oldeskewltoy Posted November 20, 2014 Author Report Posted November 20, 2014 (edited) I like the clutch line solution. Shame more people don't do it that way! I try to make sound decisions based on over 30 years of automotive experience. This was a good one. The car has an engine(with oil cooler)' date=' wiring, a fuel system, a management system but as of yet there isn't a driveline[/quote'] Now that the driveline is in, we add fuel..... ... and "shake" (on its way to the tuning shop) Where she waits her turn among other cars waiting their turn on the dyno... Finally.... she gets on the dyno.... More to come.......... :D PS - video to come Edited November 20, 2014 by oldeskewltoy Quote
oldeskewltoy Posted November 23, 2014 Author Report Posted November 23, 2014 PS - video to come A bit of of anticipation is a good thing, but.......... A few more modifications.... this time on the interior. When I got the car the interior was actually pretty good... quite a bit dated.... but for a 26 year old car it was fine. The dash had a few cracks... that would require either a replacement... or something a little custom ;) Rebuilt with a hand stitched cover... Oh... and why not add a nice Nardi flat spoke to jazz it up just a bit :thumbsup: Now... besides the new dash cover... and the vintage Nardi... on a vintage potmetal hub - (very old... these were outlawed and the collapsible type was used there after) I also had my friend David... remember David? Anyway David is also into building custom guitars... and so he knows woods, and inlays.... With David's help we built the only real wood dash veneer in an E7 Corolla in existence... (at least as far as I know) The piece in front of the driver has gotten a tung oil rub while the piece in front of the passenger side is prior to tung oil. Interior continued.... ;) Although the original seats were in decent shape... 30 year old Corolla seat offered little support for any kind of "spirited" driving.... so I was on the hunt for a set of Recaros. Why Recaros?? Why not some cheap a$$ seat? I have a fair amount of experience with driving, and seats... I've had a few cars with garbage seats (70s Capri... 67 Mustang... 66 Shelby... and a few others) and I've had cars with great seats.. (85 VW GTI, same Capri, but now with Volvo 242 GT seats, 1980 Capri RS w Recaro interior) So I was on the hunt for a set of Recaros I could slip into Surreptitious... My first choice.... :wootjump: period correct Recaro.... To borrow a quote from Maxwell Smart... " I missed them by that much........" I saw them and inquired about them about 45 days after they sold.... Oh well.... :oops: My next option came from a craigslist search... down in San Diego... a decent set of solid blue Recaros.... They needed cleaning... but that wasn't the biggest problem... it seems that someone was selling another persons stuff.... long story short... I didn't lose any money... but I also didn't get any seats from San Diego. :(( With San Diego a failure.... I next found a set locally.... an odd set too... This set of Recaros I've nicknamed "CCR" - Cop Car Recaros.... it appears that this set of Recaro seats likely were originally fitted to a mid 90s Lumina Cop car.... The top half is unique, not nearly as aggressive as the typical Recaro. Not only is the top less aggressive, but I've retro-fitted a set of Corbeau air bladders to improve lumbar support. Here is the driverside installed... with the original Toyota seat on the passenger side. Although looking quite similar... the Recaro supports the body far better then the soft OEM seat. Now with both seats fitted... LEARN about Recaros from someone who worked there!! - http://www.toymods.o...-Resource-Guide More interior to come....... :D 1 Quote
altezzaclub Posted November 23, 2014 Report Posted November 23, 2014 The piece in front of the driver has gotten a tung oil rub Nice! Quote
oldeskewltoy Posted November 23, 2014 Author Report Posted November 23, 2014 Nice! more custom woodwork to come.... not as pretty, but arguably more useful..... ;) Continuing with the interior... I was not a fan of the deluxe interior (two tone). So I went on a hunt for a replacement interior.... 3/4 of it(one door panel and 2 rear panels) were found within 3 months........ short When you go to the junkyard to get parts.... DON'T destroy other parts :jason: .... especially easily serviceable parts like door panels!!! Note how VERY nice all three pieces are above.... the driverside door panel (the missing part from the above view)was found under the car TORN UP... FOR NO GOOD REASON : we now return to the thread already in progress The last part of the interior, a solid blue kouki E7 driverside (left side) took me 3 YEARS to find!!! and that is with the internet :wtf: So the interior ideas are almost complete... wooden dash, custom stitched dash cover, vintage Nardi wheel on a vintage pot metal wheel adapter, Cop Car Recaros..... .... but what to do behind the 2 front seats??? The Corolla originally had a rear folding seat. Do I retain it, or remove it? If I retain it it allows me to transport 4 people... kinda (not much rear leg room with the Recaros) If I retain it it folds down... but because it is a seat first, it doesn't lay flat. If I retain it I'd like to find matching cloth to recover the rear seats to match the Recaros - I never could find matching material... Do I WANT to: carry 4, have a folding seat, with mismatched interior patterns... OR with all the other custom touches... the missing rear seat will just make this a 2 seater... what it should have been all along... :rock: I'll have to build something... because without the seat.... the space is useless Above, besides showing the space and how it needs to be better used, are the seeds of my first idea... originally I was intending to mount a hard panel over the wheels(cardboard layout) and then add hinged panels front and rear and lay out the entire area in a wood (Teak?) deck - kinda like an old pick up truck... or even a deck on an older wooden boat I soon came to realize that would be like putting lipstick on a pig... :no2: gaudy at best... sickening at worst :yak: But... what then to better utilize the space....... take what was a good from the idea and remove the gaudy... The wood deck is gaudy... but better utilizing the space isn't..... At first a design is done in my head.... That design is then moved on to C.A.D. (cardboard aided design) Note the design now lays up to the section of the floor over the axle, and not above the section like in the original idea. The design is then transferred to 5/8" plywood. The front panel is cut and fitted into the car using clip nuts fitted to the rear interior crossmember. Next came the top.... the top will fasten to the edge of the front, but how to mount the rear edge of the top???? A shaped 2x4 of course :thumbsup: Below is the rear mounting propped up, the lines/hash marks show areas needing material removal prior to mounting. part of the shaping required :bounce: The hardware required.... So now it makes the space far more utilizable... but more could be done.... The Corolla has only a limited amount of hidden storage space, and by using the solid door panels, I removed some of it.... now I thought I'd add some. I added a hatch installed a continuous (aka piano) hinge enough concealed room now for just about anything I'd conceal or want too... in a car. Once the rear panels are refitted, a custom cut piece of carpeting will be fitted. I have this piece of carpetting, installation is waiting for a few other details So with the re-design I can now carry 6 tires, tools, jackstands, a floor jack, etc... etc... as well as a hidden place for the tuning laptop, valuables, and just about anything else that needs hidden storage edit: OH... not that it is a huge deal... but the back seat weight was about 32#, the plywood platform about 12#s. A savings of about 20#s....... :thumbsup: That 20# will be useful in the future...... :hmm: More to come....... :D 1 Quote
oldeskewltoy Posted November 25, 2014 Author Report Posted November 25, 2014 Wow.... I thought my rear seat mod would raise a "row"...... :osama: PS - video to come 4th gear pull... turn it up and enjoy the dyno print out from that run.... 140whp 108#/ft of torque @ the rear wheels - translated to flywheel: 164hp 128#/ft' date=' Stock 4AGE 115hp, 100#/ft 140 whp isn't bad from 98 cubic inches BUT there is a problem... not a BIG one... but a problem is still a problem. The engine has a vacuum leak. Somewhere in the system is a vacuum leak. The car comes home from that tuning experience, and I'm disappointed. Not with 140whp, but from less than an ideal circumstances.... the circumstance itself - the vac leak I have a pow wow with a few friends... (most of them you have met already...) Jeff - shy guy, and Jesse. We scour all over the engine looking for a leak. 2 hours of looking and nothing >| It can't be driven, it stalls, and so I employ another tuner :nervous: :nervous: I have the car trailered to him... About a week later... I get a call that there still is a vacuum leak... but it idles... kinda, and it drives kinda... Jesse drives me up to the