Soarer Central: Archive through September 11, 2008

Soarer Central Track and Major Rebuild Car Projects Toymax Sports Sedan Soarer Archive through September 11, 2008

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Gareth Richards
TryHard
Bristol UK
GTT-L twin turbo auto / Aristo Mk1 TT / Lexus GS300 SE Mk2

Posts: 279
Reg: 07-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Monday, August 11, 2008 - 11:30 pm, by: Gareth Richards (Garethr)

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Andrew McKellar wrote on Friday, August 08, 2008 - 07:38 pm:
Here's something of interest. I have one of the R154 gearboxes to put into the car. I've read a fair bit of stuff about the 1st gear thrust washer and people who have had problems with it. Here is a good write-up on the issue:
http://www.turbosupras.com/pages/en/pages/technical/R154.htm

In this article and several others like it, the fix for the problem is referenced as "a new thrust washer made of chromoly for added strength". This particular article puts a $6 price on it too.

I cannot find such a replacement washer, and I've looked in a lot of places. If anyone out there knows where they exist (other than in the ether), I'd love to know about it.

You could try Marlin Crawler in the US. They do a lot of upgrade stuff for Toyota gearboxes, including the R15* series
http://www.marlincrawler.com

According to this article:
The Marlin-built R-series transmissions use a heavy-duty rear thrust-bearing retainer and a new thrust washer made of chromoly to take the abuse of off-roading and to support the larger first gear.

.

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 48
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 05:36 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Thanks for the suggestion Gareth. I had already ordered a couple of parts from Marlin, including new shifter bushings and stuff, but they were out of stock of the bearing retainers (and I gathered weren't going to be re-stocking soon), and weren't selling the thrust washers.

The engineers are now looking at the problem, but of course engineers come up with very complicated answers...

In other news the car went off to Sydney Soda Blasting today to have the interior blasted clean. I'll post pictures when it comes home (which will hopefully be tomorrow).

Cheers,

Andrew

Shaun Chiew
TryHard
VIC
Soarer TT

Posts: 198
Reg: 11-2007

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 11:58 pm, by: Shaun Chiew (Senk9)

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Absolutely brilliant work log Andrew, I admire your dedication and attention to detail, you certainly put my efforts to shame!

I will be watching with great interest

:-)

Keep up the good work

My build - http://soarercentral.com/sc-forum/messages/51875/240331.html

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 49
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 08:02 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Hey Shaun. Had a good read through your thread - excellent stuff. What ended up happening with the fuel surge? Did you fix it? I like the videos, and I'm glad you made it up to Wakefield Park - now I have times to aim for! Our best time around there in the Corolla was a 1:11.81, so hopefully I'll be going a bit quicker with twice as many cylinders.

I read your comments on the diff with interest. Not sure that the budget allows for a torsen diff in mine yet; a welded diff worked wonders in the Corolla, so it'll have to do for the Soarer too.

Don't admire my dedication to detail too much - my boss says I'm too pedantic, and The Handbrake calls me anal. Sometimes it's a burden...

The car is still away getting the interior blasted, so no progress there. But I did get down to the brake shop today and got some more details on the calipers and rotors that are going on the front end. We weren't sure up to now what diameter rims we'd have to run to allow adequate clearance of the calipers, and it was going to be a toss-up between 17" and 18". Problem was, the 17" option provided for a lot more choices as far as slicks go (both size and compound), but they might not have had the clearance. Anyway, got it checked out today and the 17" rims will have plenty of clearance, which is great.

Also got another couple of quotes for the roll cage (or "rollover protection structure") today. Interesting how the same cage, with the same materials built to the same standard can vary in price by some $2500. Made the decision on who to go with, but will now have to wait 2 months to get it done as he is snowed under with work. Not to worry though, there's still plenty of stuff to do. Hopefully I'll get some more done this weekend.

Cheers,

Andrew

Shaun Chiew
TryHard
VIC
Soarer TT

Posts: 201
Reg: 11-2007

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 08:20 pm, by: Shaun Chiew (Senk9)

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The fuel surge happened only on left hander turns, which was fairly annoying. The dog leg at Wakefield and the sweeper at Winton were reduced to coasting along with ever so slight throttle, and lots of attention being paid in between sessions to the fuel level. Fixed it with a Bosch 044 external fuel pump and 1.5L surge tank, and never saw fuel surge again.

