Tailshaft is back

Well these two pictures show the tailshaft back from the engineering shop. It is basically a whole new shaft. They used all the bits I gave them to purchase new parts to match it all in. Very happy with the result. All I need to do now is finish off all the small jobs so I can get the car moving with it.

Exhaust tacking

Using the measurements in the last post I went down the exhaust shop to discuss options for reducing the sound to the correct levels to meet ADR. After a bit of thinking and a lot of measure we worked out that a cat and 3 mufflers would fit along the side of the car. Hopefully this will provide the silencing required. The pictures show that the tacked exhaust. It is going back down the exhaust shop for them to do the final welding. I have found a sound level meter (which measure dB) at DSE for $40. I am thinking a purchasing it to measure the sound output to check if I need a forth muffler under the car. The only concern now is how to get the exhaust to exit on the right hand side or the back of the car with two and half pipe. I am guessing a bit of creative engineering is required.

Measuring the exhaust

During the last couple of weeks I have spent some time getting the exhaust to exit cleanly out the side of the car. As can be seen from the crappy welds (Will be fixed once it is all out of the car) it has been a bit of an effort. The next stage is measuring up the lengths which I can fit the cat and mufflers down the side of the car.

Update - more slow progress

Well there is a mixture of three items being moved forward this month.

Firstly the headers have been cut and extended to get around the starter motor. I think I will still need some sort of heat shield to ensure I don't cook the starter. Maybe a post-rego job.

Secondly been working on the remote gear shifter. After 4 attempts I think I have it changing cleanly between 1, ... ,5 and R. Second gear is a little stiff to get in and out but I think that may be a syncro issue and not a shifter issue, will know on first drive. Some time in the coming months.

Third task currently underway is the tail shaft. The pictures show the measurements of the shaft. It gives an idea of how small the car really is. The tail shaft is currently down the local engineering shop (Gibbs). They seem to be the only mob that specialize in tail shaft modifications on the coast. This is one of the few bits that requires a professional touch. eg: Strong and balanced is the only way this should be.










Also been down the local exhaust shop this week picking up the bends to start building the rest of the exhaust. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to line up the 2 pipe section of the exhaust and tack. The engine should sound a lot better next time it is running.

That big mess of wires in the back ground of the pictures is currently in the unknown pile. Should it be saved or removed. Only time will tell.

Here is the video

It runs

Well after a month of messing around with the wiring and finishing off the fuel system it was time to start attempt a start of the car. The first attempt while it sounded very nice was not what could be called running. The car fired on a single cylinder but was not enough to keep it running. So it was debugging time.

The first port of call was fixing the leaking fuel line which was caused by the engine sitting in the sun for far to many months. Turning it over again gave me very little extra joy. Inspecting the smoke coming out seemed to suggest that only one spark plug was giving me enough spark to ignite the engine.

It was back down to the local car store to get a spark plug socket and check out the plugs they had in stock. While all plugs were sparking some seemed to be carbonized to the point where the spark was weak. Back down to the car store again to get replacement plugs.

After inserting the new plugs into the engine I still could not get the engine running. Some playing around with the injectors. EG: Unplugging them from the electrics I worked out that only one, maybe two injectors were functioning, but not in any way that would enable the engine to run.

The injectors were taken to the local EFI specialist for a clean. He said that two injectors were so badly blocked that they were not working and two were working but producing only a little spray. But an hour on the cleaning machine sorted out that problem and I got back four 100% working injectors.

Since all this had happened over 4 days it was time to give it a rest for a day. I put the injectors back in the engine this morning and turned the car over. To my great excitement it started first go. I will find somewhere to upload the video.

One very happy car builder.

Ok, so it has been a really long time since the last post. The build is still moving along although it seems like it is a snails pace. So the latest pictures shown here is the current progress, which is many things in various states of disarray and completion.

