So for the past while I've been living 350km away from the car, hence why the progress is really slow, but I'm taking Thursday and Friday off this week and putting 4 hard days into it. Sadly I'll only get until Sunday around noon, but I'll try to get the most done I can. I'll also try to make frequent updates over the weekend with pics pics pics.

Anyhow, I've done a bit of work with the car in the mean time so here's the starting point for me this weekend:

Gauge cluster I bought from the previous owner:





Here's a shot right after the bay was painted and I had the electrical harness reinstalled:



I installed the sideskirts properly. When I bought the car, they were held on with huge amounts of urethane. I removed all the urethane with a blade tediously (took forever)... Eventually I had it all cleaned up and removed the clip mounts that involved drilling out a few screws in the skirt back bracing.... The car shell was originally an SR5, so there was only one skirt mounting hole in the rocker panel. I lined everything up and installed them the way they would have been done from the factory. I used stainless nuts as standoffs from the body.




I blasted the pedals then etch primered them (this shot) followed by gloss black.


Here they are installed. Notice how I added the upper mount for the clutch pedal. The previous owner didn't have this mounting point added (the car was auto from the factory), so there was a bit of flex in the pedal with a heavy clutch... I drilled out the spot welds holding the mount from a GTS manual trans car, and welded it on.


Various suspension peices after blasting:



AW11 MR2 manual rack installed:



I now have the supra intermediate shaft and tercel u-joint needed to hook the AE86 power steering column to the mk2 rack. Pics of that later

Gotta mock up the intercooler piping soon...ugh



This is after the brake lines were all done and the Wilwood master was back in.
[img]http://i47.tinypic.com/e7ku86.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i45.tinypic.com/rbeeqe.jpg[/img]

Oh yes!

[img]http://i46.tinypic.com/k1747p.jpg[/img]

New welding setup!

[img]http://i45.tinypic.com/2hhjgqr.jpg[/img]

Stay tuned!

Cant wait to see it done. Always wanted an ae86.

Wow is all I got to say!!! (insert drool here)

Ghislain

I want those doors for my car! I am yet again jealous of your car/build.

Someday I hope to turbo my ae86, but I'll stick with the stock 4AGE till it blows up (saving money until that day happens) and I'll swap in something with a bit more power.

Thomas.

So it's a little after 1:00 am and I just got in from turning wrenches. I got off work today at 4, and then had a 350 KM drive before I could commence

In the five or so hours I had at the car, I installed the Supra steering intermediate shaft and tercel u joint which let me hook my mr2 rack to my power ae86 column. Crazy combo lol.




I centered up the rack, and aligned the car by eye until I get it on the alignment rack. I swapped in the Sparco wheel with detachable hub from my other AE86. I swapped the whole column actually lol.



I gained a nice bit of steering angle doing this steering rack swap while keeping the steering knuckles from my old power rack.




Suspension check! Just need the brakes now



After setting the rack dead center though, with 1.5 turns to lock each way, it appears the position of the outer tie rod is actually farther out on the drivers side.... Is this normal? I suppose no matter how these are adjusted, the overall travel of the tie rod end would be the same wouldn't it? (notice the difference in the amount of exposed thread on the inner tie rods)

Pass side:

Drivers side:


I got some new goodies! I'm redoing a bunch of the fuel lines with -6 an and Aeroquip fittings.




I was going to use this SS manifold, but....



I'm thinking I'll use my heat-wrapped log mani for a while longer. I pulled off the turbo and swapped the log manifold back in.

[img]http://i47.tinypic.com/2l8ddg9.jpg[/img]

Tomorrow I'll try to finish up prepping the motor to be installed in the bay. I have to remove the FWD waterpump and swap in the RWD pump with the associated lines and such. I also have to swap accessory brackets and get my VR crank sensor setup up on a bracket...

Wow im jealous i wish i could build my car from the ground up like that. Could i have it when its done , good job man cant wait till its done.

Well today was slow going as I was trying to get winter tires installed on my daily driver, and I was trying to get a pile of other car related stuff done.

