Saturday, October 04, 2008 - 07:44 am, by: Michael McKellar(Mickmini)
gee quicker reaction here than the emails we send you.
yesterday cleaned and rust converted the fuel tank. Made a new bracket to secure the washer bottle in the cabin.
This afternoon primered the fuel tank. Hopefully can paint it tomorrow morning before we go to Dusseldorf. Tonight I just finished putting the new high torque starter motor in and rewiring to suit. Also put all the rear glass in.
Still have a lot to do, not least is reconnect all the brake lines and work out the brake bias. Oh and put the new 3/8" fuel pipe in.
Debut will be at a slalom at Utrecht. Nurburgring won't be till next year at least. Got to build up to these things slowly.
Ben Socratous Goo Roo SA I am the fibreglass/kevlar/carbonfibre king!
Saturday, October 04, 2008 - 12:35 pm, by: Ben Socratous(Socrates)
Ahahaha. I have had serious thought to making a composite catch can, just because I can. But then I sat down and did the sums (the required special resin is stupidly expensive) and I could make 6 stainless ones for the same price!
my gbox came back from the gbox man yesterday, clean bill of health apart from a dodgy rear bearing. Replaced that and its all sweet. With where I'm at atm, if I could be bothered this long weekend, in theory, by tuesday i could be rolling in a 3l single turbo manual soarer But I think that a bbq and a few beers with the lads will win, to nice a weather to be stuck in the workshop this weekend!
Peter Nitschke Junk Filterer South Australia UZZ30 UZZ31
Saturday, October 04, 2008 - 07:35 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Ben - BBQ and beers is for Bathurst weekend. That's next weekend. This weekend is for working on your car. Dedication is the name of the game.
Mike - I asked you how the car was going BY EMAIL 2 weeks ago, still waiting for a reply. Threw the question into the public domain to see if I got a response and presto! Why don't you post a link to your current Mini thread here for those who want to check it out, or did you let that one slide? You're running out of time, your 3 years there is nearly up. You better get moving if you want to see the car on track in Europe! Cancel all these little day trips around the place, and work on the car!
Peter - Is it possible to post a video on this thread? I don't really feel like registering for Youtube or one of those other video hosting things.
Grand total of work done on the Soarer today: zero, zilch, none, bugger-all.
I did, however, yesterday fill a skip bin full of all (well, nearly all) of the leftover bits that were stripped out of the Soarer and not sold. Man, the carport looks like new again! And The Handbrake is most pleased, I can tell.
Also changed the diff mounts on the Supra, which was a nice little practice run for doing it on the Soarer tomorrow. Bet you didn't know I could do that, did you Neil!
I'll throw pics up once the new diff mounts are in place.
Cheers,
Andrew
Peter Nitschke Junk Filterer South Australia UZZ30 UZZ31
Sunday, October 05, 2008 - 11:38 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Hmmm, methinks I'll have to put one up on Youtube then. Thanks Peter.
I should have also thanked Gareth (all the way over in Bristol!) for the Driftmotion suggestion. I had seen their site (in fact it is in my Favorites folder) but at this stage I'm sticking with the gearbox man's opinion that the new one we have will be OK. Love to see how much the freight from over there is, if the price of the washer alone is US$80!
Made some progress today, both hindered and helped by the fact that daylight saving started here last night. "Hindered" because I had one hour less sleep and woke up grumpy. And when you wake her up you have to be prepared to suffer the consequences. So I ran and hid in the garage all day. "Helped" because daylight was there for longer, so I was able to continue for longer.
Got two bigger things done today, plus a little tinkering on a few small things. The small things were just crap like checking spark plugs in the engine that's going in the car (they appear to be 8 brand new ones!) and a bit of cleaning and fussing about the tidiness or otherwise of various wires and other bits of the engine.
As for the two bigger things, one was adding the new rear diff/subframe mounts, and the other was sorting out the wiring loom on the engine and preparing it for mating up with the Motec loom.
I did the diff/subframe mounts first. I was at a distinct advantage over anyone else who wants to perform the same operation because the spare wheel well has been cut out, so access was much easier and it meant that I didn't have to drop the subframe all the way out, which meant I didn't have to disconnect anything additional except the sway bar mounts to get the job done.
I decided to do the rear mounts first, because I thought they would be the hardest to tackle. I was right, but not for the reason I thought. One of them had rusted and seized on the mounting pin, and it took a fair amount of time to get it off - I left it soaking in WD40 for an hour or so and used lots of leverage, but it eventually came off without too much further problem.