The wiring has been trimmed back to a point were I think the car will start. I currently still need to use the original Toyota junction boxes. This is not such a bad thing except for the fuse boxes that were in the drivers and passenger side doors. These are ugly and unnecessary, although that being said they could stay until I get the car on the road. Current the path of least resistance.



As can also be seen from the pictures the fuel pump is in its final location, and the fuel lines are all in. Only things to worry about now is finishing the fuel filler neck, return lines and the charcoal canister. Then I can seal the tank and get on with starting the motor minus the headers. I am guessing it is going to be very loud.



Also burred in the pictures you can see the brake lines and clutch lines are fully plumbed in and ready for the next step. I think the bradded lines look really good.



The radiator, not shown, is also ready to be plumbed in. It has all been trial fitted with the factory fan and a colt radiator from an auto. I trimmed the oil in and out lines from the radiator and decided not to seal them up. I was concerned that I would create a pressure container as the radiator heated and cooled. Only worry now is rusting with it being to the open air. If it starts to leak a will deal with it from there.



I should be ready to put the engine back in for the last time in the coming weeks for starting. Then it is a long march of paneling and little jobs to the finish line which is December of this year otherwise the motor will need to be replaced with something newer. This will mean a new engine, gearbox and wiring job, and at least a year extension before it is on the road.

Enough blogging and back to the building....

Fitting the air box

The airbox is finally fitted. I grabbed a pod filter and adapter plate from repco. I made the airbox to line up with the sides of the gearbox tunnel. To give the ali something solid to be pop riveted into. This has given me the problem that I now only have space for a battery in the engine bay on the passengers side.

With the lack of space in the engine bay all the fuses need to be moved into the inside of the car. I created a fuse box which can be accessed from the passengers side of the car without having to remove the scuttle. This should hopefully reduce the wear and tear on the scuttle and general paint work.











The next step is to fit the rest of the dash wiring and work out if there is enough space for all the fuses.

Start of the ali

Well it has been a while since the last post. With the festive session and other things taking priority the progress came to a stop for a few weeks. Now I am back onto it, the following bits have made some progress, a scuttle and the ali in the engine bay. I have also revisited the wiring, but more on that latter.

After some debate and a lot of discussion with an ex-surfboard shaper at work it what decided that purchasing a scuttle would be a much better idea and much more cost efficient than making it by hand. After a quick talk with one of the local builders I tracked down Peter (of the famed P3s) who is making fiberglass. From the pictures looked to be some of the best fiberglass made for the cars between here and Brisbane. He was also very competitively priced. So all in all very happy with the finished product. I have attached some pics with the modifications I neede to make.





I grabbed a half sheet of 1.2 mm ali as it was the only thing my local steel merchant had in stock, and being in a hurry to make some progress I didn't want to wait for them to order something in. After trial fitting the scuttle and having to shorten both the front and back hoops I was in the mood to work with something a little lighter. Using the trusty grinder and 1mm cutting disc's I proceeded to cut out the shape for the ali shelf in the engine bay. I have fitted it all up and pop riveted it into place. It is starting to look a little more complete








So after completely removing all the unneeded stuff from the wiring under the dash I have a big crows nest. The evenings have been taken up with tracing the rest of the wires to ensure they go where I think they are suppose to go. I haven't taken any pictures of the mess, but the plan now is to finish off the ali under the dash and in the engine bay, then mount the wiring where it needs to go. I will then shorten up the wires and clean them up once they are under the dash. The joys of playing with little wires.

Hopefully the next post with not be as long as it took for this one.

trial fitting the engine

Put the engine back in to test that the brake and clutch master cylinders still fit. It is a tight fit around the brake (1mm) but should be enough clearance. Not in these pictures.

I couldn't help myself just had to sit in it and make engine noises. Some one has to ensure that everything is a good fit and it will be comfortable to drive. :-)

I need work out the design of the air box and where to run the clutch line. I am thinking under the gearbox.