First thing in the morning I went to Mitsubishi to pick up my winter tires (Blizzak LM60 245/40R18). Now today it snowing pretty bad, and my car had COMPLETELY bald summer tires on it... Because of this, I couldn't take the car somewhere to get the tires changed over. I had to bring the wheels... But all my jackstands were in use under the Corolla, so I had to do two rims/tires at a time. I ended up jacking up the back end of the car, and taking two wheels to a rim shop up the street.




After dropping off the rear wheels to the rim shop, I hit up fasteners plus, canadian tire, a sheet metal shop, automotive supplies, and napa. What a bunch of running around. This cut into progress time, but was essential as every errand was related to getting it done.

One of this first things I did was remove the FWD water pump.



I replaced it with the RWD variation with all the factory lines. I didn't snap a pic, but you can see the RWD lines in later pictures of the engine.

Next I replaced the RC 550 injectors I had with a set of Denso 660s that I used to use in my Talon. I found the Densos great, and I'll be close to the limits of the 550s, so I might as well



Lets see....then I bolted on the Fidanza flywheel and Spec clutch, and bolted on any accessory brackets/VR sensors and such to the engine



Time to toss her in!



Bammm!!!



Good day clutch!



Starting to look like a car again...



Rad in



I got mail today! Hydro e-brake and Wilwood proportioning valve. I mocked it up, I'll be welding up a base for it soon.

[img]http://i46.tinypic.com/wsuvsm.jpg[/img]

Anyways, I never did get all four tires changed over today. Two are done, but two rims are still at the shop. My poor car's held up by two jacks lol

[img]http://i48.tinypic.com/2z82hch.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i50.tinypic.com/29ehieb.jpg[/img]

Shweet looking build Mike! Keep up the good work.

Looks like you have quite the collection of bad ass cars. EVO MR would have done it for me.

Put some work in on the car today!

I had been having trouble lately with the sandblasting as the garage is humid and I guess the sand was clumping from the moisture... Anyhow, I finally picked up a massive dryer from princess auto which takes pellets that remove the moisture. I also hooked up my new regulator/particle separator to the system. The result was some great sandblasting

I had these parts roughly cut out before, but today i bead blasted the areas with surface rust, and cut out the metal with holes. I've got almost all the rusty pieces out now thankfully.

Sand everywhere!



I blasted where the plates for the cage were welded in. I guess after they welded the plates in, they didn't put any new paint on underneath.



In around here was pretty bad before. I blasted it all and cut out a section up top. I'm going to be cutting out another piece on the bottom of the seam where you can see the hole:



Oh snap I'm makin' new pieces from sheet metal! For the large patch I made for the bottom of the quarter panel, I used vice grips to bend a coat hanger to the profile of the rocker of the car, and brought the shape to a sheet metal shop. They made up the patch panel piece and I cut it to size.




They fit pretty well!




Gotta make ones for the other side now, and do some more sandblasting before I can weld these puppies in!

Mike, please let me know how that dryer works out and how long those pellets last. I have been having TONS of problems with moisture in my blasting cabinet. I have tried smaller dryers without success, and cant seem to justify huge bucks for a refrigerant dryer. I tried a smaller dessicant drier, and it filled in minutes...would love to hear how this one works..

Ziggy, I have moisture problems also, my air compressor has a small tank and runs lots to keep up. The princess auto stuff worked but the pressure drop was nasty or if the pressure drop was ok, the filter or trap would fill too quickly. Canadian tire stuff was no better.

I have switched to DeVilbiss disposable filters. Minimal pressure drop and they last when painting/sandblasting. DeVilbiss also makes larger filters for more commercial applications.
Although I don't know where you would source them in Ontario as I get them at KMS Tools which is only located in B.C. and AB. Here is a link KMS Tools - filters
Just some more options for you to consider.

Thanks for that info..I am sure I can find those in the US somewhere...and they dont look that expensive. Everything else I tried also gave either HUGE pressure drop or just didn't do the job of removing the moisture...

Are these what you got?

Amazing car man, Very nice work on the build.

New parts!

Big ol box!



It's actually two boxes, here's one opened!



Oh nice! A new hood!