First I undid the front mounts a bit, to allow the whole subframe to pivot on them when I undid the rear mounts. Then I loosened off the nuts holding the rear mounts on the pins, and then undid the four bolts on each rear mount (supporting the weight of the subframe on a floor jack). It was about that time that I decided to drop the rear sway bar mounts off, just to give me a bit more room.
Here's the rear mount before I started working on it:
And here it is with the nut loosened off and the four bolts removed. I lowered the jack and you can see the bracket has dropped away from the underside of the car:
Then I dropped the sway bar down (but only from its rear mounts):
Then I just slid the mount off the pin. Here's what the pin looks like:
Once I got the mount off (I did the passenger side first and thought "this is easy", then the driver's side gave me heartache), this is what it looked like:
I couldn't help myself. I just had to clean it up and paint it... Here it is with the new mount in place (this is the forward facing one):
I then slid the large washer provided with the kit and the mount back into place, then added the rearward facing new mount:
Another big washer, and then the nut went back on, but only finger tight until I got the other side done and the bracket mounted back under the car:
I left those rear mounts loose until I had done the operation on the front mounts, but here's how they looked once they were tightened back up:
As for the front mounts, they turned out to be quite simple. Here's how it looked before I started:
I dropped the front of the subframe down (now pivoting on the loose rear mounts). Then (after giving the area a bit of a clean) I placed the new upper mount in place:
The new lower mount fitted nicely into the original base plate:
Then it went back together:
Once I made sure everything was back into position where it should be, I tightened the whole lot up. Here's what the front mount looked like once it was done:
So that was it, job done. And it wasn't even lunch time yet. I've been toying with the idea of getting into the engine wiring loom for a couple of weeks now, so today seemed as good a day as any. It took quite a few hours but I traced every wire in the loom, matching colours and locations with the wiring diagrams (some of the colours were wrong in places, and those zany Japanese love to extend a piece of cable that's too short by adding another bit to it that is a different colour!), but overall it matched up pretty well.
Because this particular engine is a bit old, and has probably been through one or two heat cycles over the years, all of the wiring plugs and connectors are a bit brittle, so 99% of the tracing back to the original ECU plug was done by hand without removing the plugs, which made the job a little more tedious but meant the connectors remained intact.
A couple of things needed confirmation with a continuity test (for example discerning between the two camshaft triggers), but for the most part it was just fiddly and time consuming. And of course I couldn't help myself and had to remove all the sticky crap left over from old insulating tape by cleaning all the wires...
Anyhow, in the end I was able to remove a substantial amount of wiring from the loom (and a heap of redundant plugs and connectors too), and labelled all the wires that I'm going to need to splice into the Motec loom. This is what I took out of the loom:
And here's what I ended up with:
Which doesn't look like much, but remember this is what it looked like before I started today:
And as you can see, the top of the engine is now pretty free of extraneous wiring:
And here is the Motec loom, which I have already labelled so I know what is what:
So the next step will be to splice the two together. I'm leaving the original rubber shroud thingy on, so the loom will pass through the firewall in the original place. Therefore I'll have to measure things out before splicing the two looms together, so that I don't end up with needless extra wiring (and weight) in the car.
That's about all for now. More progress in a few days (hopefully).
I am writing about things in Europe in The Mini Experience magazine, so I am limited with what I can put up in public threads before the magazine issues are published. So you can always buy the magazine.
Andrew if you need a video hosted on youtube, i have an account.
cheers michael
Peter Nitschke Junk Filterer South Australia UZZ30 UZZ31
Monday, October 06, 2008 - 08:30 am, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Thanks Mike, I did think about using your account, but then just figured I'd set one up. Then someone already had my username. How rude.
I'm really impressed with how clean you got the underside of that car. It inspires me to do more with mine!
Anyway, I've put together a little snapshot of the build so far in a video clip. Anyone who doesn't want to go back through 147 posts to find out what's been going on, this should sum it up for you! Anyone who has already read them all, you'll like it anyway.
It'll take about five minutes to download, so press pause and go and make a cuppa:
Monday, October 06, 2008 - 08:52 am, by: Michael McKellar(Mickmini)
Sorry Peter, forgot that i put that last one in the members only gallery. I edited the post above with a new link that should work.
Andrew, Jen says the music to that clip just proves how much of a dag you are. Why were you not working on the car instead of doing that then eh?
So you know, i made up a new instrument panel and wired it all up tonight. This was to accommodate the new tacho and I was never really happy with the old panel. Also reinstalled heater.
michael
Peter Nitschke Junk Filterer South Australia UZZ30 UZZ31
Monday, October 06, 2008 - 12:16 pm, by: Adam Brown(82ajb)
Sorry to go back a bit Andrew, but i want to say something else about the diff. When I busted my centre, i got hold of a 2nd hand T1 centre for around $900, and after getting it re-built, including crack testing the crown and pinion gears, new seals, the total cost was around $1600. Worth mentioning. Also, is there a risk of twisting axles/stripping splines on tight corners?
