snot35 Posted September 6, 2011 Author Report Posted September 6, 2011 Picked up some near new second hand shocks for the TE72 struts today. They're just Pedders Comfort Gas, but should last in the khana car for quite some time. The next thing I have to sort out is steering knuckles. I'm going from 125mm arms on the KE70 struts to around 140mm on the TE72. It's going to steer like a boat, something I definitely don't want! I might have to spring for some AE86 PS arms or similar. It's a bit annoying, because that's probably $140 or so and when the upgrade so far is $17 for shocks and struts for free it blows the budget a bit :P I'm a bit worried about how the brakes will feel with the upgrade too. Anyone know the piston size of the KE70 caliper off the top of their head? The TE72 is 51mm. Quote
snot35 Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Posted November 5, 2011 Finally got to rebuild the struts. They're now in along with KE30 lower arms and tie rods/tubes for a bit more negative. We've got new rod ends, ball joints, TCA bushes, sway bar bushes, rack boots and rack ends. With a bit of luck the clunking that I had before should be gone. That shouldn't be hard given the steering arms were barely attached to the ball joints previously. So now I have springs of the correct weight installed so I'm expecting a reasonable handling improvement. I also managed to pick up some AE86 PS arms, so it's a bit under 3 turns lock to lock which should help the driving. The struts also fit the rally tyres that I have, where the KE70 struts didn't. The rack still needs a rebuild. That's next. I'm looking forward to the next event now! :) Quote
altezzaclub Posted November 5, 2011 Report Posted November 5, 2011 ...and the worst thing is that there is never anywhere to practice! Quote
corollaart Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 How true altezzaclub ,it a real pain to get some where to try out your mods .Wheather they work or not ,and end up trying at the next event. Keep up the good work snot ,you could maybe check out what the stanza boys set up is that would be close to a 70 . rob Quote
snot35 Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) Thank you for your encouragement gents. That's probably the biggest problem I'm working through at the moment, being able to practise! If this thing got pulled over it would be near to game over! So I got it moving after a bit of drama. I tried to reverse it out of the main parking spot and found myself having a hell of a lot of trouble. I managed to get as far as blocking the driveway before it wouldn't go any further (I live on a slope). Nearly had a heart attack because I was quite sure that my wife was going to kill me... :) As it turned out the calipers on a TE72 actually protrude past the face of hub, so when I tightened everything the mags where tightened against the calipers! Bugger. I'm going to need some spacers. Also need some brake hoses made, but we should be sweet after that's done. Setup wise I'm roughly following the Stanza, Escort, TRD AE86 setup details. They're all pretty much the same as far as spring rates/philosophy etc. go. I'm not sure what problem I'm going to tackle next. I'm not sure I'm happy about the ride height, a little more is good, but that's a fair bit! For rough rallies it would be ideal, but for khana it's probably overkill. Maybe I just need to get used to it. The rally tyres fill out the guards a hell of a lot more so it might not stand out so much :) For some reason I've got it in my head that I'd like to half link the rear end..... Edited November 6, 2011 by snot35 Quote
snot35 Posted November 19, 2011 Author Report Posted November 19, 2011 Nearly there. I got some new brake lines made up and they are now in and I've done a quick bleed. I was hoping to bend up some new tube as well but the cheapo ebay double flare tool doesn't work as advertised! Damn! So the old stuff went back in and should be OK for a little bit. Also the middle holder on the brake lines is too close to the caliper to actually be able to clip to the strut, so they're floating at the moment. Once again, I won't be able to do anything about that in the short term. I might put an extra rubber sheath around them so they don't get damaged. So with the rally tyres on she looks like a bit of a tractor! It should do me for the event next weekend, but I need to do something about the height. Also when moving it I discovered some green liquid in the passenger footwell, which is just great! I can only guess that the heater core has corroded. Hopefully I can get away with the event... Quote
SLO-030 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 Lookin' good Mike! Might have to come check her out when I get my licence back :cool: Quote
snot35 Posted November 20, 2011 Author Report Posted November 20, 2011 I don't know if I'd say it looks good, but thanks! :) What's happened to the licence? Quote
snot35 Posted November 21, 2011 Author Report Posted November 21, 2011 (edited) There must be an event coming up. Brakes bled, bolt torques checked. Dodgy wheel alignment done. Window that fell out of its rail done. Now I just have to make it there on Sunday without it breaking and without getting pulled over :) Edited November 21, 2011 by snot35 Quote
snot35 Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Posted November 27, 2011 A quick photo from the days action. The suspension made so much difference with the rally tyres as well. The car felt fantastic and I was able to push it pretty hard. I'm not sure how the times compared to others, but I had fun anyway. Now we have a few months off to sort things out. Rack rebuild might be next. The cooling also proved a bit marginal on the hot day that today was. The heater core is also leaking a little bit so that will have to be looked as well. Fun times! Quote
zeph_KE70 Posted November 27, 2011 Report Posted November 27, 2011 Looks awesome! How much was that seat? and the harness? Quote
snot35 Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Posted November 27, 2011 The seat I managed to jag off ebay for $130! It's a genuine Momo as well. Harness was around $90 I think. Probably the most cost/work is in actually getting the seat to mount to the car. That was a pain in the arse, but only because I fabbed my own mount. Quote
zeph_KE70 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Posted November 28, 2011 The seat I managed to jag off ebay for $130! It's a genuine Momo as well. Harness was around $90 I think. Probably the most cost/work is in actually getting the seat to mount to the car. That was a pain in the arse, but only because I fabbed my own mount. ohh alright, do you need a cage for the harness? sorry stupid question Quote
snot35 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Report Posted November 28, 2011 It's no problem :) I do not currently have a cage in it, I'm just using the current seat belt holes to mount the harness. I'm using the two lowest front bolt holes as well as one of the low rear seat belt holes as it's a three point harness. Ideally the top straps should be mounted to the rear parcel shelf and be near horizontal, but I haven't got to doing that yet. I'd need to fabricate a mounting plate. I'm not sure on the legality of the harness. It's and ADR approved harness and I think I should be OK as I'm using current belt mounting points, but you'd want to check with your local authorities :) Quote
snot35 Posted December 16, 2011 Author Report Posted December 16, 2011 No much to update. It's probably going to be quiet over summer, I have to do some work around the house and sell a different car. But in the mean time, I've added to the mag collection and done a dodgy photoshop.... I now have 11 of these mags, the plan is a set for the rally tyres and a set for some road tyres that I have to get too and from events, and maybe the odd motorkhana. Quote
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