Another box, what's that?



Bam!! A hatch!



Money shot...

Make sure those babys fit proper, those bastards are know for screwing things up with their bad fitment.


What ya' making a road racer or a drift "machine"?

Its looking sweet eather way.

-Manuel

Absolutely B.A. !

So I bolted the hood on the car, tried to close it, and it encountered resistance about half way closed. Turns out Seibon didn't cut out the holes behind the two hinge mounts like the factory setup. These holes allow two hooks above the firewall to fit up into the hood as it closes.

Here's a shot of the hood with the missing hole.



Then I drilled some holes (I could see the indentation of where the recess was supposed to be).



Then I did the other side.



I did up to this point indoors, but next needed air tools, so I headed to the garage. I used the die grinder with a grinder bit to smooth everything out.




This needs to fire soon!



Schpladow!




Next I need to get the window out of this one! I have a lexan window that has a hole for the fuel filler, but I don't really want to run it on the street... I think I'll lower the filler neck slightly, and run regular glass. I'll just have to pop the hatch at the gas station....no biggie.

Wrenched a bit more today!

Hatch glass is in! I also cut down the fuel cell filler neck about 1 inch so I could have the filler below the oem glass window. It was set up for a lexan window with a hole for the fuel filler originally, but that wouldn't work well on the street with rain and such...




Side view... Ill be replacing these lexan windows with either glass or new lexan without the vents... Again, rain + holes = nono...



Next I started to work on my panel gaps in the front end. I screwed in the standoffs for the hood, and adjusted them so the hood was flush with the fenders. Next, I realized the D/S fender needed a little tweaking so I pulled if off the car.




After I put the fender back on, and adjusted the gaps with the power headlight covers, the gaps looked pretty mint!




And finally, a bit more sandblasting and metal work on the rear. Hopefully all this will be done in another weekend or so.

You should grab a pair of carbon fiber head light covers to match with the rest of the carbon bits

Loving this thing, awesome job.

-MSR

love your ae86 build. so jealous of your carbon. i am hoping to start a build like that this year

So last night consisted mainly of beadblasting the front and rear rotors, caliper mounting brackets, and the calipers themselves.

Here's how the calipers looked when I got them. Previous owner apparently painted them some silly teal colour, then let brake fluid get all over them. Not good enough...



Nothing a bit of blasting can't fix though!



Here's a front rotor. 11.5 inches. I mainly blasted the hat and the slots but gave a quick once over on the outer friction surface. I will be getting this turned slightly before reassembly to remove all the overspray on the braking surface.



Painted...



And lastly the BBK brackets to move the calipers out from the hub to accommodate the larger rotors:

This build is awesome! I only can dream of a AE86 build like that!

Keep up the amazing workmen ship!

So the brake components are all painted with 3 coats of VHT caliper paint. They came out pretty nice, and will sit inside the house for 7 days to cure before I have the rotors turned so I can install them.




I also cleaned and assembled the rear axle. The backing plates are still curing, so one they're all dry I'll be able to torque in the axle retainers. It has Ford 31 spline axles, 3.73 ratio R+P and an Auburn Pro LSD. Interested to see how it locks up!

I also sorted out all the rear suspension bits. The five link is all ready to go, but I still need to modify one of the technotoytuning traction brackets (for the larger diameter axle)




Lastly, I removed the rear lexan windows. This will make painting the interior of the car easier, but the main reason they're out is to swap in some real glass windows. Given I'll be daily driving this car in the summer, I don't really want to have rain coming into the car through the vents that were on the lexan windows.



The next thing that will be on my plate tomorrow will be to finish sand blasting the area where I cut out some rusty metal. Most of the cutting is already done, and new metal will be welded in soon after I shoot the areas with weld through primer.



Im suprised the rust was so far along as the entire car is solid with the exception of the drivers side spring perch area, and the bottom of the rear quarters in front of the wheel wells. This has all been media blasted and all the cancer cut out.

So today I didn't get a whole lot of time in at the car, but I did manage get a bit of sandblasting done in the area where I cut out the rust in the perch. I will be spraying the area with weld through primer, and welding in new metal hopefully in the next week or two.



