gmack

I could even do a combination of the two ;-) I even have some spare diff pinion snubs sitting here.

Hey Pazsa, it's been a while since I checked this forum, I've been giving some love to the RX7. Thanks for the tip. That's actually heaps of help woteva, I'll start a project thread as a bit of a tutorial when I start doing it.

I just removed the back box and replaced it with copper flutes. Sounded amazing!

Got the 71 running nicely. One major concern I have though is that it has a super stiff brake pedal. Any common reasons for this in a 71? The brakes work quite well, but the pedal is way harder than my mate's 86 or my old KE70.

Thanks Destroyer, seriously helpful. :-) Are the 71 wagon B/Ws the same as the keto B/Ws as far as diff centers are concerned? Bit annoyed that I don't have an S or T series diff haha.

I'm assuming the run of the mill hilux rear end is still doable in a wagon?

Also... I really need to hook up a hydro handbrake. I haven't tried to do this with drum brakes before, any tips? I haven't had a close look yet, are the rear drums hyrdo or power assisted cable? Do you have any suggestions on keeping the drums effective under heavy braking (other than drilling venting etc)?

Thanks for the info Luke, I'll check out the VIN plate and diff. We're not talking much power atm, it will have it's stock 4AC for a while (with a few minor cheapo mods). After that it will be getting a spare RX4 N/A Carbie 13B @ around 150kW. Does anyone have the specs and measurements of the Caltracs tramp rods? It might be cheaper for me to make them rather than buy them.

Resetting the leafs is fine. But is there a common way to reduce axle tramp in these things (other than bushes etc)? What (if any) short stroke shocks will fit? Do the T50 diff centers from 71s, 86s etc fit the wagon diffs?

Also, What is the greatest width wheels I can run on the front and back with flared stock guards? What offset is ideal? I'd like to run 8" wide or wider, I know that's a big ask on a 71 haha.

Hey peeps, I recently bought a nice AE71 high top wagon. I've owned a couple of RWD KE/AEs before but never a wagon. I know that the wagon rear end differs from the sedan quite a bit, with leafs, a different tailshaft and different diff set-up. What I'd like to know is how to lower the rear end properly, it's going to be a daily drifter so I'm guessing I'll need some tramp rods and a panhard? I want the arse end to be as low and as stiff as possible. Any info would be great.

There's a couple of ways to fix it. 1: Loosen the nuts and go for a short drive around the block to knock the wheels loose. 2: Use a MAP gas torch to heat around the centric ring and carefully bash the wheel off from behind. A wheel shop will do one of those two, so you might as well save the money and do it yourself.

Just a quick update. I actually forgot about this thread but this car is nearing the heavens. It now has a smashed up back end and is looking pretty sad, I replaced A LOT of parts on this thing so it's time to buy a granny spec AE71 and use this thing as a parts car. :-( /thread.

Thanks guys, you've been very helpful. I'm sure I'll have more questions soon haha.

If you were to sell it as a full bolt on kit, I would be interested. Good luck :)

I've discovered a new problem... After servicing and flushing the cooling system, the car now stays too cold and won't run properly unless on choke... Strange... I'm going to pick up a new thermostat and radiator cap tomorrow. Is this a common problem with 4Ks? It ran perfectly fine with next to no water in the system. --- Another problem that has just occurred is that the fuel gauge has randomly stopped working. I'm about to fit a tacho dash cluster and I'd like to fix this problem at the same time. Also, do I need to run a wire to the coil to power the Tacho cluster or does the KE70 wiring loom already have the facility?

MAP gas torch solved the wheel/hub problem. They're being re-barreled as we speak. Hubs are totally f@$ked. Managed to dismantle the struts with a rattle gun and some vice grips without damaging anything. 86 gear is in, waiting for the wheels to come back :-) Off to the wreckers tomorrow to get some new panels and brake lines.

Just letting you know, those wheels are called 'Modgies'. Very popular in NZ. You can get them from most decent wheel suppliers on order made to spec. And they're cheap as chips, even in 3 piece.

Tried that, now the wheel studs are loose :-P I don't care about the hub, but I want the calipers and wheels. I've covered them in RP7 which I'm leaving on over night. I'm going to cover them in rust remover tomorrow before work and see if I can get them off tomorrow night. If all else fails, I'll whip out the oxy and go to town. I want to save the wheels but I might not be able to.

I'll check out the struts again tomorrow and give it another go. The front wheels are already off the car, with the hubs/rotors/calipers still stuck to them. I'm going to get a oxy torch to them tomorrow and hope the alloy wheel expands more/faster than the steel hub.

At least the plugs are an easy fix. I tried a rattle gun and leaving the spring un-compressed, didn't work. I'm thinking about a small plumbers pipe clamp to hold the shock arm while I gently undo it, but I don't want to damage the shock. I have NFI what your talking about with the seized wheels/hubs.

A short history on the car.. I got a 1982 KE70 4k Sedan as payment for a debt owed. It is a total POS. I took it out 'rallying' and ended up loving it. So I've decided that I'll make this car a project and fix it up. I started doing a full service on it which went well until I got to the brakes... I went to take the front wheels off, they're totally stuck (tried all the usual tricks.) So I decided that I'd disassemble all the front suspension as I have AE86 gear to go in anyway. So I slowly took everything apart on both sides... Both brake lines were totally frozen, so I ended up resorting to cutting the smallest lines of the two in each arch (will replace them with new items later.) I got the wheels off with the hubs still frozen inside along with the brake caliper and rotor attached. But everything else came apart perfectly fine. When I had everything apart, I noticed the struts had bad wheel rubbing marks. Checked the wheels and the tires had worn down. Obviously the wheel offset is wrong, and the eccentric ring seems too small for the hubs, which explains why the wheels are stuck. I also have a problem of the spark plugs pissing oil out everywhere. The gaskets are fine and I'm not losing oil from anywhere else (surprisingly.) So I'm left with a few problems that I really need help with. - Front wheels won't come off the hubs/rotors/discs. - The struts are totally off but I need to disassemble them. But when I compress the springs and try to undo the top nut, the shock arm spins inside the strut. - Can a purchase new brake lines for the car or is there an easy tool/trick that helps when working with KE70 brake lines. - How can I stop the spark plugs leaking oil. Forgive my stupidity, I come from a late model rotary background. This KE70 is the oldest car I've ever worked on and it's doing my head in.

Haha, thanks man. That's exactly what I was thinking, it's held up pretty damn well after the thrashing it's been given. But I want it to be fairly reliable unlike the FC, so if anything's likely to f@$k up, I'll replace it.

The 5 speed is no good for drifting? Is it weak or something? I have a chance to buy a cheap AE86 5 speed that was attached to a 4AC, any better?

Haha, it's a POV box. Give it time, all of the shit parts will be replaced. I quite fancy this thing, I realise that it's f@$ked but I'm going to bring it back to the glory days. It's one redeeming feature is that it has a decent 5 speed.