Banjo

I'd suggest having a good read through the Rollaclub website, & you'll find a wealth of suggestions, & experiences of others, including myself, going back many years. I just popped in KE30 front brake upgrade, into the search box at the very top, of this page, & it found 37131 references, & 1486 pages, where this subject was covered or canvased. Good Reading ! Cheers Banjo

Joo, if you click on this link, there are a lot of threads, from other KE20 owners, with suggestions as to what is; & what isn't possible, with wheel size upgrades on the KE-20 Wide Wheels on KE20 Cheers Banjo

Hi Joo, Welcome aboard ! I wouldn't suggest going more than 14" wheels, but before doing that, there are a few things to consider. 1. Are the addition of larger wheels, purely for appearance aspects, or are you considering other upgrades to engine, gearbox, & diff, further down the track, as you advised the car is OEM. 2. If at sometime in the future you decide to upgrade the differential, you may find that these new wheels you are going to purchase are no longer useful. If you are purely wanting to fit it out, for appearance sake, then I would take it to your local tyre place, who invariably market/sell wheels also, & they will put it up on the hoist, & take some measurements, & advise, what is possible, & what is not, without "tubbing" the rear wheel arches, or other mechanical modifications. Lets know what you eventually decide. Cheers Banjo

Welcome aboard ! How long has this KE30 been sitting in this yard ? If it has been a long time, & the engines condition, is unknown; then there are several things You should do before trying to start it. The first thing before even trying to start it, is to remove all spark plugs, & pour a little light oil, into each spark plug hole. Let it settle for fifteen minutes, so the light oil, can seep down through the rings, & wet the lower bore. Make sure there is oil in the sump, but if it looks old & very thick, then change the oil, & oil filter. Then take a socket & bar, & place on the crankshaft pulley bolt head at the front of the engine, & see if the engine turns over easily, clockwise, with no spark plugs inserted; which means there will be no compression. If that all works so far, then hook up a battery, & turn the engine over with the starter motor. If the engine spins freely, then there are two other things You need, which is fuel & ignition. Undo the fuel line & turn the engine over with the starter motor, & ensure fuel is being sucked up from the fuel tank, at the rear. Likewise, Hook a spark plug up to the output of the ignition coil, & earth the spark plug body, & check there is a spark across the spark plug. If all good for fuel & spark, then replace all spark plugs & leads, & try to start it. However, before you try starting it, ensure the air filter is not blocked. If the air filter is in questionable shape, then remove it altogether, just for the first start. Let us know how You fare, or whether You get stuck, anywhere, along the way. Cheers Banjo

Hi James, I've had issues getting them off previously, but the technique Altezzaclub has suggested, & You have tried, always works for me. I would suggest removing the nut, & squirting some WD40 or similar, down the splines on the shaft. Leave overnight, or even give them a second squirt. It will come. They are reasonably fine splines, & slightly tapered, resulting in them jamming, when the nut is tightened up. A tapered spline, sometimes needs a sudden jolt to free it. If still no go, get a bit of square timber, & place it behind the plastic boss of the steering wheel, & a few taps with a mallet, from the underside/ backside, will get it off. Cheers Banjo

That looks so sad ! Your photo lacks a bit of high resolution; but when I zoom in, I can see why you might want to replace the upper & lower components completely. The upper one is a "no brainer", as I believe in all models, it was totally removable, & is just a bolt-on component. The lower one is totally the opposite; & is a completely welded in component. I agree with Altezzaclub, that blasting the lower section back to bare metal; or what's left of it; is your first option. Good luck ! Has this car lived in an area, where it snows & there is ice on the road in Winter, where they spread stuff/salt on the roads to stop icing ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Adam, All the Corolla's around that era, had very similar wiring diagrams. Some of them, are hell to read, as there are so many fine straight lines. http://www.retrojdm.com/ScanViewPage.asp?ScanID=40&Section=Supplement&DPI=100&Filename=S5-03 - Electrical Wiring Diagram for Models KE10(L), 15(L), 16V(L), Series.jpg This is how they should all be presented. The real problem, if you are tracing a circuit; as wire colours vary, depending where the car was assembled. The Australian assembled ones, put together by AMI in Melbourne were a typical example. If they ran out of a particular colour wire, they just added another colour. i rewired my engine bay loom, once, & found the colour changed on some wires from one end to the other, with a join, in a wrapped harness. I only found it, when I unwrapped the loom ! Good Luck ! Have you got a specific electrical issue, or are you "rewiring" ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Concerned Dad. You've got me scratching my head, & totally mystified. We are talking about engine oil here ? Is the oil coming out, when draining it; milky, or aeriated in any way ? Does it appear to be thin, like it has lost it's viscosity ? Does the "screw on oil filter" look like it has been changed recently ? Are there any noises coming from the engine, that could indicate the the oil pressure is low. This is an automatic, so a bit weird that something happening in the engine, all of sudden changes the auto changing, to "irregular & slow". I would not be driving it far, if at all, until You get to the bottom of this matter. I had something happen like this many years ago, in a Fiat 125. The oil pressure "over pressure valve", in the oil pump; jammed open & bypassed everything back into the sump. The reason it jammed was a piston skirt broke off, (common in early Fiats) & a little fragment of piston skirt got jammed in the oil bypass valve, when it opens a little sometimes, in the first minute or so, on a cold Winters morning, when the oil is initially very thick & viscous. I'll be interested to hear what You ultimately find the issue, to be. Good Luck ! Cheers Banjo