Ben Socratous Goo Roo SA I am the fibreglass/kevlar/carbonfibre king!
Monday, October 06, 2008 - 12:50 pm, by: Ben Socratous(Socrates)
No, THIS weekend is for beer and bbq Although I am about to start machining the stainless pipes to make my cans and pots!
Next weekend I've been conned into going pit crew for a drift car at Mallala, so not much soarer action then either, although I'm sure there will be more bbq action though
Andrew McKellar TryHard NSW JZZ30 - Transforming into a UZZ30!
Monday, October 06, 2008 - 08:03 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Michael McKellar wrote on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 07:52 am:
Jen says the music to that clip just proves how much of a dag you are
I suppose I should have used something from the Nederpop or Levenslied genres then? Maybe something with some accordian or barrel organ? Not as good as all of your music videos I know. Oh that's right, you've never made any!
Michael McKellar wrote on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 07:52 am:
Also reinstalled heater.
Wear thermal underwear and save the weight of a heater - it's a race car now!
Peter Nitschke wrote on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 08:00 am:
so who will be finished first?
His car is already running Peter, so I think he has the advantage there...
Adam - did that include re-machining the face of the crown wheel? Sounds great though - does an LSD centre fit into an open housing? If not the cost goes up already by the time you buy one... At any rate, I guess I'm still $500 in front. There's always a risk of twisting axles or stripping splines. Hopefully I'll end up making enough power and torque to have that problem. That said, I know of a certain other Sports Sedan that is using Soarer axles and it is close to 900hp, so mine might be OK.
Ben - Mallala? What about Bathurst. We need to have a serious discussion about your priorities. May even be worth a whole separate thread. We could call it "Ben's Lack of Commitment" or something equally apt!
Michael McKellar wrote on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 07:52 am:
Why were you not working on the car instead of doing that then eh?
Because really late at night the neighbours get upset with the noise I make in the garage, so I move indoors and get some other stuff done. We live in a nice area, you wouldn't understand.
Cheers,
Andrew
Ben Socratous Goo Roo SA I am the fibreglass/kevlar/carbonfibre king!
Monday, October 06, 2008 - 09:57 pm, by: Ben Socratous(Socrates)
I know! Bathurst can be watched for most of sunday, I'll just be at 'lala for saturday and unloading most of the trailer on sunday morning, I should be able to see at least half of the race! i hope...
Note that the last one has nearly 15000 views and has been linked to many motor racing and car modification forums around the world so
Andrew McKellar wrote on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 07:03 pm:
Wear thermal underwear and save the weight of a heater - it's a race car now!
It is mainly for additional cooling for the motor, but it also has the advantage of demisting the screen. Plus like i said to you a couple of weeks ago, the driver has lost 5kg which is always the easiest way to go faster.
tonight exhaust is back on, as is weber. i think i will win the race to the first event.....
Peter, i made this short video when i first started the new motor in the car last year.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008 - 08:34 am, by: Adam Brown(82ajb)
No Andrew, it didn't include machining the face of the crown wheel. I don't know how necessary that is, as there is no heat applied when changing the centres over. I'm no diff expert. I do know it took them weeks to do, and they were very particular about making it run true. The Soarer diff code is A02A. The A02B is the same housing with a Torsen centre which was a factory option, and also fitted to some other Toyota models, but i can't remember which ones. So as long as you get the correct centre, it fits straight in. With some shoe-horning you can fit an LSD from a NA Supra, but the axles need to be changed as well, and part of the housing fins ground off too. Has been done though. Sure, run it as it is, save the cash. If you do have enough power to twist axles, its a nice problem to have!
Peter Nitschke Junk Filterer South Australia UZZ30 UZZ31
Tuesday, October 07, 2008 - 11:28 am, by: Adam Brown(82ajb)
...another thing Andrew. What level CAMS licence do you need for this level of racing, and how expensive/difficult is it to obtain a CAMS licence. I have a pipe dream of building a GT40 kit car with a supercharged 1UZ for sprints/targas. Very much a pipe dream though...
Tuesday, October 07, 2008 - 05:12 pm, by: Michael McKellar(Mickmini)
Adam Brown wrote on Tuesday, October 07, 2008 - 10:28 am:
What level CAMS licence do you need for this level of racing, and how expensive/difficult is it to obtain a CAMS licence. I have a pipe dream of building a GT40 kit car with a supercharged 1UZ for sprints/targas.
For sprints, a CAMS L2S (speed events) licence is all you need. It is simply a matter of joining a CAMS affiliated club, filling a form out that proves you are alive and paying money.