I will definitely be going back to Wakefield in the next 12 months, so I'm sure we will be in contact

:-)

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 51
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 09:01 am, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Excellent Shaun, I'll certainly come and have a look if you make it back to Wakefield. Some of the NSW Sports Sedan guys are heading down to Winton for a State round this year, and I'm aiming to probably do the same with the Soarer next year.

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 52
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 09:25 am, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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THE CONTINUING WORK ON THE INTERIOR...

Got the car back from the soda blasting shop on Thursday afternoon, just in time for me to get some bits done on it on Friday. The mission for the soda blasting was not to strip the entire floorpan, but to get the nasty compound off all the seams to allow them to be welded, and to generally prepare the car for the ROPS to be welded in. Here's what it turned out like:

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I spent a bit of time on Friday doing a bit more cleaning up on the floorpan, wire brushing any remaining bits of gunk and using Prepsol to remove the last remnants of the tar residue. A couple of areas of the floor had exposed metal, but they weren't part of what will be welded when the seams or ROPS are done, so I also hit them up with some etch primer to protect them.

Having borrowed a mate's MIG welder on Thursday night, I also got out one of the removed front guards and cut it into pieces with the angle grinder, then set about welding it back together. It was all practice for doing the seams, and after a couple of goes the welds were turning out OK, but in the end I realised two things:

1. My welding sucks when it comes to fine work on thin material like floorpan seams.
2. I'm smart enough to realise it and call in someone who knows what they're doing.

So my brother-in-law is coming down from sunny Queensland in a couple of weeks, and he'll do the seam welding for me. He's an excellent welder with years of experience, and he really knows what he's talking about. And all I have to do is look after him for the weekend, and make sure the Bundy is on tap.

Anyway, I also spent a bit of time on Friday air blasting the bi-carb soda from all the nooks and crannies. That stuff gets everywhere and is a really fine, light powder. There's still heaps of it in and around the car, and I have visions of driving the thing at Eastern Creek 5 years from now and still having a dust cloud form in the cabin.

The final thing I did on Friday was a bit of prep work on the engine bay, getting it ready for painting. More on that in the next post.

Cheers,

Andrew

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 53
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 09:41 am, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Did only a couple of hours work on the car on Saturday, but achieved a little bit. Took some measurements of the various suspension bushes, because the neoprene replacements are listed as a couple of different sizes. I'm happy enough that of the various size options, this car has the larger bushes in all cases.

Having bought some clear polycarbonate during the week, I also look a couple of templates for the door windows. The process was simple enough - I attached the Perspex to the window using some small g-clamps (being careful not to scratch either side) like so:

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Once it was all firmly in place I marked out the edges of the glass onto the Perspex with a texta:

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That done I took the glass away and there you have it, a new window ready to be cut out. I'll be doing that with a jigsaw with a fine blade.

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I don't actually need the windows yet of course, but I sold the windows so had to use them as templates before they left. So I won't be cutting the shapes out yet as they store better in the rectangular shape they currently are.

Saturday also saw the engine bay get painted, which I did in matt black. Here's how it turned out:

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Ben Socratous
Goo Roo
SA
I am the fibreglass/kevlar/carbonfibre king!

Posts: 1768
Reg: 07-2005

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Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 09:48 am, by: Ben Socratous (Socrates)

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Starting to look pretty good there mate. Cheers for the black engine bay picture, I was toying with the idea of that now most of my bay is now empty!

FYI for anyone else wanting to strip out sound deadening... dry ice FTW!!! Cover the floor pan in little dry ice pellets, wait about 30 mins, then give the floor a few decent whacks with a hammer and it all shatters off. Stripped out a mates Z20 in around and hour

:-)

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 54
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 09:48 am, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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You can see that the rear cross member is yet to be done, because I want to attack the rust properly on that bit. I also left the area with the chassis number stamped on it unpainted, just to keep the number easy to read for the scrutineers.

So with the delay in the seam welding and ROPS installation (2 weeks for the seams, 2 months for the ROPS), what's next? Over the next week I'll be pulling the suspension out, preparing and painting the inner guards, and putting the suspension in with new bushes and coilovers all round.

Cheers,

Andrew

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 55
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 09:50 am, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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No worries Ben, hope you like the other pics too. It does look pretty good in the flesh, all the one colour.

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 62
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 09:30 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Sorry for the few days' delay folks, due to an illness in the family. Not too much has been done on the car over the last week or so, due to that illness and the fact that I was away for a few days.

There was a bit of a delay in getting the suspension bushes, mostly due to my mobile phone battery going flat when I was away and me not getting the message from the suspension shop. But I got a call today and all the bushes and the new lower ball joints are in, which I'll pick up tomorrow. They couldn't locate any upper ball joints, so I'll have to have a look around for them.

