Mechanical Sympathy

Hi it's been covered here before, but mostly I've found this link helpful. Ahaha. http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ke30+wheel+size A 7" rim all round is an easy fit with around a +15 offset, but you can likely fit an 8" on the rear with 0 offset. 13, 14 or 15" diameter depending on your preference, using a 114.3mm PCD. You'll need a low profile tyre when using the larger diameter rims.

As Clappers points out, 'E2x and 'E3x are quite different cars. However there are a variety of different grilles across 'E3x and 'E5x that will bolt on that look better than the base model KE30 grille. And having said that, a bit of black and/or silver paint gets most styles (probably including yours) looking like a flash one eh. Show us some pics of a UK KE30.

If you knew the model numbers would be easier to say. But a TE71 won't be the same. You need a TE31.

Maybe from a Japanese auto-wreckers and/or half-cut.. Or a saved a search on eBay.. Scouring your local wreckers.. Yahoo Japan auctions.. Maybe flying to New Zealand and scouring the wreckers there?

As mentioned - slide a piece of CHS over the handle of your ratchet for more leverage. Or - while holding the head of your ratchet - give the handle a gentle tap with the wide face of a significant hammer/mallet. Saves bruising your palm.

Oh stop it. You're just showing off. Build thread. Pics or ban.

Progress has been slow but since the last post I've swapped some bumpers between cars, new rear shoes and slave cylinders, polished some XX alloys, fitted some H4 lights and found a straighter cleaner (white) bonnet. The previous owner fitted a driver's side Rare Spares lower guard rust repair section which I've painted and I'm not happy with the fit so I'll fit a second hand repro front guard that was on the white donor car. I can't see that the $60 Rare Spares repair section is worth it considering the variables in getting one welded on straight. I think I'd rather buy a new repro guard for not much more if you couldn't find a decent second hand guard. Still three repairs to do along the lower RHS - side rail under driver door, hole in rear door, rear quarter damage plus a half finished LH rear quarter repair, then paint them. More body deadening to do. Wouldn't mind replacing a few suspension bushes and rear spring bushes. That'd get it close to roadworthy I reckon. Could take a year though!

Is it the automatic Corollas that had that ratio?

Prices on what products? You didn't supply any information or pics in your original post but sounds like you already have the basics covered that I outlined. So from there you're either hotting up the K engine (read the K engine wiki on this site) or boosting it, or doing an engine conversion - where the sky is really the limit as far as prices go. $1000-$2000 for a rebuild. Maybe $1000 for a junkyard-tech boost. Maybe $3000+ for an engine swap - all if you do the work yourself. Hoppers Stoppers and Techo Toy Tuning have their respective websites for street cred products.

I reckon the KE3x one with the horizontal lines is probably my favourite, followed by the KE55 round headlight with the 3 chrome vertical bits, followed by the KE55 square headlights. But they have to be painted right. Certainly not all black.

I've found the plastic ones to be fairly durable if I avoid solid objects, and easily repairable with superglue when I don't. Paint makes them look like new. There are a variety of casting methods. Check out http://lmgtfy.com/?q=steel+casting for more info. With L337 steel fabrication skillz you could probably make a blinging chrome one. It'd be heavy though, and only slow you down.

Don't get disheartened - it's reported to be one of the easier conversions to pull off. We're coming from the perspective of wanting to do things perfectly. Plenty of dudes just shove a 2T into a KE using TA22 mounts and drill an extra hole or two 30mm further forward (or is that back?) and make it fit. I'm not so keen for that in my car. Check out this link to see the differences in KE and TE crossmembers. http://www.reocities.com/Colosseum/4883/2tswap.html You might just decide to grind off your old mounts and weld new ones that suit that geometry, rather than sourcing a crossmember. Start by mounting the gearbox in the unused rear holes on your chassis - checking the tailshaft still fits to the diff - and work forward. Similarly, when you get TA22 and KE30 pedalboxes side-by-side you might find you only have to weld a couple of brackets onto the KE one and put the TA hydraulic bits on it. I haven't got that far yet!

