

what are you going to do for suspension?

Hi

Suspension has been done now,

Monroe gas-matic shocks all round with new genuine Suzuki top mounts and Spax lowering springs (wrongly advertised as a 40mm drop for a Mkiv like mine but ended up the same height as standard actually I reckon they are for a Mk3 Alto)
So we cut two coils off the front and one on the rear but another will be coming off the rear as soon as the arch lips are rolled or removed,
Picture of it as it is now below

Cheers
Adrian