5 litres overfill, & being driven 14 miles home, has obviously caused issues. My personal belief, is that the 5 litres overfill, could have well resulted in the crankshaft connecting with the overfilled oil in the sump; which would have it saturating the cylinder walls, below the pistons. Some of this oil would have got past the rings, & foul the spark plugs, which You found to be true, & replaced the spark plugs. However, the greatest damage would be that a of of that excess oil could have splattered the crankcase breathing system, & got back up into the air filter. If the paper air-filter became clogged, it would seriously restrict the amount of air going into the engine. I'd be changing the air filter element, & maybe the distributor cap. If you have had tracking inside the cap previously, it can create tiny carbon tracks on the inside of the cap, & they will reoccur, unless the cap is replaced. Spark jumping across terminals on the inside of the dissy cap, can be caused by an open circuit spark plug cable or an extra wide spark plug gap; but is more than often caused by the carbon bush in the centre inside of the dissy, either falling out, or the spring behind it breaking. Once You do find the issue, & get it going properly, I'd be giving the car a good long hard run, on a country road, to bring it back to normal. Let us know how You go. Cheers Banjo

Hi Daniel, It's Saturday morning, & although I saw Your latest post yesterday; I just took the time to read right back through your build, from when You first posted, 15-16 months ago. It is a wonderful build, & a beautifully, finished project; with attention to detail, which adds to the quality of the result. You should be very proud of yourself, & trust You have many, many, happy trips & memories, with it, in the future. Cheers Banjo

Love your dedication, at something, that takes a lot of time & patience; both of which You've got. Hat's off to You ! Cheers Banjo

Keep the photos coming ! We love photos. A photo tells a thousand words ! Cheers Banjo

Welcome aboard Foxxtrott ! I'll bet you didn't figure on getting such a detailed response, as Altezzaclub's advice; in such a short time. I found his advice excellent, & a good read; & wish a lot of that aftermarket suspension accessories, were available years ago, when everyone on this site (including me), were trying to improve their suspension setups, with swaps from other Toyota vehicles. You can still do that, if the professional kits, are outside your budget, but many of the swap items, are pretty rare to find at a wreckers these days. Good luck ! Cheers Banjo

Yep, You got it. Be very surprised, if it doesn't run significantly better, by just rotating the dissy a little bit anti-clockwise. Get yourself that timing light, & all will be revealed as you see the automatic rpm advance working dynamically. Keep us updated, with your progress ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Brayden, You've done well, & everything you do will help. The timing is out, as if anything; the red mark on the edge of the dissy, should line up with the other end of the brass arc, on the rotor button. The dissy rotor rotates clockwise, looking down from the top. If the engine is started, it will probably run, but as soon as you rev the engine up, & the auto advance kicks in, & causes the ignition, to spark, before the the brass arc on the button is near to the post inside the cap. This is where a timing light is so useful. You may be lucky, & it is only a case of simply unlocking the bolt into the block, that holds, & stops the dissy from rotating; & then turn the dissy a little anticlockwise. You can do this with the engine running, but it is probably safer to unbolt the clamp as it is in the picture, & rotate the dissy body, until the rotor is pointed towards the other end of the arc. Then get that timing light, & do it dynamically, at night; & you will see the whole auto advance function, in real-time. Let us know how You go. Clean the area around the crankshaft pulley TDC mark, & paint it with a little white out. It makes it so much easier to see. Cheers Banjo