Show us what it looks like. A set of factory XX alloy wheels greatly reduces the unsprung weight of your suspension, giving improvements in handling and feel. They're cheap - often given away here - and look trick with a Bunnings metal polishing kit applied IMO. A set of Pacemaker extractors sound great with a new 1.75" exhaust. Throw in a mild re-ground cam and it will sound like a rotary. Bolt on kits and manifolds to fit Weber downdraft and sidedraft carburettors are all over ebay.

It's not so much a brake "problem" - just that the T series clutches are hydraulically actuated so the brake/clutch pedal assembly needs to be modified from cable pull to hydraulic push with master and slave cylinders etc. Using a TE3x pedal assembly would get around the need to modify anything. I'm patiently waiting (read, I'm saving for) for Jordanrolla to make T series onto K crossmember engine block mounts, which would help you also. He also does exchange RHD pedal box assemblies, which doesn't help you much. But search out the KE Conversions thread (in the for sale section) to see what is required.

But doesn't the alternator not charging light come on in every car with the ignition on, before it is started?

Yeah you just need a TE31 cross member. We didn't get them here but it would sure come in handy for doing a 2TG or 3TC swap.

Who is that directed at? A rotary was only mentioned by the original poster as a typographical error and I mentioned a chev because 40hp was gained using a leaking vacuum pump. Reading and comprehension dude. I'd also suggest your value-adding assertion is incorrect. A vacuumed sump will reduce resistance on the expansion stroke.

Friend put his fresh 565 c.i. BBC on the dyno and it turned 960 odd horsepower, then 997 with the vacuum pump turned on. When he got it home he realised that a vacuum fitting on the rocker cover was loose. So then he's like, "If only it was sealed.. etc." he migh've got it to 1000 hp. Full bodied HG Kingswood - does 7 second quarters on 275 radials. Whereas I play with $400 Corollas.

Ooh ooh! Old thread resurrection for nefarious means - but it was almost informative!

That's a KE70 mount. Are you mounting to the bottom holes? I've ground some bits off the top brackets to try and get the S/C upright but I'll have to tie the top of the S/C to somewhere on the block. A KE55 mount looks like this; i.e. kind of pointless. I've seen this mount offered for sale here as being from a dude's S/C setup. Ignore the loose idler bracket. It was included in the sale for the wheel only. Looks perfect, nothing in the way except the fuel pump - which you'd remove anyway - and with a top cleat close to the block to bracket the top of the S/C. I reckon it could be from a Lite Ace or a Town Ace. I'm sure I threw one of those after a 5K swap in the past. bah.

I've been having a crack at this lately. My preliminary investigations have shown that the KE70 a/c bracket is the better one to modify than the KE55 one. An SC14 bolts directly to the bottom of the bracket and the pulley lines up with the idler pulley. But I'll have to grind off the top parts of the bracket to make the SC rotate and sit (close to) vertical. Mine is currently perpendicular to the bracket - not good enough I reckon. And I'll need to make a bracket to fix the top of the SC to somewhere. And source a 5PK pulley and idler. I haven't seen a Liteace or Townace a/c bracket. They might be better? If there's a definitive answer on which a/c bracket is best, it'd be great if it were added to the wiki. Here's a shot of my preliminary tinkerings anyway. You can see it needs to rotate toward the bracket more = more grinding. Please excuse the stupid orientation.

Can't get much more stock than a Corolla 4 speed manual and it would bring the biggest single improvement in take off speed, economy and all round performance - more than a weber and extractors would on an auto with no other mods. You'd probably do the whole conversion yourself for just over a few hundred, including a new clutch and a couple of trips to the wreckers. Spend a bit more and get the flywheel lightened for some lumpy idle steet cred. And put the weber and extractors on too. A new 32/36 Weber conversion kit is $500 on fleabay and a good exhaust shop should set you up with extractors and 1 3/4" exhaust for around $600 all in. Put a 7K in it when you've flogged your motor.

For sure - even if it's not a powerhouse, the characteristics of a cammy carbed and extractored K-motor will put a smile on your dial. brap brap brap.

Well depending on how much you get the engine for, and if you do the work yourself (it's a relatively easy conversion) you might get away with a third of that budget. If you pay someone in Syderney to do it, you'll probably spend all of that!

No worries Paul. Yes if you're going to do a 5K or 7K swap it helps to have the original engine handy to swap the bits over that are Corolla specific. Start a build thread!