Meanwhile, the fibreglass wide-body kit arrived from the USA on Friday, which I managed to get to my place on Saturday. So at least I got to tinker a bit with the kit on Sunday.

This is really now a story told by photos, but I will add a few comments:

The kit was bought from RACEONUSA in the States, and cost US$699, which worked out at about AU$810 with the exchange rate as good as it was at the time. As the good old Aussie dollar has now fallen, I'm glad I got in when I did.

That price did not include delivery. My dad shopped around getting prices from various freight companies, and it ended up costing about AU$1,200 to get the parts here - total cost of everything shipped to my door was about $2,000. The quotes for shipping went as high as $4,500 too, so it pays to shop around!

A lot of money I know, but when you consider a Vertex kit will cost you $3,000 here, I reckon I've saved some money.

The parts are all fibreglass, and I'm impressed with the quality of the work in them. They are obviously lighter than the parts they replace, but are plenty rigid/strong enough for my use. They do need to be properly finished off and prepared for painting, but I expected that.

The fit on the car was also quite good, with hardly any work to be done in that area. Keep in mind that this is going to be a race car, not a road or show car, so I don't have to put as much effort into this area. You'd want to spend a fair bit of time making everything spot-on if it was your pride and joy road car. Well, I would anyway.

The kit arrived in two HUGE boxes, all pieces individually bubble-wrapped to the max, like so:

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The parts also came with bags of fitting instructions and mounting brackets, screws and things. The instructions mainly consisted of "leave it to the experts" advice, which I won't be doing...

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Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 63
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 09:43 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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And here's what the parts looked like unwrapped:

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The front bumper/spoiler I'm pretty happy with, although it will need to be modified to suit my racing needs. Here's a direct comparison with the original front (notice the grille opening, which I think looks the part):

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It is also wider than the original by a good amount:

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And lowered about 100mm from the original:

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Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 64
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 09:51 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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The undertray area of the new front is bigger than the original bar:

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But it is nowhere near big enough for my needs. This is where vision and imagination will help you to understand where I'm taking this... The towel on the ground represents the approximate dimensions of the new undertray/splitter that we'll be making up. The rules say it must not go back any further than the leading edge of the front wheels, so we'll take it right to that limit:

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Not shown in the photos is we'll also be extending the front/bottom/leading edge forward of the spoiler to the maximum limit (which I can't remember exactly now but I think is another 200mm forward of the original foremost point of the bodywork).

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 65
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 10:11 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Once the kit was unpacked, I couldn't help myself and had to spend a bit of time checking what it was like actually on the car. Note these next few photos are VERY rough mock-ups only, just to see how things sit on the car - they are not meant to be perfect, and are only held on with gaffer tape:

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And this is my favourite photo of the whole project so far. I reckon it just looks horny, like a Sports Sedan should:

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And we mocked up the rear end as well, just for ••••• and giggles. I now know how much of the original steel guards we can remove - which is most of them! You can also see the side skirt in one of the photos:

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The rear bumper is going to be nice, and the diffuser underneath it (which is part of the planned aerodynamic design for the car) has already been started:

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Putting the panels on also gave me another chance to properly measure the guard clearances for the wheels, and compare them to my previous calculations:

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So that at this point (although yet to be confirmed by comparing tyre availability) the rims sizes will be:

Front: 17" x 9.5"
Rear: 17" x 11"

That should get the power down... I'll probably end up buying a set of four of each size, so that I have a set of wets to run with as well.

Anyway, that's about all I have to add for now, other than to say that because of the aforementioned family illness my brother-in-law has been here for a week, and has been taking care of seam welding in between hospital visits, for which I am truly grateful to him. More on the seam welding in the next post.

Cheers,

Andrew

Maurice Diggler
Goo Roo
Victoria
TR44 HF

Posts: 2018
Reg: 06-2006

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 11:23 pm, by: Maurice Diggler (Mau_rice)

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Andrew McKellar wrote on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 10:11 pm:
That should get the power down...

If you are only planning on running a V8 in there, 11's are a massive overkill lol.

Serious question though, how much lighter is the fibreglass bar compared to the stock one? That kit replaces almost every panel on the car except the doors and bootlid, I'm curious as to the weight savings as I'm looking down that path soon when I get a respray.

I'm not really sure how fibreglass panels compare to stock ones weight wise!

Cheers.