Hi Brayden, The very first thing you should do, after you have manually turned the the crankshaft over, & have the timing marks lined up, on the crankshaft pulley & zero mark on the timing chain cover; is to lift the dissy cap, & see where the distributor rotor is pointing. If it is pointing towards the distributor cap post with the lead that goes to spark plug no: 4, then rotate the crankshaft another full turn, until the timing marks, line up again. The engine will then be in TDC No: 1 cylinder. Now look at where the arc on the brass tip of the rotor button, & see where it is, in relation to post in the dissy cap post, which is attached to No: 1 spark plug (the one at the front of the engine). We have seen distributors installed one tooth out, when it inserted into the block, to engage with the camshaft gear. We have seen them, where users have then rotated the dissy to get it to run, but when the car is running & the automatic advance kicks in, the rotor arm, will not line up on it's arc, to the post in the dissy cap, & the HV can't jump inside the cap, & you get miss firing. Where are You physically located ? I tried to look at the number plate in your picture of "Alice", but couldn't read it, at the angle the photo was taken. Cheers Banjo

Hi Brayden, Completely concur with Altezzaclub, that the timing light is your best investment, if trouble shooting or setting engine ignition timing. Visually, it allows you to check static timing, at "idle", and automatic advance, as a result in rpm increase at idle. You can also check advance under load, by removing the little rubber hose from the dissy, to the inlet manifold, & suck on it, to produce a vacuum, & watch the timing mark, move accordingly. The only advice I can suggest, is to completely clean around the timing marks on the timing chain cover, & the little "V" groove in the crankshaft pully, on the rear edge. Paint the grove with a little white paint of "White Out". The crankshaft pulley, can only be fitted in one position, as it has a single keyway. The only potential problem with the timing marks are; if some one has swapped a 3K or 4K crankshaft pulley, for one from a 5K engine, which has it's timing indent, is a different position; as are the timing marks on the 5K timing chain cover. Hope You get it sorted, as that is one beautiful Corolla ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Wil, Welcome aboard. That might be a big ask ! Any second had one, is probably going to have a short life, & a quick search on the net didn't come up with anything. If you can get hold of the original Toyota P/N, you might have some luck. Other than that, I can only suggest you look at current waggons with a "protective hosing", for taking wiring into the tailgate. A number of the VW models, including the Passat, appear to have a "wire protection hose", similar to the one in the KE70 waggon. Google Results Good luck ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Sam, I'm presuming the engine in the car is a 4K-C maybe ? I can't imagine the previous owner spending all that money on a 3K. The fuel cell, was a bit over the top, but from the pics, the twin carbies look like they have been installed OK. The real big thing, with fitting twin carbies; is whether anything has been done to the head's combustion chambers & inlet & outlet ports ? The K series heads, were never a good flowing head; as number one; they are not cross flow head; & number two; the head inlet & exhaust tracks, could well be improved. My personal opinion, is it's not going to greatly improve the engines performance, by simply fitting twin carbies, unless this is associated with some head work, to improve the air flow in, & exhaust out. However, unless you get that info from the previous owner, the only other way is to remove the head, & take a look. Any unknown engine, I always like to remove the head as a minimum first up; as it allows you to see first hand, what the state of the valves & their seats are; as well as the state of the bores, & whether there is any movement in the pistons. Again, not knowing what the state, the carbies are in, the first thing would be to remove them, & clean them completely, before trying to tune them. Tuning a single carby is hard enough, but twins can be a bugger, if you haven't got the experience & equipment to balance them etc. At a very minimum, before You do anything; I would warm the engine up; whip out all the spark plugs, & do a compression test. Even the colour of the spark plug electrodes, give a good indication, of how things are going, inside the cylinders. If you can find out some history of the motor, that would be a really good starting point. Cheers Banjo