Here's what the outside looks like. Still needs to be blasted.



I also did the final assembly on the rear axle. The Toyota backing plates came out nice after modding them to fit the Ford 8.8 housing ends.



Lastly, I modded the second T3 traction bracket to fit the larger diameter axel tube

So I wanted to get my brakes installed today, and the pinion angle at ride height figured out so I could fab up my transmission mount. Below is how far I got with it...

I cleaned up some rough welds in the hatch (mostly removing slag) and prepped all the areas I sandblasted with chassis saver. I'll be using weld through zinc primer for the patch panels I'm fabbing up.



I'll be masking the front half of the interior, and painting the rear half from the B pillar back. Just waiting on the hvlp gun I want to come in stock for this...

I managed to wrestle the rear axle into the car by myself. It weighs a bloody ton compared to the stock toyota one



Rear brakes...



Here it is sitting on its own weight. A first for me with this car lol. I can now get the ride height set and set my pinion angle.



Traction brackets bring the lower links nice and parallel with the ground



Nice!



Soon to be secure transmission...



Shifter position...



I got the front rotors on, and the caliper mounting brackets, but I need to pick up some hardware for the caliper itself tomorrow morning...




Shot of the engine bay

[img]http://i44.tinypic.com/67p8jl.jpg[/img]

Amazing car!

WOW

So I removed the diffuser that was on the car originally. I'll have some pics of that process after, but the SD card they're on is a bit messed up...

Here's the JDM bumper before I cleaned it up:



OEM Toyota bumper brackets!



Installed! I primed the rear section with weld through primer, and later on I'll get the rear panels smoothed out. Pics of that soon.



Measured the wheel spacers I need in the rear. 1 and 1/8th inches...



Horrid fitment lol



Moved onto the front brakes! Here's the BBK caliper mounting brackets



Passenger side:



Driver side:



Rear hatch area...



Took off the front bumper, in preparation for the JDM treuno bumper. I also cleaned up the engine bay a bit...

Damn this is a sick build
i wont be happy till i can build my car up like that it wont be my rs ofcourse
but damn mike you got skills
now i know who to call when im building mine up i hate to steal but ima gona have to, sorry Mcdonalds but IM LOVING IT!!!.... lol.

As promised, here's some shots of the rear diffuser mount removal.

But first, lets toss an AEM wideband into the daily driver!

I had an extra wideband bung added to my Ultimate Racing downpipe, so installation of the sensor was a breeze.



I followed the factory front o2 sensor wire to a grommet in the passenger floor well and routed my AEM cable through the same hole.




You'd never say it was even there



For now the gauge is just sitting in my cup holder as my gauge pod is still in the mail. Pics of that when its installed...

Now onto the Toyota destruction. Here's the extended rear section the way it was to fit up against the diffuser:




The diffuser mount came off fairly easily, but I tore the factory metal a bit getting off the weld points. I'll patch this from inside with some new metal and grind down the welds soon. I'm happy just to have the clean rear lines back with a real bumper...





Lots of bondo being removed to bring the rear valance back to bare metal


[img]http://i39.tinypic.com/25at6yx.jpg[/img]

Fuuuuuuuuuu!!!!

[img]http://i41.tinypic.com/5vwuaq.jpg[/img]

Yesterday I was back at the transmission mount situation...

First I heightened the rear by about 1 inch to even it out with the front. I don't want the car sitting too low for slalom and such, or I won't have any suspension travel. Setting the rear height will allow me to ballpark the pinion angle so I can figure where I want the tail shaft of the transmission to sit. I should have some spacers for the rear soon to correct the fitment.



This is the rear mount I was working on, using 6 inch flat bar. Upon further thought, I'm going to do this over with 4 inch stuff. I was initially measuring the cross section of the transmission tunnel from the four stock mounting holes. I've since moved this around a bit, making the new mount more narrow.



So I got started with a template, and after a few tries I got the bolt pattern from under the car onto paper



Then it was time for some circles!



I traced the center diameter of the trans mount onto another piece of paper, and overlayed it to scribe out where the 4 bolt locations are.