Michael McKellar
Newbie
Overijssel
Mini

Posts: 1
Reg: 08-2008

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Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - 05:18 am, by: Michael McKellar (Mickmini)

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Maurice Diggler wrote on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 11:23 pm:
If you are only planning on running a V8 in there, 11's are a massive overkill lol

Hi, I'm Andrew's brother. Part time armchair race engineer...

As to tyre overkill, it is a circuit racer. Just as much about lateral grip as it is about putting power down in a straight line. And a 15 lap race of Eastern Creek lasts a lot longer than the 15 seconds that a drag car has to get from tyres. You want enough tyre to have it last the race with consistent grip. And unlike a street car or drag car, braking grip is often where you win or lose a race.

And it won't be a stock V8. If they can get 700-800hp hp from a 6L chev in a sports sedan, I see no reason not to get up there from an engine that while lacking in capacity has much more going for it in terms of breathing capability. All you need is compression, valve duration + lift and enough fuel to make a big bang.

As to weight I have already suggested that he weigh everything coming out and everything going in, but hey there are probably more important things to do. Like actually building it.

I would like to say I am helping with that, but I live on the other side of the world at the moment.

cheers
michael

Ben Socratous
Goo Roo
SA
I am the fibreglass/kevlar/carbonfibre king!

Posts: 1795
Reg: 07-2005

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Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - 06:45 am, by: Ben Socratous (Socrates)

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Maurice, as for weight savings on fibreglass panels is much of a muchness. I think that my fibreglass front bar is actually heavier than the standard plastic one (it will be a lot heavier by the time I finish all the ducting and underbody diffusers!). Weight savings are more to be found in replacing the metal panels, ie bonnet, boot, fenders and doors.

Also the quality of the work and materials has a HUGE baring on the final weight. If you want to save some serious kilos off your car, get some panels made up in carbon, or even a carbon/kevlar mix. Made a vented bonnet and boot for a Z20 in carbon, both the finished panels only weigh 13kg together! Was a c*nt of a job though, ergo the motivation to do a Z30 version is lacking somewhat

Michael Long
TryHard
victoria
UZZ31

Posts: 264
Reg: 03-2006

Rating: N/A
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - 12:17 pm, by: Michael Long (Longy)

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although im you have found the site already, if you haven't head to v-eight.com. 1uz dedicated, a couple of guys have got 300rwkw NA out of, however im not sure of your budget or theirs. loving the project btw

Jamie Metropoulos
TryHard
wa
lexus v8 LEXPLAY

Posts: 137
Reg: 10-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - 01:16 pm, by: Jamie Metropoulos (Lexdoit)

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looks good mate. wish i new you were getting that kit i would of got one too. could of saved on postage. love the work

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 66
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - 09:42 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Michael McKellar wrote on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - 05:18 am:
As to tyre overkill, it is a circuit racer. Just as much about lateral grip as it is about putting power down in a straight line. And a 15 lap race of Eastern Creek lasts a lot longer than the 15 seconds that a drag car has to get from tyres. You want enough tyre to have it last the race with consistent grip. And unlike a street car or drag car, braking grip is often where you win or lose a race.

See Maurice, now you've upset the engineer sleeping in the corner! I'd like to officially welcome my brother to the world of Soarers, and add to his comments only by saying that my answer would have been "but it'll look horny". Not as technical I know, but that's why I'm merely the driver and he's the engineer.

As for the fibreglass Maurice (and adding to Ben's comments, which I agree with), some areas of the car will have only a slight weight advantage, if any.

The front guards are pretty much the same, bearing in mind they are wider versions than the originals, so the extra material cancels out the lighter weight of it.

The rear guards will be a little lighter, mostly by virtue of the fact that the originals are lined on the inside with sound deadener and outside with various plastic trim components. No plastic trim will remain anywhere on the car.

The bonnet and boot lid will be substantially lighter in fibreglass form, and the doors massively so. But keep in mind the doors will now also not have wiring looms, windows, speakers and all the other heavy bits in them, which is where a lot of the weight saving comes from.

The rear bumper is pretty even with the original.

The front bumper is slightly heavier than the original, but is physically much bigger so that's to be expected. It will be even heavier by the time I finish with it, much along the lines of what Ben is talking about.

Also Ben, the budget won't be stretching to carbon fibre just yet, and your comments about the work involved I completely agree with. It'll remain fibreglass for now...

Michael (Long, not my brother) - yep, have seen the V8 website. I'm almost 100% certain their budget is 10 times mine! But that's OK, this was always a long term project - it gets on track ASAP with a standard engine, while I take a year or two to source the parts and build a monster. Glad you like the project; I hate it but it just has to be done!