For circuit racing you need to have an observed licence test, pass a medical exam by a CAMS approved doctor, pay a lot more money. This gets you a provisional licence. Then you need to do 3 events and be a flag marshall for one event to upgrade to full licence.
CAMS does nothing for you for the money.
The other option is AASA who are real club level. The costs are lower, but they only have a limited number of circuits that they operate at. Not sure if one of those is QLD.
good luck michael
Andrew McKellar TryHard NSW JZZ30 - Transforming into a UZZ30!
There's a bit more to the competition licence that you need to know, so the website will clarify what's really required.
Michael McKellar wrote on Tuesday, October 07, 2008 - 04:12 pm:
CAMS does nothing for you for the money.
Also not quite right. You can also read up on the website what CAMS does do for motor sport, particularly in relation to safety standards.
Pipe dreams are cool. Mine is an AC Cobra replica. I once drove one that had a Larry Perkins-built Holden 5.0 litre V8 Supercar engine in it. What a car! Just too damned expensive I'm afraid...
Michael McKellar wrote on Tuesday, October 07, 2008 - 07:06 am:
What are these then, ham sandwiches?
Ham sandwiches alright. Wanker, I was talking to Jen.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008 - 07:40 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
November (or maybe December) 1996. I can't remember whether you had already moved to the land of the wicker people, or you were still laying under a bar in the university cheese club at the time.
Thursday, October 09, 2008 - 03:53 am, by: Michael McKellar(Mickmini)
Andrew McKellar wrote on Wednesday, October 08, 2008 - 06:40 pm:
November (or maybe December) 1996. I can't remember whether you had already moved to the land of the wicker people, or you were still laying under a bar in the university cheese club at the time.
with the wicker people then. no wonder i never knew about it.
haha piece of sh#t car. I need that song for my next video
A guy Jen used to work with, Ian Pretty, regularly whips Porsche GT3 butt with his LS1 Cobra replica in sports car races. It is the one with the US flag on the bonnet. Say hi to him if you see him at any races.
sorry for dragging the thread off topic.
what colour blue is the soarer going to be again?
michael
Andrew McKellar TryHard NSW JZZ30 - Transforming into a UZZ30! '84 MA61 Supra, '05 2ZZ Corolla Sportivo.
Thursday, October 09, 2008 - 11:46 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Great video Jason, I love what the guy who designed the car is supposed to do...
Wasn't Ian Pretty the guy running the Cobra with the 454 in it? It was certainly a big block as I recall.
You're right about the thread topic. I was going to say something, because there are now potential sponsors looking at this thread, so we should maintain some modicum of decorum, hey?
The Soarer will be blue, of course.
I'm off to Bathurst tomorrow morning, so I guess there won't be any progress on the Soarer this weekend.
Actually, now that I look at the clock, I'm going to Bathurst this morning. Best toddle off to bed then...
Sunday, October 26, 2008 - 08:09 am, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Yeah thanks John, I've been away for a few days and came back wondering where the thread had gone too. More updates on the way, probably later on this afternoon.
Mike, I like the pictures in the garage. Makes me think I need a car hoist in mine...
Andrew McKellar TryHard NSW JZZ30 - Transforming into a UZZ30! '84 MA61 Supra, '05 2ZZ Corolla Sportivo.
Sunday, October 26, 2008 - 07:54 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
OK, it's been a little while since I updated things, so it's time to rock and roll. Mostly things have only been little tinkerings, but I'll try to map it out anyway.
First off, the diff is finished and back home again. It was pulled down, welded (more on that in a tick), had the hemisphere machined, and the crown and pinion run out and relapped so that every tooth was perfectly matched. It also had all new bearings and seals installed. All that was left for me to do was put the back cover back on, and top it up with some 85W/140W gear oil (the diff man left it apart so I could take some photos).
I'm very happy with the work done on the diff, and I'm satisfied that it won't break in a hurry, because it was welded with a plate instead of just on the spider gears.
Usually, a welded diff means that these areas of the spider gears are welded together:
But as you can see, the diff man went for something a little stronger (the words he used were "bullet-proof"). First, he welded the gears as normal, in all four corners on each open side of the housing. Then he made up and welded in a plate (I think it is 8mm but don't quote me on it) on each side as well. As you can see, he welded each plate on all four sides, with the result being a virtually unbreakable hold on all the gear teeth:
Once the welding was done, he machined the hemisphere in this area, to ensure that any heat generated by the welding process didn't warp the face between it and the crown wheel:
This was the overall result once the diff was reassembled:
He also cleaned everything up and painted the outside of the diff housing. Here is the rear cover:
And here is what the rest of the housing looked like, before and after:
So that's that. I'm yet to mount the diff back in the car, but that will happen in a few weeks when the car comes back home (more on that in a minute).
