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asjoseph

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... probably the best OEM blue AW11 interior, on this planet. Buzzword in automotive design during the 1980s: "ergonomics." Toyota designers, very concerned about functionality, comfort and utility, their AW11 was not only the most comfortable mid-engined car ever made. Blowing wonderful iced cold air out of ergonomically placed nozzles and vents cleverly positioned most everywhere, Toyota's AW11 boasted the best, most intricate ventilation system ever engineered, for a mid-engined vehicle. How lightning quick Toyota's AW11 defrosts its windshield is a joy to behold. To date, no mid-engined exotic came close to this level of utility, functionality and refinement. The apex of Japanese manufacturing, Aw11 ergonomics made cockpits on Alejandro de Tomaso's Pantera and Ferrucio Lamborghini's Countach look like kit cars. 26 years later, R12 is still blowing cold... Coolest thing about this little car: little pockets, crevasses and cubbyholes most everywhere; lots of places to stash your stuff. Two oversights to AW11 ergonomics: (1) no map-lighting over the inboard rear-view mirror (no easy way to rig one), and (2) you have to reach up and behind your right ear to actuate the dome lamp, and commit to memory how to do so, in a learned, involuntary manner. Left side of the instrument pod, you'll see an ear shaped knob for headlight actuation. Right-side of the instrument pod, its sister knob actuates wiper/washer. Just around the corner from the left-side headlamp switch, you'll see a peculiar dial on the inner-left inside panel of the instrument panel, which actuates a variable lighting function inside the instrument pod. On long drives, you can dial down or off lighting to the entire instrument pod, headlamps unaffected. Don't even think about asking whether this instrument pod's going to get the fast 'n furious white-faced dials. No. HVAC vent you see, centermost upon the dash directly under the clock, I have two small cracks in the plastic I'm going to have to deal with. Three options: (1) leave it alone,(2) replace the component, henceforth break the OEM seals on an otherwise untouched HVAC ducting, or (3) have plastics experts repair the component, without removing it. Repairs to the interior thus far, (1) steering wheel, (2) inner t-top trim, (3) disconnection of the door buzzer, (4) radio surround trim piece, (5) driver-side electric window lift; (6) new electric antenna, (7) windshield, (8) TRD quick-shift, (9) OEM leather boot, (10) intermittent wiper module, (11) OEM ashtray/lighter insert to the console, and (12) repairs to cruise control. Trip-o-meter in disrepair, I'm debating wisdom of affecting its repair. I want no blemish upon this vehicle's provenance I've tinkered around with the odometer, in any way. That is a bone fide Toyota leather OEM shift boot, in blue. Denote, Toyota's OEM AW11 shift boot (aka: "gaiter") is a seamless stitching (e.g., tuned inside-out, then sewn from the inside). A disappointment, the one I just ordered from a source in the UK, wasn't. Plenty of space sufficient for a high end GPS, answer's no. OEM double DIN AM-FM cassette stays put. However, the assembly line cutoff for a color-matching stick-shift knob, March of 1988, the month before this vehicle's build date, a matching blue leather stick shift knob is a certainty. It's only a matter of when I'll inevitably source one, from an earlier build date AW11 -

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asjoseph, Aug 31, 2014