thomo

i havent done it and have no idea about it but it sounds like the strut is sitting up on top of the lip on the steering arm that locates the whole shebang (bolts only hold it together and stop it spinning), you may need the celica steering arms, or machine out the base of the strut why not check out the FAQ for corona strut conversion, its almost the same car and will give you ideas what to look at

always thought the wagon/panelvan would look good with a full 6mm panel running over both sides, roof, floor, mold in speaker pods recess int lights go nuts with the bog to smooth it out contact adhesive and mix up the carpet cloth trim a little, why not check out some old school street machine panel vans, steal their ideas, update them, and downsize it into a rolla. kind of like the oposite of retro tech!

ive picked up an ae71(?) sedan, i'll be raiding mechanical bits off it but the bodys fairish and the interior not to bad, you can have it if the ke70 shape is what rings your bell, crap way to get back on the road having to build something but the offers there if you want (better get geoff to call me, my internets in and out so i may not see a post before i send it to the tip)

picked up a free ae71 the other day to raid parts off for a corona front disc conversion on the little 55, and the rack and pinion is to tempting, can't decide without having pulled everything out first whether it would be easyer to modify the 55 x member to mount the rack or modify the ae71 x member to suit the 55, anyone tried this before? any sugestions?

if you don't do anything silly like drive the car or jack it up once to old sill is off the body wont twist any more than it has already with the damage sills are a prick of a job, if you look under the car theres a lip that runs the length of the sill with little spot weld indents in it, you have to drill every one out with a flush face drill bit, (only through the sill panel NOT the rail its spotted to) same around every door jamb, behind the front guard, rear wheel arch, basicly everywhere the sills spoted to the body, then bash the bugger of with a hammer and cold chisel then unpick all those spots on your new sill, don't use a hammer sit it in place and fire up the mig to attach it welding in all those holes you drilled if the rail, floor, pillar, etc is damaged forget it and i wouldnt try it without profesional help

sounds like the diapham in the boosters gone, you can get reco units, or just a second hand one from the wrecker but because of the way the two halfs of the booster are joined its not a do it yourself job as a rule

thanks everyone the infos been great, ive settled on the 5k block with the light rods because i have them and don't intend to go over 8thou. rpm (boring of me hey) standard dish pistons closed chamber 4k head, hollow out the standard 5k lifters and use the 3k push rods standard cam so hi lift wont be a problem, lighten the flywheel, extractors, 2 inch exaust, and bolt on the 4age something something supercharger thats somewhere in freight as i type its not the most exciting motor but i think it should pull quickly to good usable revs and have enough tork for the hill climbs

hey there, ive read all the threads i could find, checked out the FAQ hit all the links but i still havent found what I'm looking for (sung loudly in bad U2 impersonation) so i score a set of xt130 struts, mix and match springs, plates, and tops, bang it in on xt130 3rd arms and early sigma control arms, all clear to me so far. the grey area is rear brakes and master cyl, does anyone recomend using the xt 130 master cyl and rear drum/backing plate, stick with the 55 rear drums and m/cyl, a mix of these two ideas or go spend money (no thanks) to make it work i picked up a free 130 today and have it on the hoist so 2 days to raid anything worthwhile, but nothing i can't use because the garage is getting smaller all the time yes i'll end up with coil overs, 4 spots, rear discs, big fronts, and duel master cyl but for now i just want to stop and without spending anything, thats not asking much is it?

14x6 jellybeans, 175 60 tyres, 32 psi, and a very nice ride, the cops don't chase me, the kiddies in the back seat don't get nocked about, and if you keep it under 80 though roundabouts, it grips (sort of). looking a little better these days after the lowering but i havent the photos to post, geoff!! come to the rescue on that please!!

that little thing smoked my BA the other week, i wonder if the tax man could see a 2 door turbo sports job as a work ute? call me if you need a hand with the spanners

as far as i know only the engine block can be prooven to be stolen because its the only part with a number on it, if you were keen and realy wanted that engine, remove the head, crank, rods,and bearing caps, hand in the block to the cops, then buy it back at the stolen/recovered auction its not nice to the guy who lost his car in the first place but what the hells he going to do with a motor anyway, its legal (better check on that) and you end up with a fresh motor and no, I'm not into anything illegal, just did a lot of work for the police stolen property depot in canberra disposing of wrecks and things people died in (the families never want those cars back)

bout a year ago i caught a kid trying to steal my rolla in the car park, as i "helped" him out of the drivers seat the little prick stabbed me in the stomach with the sissors he was using on the ignition switch, even worse couldnt hold on very well after that and he got away, even worse than that the ignition was shagged and it took 10 minuits to remove the lock and hotwire the car to get out of there sometimes your lucky you don't catch the bastards

I'm in a bad mood otherwise id shut up and say nothing but this is a photo of a GIANT rust hole thats been bogged halfway up the quater panel and painted over... for GODS sake stop and take the paint of and see what you have to work with before you spend a bucket load of money or stuff some big motor in and the bastard snaps in half under you first time you hit the go fast pedal well i feel better after that

thanks for the info fellas, all i have is a 5k block with 3 pistons in it and couldnt decide whether to bin it or rebuild, a local proformance shop (turns out hes an idiot) had nothing but bad news bout the whole idea so as it stands I'm looking at 5k block, 4k crank and rods (if there the right ones) new flat top pistons, open chamber 4k head (not enough comp?) solid lifters, (cos i havent got the standard ones), 3 face valve job, HD valve springs, tighe 104 cam (same as 4k?) 4into1 headers 2in system, electronic ign, supercharger feel free to laugh and point out any total accidents waiting to happen, or suggest any go faster ideas, keeping in mind my ex gets all my cash so this is so budget rebuild its not funny lucky polishing is free!

just push the screen out evenly with your feet (if it twists, it blows) and string it back in with electrical wire and wd40 take the $50 and put it in the beer fund

hey, ive got a little '55 id like to keep up with traffic, was thinking mild head, cam, extractors, and super charger my question is, someone gave me a 5k but the bloody things missing a piston and rod, think they pulled it out to measure for turbo piston set up, is the difference between the 4k and 5k in the stroke or bore? can i use the 4k rods i have laying around? and how do i get rid of the hydrolic (?) lifters?

i think i put ke55 discs on the front of a ke10 once by using the 55 disc, caliper and backing plate, redrilled strut and tapped it out to suit larger bolts (or fill backing plate holes and redrill them if you want) ran a ke20 master cyl to upsize for the discs (ke 10 was drum) but had to modify those bracket thingys on the firewall to get it in flush, rear was a 55 diff so drums and stud patern were right, it stopped well enough for me

hi, its the '55 guy, the name is steve, and thanks to all the fellas at the club, i was a little worried turning up, not to sure how the reception was going to be being a stranger and all but everyone made me feel welcome so big thanks for that, don't know if i should thank you for all the ideas, was under that bloody car till midnight 'reseting' springs haha lost the grandma car look.... big time! found a cyl head guy i trust, superchargers prooving a little hard to locate, and stuff those exaust shop prices, i,ll make something next weekend . so thanks again to everyone who said hi, and I'm sure you'll be seeing more of me (may need to hit you up for one of those photos, havent got any 'before' shots of car)