tuner... and he follows me home (about 3 hours). Surreptitious drives fair... only parts of the suspension have been upgraded, so some of it is 30 years old, while other parts are much newer. Along with the fact that although the engine is running and driving, it is still FAR off the mark. Far off the mark or not... she NEEDS to go through emissions testing.... and she does! :wootjump: The second tuner manages 145whp, 112#/ft @ the wheels (or 170+hp and 135#/ft at the flywheel... remember stock 4AGE is 112hp and 100#/ft) This is Blacktop territory... for those who don't know... Toyota produced a 20V 4AGE (5 valves per cylinder), commonly called the Blacktop. A good (properly running) Blacktop typically would make similar power to this. It is great that I managed to reach my goals for the engine... BUT the vacuum leak is still there :down: Welcome to story lines converging...... I could go in to the alternative story line here, write a few chapters on my desire for a 6 speed... it goes back to 2006.... :wtf: , and then come back... but for now I'll just touch upon it... Another friend, his name is Andrew aka "assassin10000", he is driving up from California to deliver a J160 6 speed I bought from him. Once he arrives, he delivers the 6 speed, and I show him my problem. We aren't looking at it for more than 15 min... I've recounted all the steps that all the different tuners, and friends have looked at.... and he removes the throttlebody to air filter hose, looks inside the T/B, and puts his finger over one of the drilled orifices in the T/B and all of a sudden... she gets smoother, and much more stable! What Andrew found was the vacuum leak. The original efi system used an air flow meter. Using an AFM requires there to be air drawing on the afm, even @ idle. Toyota did this by adding a bypass hole around the T/B. The NEW efi system uses manifold vacuum, a bypass around the throttle body is a vacuum leak :rant: I removed the T/B, made a new gasket for it without the bypass hole. Once reassembled, her character got a lot better.... BUT......... her ignition map was built on vague-ness because of the vacuum leak. Now that the leak was gone, she did drive better... but she now needed a better ignition pattern to follow (aka ignition map). I had paid 2 tuners... so I was pretty much broke at this point, but encouraged because I could now drive the car. I leaned on my friend Marshall @ Jackson Autosport(another friend, this one an aftermarket managment GURU), and he sent me an ignition MAP to plug in and try to use... It was better... still a few hiccups, but I could drive and enjoy her So... the car drives better, the map I've been given is adequate... Welcome another "new" friend... he is Brian. Brian worked in the tech field(Yahoo in the mid 90s), had a 4AGE powered rally car tuned with MegaSquirt, and he was willing to help me drive tune Surreptitious. He showed me a few things, and gradually the ignition map improved. We did a lot of work in throttle transition areas, especially lower rpm areas trying to minimize cell conflicts (those nasty little cough/sputters at lower rpm) That is the ignition side of this... now for a little on the fuel side... The FJO system is self learning when it comes to fuel maps... you set the basic parameters, and then get the initial map set close... based on the settings and the injectors. Unless the two engines are literally identical, different engine will have slightly unique fuel map based on the engines need. The FJO system looks at the wideband oxygen sensor, looks at its basic parameters, and adjusts fuel based on the VE and need of the engine. More to come...... :D 1 Quote
snot35 Posted November 26, 2014 Report Posted November 26, 2014 Yep, that dyno run sounds right :) Quote
snot35 Posted November 26, 2014 Report Posted November 26, 2014 I just finished reading that MR2 thread too. Stout power. I need to hurry up and finish my conversion so I can start modifying! Quote