The other progress that's been made over the past couple of weeks is in the fibreglassing area. There's going to be a fair bit of work in this regard over the next little while (although already there's been a delay of a couple of weeks because I've been away...), which will include every panel on the car.
Already work has commenced on the mold for the outside of the bonnet (just a bit more glass work, and then I'll have a photo or two up), with work next on the inner skeleton. A mold is also being taken of the inner skeleton of the boot lid, so that it can be mated up with the outer shell I already have. In both the bonnet and boot the inner skeleton will be fibreglass (so very light) and in the shape/form of the original, so the result will be a panel that doesn't wobble and flex too much.
The doors have also been prepped and are ready for molds to be taken (again the inside and the outside will be done). We previously made a plug for the fuel filler door, so that will be incorporated into the rear panel too, and once it is done you won't be able to tell it was there (the fuel tank will be filled direct in the boot).
A bit of trimming and strengthening of the front guards is also planned, together with making molds of them.
More on the fibreglassing as things progress...
After an interesting journey from California to Canada, Sydney, the Central Coast and then to my place, I also took delivery of some new rear brake rotors and pads. I threw the rotors on the car today, just to check them out. I haven't fitted the new pads yet, as they can wait until the brake guy installs the front stuff, the braided lines and the pedal box.
Here's what they look like:
As you can see, the size of the rotors is standard, but they are cross-drilled, slotted and ventilated. Although I'm not going to be using the handbrake, I went with the standard rear brakes for now purely for cost reasons - once I get everything else going fast enough, if there is a need for bigger, custom brakes on the rear, then I'll get them.
The other big step in the last few weeks is that the car is going off to get the ROPS fitted tomorrow. That meant that I had to do a little bit of preparation, mainly to fit the driver's seat in the correct location so that the roll cage man can install the main hoop, side intrusion and front legs in the correct locations. As the seat mounts haven't been fabricated yet, I used a bit of fishplate to temporarily mount the front of the seat, and just held the rear of the seat at the right height with some rubber wedges:
And that about sums up the progress from the last couple of weeks. The car leaves at 9.00 tomorrow morning and will be gone for a couple of weeks, which should give me the time (and the room) to do some more on the engine and gearbox.
Sunday, October 26, 2008 - 08:11 pm, by: Michael McKellar(Mickmini)
cool brakes.
bane of my life brakes. misssed out on events the last two weeks because we can't get a firm brake pedal. have replaced nearly every component of the hydraulic and mechanical side of the brakes. had 3 mechanics and me at my new sponsors workshop working on it and we are all out of ideas. its a real bugger because now i have to wait until next year for an event since nothing runs over the winter here.
Friday, November 07, 2008 - 09:56 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Quick update:
Pulled the sump off the engine last weekend, with the intention of sorting out some baffles to help any oil surge problems. First thing I found in there (other than oil) were some fragments of what I am pretty sure is bearing material. Looks like this engine will be coming apart after all...
Meanwhile, progress has been made on the ROPS, so I dropped in today to take a couple of pictures. I'm very happy with the way it is going together, and the workmanship being put into it. Still a bit to go, but here's what's there so far:
Here are the front legs/mounts:
Here's the base of the main hoop:
The rear braces are anchored straight onto the chassis rails:
Most of the top half of the cage is completed; only the passenger side horizontal bar and the dash bar are yet to be installed, and tagging into the A- and B-pillars completed:
A lower horizontal bar is also installed across the car in line with the main hoop, which is also tagged onto the transmission tunnel:
The roof bars are done already too:
As mentioned, I'm very happy with the workmanship. Here are some of the welded joints:
Saturday, November 08, 2008 - 10:23 am, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Ben Lipman wrote on Saturday, November 08, 2008 - 06:16 am:
can you let me know what something like that costs?
I got quotes for between $3,000 and $5,000 for a basic 6-point cage, and they didn't include the horizontal or dash bars - they are extras that push the price up further.
This cage is made from cold drawn mild steel, to CAMS specifications. Expect to pay even more for chrome-moly that is TIG welded (and expect more hassles to get it certified by CAMS too!).
Peter Nitschke wrote on Saturday, November 08, 2008 - 08:37 am:
There goes all the weight savings!
Not wrong there. Although I did always include it in the calculations - I allowed 100kg added weight for the cage, although I've been told it'll add up to about 70kg. Swings and roundabouts...