Jamie - Thanks for your comments. I have sent you a PM.

Cheers,

Andrew

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 67
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - 09:55 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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I should also mention that the seam welding is about 2/3 completed, though it may be a few more days before we can do any more. Here's a couple of photos of my brother-in-law Andrew hard at work:

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And here's the floor on the drivers side with some of the welding done:

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Since these photos were taken a fair bit more of the welding has been completed, and these areas that were done first have been cleaned and primed, which I'll show photos of once the whole floor is completed.

Also had a minor problem with the new ball joints today - they were the wrong ones. I've already returned them and will be chasing the whole suspension thing up once the ROPS is completed.

Until next time...

Cheers,

Andrew

Joshua Rao
DieHard
WA
JZZ30 vvti GT-L

Posts: 962
Reg: 09-2006

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, August 29, 2008 - 12:56 am, by: Joshua Rao (Soaren1)

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Coooooooooooooooool!

Bobby Green
TryHard
QLD
TT

Posts: 150
Reg: 09-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, August 29, 2008 - 03:50 pm, by: Bobby Green (Nash)

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Awesome work so far.

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 71
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 09:18 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Thanks for your comments Joshua and Bobby. The work continues...

Today we completed all the seam welding of the floor pan. Then we cleaned the whole lot up, and gave it a good dose of etch primer. Photos will be up in the next few days.

The welding of the seams penetrated through to the underside of the floor, meaning the thin layer of sound deadener on the underside ended up with holes burnt through it everywhere. That meant I spent about an hour under the car with the wire brush attachment on the drill, hacking away the deadener and cleaning up the welds. Then the underside was cleaned with Prepsol and etch primed as well.

While I was at it I also cleaned and primed the areas inside the front and rear guards as well. Some of the welding affected the outside of the firewall in the engine bay, burning the paint and left over sound deadener when it penetrated. So that area got a good clean up and prime as well.

The inner guards and the underside will be painted matt black later in the week, and I'll post photos once that's done as well.

Over the weekend we also put the driver's seat in the car, just to have a bit of a play with where it will end up being positioned. Things to consider were the length of my arms and legs, which determine the length of the custom steering column and the location of the pedal box; the overall height of the seat, which is quite low in the Soarer which equals lower centre of gravity (which is good!); and where the seat fits laterally, because the closer to the centre it is, the better the balance will be.

Overall, I'm happy with the position that the seat will end up in. I would have liked it a little closer to the transmission tunnel, but it was prevented from being any closer due to the "bulge" in the tunnel where the gearbox bell housing will be. Due to that bulge the pedal box needs to be a little more towards the outside of the car, so the seat has to move across as well. It's not much, and there's plenty of room the play with there if I eventually go with a wider seat.

So with the seat position determined and the seam welding done, the car is now ready for the ROPS installation. I'll be tinkering with a couple of other little bits and pieces until that's ready to be done, which I'll tell you about when I do them.

Photos of the work so far will be up in a few days.

Cheers,

Andrew

David Grab
TryHard
SA
T78

Posts: 451
Reg: 01-2008

Rating: N/A
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Monday, September 01, 2008 - 01:01 am, by: David Grab (Blastedbyasoarer)

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Hey Andrew great work mate. What colour are you planning on painting her? I reckon matt or satin black would look very tough on her as a race car. Can wait to see more pic.

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 72
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, September 02, 2008 - 09:43 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Hi David - interesting thoughts on the colour, but no it won't be black. Blue is the order of the day, with some graphics that will make it look fast.

So here's one for everybody - three cheers to the person who can tell me what colour the car will actually be, based on this paint code:

WRO2C

Good luck!

Now, on to business. I promised photos, and here they come. These are of the floorpan now that the seam welding and priming has been done:

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As you can see, the paranoia about rust has ensured that everything is properly coated with primer. Here is a close-up of some of the welds:

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The welding is done in stitches rather than all the way along the seams. This strengthens and stiffens the floor pan significantly, but still allows flex in areas of weakness, such as corners, where (if it was welded completely) the welds and the parent metal would fatigue and crack, which is bad. And the welding engineer and the materials engineer said that this is just not to happen. So stitch welding it is.

As mentioned, the underside also had to be cleaned and primed where the welds penetrated through, which is shown in the photos here. These areas will be painted black again soon.