oldeskewltoy Posted November 27, 2014 Author Report Posted November 27, 2014 This build is still ongoing... 5 years after it began Surreptitious drives fair... only parts of the suspension have been upgraded, so some of it is 30 years old. When I originally got this car it had cut springs, worn out bushings, dead shocks.... :down: The Ae71 chassis is VERY similar... and yet not quite the same as the AE86... I've already touched on this before... here are two additional examples... A bit o' back story... The E7 chassis cars are equipped with inadequate (my opinion) brakes. It uses solid rotors up front, and drum brakes in the rear. Fine for an 80 hp commuter, but comical for anything that will see repeated high G loads/stops (from track days... or even backwoods cruising/road carving) 1) The idea - The AE86 GT-S has more modern brakes - vented rotors up front, with a solid rotor our back... 4 wheel disc brakes. Swap them into the E7 and add a substantial performance upgrade... as well as open up suspension options :rock: 2) Well one of the more subtle differences is the AE86 has more King Pin angle then the AE71 does. King Pin angle? Suffice it to say the angle the wheel is in, in relation to the shock absorber example below... from a different Toyota... but note how the angle of the suspension on the left is greater then the one on the right The AE86 equipment has more angle than the AE71 parts. More angle means when everything gets bolted together, the struts will have positive camber... Positive camber is not a good thing when it comes to handling... We aren't looking for "MEAN" camber, or anything extreme... after all this is a serious driving car... not a car show queen.... We DO want about 1/2 negative to about 1 1/2 negative, depending on circumstances, and just bolting on AE86 struts into an E7 will give you positive camber. :wtf: So the suspension went through a few designs(redesigns) before I found what I desired. Many suggested using adjustable strut tops and be done with it. I'm not a fan of them, they tend to transmit a great deal of vibration and noise... :down: Another solution was to either find, or make, longer lower control arms. I decided to try this approach first. Above are stock lower control arms extended about 10mm each. Why 10mm? The difference is actual 6mm per side to correct the positive camber.... adding 4mm per side allows me to get to about 1/2 negative. The problem... once bolted them in... I had 3/4 negative on the right side, and 1/2 negative on the left. :(( What was needed was an adjustable lower control arm... something where you could get some adjustment. The problem here was all the available options were all hard mounts. I wanted a bushed mount... so I cobbled together a few different things and had my own design built... :rocknroll: Now that the chassis dynamics of the 2 cars have been blended, I will have 4 wheel disc brakes in a 2200# car. I can also fully utilize the suspension aftermarket available for the AE86.... :party: More to come..... :D Quote
oldeskewltoy Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Posted November 30, 2014 I wanted a bushed mount... so I cobbled together a few different things and had my own design built... :rocknroll: Now that the chassis dynamics of the 2 cars have been blended, I will have 4 wheel disc brakes in a 2200# car. I can also fully utilize the suspension aftermarket available for the AE86.... :party: Tanabe front sway bar up (25mm).... stock GTS rear bar (15mm) AJPS ball joints, and MOST of an AE86 TRD bushing kit.... :thumbsup: Custom made springs to my specifications - 5.3 kg/mm front and 3.5kg/mm rear with a 1" drop in the front, and a 1/2" drop in the back - along with HTS112 full stroke dampers Did I mention... the HTS dampers are fully adjustable.... The adjustment scale from the HTS manual.... Oh... can't forget the Cusco AS strut bar... partially seen on page 2 With all these goodies controlling her... although she rides nearly at stock ride height... she is FAR from stock... :evil: More to come..... :D Quote
altezzaclub Posted November 30, 2014 Report Posted November 30, 2014 although she rides nearly at stock ride height... she is FAR from stock... That's what I like in a car! I can't stand these sacked-out POS bumping and grinding down the road with no ride quality and equally bad handling, all to be 70mm off the deck. Love the CAD! That's how I always work too. Quote
oldeskewltoy Posted December 2, 2014 Author Report Posted December 2, 2014 That's what I like in a car! I can't stand these sacked-out POS bumping and grinding down the road with no ride quality and equally bad handling, all to be 70mm off the deck. I never understood the slammed look... but I never built a car for its form, I've always built them for the function..... And then? :) I wanted a bushed mount... so I cobbled together a few different things and had my own design built... :rocknroll: Oh the story here.... :lmao: My own design yes... built (by me)... not so much. I've tried welding... and lets just say my welding isn't something that should be used on the suspension of a car... 8| Soooo I had a friend make them for me.... another friend... the