Hi Sam, Glad You found the wire. Only other wire that I think that could be, would be a boot illumination light. However, if You already have a boot light, then it is very likely to be the fuel sender. (best drink that coffee, before it gets cold !) The fuel sender units inside the tank, are notorious, when old; for "wearing out"; as the constant rubbing can wear the fine resistance wire, they are wound with. They are seeming irreplaceable, unless you can find a wrecked Corolla, with a good one still fitted. I noticed you were lucky to have secured Historic Vehicle number plates with your new acquisition. Does that restrict You in Victoria, to only driving so many klms per month, or similar restrictions ? I was sent this email this morning for Heritage Plate auction, available here in Australia. Just have a look at some of the bids for these plates. Crazy ! https://collectingcars.com/collection/heritage-number-plates?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SF_CC_Collecting_Push_18/June/2024&utm_term=&utm_id=626394&sfmc_id=6149295 Cheers Banjo

Hi Sam, The wire at the fuel guage in the boot area, basically earths, on grounds through the variable resistor, which is the fuel level sender, in the tank. The guage responds only gradually (damped), so that it is not floating up & down, whilst the fuel is sloshing around in the tank. With the ignition on, have someone sit in the car & watch the fuel guage. A second person should take the wire you've found, & connect it temporarily to a part of the chassis, which is "bare" & clean. If the guage starts to rise, as observed by your helper, you've found the right wire. There shouldn't be any other spare wires in the boot area, if all the tail, stop, indicator & licence plate illumination lights are working. Only hiccup could be if a previous owner has rewired the car. Let's know how you go. Cheers Banjo

Hi Paul, I've just read Altezzaclub's comments to You, & realised, that your original question was It appears to me, that you are advising the the engine had lash-caps fitted, when You purchased it; but now after overhauling the engine, & decking block, & skimming head; You are now concerned as to whether the lash caps should be reinserted, as they may change the valve timing. I would guess, it would only be an issue, if the amount decked from the block; & skimmed from the head, is enough to change the valve timing considerably. As You've adjusted the bores slightly, to take the 30 thou O/S pistons, then that increase in swept cylinder volume, plus block decking & head skimming, would have increased the compression ratio. Have you calculated, or measured the cylinder head volume, to work out the resultant compression ratio after these mods ? Personally, from what you've advised, I don't think you would have changed the valve timing significantly. You don't say, that You have actually removed the Lash Caps, which I assume have a reasonable thickness in the top cap area. If you are really concerned, you could always fit a timing disk; remove the spark plugs; & with a dial guage on the valve spring top retainers, take note of the opening & closing angles of all valves. Personally, I wouldn't remove the Lash Caps. If the engine builder had originally fitted Lash Caps, I would leave them. From what I have read; when lash Caps are used, the lengths of the valve stems are shortened, to accommodate the extra thickness of the Lash Cap, so that valve timing is not significantly altered. Your engine builder, is your best guide to obtaining the correct answer to your query, but if you would like to pop a couple of "close up", pics, of the valve coils & rockers etc., it might give us a more informed detailed look, at your concern. Good Luck ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Paul, That Super 7 is beautiful, & I'm sure is a great performer with the 2TC, because the car is so light. You're making us very jealous ! Toyota red-lined the TC2 at 5500 rpm, from memory, but I'm sure the Fejer Brothers, would have modified the 2TC slightly, if they knew it would be used up to around 7000+ rpm. As I said in my original post, the Lash Caps are installed to put a wider area, in contact with the cam tip, or the roller; in the cam tip, if one is fitted. This is primarily done, to prevent damage, breakage or bending, of the Stellite valve stems. However, it maybe that the valves were replaced in your engine, at the time the Fejer Brothers produced these classics. Here is a link, that You may have already read. You will notice that their alloy low weight blue rockers, have rollers, but no "Lash Caps" from what I can see. You would assume then, that the valves were of a material, much better than the original Toyota valves. The 2TC engine was a fairly robust engine, for it's time in history, & some incredible HP was derived from them, especially, if a blower was added. We'd love to see a few pics, from under the hood. I imagine, the original build by the Fejer Brothers was fairly high class, & of very high standard ? Please keep in touch ! Cheers Banjo

Welcome Aboard Paul, Lash Caps are only really used of very high performance engines with roller rocker arms. They increase the area of the top of the valve stem, & prevent valve tips & rocker damage. https://www.yellowbullet.com/threads/lash-caps-do-you-guys-use-them.35874/ Cheers Banjo

Hi Daniel, Welcome aboard ! Glad it worked out ! Did you use the simple thin ones, similar to below . . . . . . . . . or one of those thicker ones, that sometimes come complete with studs ? Cheers Banjo