Peter Nitschke Junk Filterer South Australia UZZ30 UZZ31
Saturday, November 08, 2008 - 10:36 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Safety was always first. Structural rigidity runs a mighty close second though, and weight saving is only just pipped at the post by that. I'll be safe all right, and she'll still corner fine and perform like she's been on a diet!
Phil Gibson Goo Roo WA '91 UZZ31 track bunky, '94 blk/blk UZZ31
Sunday, November 09, 2008 - 10:06 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Thanks Phil, I reckon it is too. I should be picking the finished product up on Tuesday, so I'll have a report and lots of photos on the rest of it.
I'm embarrassed by how little progress I made on things today, after reading how many things Ben achieved on his car. I'll have to start working harder.
Today I stripped the engine down further, and changed all the bearings. I cut a few corners and saved a bit of time, which I know you're not supposed to do but the way I did it has worked before for the Corolla without any dramas, and in any event this particular engine was only supposed to be the standard thing to get the car running while I build a good engine. So if it implodes, it won't matter too much.
I don't know how many readers of this thread have pulled down the V8 engine before, or how many have even seen inside of one, but seeing as though it was my first time (either seeing the inside or pulling one down) I thought I'd share some of the experience...
What I should have done was ordered some more of the parts in earlier (like the front and rear main oil seals) so that I could have finished things off more neatly today. But I didn't, so now I'll have to get them over the next week or so, and get the engine back together next week. At least all the hard work is done.
Today's strip down of the engine was helped along by my 10-year old son, who took a real interest in playing with the tools to achieve the ultimate destruction of what started out as a working item. It's like he's an engineer in reverse.
I took a few photos along the way, primarily so I knew where things went when it comes time to put it all back together, but also so I could throw a few up here.
I had already pulled the sump off, so to kick things off today we took the engine back off the engine stand so that the rear main oil seal and covering plate could be removed. Here it is just before it was taken off:
And here is the underside of the engine with both parts of the sump removed:
This is the rear main oil seal and covering plate once it was removed. There was a fair amount of old oil scunge throughout the internals of the engine:
The engine was then put back onto the stand, and the spark plugs, leads, coils and covers were removed from the top of the engine. Once the engine had been placed at top dead centre I removed the crank pulley. Here is the engine with the crank pulley removed, but everything else still in place:
The various plastic covers and the hydraulic pump for the cooling fan were then removed:
The tensioner for the serpentine belt (at least I think that's all it was) and the alternator were removed, allowing full access to the timing belt and accessories:
I marked the timing belt in several places at the crank pulley and the two cam gears. I'm replacing the belt with a new one, so I'll transfer the marks I made over so it will sit in the same position. Then the timing belt tensioners were removed, first the one on the left bank (right side of photo), and then the other. That loosened the timing belt enough for it to be removed:
Then all we had to do was remove the oil pump. When you look at it there are only seven bolts holding it in place. Believe me, there are actually eight of them... Here is the pump once it was removed:
And here's where it was removed from, and a quick shot of the main oil gallery in the block. I runs through the whole block (you can see daylight at the other end), with smaller lines running off it out to the main bearings. Being able to see daylight though it in all directions made it easy to check there were no obstacles or blockages anywhere:
Once all the peripheral bits were removed, it was time to hook into the real work - pulling the crankshaft out. I numbered all the horizontal main bearing bolts so that they would go back in the right place, then they were removed by my able-bodied assistant:
Then the engine was flipped over (not easy with the weight of the heads still attached, so I used the engine crane and some chain attached to one of the engine lifting hooks to take the weight and ease it down slowly). We took the big end bearing caps off all eight conrods, and pushed the pistons right up the bores to clear them away from the crankshaft:
Then the main bearing caps were removed (they were undone in accordance with the order in the workshop manual), and the crankshaft was taken out. Here is the engine with the crankshaft removed, and a shot of the crankshaft journals. They were in great condition considering the mileage of the engine, and certainly won't require any machining:
Considering I decided to do all this work because I found what I thought might be bearing material in the sump, I was impressed with the overall condition of the bearings. There were a couple of areas of wear, but for the most part (again, considering the mileage) they were OK:
I replaced all the bearings with ACL Racing bearings, which have slightly more oil clearance than standard bearings. That clearance comes from them having one less layer of material, so they don't turn out quite as "pretty" as standard bearings. Here's a shot of the new main bearings and the big end bearings in place prior to the crankshaft going back in:
Once the crankshaft was put back in place and the main bearing caps installed, it was just a matter of pulling the conrods back down the bores and lining them up with the crankshaft journals (being careful not to dislodge the new bearings in the process). It wasn't easy, and there are sharp bits (and now there is quite literally blood that has gone into this engine), but it was achievable without too much effort and just a little patience. Doing everything back up was strictly according to the manual, and here's the finished product:
The oil pump and rear main oil seal and cover will go back on once I obtain the new seals, and then the rest of the peripherals will go back on (except the pump for the hydraulic fan).