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As you can also see, the seat was placed in position so that accurate placing of the ROPS and the pedal box are achieved. The seat is not fixed in place at all, but just sitting where it needs to be. Hopefully by the time I get the call from the ROPS man, it will be fixed in place. If not, it doesn't matter, as at least I know where it is supposed to go and we can take the other measurements from there:

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Also as previously mentioned, the areas inside the front and rear guards have been cleaned and primed, as shown here:

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So now the car is nearly ready for the ROPS. Just a couple of minor things to do, such as remove these funny plates that cover the inside of the rear wheel arches. They are tacked on with spot welds, and hit with a luscious coating of adhesive as well. What the point of their existence is, I cannot tell. Maybe something to do with sound-proofing. Whatever, they have to go - got to lose weight!

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So that's it in a nutshell, so to speak.

More soon,

Andrew

Maurice Diggler
Goo Roo
Victoria
TR44 HF

Posts: 2059
Reg: 06-2006

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Wednesday, September 03, 2008 - 01:11 am, by: Maurice Diggler (Mau_rice)

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Andrew McKellar wrote on Tuesday, September 02, 2008 - 09:43 pm:
So here's one for everybody - three cheers to the person who can tell me what colour the car will actually be, based on this paint code:

WRO2C

Subaru blue? WR and C in there... What am I doing... I'm going to bed lol.

Michael McKellar
Newbie
Overijssel
Mini

Posts: 2
Reg: 08-2008

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Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 04:00 am, by: Michael McKellar (Mickmini)

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Andrew McKellar wrote on Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 09:18 pm:
if I eventually go with a wider seat

Wider seat?
hope you are not planning on putting on weight

michael

James Harris
Goo Roo
QLD
XTR T-66 Turbo

Posts: 1869
Reg: 07-2005

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Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 07:30 pm, by: James Harris (Haro)

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hahaha

enter - smart ass brother !

Good to see sibling rivalry doesnt die down even after many years haha

Great thread Andrew - loving the read and the pics

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 73
Reg: 06-2008

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Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 10:45 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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What can I tell you, he's the gay brother. There's one in every family. Have you found yours yet?

Seriously though, I'm not planning on getting wider, but a bigger, more supportive seat with appropriate head/neck support may be in order.

So there.

Joel King
Tinkerer
New South Wales
Soarer GT-T

Posts: 49
Reg: 11-2007

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Friday, September 05, 2008 - 07:13 am, by: Joel King (Twinturbos_rock_my_chasis)

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Andrew, I know I am probably going to get flames a fair bit, if your keen on a v8 why not do a GM/holden LS conversion?

They are cheap and plentiful, make a fair bit of power stock and with simple breathing mods and tuning they put down good power in land barge commondoors.....

Plus as its a common engine aftermarket bits are plentiful....

There is obvious drawbacks as well, such as gearbox.... fabricating it so it will match up with the engine and/or modifying the tunnel to fit the gearbox......

Just an idea

:-)

P.S AWESOME BUILD thus far! congrats and keep it up!!!

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 75
Reg: 06-2008

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Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 06:39 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Hi Joel,

No flames so far... Your idea is not that unreasonable, and in fact we have thought about it. For a couple of reasons we decided to stick with the 1UZ:

1. It is still Toyota. Every race car so far has been a Toyota inside and out, so it is kind of a family tradition (except for the aforementioned brother, who has a Mini).
2. We had contemplated a 1UZ in the Corolla as some kind of zany experiment. And it would have fitted in too, but then we would be looking at new brakes, suspension, drivetrain, etc., so it just wasn't worth the effort. But the idea of playing with a 1UZ still stuck.
3. It bolts straight in, and the gearbox fits (with the appropriate bell housing of course). That said, you can get a LS/R154 bell housing too.
4. Part of the experimenting will be to see how far we can push this engine, budget permitting. Other engines have already been done to death.
5. There are lots of Chevs, Fords, LS engines, rotaries and turbo-charged monsters out there in the Sports Sedan world. There are no 1UZ's at all. I like being different - also part of the reason why I went with a Soarer in the first place.
6. They are cheap to buy.
7. They are very lightweight.

All that said, at some stage in the development I may find that everything about the car is as I want it to be, in terms of performance. It will be at that time that I will consider changing engines to something with A LOT more power.

And I already have some simple breathing mods in line for the 1UZ too mate.

Cheers,

Andrew

Spencer Cameron
Newbie
NSW
JZZ30 (converted Manual)

Posts: 1
Reg: 04-2008

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Monday, September 08, 2008 - 04:39 pm, by: Spencer Cameron (Switchio)

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Awesome project Andrew!

I cant tell you how much i'd like to do this to my own car. (cant really see myself taking it out of rego mind you..