Then I lined up everything to be parallel with the front of my other mount template, and transfered over the measurements.



BAM!! A template:

The metal bar place was closed over the weekend, so I'll get back to the trans mount at a later date.

The next thing on the list was to prime the inner areas behind the front doors (inside the rear quarter panels). I had sandblasted these areas, and now I'll be hitting them with some weld through primer and working on the new metal pieces to fit in.

Here's what I've come up with for the driver's side:




This is the stuff I'll be using for the areas to be welded. Zinc coating weld thru primer.



Starting to mask the area to be sprayed...



Drivers side painted:



And the passenger side:



Patch panel and some other random pieces sprayed:



And finally, I got my tool for measuring the pinion angle



More updates soon...

Great updates, I really enjoying following this thread.

How are you enjoying the X? I took one for a drive recently, and felt it was much more well rounded than the IX.
I think I'm leaning towards getting the X rather than the IX

So I took Friday off to get some extra work in today. Things went pretty well!

I started off with the transmission x-member. I picked up some 4 inch 1/8" bar stock and chopped it up (using my paper template from a couple of posts back). This was my first time doing any real welding so I'm happy with the turn out.




Bam!



I had to trim the shifter hole forward about an inch. I dropped the transmission to do this, and grabbed the saber-saw. The position is pretty well centered now.



After ensuring everything fit well with my new x-member, I took it back out and wire wheeled the welds in preparation for etch primer.



Primed



Painted.. This will be ready to bolt back on tomorrow morning.



Next I poked around at the intake manifold a bit. Its a smallport manifold, being converted for RWD. I chopped the ends off the manifold and fabricated new ones...





Lastly, I finally welded in one of the new rear quarter panel dogs legs. Welding the thin sheet metal was MUCH harder!

[img]http://i39.tinypic.com/6ylesg.jpg[/img]

Bottom spot welded in...

[img]http://i39.tinypic.com/2mxnbfd.jpg[/img]

All done!

[img]http://i44.tinypic.com/14kbeq1.jpg[/img]

After I finish up the other side, I will work on mounts for the rear bolt hole on the skirt end caps. You can see here how the end caps cover up the whole patched area.

[img]http://i39.tinypic.com/2mga0bd.jpg[/img]

Peter the Evo is great. I doubt I'd have wanted an older evo as a daily driver. If it was a track only race car I'd probably take a 9, but the X is the winner on the street. The SST transmission is super awesome too.

So today I went to bolt my trans x-member in, and one of the four bolts stripped out. I ended up enlarging the forward mount holes with a larger M12 1.25 tap.

Finally in...



Next I whipped up a mount for my hydro ebrake. It'll get welded on soon. I just need the short M8 hardware. The holes are tapped and ready.




Next I moved onto body work. Here's a little patch I whipped up.



Here's the passenger side rear quarter dogs leg I finally got around to fabricating...



Here it is welded in! Thanks to roaster for doing the welding for me tonight as I was taking care of cutting out other patches.



Another random patch I'm working on...



Drivers side primed:



Passenger side...

Sup brahs? About damn time I post an update lol.

As you may already know, during the week days I'm 350 km from my car, so I can only get in one or two hard days a week at it max. This week, I decided I'd try to get something done back in Gander where I work. It's a small town, so there's not much out here other than a Canadian Tire/Dominion/Wal Mart)

I did, however, end up finding a welding shop. I brought them out my intake manifold, for which I had already fab'd block off plates, and told em what I needed done!

Here's a shot of the chopped mani and the plates:




I'm converting a smallport 4age fwd intake manifold to fit my rwd setup. Pretty straight forward. The guy ended up doing a pretty nice job on the mani. It's a bit dirty right now, but I'm going to bead blast it again to make it fresh prior to the install.




Used a large NPT tap for the GM open element air temp sensor.



I'll be making a bracket soon for the throttle cable on the back of the intake mani this weekend hopefully. I'd like to have my whole intake system (ic piping/ic/bov) done the weekend after next... Lets see how it goes.

Nice work every time

This thread eats internet connections like George Bush eats kittens!