Kitty is very JDM, but unfortunately doesn't fit. More of an mx5 thing anyway...
 

 
IT DRIVES!  
 
I might slow down with the restoration for a while and enjoy as is. Credit card has taken a beating lately.
I have a few things left to install and will continue to tinker. Looking back on my first post, it's pretty much exactly where I wanted to be at the 6 month mark, despite the unexpected problems.

This one may get a mixed reaction...
My car didn't come with foglight, and only had one horn, which didn't work.
 
I killed two birds with one stone by chucking some compact hella horns in the fog light brackets.
Oem wiring only has a single positive wire to each horn, which then ground via the crash bar. I connected the toyota wire and replicated the ground by running a piece of wire from the second horn terminal around the foglight mounting bolts. 
 
 
I don't love it, but it works, and was a fast and easy install. I'll move them somewhere else when I get around to buying foglights.
 
 
Next thing to do is try some redline MT-90. The box doesn't like changing from 4th to 3rd unless done slowly or rev matched precisely. Hopefully this will help.

Looks horny...

Hornbelievable?

Hornestly pretty loud for compacts

I've managed to find replacement parts for most of what was missing, headlight surroundings, window vent, door scuff panels. I think all that's left are the fogs and a GT door card. Not really interesting enough to justify photo's of oem plastic...
 
I am playing around with this though, which is nice.
 

So I started playing around with the controller. Initially I installed it to measure manifold pressure only from the spare nipple (without the solenoid and without capping tvsv) so I could see how it was running. I was seeing readings of 4-6 psi, with a maximum of 7.5psi wot in third. 
 
After I installed the solenoid and plugged tvsv, it was comfortably reaching 10-11psi. I still need to tune it properly and don't want to push it without a FCD but it made a significant difference. 
 
I suspect the cause of the low boost may be that a previous owner had a boost controller installed (possibly Apexi AVCR given disconnected splicing into ecu) and disabled tvsv, and then removed the boost controller prior to sale so that it was running on waste-gate pressure only. I'll have to have a look underneath to see if the tvsv coupling (blue apparently?) has been disconnected.
 
Does this sound like a plausible explanation? Is there anything else that I should look into that may have caused the previous low boost? There's no engine codes so it shouldn't be a knock / limp mode issue. I'm 92% sure that my guess is correct, but don't want to cause damage if there's another issue.   
 
Side note - very happy with the Blitz SBC. The graph display and record functions are awesome and it's super easy to setup and use. I was planning to get the OLED GReddy Prospec B but can't turn down a gumtree bargain. 

 
The tray isn't exactly flush but it still works well

This stuff is unicorn blood. I don't know if the old oil was the wrong grade, or there wasn't enough of it, but my box is now smooth and crunch free.
 
 
 
I also found out over the weekend that my fuel cut still works. It kicked in at an indicated 13.3 psi.  
The rubber cap that I used to block the wastegate actuator to t-vsv blew out, and boost climbed from the set 10psi to fuel cut. I've fixed this with a beefier piece of capped silicone hose.
 
I was thinking abut disabling fuel cut and using the limiter in the boost controller as a safety net, but I've realised now how useful fuel cut is. The boost controller's limit and cut-off features only work if it's operating correctly in a closed system. If something fails - boost will continue to climb...
 
I'd like to run around 12psi (stock engine). Given how close that is to fuel cut I'll need a FCD to increase the limit slightly. Hopefully I won't hit cutout again but it will be good to know it's still there if needed.
 
Need to decide on HKS / twosrus/ or DIY FCD.

I stumbled upon my old hks fcd today actually. It's just chilling in the shed if you need it.