It seems like I should give a quick status update for the Laser, since we've been pretty busy with it over the last couple of weeks. We've been playing catch-up; all the stuff that's been taking up room on the shelf with the plan to "eventually" put it on the Laser is now off the shelf and on the car. We finally got the rear Konis installed last week, and replaced the rear pads and rotors while we were at it; that required me finally getting off my ass and drilling out the seized lugnut on the driver's-side back wheel, and pressing a new one in. One new wheel stud, two new rotors, two new sets of pads, and a new set of lugnuts later, and the car was back up and running, with the rear shocks set at 3/4 stiff.
But, since I can't leave well enough alone, I found a good deal on a Buschur-modified SX fuel pressure regulator (basically, it's an SX FPR, but with a new machined base that bolts directly to the stock fuel rail, making installation a snap). I got that installed in an evening, along with a fuel pressure gauge, and after getting hose-off pressure dialed in at 37.5 psi, the car has never idled so well. I suspect some of the problems we've been having with idle quality may have been related to a very small leak I noticed around the OEM fuel pressure regulator, and possibly just an over-the-hill OEM FPR.
Finally, this weekend, I ripped the OEM fuel pump out, and installed the "Supra" Denso pump that's been sitting on my shelf forever, since I had originally planned on installing it in the 2g (and the plans there have changed somewhat dramatically, so we decided to hand it down to the 1g). In the process, I managed to snap off the two wires for the level sender and the idiot light right at the connector on the sending unit, which required me to whip up a rather ugly, but sealed, replacement for them. Wiring around fuel is something I've decided I don't like very much. ;-) I also took the time to run a 30A-fused circuit from the battery through a relay to the pump, to make sure it gets all the voltage it needs to perform properly.
All that's left is to get some of the interior back in the car (I can't stand sloppy wiring installs, so out came the interior panels to run the new wiring tucked in neatly) and swap out the front lugs for the new ones that hopefully won't crack quite as easily as the last pair did. For anyone who reads this: if you absolutely must buy Gorilla "tuner" lugs for whatever reason, replace them as soon as they start showing any sign of rust, or you're going to find yourself in the same situation as me. Better would be to find a set of lugs that are tightened with a proper socket, rather than a hex key inside a thin-walled lug, that will crack eventually after enough removals and corrosion.
Now, I just need to talk Erica into a bigger turbo. ;-)