problem with that is I'm at the "mercy" of my friend... and he placed a little demand on me and my car... Go drag racing.......... :wtf: Yep.... go drag racing..... Now... a little bit of back ground... the last drag race I participated in at a track prior to this one... was back in 1979... when I owned a 1968 Pontiac GTO Ram Air III... so it had been 30 years since I was at a track and officially drag raced :nervous: Here she is wearing her drag strip grease paint And her 3 runs..... it took me a bit to get the knack... kinda Note the 60 foot times... ALL suck... but note the 2nd and 3rd run are both through the traps @ 88.7 mph... Not to bad... now calculate in the piss poor starts... and the original 3.58 final drive... along with a poorly geared 5 speed.... a "slow" 88.7 mph trap by me... means a more qualified driver should be able to get my little car down the 1/4 mile in about 14.8 to 15 flat. 15 seconds isn't blistering... but it is fast for an N/A 1.6 liter rwd Corolla ;) More to come...... :D Quote
oldeskewltoy Posted December 6, 2014 Author Report Posted December 6, 2014 I didn't see it when I first got it... but I have to admit... this car has yet to take a bad photo..... Even weird angle, or lens trickery stuff tends to look good.... More to come..... :D Quote
oldeskewltoy Posted December 9, 2014 Author Report Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) Welcome to story lines converging...... I could go in to the alternative story line here, write a few chapters on my desire for a 6 speed... it goes back to 2006.... :wtf: , and then come back... but for now I'll just touch upon it... Another friend, his name is Andrew aka "assassin10000", he is driving up from California to deliver a J160 6 speed I bought from him. Once he arrives, he delivers the 6 speed....... What you see below is the ONLY bolt-in 6 speed conversion for use in the AE86, AE/TE7x, E6s, E4, anything the T50 was installed in Well... How to begin the story of the development of the ONLY bolt-in 6 speed conversion for the AE86..... It began back in 2006 when I owned an AE86... remember that... I owned an AE86...??? http://www.rollaclub...us/#entry690444 well back then, I was trying to solve 2 problems with modified AE86s... one being the T50 (only 5 speed available in all AE86s) gear ratios sucked... :'( ... and the other that the T50 was fragile :poke: TRD made a few different gear sets (one was expensive, and the other... was left testicle expensive 8| ) and although stronger metal was used in the gear sets, the overall design of the T50 gearbox dated back to the late 1960s/early 70s when the typical Toyota using this gearbox was lucky to have 80hp, while the car using it would be easily under 2200 pounds. By the way...it isn't just horsepower/torque that is the enemy of transmissions and transaxles, the MASS of the vehicle has a lot to do with how long a particular transmission holds up for.... Ok... so back on point.... and in time... While I began my search to find a solution to the T50, a forum member over @ Club4ag, his forum name is/was "170BHP" had related how he had used a 6 speed from a Miata... with a tailhousing from an RX8 (both early 2000 model year versions) and then used an adapter plate. I was intrigued... and so I did some further research.... ... AND of course... with typical forum stability... that posting was lost... but here is a revival of sorts from 2007 - http://forums.club4a...d?id=830&page=1 For those who like following along from the original... For those who like Cliff's Note's versions... I had connected with a well known Mazda Rotary guy (Rob Golden - Pineapple Racing) and after investing nearly $8000 ($1500 of which was mine) we had a failed casting... and then a machined billet housing It has taken over 3 years, and as mentioned over $8000... and it ended... :( Rob had invested enough... time... and money... and he saw little profit potential. He wanted out. Well, as luck would have it... someone else was also working on this problem. I'm not sure if my efforts and outreach had helped inspire the design or not... it really isn't important... What is important is it had finally been made :2thumbs: A company based in Ireland, LEEN (www.gearboxconversion.com) had developed the kit for one of its clients - Joe Moore and his supercharged 4AGZE AE86 Since its introduction it has had 3 revisions... and one of our recent clients has mounted it to his Hasselgren built 4AGE... :rocknroll: more to come.... :D Edited December 9, 2014 by oldeskewltoy Quote
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