So that's all I got done today really, apart from cleaning up the garage to allow room for the car when it comes back on Tuesday.
Until then...
Cheers,
Andrew
Peter Nitschke Junk Filterer South Australia UZZ30 UZZ31
Monday, November 10, 2008 - 10:12 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
I'm thinking not. I kept the bits of stuff from the sump, and now that they're cleaned up a bit I'm not even sure that they are metal. I'll reserve judgment on that and wait for a second opinion. The bearings all seemed in OK condition, and certainly weren't missing any chunks.
The piston rings was another option, but compression seems good and I have checked the bores and they have no wear marks.
I'm pretty sure the engine hasn't been pulled apart before (well at least not the bottom end), so I don't think it is old stuff left behind from a previous, repaired mishap either.
Dunno really. I'm happy enough that the engine will now be running with all new bearings, so I guess nothing has been lost.
Oh, and those who have followed the thread for some time may recall a question posed about water pumps and oil pumps for the hydraulic cooling fan a while back. There were a couple of suggestions and links to other sites put up, which I followed through with in an effort to move to electric fans. As it turns out, the water pump and the hydraulic oil pump on the 1UZ are completely NOT related to each other. You can remove the hydraulic pump without going near the water pump. Looks like I'll be looking for a new use for that brand new 2UZ water pump now...
Cheers,
Andrew
Ben Socratous Goo Roo SA I am the fibreglass/kevlar/carbonfibre king!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 07:39 am, by: Ben Socratous(Socrates)
Love the mystery bits in the sump...
When I pulled the sump of one of my 1J's, we found a couple of circlips! Immediately thought that if there are circlips in the sump, wtf is holding my pistons in?!? lol
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 09:17 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Ben Socratous wrote on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 07:39 am:
wtf is holding my pistons in?!?
Animal magnetism? Opposite attraction? The vacuum inside one's head? Who can tell???
The car came back today with the full roll cage installed. I was so impressed I took 63 photos of it. So give me a day or two to sort through them, and then I'll do another write-up.
Here's one quick tempter though:
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew McKellar TryHard NSW JZZ30 - Transforming into a UZZ30! '84 MA61 Supra, '05 2ZZ Corolla Sportivo.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - 06:24 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
OK then, as promised I've gone through the photos and picked out the ones that most show the cage in detail. Here they are in no particular order (well, I have tried to group them a bit), but take note of the following:
* Because the windscreen on the Soarer sweeps back at such a nice angle, we thought it prudent to put extra vertical bars in, running from the top corners of the windscreen, down through the side intrusion bars and to the floor. The bars could have been a little more true to vertical, but that would have restricted by access into (and more importantly out of) the driver's seat. The way it is, if the unthinkable happens and it cops a hit on the roof up the front near the windscreen, it is less likely to collapse than if those bars weren't added.
* Since the last update the ROPS (roll cage) has been completed with side intrusion bars, those front vertical bars, the rest of the middle horizontal bar, the dash bar and various tags onto the car, as described below.
* The cage came perfectly close to the actual shape of the interior in most areas, and so it was able to be tagged directly into the chassis/frame/body/pillars. There was a bit of a gap between the B-pillar and the main hoop, which was tagged up with plates as shown in the photos.
* The dash bar will be utilised to mount the steering column, the custom Tilton pedal box and well, the dash...
* The horizontal bar across the main hoop has been set at the correct height for safety harness shoulder straps for driver and passenger (there won't be passengers too often, but the odd thrill ride for a sponsor is always good).
Without further ado then, here are the photos. We'll start with some general layout shots:
Here's some detail of those extra vertical bars and the dash bar:
The various tags onto the body:
The side intrusion bars:
And a couple from up above:
So that about covers it. Cleaning and prepping of the whole interior has now commenced, and the interior should be painted in the next couple of weeks.
Cheers,
Andrew
Peter Nitschke Junk Filterer South Australia UZZ30 UZZ31
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - 07:54 pm, by: John Khanh(Bigjohn)
Wow! Very nice work the guy did there Andrew.
Once again, thanks for the brakes. I haven't had a chance to fit them yet as I'm going to do the lot at once. My 6 day work week is very time permitting.
Andrew McKellar TryHard NSW JZZ30 - Transforming into a UZZ30! '84 MA61 Supra, '05 2ZZ Corolla Sportivo.
Thursday, November 13, 2008 - 06:42 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Peter Nitschke wrote on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - 07:05 pm:
As nice as it all looks, I hope you never get to test it.