)

Its great to see someone going through with a project like this, and then taking the time to document it and share all the details with the rest of us.

Out of interest, you mentioned new ball joints above. Are you going to be using the factory suspension arms? If so, what are you going to do about camber (i mean, if it isn't fixed by category rules)?

Keep up the good work,

Spencer

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 77
Reg: 06-2008

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Monday, September 08, 2008 - 07:56 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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I know you from somewhere, don't I Spencer?

Ball joints and factory suspension arms. Interesting point you raise there. It would seem the ball joints may not be removable/replacable without doing the whole arm - Toyota quoted me mates rates of $1200 per upper control arm, and nearly $500 per lower control arm, and insist that the ball joints cannot be pressed out of the current arms.

Very expensive parts when you think about it, especially when you consider the current ball joints aren't actually damaged in any way, and will probably last for some time yet. But it did get us thinking. To fabricate another upper control arm, with a removable ball joint, would be relatively easily, and a lot cheaper than buying an original piece. And by manufacturing one, we could then incorporate an adjustment for camber, which we will need when lowering the car tends to bring about positive camber (and we don't want that!). The rules are free in relation to camber.

So, yes, the plan is to make our own upper control arms. The lower ones are a little more complex, and for the price it is probably just as easy to buy new originals.

Unless somebody out there already knows of adjustable, aftermarket upper and lower arms with removable ball joints, that is...

In the mean time, and to keep costs down, it will run initially with the original arms and ball joints, which are in quite good condition. They'll be replaced when necessary in the future.

In fact, the car is off to the suspension shop this week, where 90% of the new suspension components will be fitted - bushes, new coilovers, etc. - and the steering rack will be reconditioned.

The gearbox is now also reconditioned and rebuilt, with new bearings, 1st gear selector fork and a new 1st gear thrust washer (plus a couple of other mods). The whole rebuild cost $750, which is expensive. But less expensive (in my estimation) than having to rebuild the whole box (or replace it) if I let it slide now and it blows up later. Call it the cost of reliability.

I also ordered the set of extractors for the engine, from Neil at Rush Imports in Queanbeyan. Neil gave them to me for an extra-special price just because I mentioned him here and will put stickers on the car.

Actually he did no such thing, and there are no such stickers. But maybe we should have cut a deal... Anyway, they should be picked up later this week. Naturally photos will be appearing some time soon.

That's about all I know for tonight.

Cheers,

Andrew

Spencer Cameron
Newbie
NSW
JZZ30 (converted Manual)

Posts: 2
Reg: 04-2008

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Monday, September 08, 2008 - 08:31 pm, by: Spencer Cameron (Switchio)

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Andrew McKellar wrote on Monday, September 08, 2008 - 07:56 pm:
Unless somebody out there already knows of adjustable, aftermarket upper and lower arms with removable ball joints, that is...

As a matter of fact..

http://www.greenline.jp/catalogue/bccatpartlist.php?make=Toyota&carcode=JZZ30&intake=FI&category=sus pension

See the IKEYA FORMULA suspension parts, the front lowers are what i had planned for mine

Spencer Cameron
Newbie
NSW
JZZ30 (converted Manual)

Posts: 3
Reg: 04-2008

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Monday, September 08, 2008 - 08:37 pm, by: Spencer Cameron (Switchio)

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And no, i don't think u know me.

At least, i hope not, otherwise my memories even worse than i thought it was...

Michael McKellar
Newbie
Overijssel
Mini

Posts: 3
Reg: 08-2008

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Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 06:03 am, by: Michael McKellar (Mickmini)

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Andrew McKellar wrote on Monday, September 08, 2008 - 07:56 pm:
I know you from somewhere, don't I Spencer?

i went to uni with Cameron Spencer, maybe that is who you are thinking of.

those ikeya supension arms are nicey but pricey, especially when you have to put it together yourself with an allen key....

Mark Zimmer
Tinkerer
Vic
Soarer TT

Posts: 19
Reg: 05-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 03:07 pm, by: Mark Zimmer (Markzimmer)

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Awesome write up, I keep checking back frequently seeing progress happening very quickly. Cant wait too see the finished project, but so far so good. Good work, keep it up.
Mark

Don Bagnall
Moderator
New Zealand
Mercedes Benz SLK230 Kompressor

Posts: 7003
Reg: 05-2005

Rating: N/A
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Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 05:08 pm, by: Don Bagnall (Baggs)

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Andrew, I don't know whether this is of any interest to you.

JZ80 Supra Lower Control Arms.

