Son Of Stig's Ke20

[son of stig]

Hey all probably about time i posted up some of my rides. Ill start with the KE20.

 

I started the project basically because i built a 4AGE KE55 as a daily, but then i changed jobs and now I'm not allowed to drive it to work. (don't ask.)

Therefore i needed another daily. I already had a shed full of KE spare bits but had never had a KE20 before, so made that my aim.

 

Shes a 1971 Aussie manufactured Automatic model.

 

DAY ONE

 

Bought it as a shell off Ebay for a few hundred bucks. Actually was in a lot better condition than i expected. But had been sitting in the weather for years.

 

Body was straight other than a few little dings, and only rust was surface rust on the front left panel and a few little holes on the front of the bonnet.

 

Also a couple of little bits of rust coming through below the windscreen, and a bit of a scrape on the rear right.

 

Came pretty much complete minus engine and gearbox, though a lot of bits were scattered through various boxes that came with it.

Edited September 1, 2009 by son of stig

[son of stig]

Started by pulling out the auto pedal box and putting in a manual one that came with the shell.

 

I wasnt terribly stressed about the engine bay looking show spec, so just treated a little bit of rust before dropping stuff in

 

I had a spare 4k and K40 with KE55 engine mounts sitting on my shed floor for a long time (removed from the KE55 when i put the 4AGE in) with only 120,000km on them, so dropped that in

 

Didnt fit very well at all, which lead me to realise that KE55s and KE20s have different engine mounts.

This was quite frustrating as it meant we wouldnt get the thing going on day one.

Note the one on the left is a KE20 mount, on the right KE55

 

 

So i opened my wallet for the first time and sent $80 to Phils Rotaries (through Ebay) for a new set of KE20 mounts.

 

END OF DAY ONE.

Edited September 1, 2009 by son of stig

[son of stig]

The new mounts rocked up a few days later.

 

The motor was still in place but in limbo on the engine crane, so changing the mounts was pretty simple.

From there, everything went together pretty easily, using bits that came with the shell and bits i had in my shed.

 

STARTER CIRCUIT

When i went to turn the key, nothing happened.

Tested the whole starter circuit and discovered that the break was between the key and the firewall. So i rewired the circuit, and she started.

I later realised what a moron i was when i found the plugs under the carpet leading to the automatic trans, obviously being for the neutral safety switch.

This had been my first auto-manual conversion, but even so it seemed so obvious in hindsight.

Lesson learned.

 

TAILSHAFTS

I also had a fair bit of trouble with tailshafts. Being an AMI model, it had a borg warner diff.

However the tailshaft supplied was for a Banjo diff.

Searched high and low and posted several wanted ads on here, but to no avail.

So eventually i tracked down a KE26 complete Banjo rear end to match the tailshaft i had.

THEN discovered that a KE26 rear end mounts to the leaves and shocks differently to a KE20.

So went searching again, and eventually found a KE20 rear axle housing with no centre.

Bought that, swapped the centre from the KE26, and hey presto it all bolted together.

Cost $160

 

WHEELS

With the KE20 now moving under its own power, i looked into wheels.

After learning that KE20s have the same stud pattern as S1/2 RX7s, i test fitted a set of 14" Performance 5 spokes (my favorite rims) that i used to have on my RX7.

Fit like a dream. The rims had some fairly bald semi slick tyres on them, so had them removed and got a set of badass yokohama 185/60/14s put on.

Cost $260

Edited September 2, 2009 by son of stig

[son of stig]

From there i did a lot of degreasing and tidying of the engine bay, as well as doing all new oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, oil change, diff and gearbox oil change, radiator flush, and new coolant.

Cost $118

 

Also had the brake master rebuilt and resleeved, got new front discs, pads, wheel bearings, rear drums, shoes, and wheel cylinders.

Cost $223

 

The interior was stinky, mouldy, and festy when i got it. There was even a possum nest under the back seat! But after a lot of scrubbing and some cheesy seat covers, it didnt come up too bad!

 

I also found a few goodies in my shed to chuck in, an MP3 head deck with hidden 6x9s, Momo steering wheel, fire extinguisher, and wired in a little tacho

 

The steering was a little tired so put in a complete set of new joints and arms

Cost $165

 

And figured i may as well do the bushes while i was at it. Superpro does a full set of Polyurethane bushes for the KE20s, i got mine from Cartorque in SA, Andy there is great.

Cost $194

Edited September 2, 2009 by son of stig

[son of stig]

I drove it around a little like this but didnt like how it sat on the road, so took it apart again to attack the suspension.

The struts were not too bad and i was having trouble finding new ones so decided to just do springs.

Ryan was putting new suspension in his 13BT KE20 so i was lucky enough to get his old stuff.

Lowered Pedders in the front, and an extra leaf from his leaf pack in the back.

 

I then took off all the trims and sanded them back

 

I'm a big fan of Gunmetal Grey

 

Did them all this colour except the grill which was done silver, and the light surrounds i ended up rubbing back to chrome (they had been painted over?)

Cost $52

 

With a bit of a cut and polish, and a very light sanding of the surface rust, shes come up pretty good.

 

One of the headlights stopped working too, and decided that rather than get another sealed beam i may as well upgrade, so i bought a pair of new housings with halogen globes from Ashdown Ingram in Regency Park.

The improvement is massive, they were a sinch to fit, light up the night SO much better, and globes are replacable unlike the original sealed beams.

Cost $56

 

Also one of the taillights was really badly faded, so got a little pot of red taillight dye and did several coats on both lenses.

Cost $11

Edited September 2, 2009 by son of stig

[son of stig]

So a couple of months and a total price including purchase of exactly $1704 later, here it is.

 

I'm sure theres lots of little things inbetween, but thats pretty much it in a nutshell.

 

Shes a sweeeeeeeet daily.

 

 

[peter08]

f@$k that looks sweet

 

wish i had the time to do something like that

[Tally]

Cleaned up alright didn't it :P Great Job!!!!!!!

[sammo[RL]]

Great post! And great car!

 

well done

[Doogs]

Came up nicely mate, well done.

Keen to get a set of those bushes for my car, will have to look into them.

[13BT_KE20]

great work Paul, car sits pretty nice with the suspension all done.

 

Ill be hitting you up to help me with the headlight change over

[RA28GT]

Looks real clean! done a good job fixing this girl up. Globes suit this car down to a tee.

[son of stig]

Cheers, I'm pretty happy with how its turned out. Its the first car where i havent gone stupid with mods so its a nice change.

 

And yep no worries with the lights Ryan, i can even get you a set when you ready seeing as work is around the corner. Still can't figure out if i got some ridiculous discount or not tho, so could be about $100.

[13BT_KE20]

And yep no worries with the lights Ryan, i can even get you a set when you ready seeing as work is around the corner. Still can't figure out if i got some ridiculous discount or not tho, so could be about $100.

just go buy them and ill get you the cash straight away. CHEERS!

[Pieman]

Great job man, turned out really well!