I hope so too, in the sense of a ROPS. As a chassis stiffener though, I reckon it'll get a workout. It is starting to look a little more like a race car now though...
No worries on the brakes John, let me know how they go once you're running. And yeah, I'm very happy with the work on the cage. I'm happy to name who did it, but I want to check with him first that he wants his name up in lights. I can say that he does lots of other fabrication work as well as cages. In fact he's currently working on oil baffles in the sump.
Fran Valdivia TryHard Wollongong NSW Soarer TT & V8 Limited
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - 10:06 pm, by: Phil Gibson(Sciflyer)
Andrew i just did the subframe bushes and i think youve done the fronts wrong
the larger one with the cutout goes on top, flat side up, you have to drop the subframe right down to get it on and you will see (or in my case feel) the notch on one side that it fits into
The smaller one fits into the centre of the bush in the bottom
Only reason i found this out is i couldnt work out how the bushes were supposed to fit so i had a look at your pics and after buggering around for a bit realised it wasnt right!
Andrew McKellar TryHard NSW JZZ30 - Transforming into a UZZ30! '84 MA61 Supra, '05 2ZZ Corolla Sportivo.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 07:57 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
Oh hell Phil, I hope you're incorrect! I'm sure I followed the instructions. And mine fitted in quite easily too. Better defer to Neil for adjudication on that one. If I did install them wrong, at least I'll have something to do on the car this weekend... I'm kidding, I already had plans for other stuff to achieve this weekend.
Sorry to all interested parties for not reporting on anything for a week or two - truth is, I haven't done anything. Slack, I know. But I've run out of money; which is no excuse because I've got enough components to keep me going for a while yet. But running out of money (and increasing the rate of social engagements) tends to slow up the work rate. I promise to do better.
I made a really good contact on my weekend away in sunny Queensland (sorry Glen, but I ran out of time and didn't get to call you - thanks for turning up at the reunion though!), so hopefully there might be some more interest in the car and what we are attempting to achieve soon.
To all current team members - we have a new uniform, supplied by Cigweld. Not you Michael, you're too far away for now, but when you turn up at the circuit it'll be provided.
To anyone who wants to join the team - FREE T-SHIRTS!!!!!
But you must be prepared to turn up and help at the track (or the garage, while the car is still being built). And you have to actively find sponsors too.
Anyways, that's about all for now. I promise photos with the next installment.
Thanks Stuart for the front bar/headlight mount - I got it two weeks ago and it'll work fine - in fact, I'll probably end up cutting some of it off, which makes me happier than doing it to a fully sorted piece. Tried the new high-beams from Rob yesterday with it and the new front bar - she's gonna look cool!
Sunday, November 30, 2008 - 07:15 pm, by: Andrew McKellar(Toymax)
OK, got a little bit done on the car today, although it doesn't really show that much. First up, I have to sort out the deal with the front subframe bushes, which Phil quite rightly pointed out didn't look to be correct in the photos. My bad Phil - on the day I installed them I originally put them in the wrong way, then before I tightened everything up I realised the error of my ways and pulled it apart and put them back in the right way. Unfortunately I also took photos of both the wrong way, and the right way, then later that night promptly posted up the wrong photo. Here's what I should have posted:
As you can see, all fits together nicely... Sorry to Phil and anyone else trying to figure the bushes out based on my ramblings. I'll try not to do that again.
As for today, most of it was spent rubbing back and preparing the roll cage and interior for painting - which should happen next week I hope. Not much to see there as far as photos go - it all just looks the same, only cleaner...
After mocking up the rear end the other day to see exactly where the new rear bumper would mount up, we determined we could save a little bit of weight by removing some of the metal at the back end of the car, without affecting the structure or bumper or light mounts. Here's a picture of the rear end with markings on it where we intended to make the cutouts, and what the rear looked like from inside before the bits were removed:
A bit of judicious work with the angle grinder and a fine cutting wheel, and this was the result:
Doesn't seem like much I know, but every bit helps, right? The weight reduction continued today with quite a few studs and bolts being cut out of the interior (I don't need them to mount centre consoles and stuff after all), together with the removal of a few miscellaneous brackets.
I should also show what the rear end looked like mocked up with the tail lights and rear bumper, before the material was cut out of the back end:
The preparation for interior paint included wire brushing and etch-priming the welds on the roll cage, and rubbing back all the painted areas (like under the dash, the ceiling, etc.). I also fitted some aluminium plates over a couple of larger openings in the firewall, and used masking tape to cover up the other holes that will have grommets or screws & bolts in them after the painting:
And that's about where today's activity ended. The only thing left to do before the interior gets painted is to prepsol the whole interior to clean it up. Should get that done during this week hopefully.