They DO fit ALL 30 series Soarers with coil suspension.

The Supra bushes are also a firmer design, giving you a more "Locked down" feel to the suspension.

The Supra LCA's are heaps cheaper to buy from Toyota.

Part numbers for the JZ80are as follows:

48068-14080 (RH.Lower control arm 5/93 - 5/96)
48069-14080 (LH.Lower control arm 5/93 - 5/96)

48068-14090 (RH.Lower control arm 5/96 - )
48069-14090 (LH.Lower control arm 5/96 - )

Note: The later ones are purported to be cast alluminum, and are a LOT dearer than the early cast iron ones, however, they are also a direct fit.

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 78
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
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Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 08:31 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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I can't believe nobody spotted my deliberate mistake in the last post! Come on folks, surely if we were going to engineer our own new upper control arms, we'd do better than a simple ball joint, yes? Of course we would. We call them rose joints, but I think they are more properly referred to as rod ends or spherical bearings. And then the camber is easily adjusted!

Now on to business. Thanks to both Spencer and Don for the input and ideas. I will consider both options when the time comes. I do very much like those Ikeya bits, but the budget won't allow it yet. And I had heard that some Supra parts would fit, but I had no idea which ones. Thanks for the detail of the part numbers Don.

Thanks Mike for clearing up the Spencer Cameron - Cameron Spencer debacle in my head. You wonder why I get confused.

Thanks too for your encouragement Mark. Keep checking back, there's going to be a fair bit of movement over the next month or so.

Oh, and to you Maurice. You get nine cheers. 3 for being to only one TO HAVE A GO. 3 for staying up until 1 in the morning to lay the bet down. And 3 for being extremely close in your guess, even if WR and C had nothing to do with the answer! Well done sir.

OK, enough of this sophistication, here's some photos of the newly blacked-out inner guards:

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And I think I mentioned that I picked up the fuel cell the other day. Here's a quick pic of it in the boot area. It's a 60-litre, foam filled cell and as you can see it will fit OK in the boot. Where it is sitting in the photo is close to where it will end up, but not quite...

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That's all for now.

Cheers,

Andrew

Phil Gibson
Goo Roo
WA
'91 fsg UZZ31, '94 black/black UZZ31

Posts: 1235
Reg: 07-2005

Rating: N/A
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Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 10:12 pm, by: Phil Gibson (Sciflyer)

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Andrew, lowering the car will give negative camber, not positive

:-)

Note however that the geometry starts to get a bit wrong once you go below a certain height, which is not really good for a track car... this is where having rose joints starts to pay off

:-)

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 80
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 07:46 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Phil Gibson wrote on Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 10:12 pm:
lowering the car will give negative camber, not positive

That was my thoughts too Phil, until I read somewhere that the Soarer had some particular problem with camber getting positive as it was lowered. I just spent an hour looking for where I read it, and now can't find it. If it is not the case though, I'm pretty happy about that!

And I won't be going too low due to the size of the slicks, so hopefully won't be crossing the boundaries with the steering geometry.

Thanks for your input too. I appreciate everyone's opinions about stuff, 'cause quite often I get confused with some of the information out there. Better I put questions up here, and people tell me what they think.

Cheers,

Andrew

Phil Gibson
Goo Roo
WA
'91 fsg UZZ31, '94 black/black UZZ31

Posts: 1237
Reg: 07-2005

Rating: N/A
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Thursday, September 11, 2008 - 11:38 am, by: Phil Gibson (Sciflyer)

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Luckily the Soarer has 'proper' double wishbone suspension so you'll get a reasonable amount of adjustment there

None of this crappy mcpherson strut business

:-)

Andrew McKellar
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30

Posts: 85
Reg: 06-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Thursday, September 11, 2008 - 08:28 pm, by: Andrew McKellar (Toymax)

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Yes, lucky it is "proper". Gives us a good starting point I suppose!

Speaking of which, the car went off to the suspension shop today.

Meanwhile, I also got hold of the fibreglass boot lid. Here's some photos comparing it to the original:

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As you can see, the shape is a dead replica of the original. The material is WAY thinner and lighter too. The result is a boot lid that is extremely light - I haven't weighed it, but I'd guess the original weighs 8-10kg, while the new one weighs about 1kg.

The lid will be attached using Dzus 1/4-turn fasteners, probably only four (on top, in the corners) though it may need two extra fasteners on the rear. That'll be figured out once the fibreglass kit goes on.

More photos when the car comes back from the suspension shop.

Cheers,

Andrew

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