ranko_87

So I have found some front strut insert which will fit in my front struts. MR2 rears. I am going to save a few pennys for those. I think I should be able to dial out some of my oversteer by fitting the firmer inserts in the front and adding a strut brace. The strut brace i have hits the filters on the twin down draft carbs so I'll wait to fit it untill I have the webers on. I have been thinking about building a head with bigger valves, port work, match ported inlet manifold and extractors, valve springs to suit a Tighe cams grind and then fitting it, with the webers to the motor I have and just swapping the cam. My question would be which cam to use. I want HP. I don't mind loosing torque as once it is up on song, it stays there. But the motor is a factory assembled 3k so I don't know how high she will go before it goes bang. I really want to build a new motor, but I really want to see those webers hanging off the side of my motor and it will be months or years before I can afford to build a new motor and keep the car racing. Ideas?

Done so far: REAR END Rebuild and professionally welded 4.222 jap spec diff New rear brakes with 3/4 (starter with 7/8th) wheel cylinders Moddified rear leaf springs with 30mm lowering block (to keep camber of spring to increase wheelbase on outside when cornering)(needs to have 20mm extra camber) Commodore ute Koni red rear shocks FRONT END KE70 slotted rotors and bendix pads new wheel bearings Ke20 strut housings shorterened to take Tercel inserts. coil over adjuster sleeves, 225lb pro sport coils (started with 175lb), custom top camber plates Cressida lower control arms Ke20 steering arms, milled out to take cresida ball joint Urathane bushes through out. BODY Full respray in 2 pak white (i call it fridge white, no tinters or toners, easy to repair) 13" mazda rims with Perilli P5 tyres INTERIER Orgional interier, with cobra imola S race seat and 5 point 3" RPM harness (started with sparco sprint and 2" 4 point RMP harness) 6 point Bond roll cage with taxi bar added. Deep dish aftermarket steering wheel ENGINE 3K motor bought as is, supposed to have mild cam and shaved head. 3k-b twin carbs with exposed 6 1/2" filters Extractors Did a full tune on it when i got it, was running really rich with a bodgy home made air filter. Float levels wrong and ignition a bit worn in every way. Have had it at 6300 RPM in 4th down the the front straight of Lakeside without throwing anything out the side. GEARBOX STD 4 speed K40, onto box number 2 atm PLANS FOR THE NEXT MONTH 185/60R13 Yokahama A048R Semi Slicks - 23/04/10 13x5.5 hotwire style mags, cleaned, painted and polished - 23/04/10 Change LHR Axle seal - 16/04/10 Change wheel cylinders from 7/8 to 3/4 - 16/04/10 Front pads from Bendix GCT to QFM A1RM Extension housing seal - 21/04/10 KE30 shifter/Extension housing - 21/04/10 Rear main oil seal - 21/04/10 Still leaks, pulled gearbox out again, going to use speedi sleeve and new seal, - 22/04/10 Change engine backing plate to suit 3k > k40 from 3k > k50 - 21/04/10 Idler arm bushes Adjust front wheel bearings - 23/04/10 Wheel align to suit semi slicks Reset rear springs up 20mm Wheel spacers for rear Attemp to fix driveline angles/vibrations - Rebuild tailshaft Had problems with origion tail shaft, wouldn't balance up because the eye in the rear had spread. Ended up with 2 shafts, 1 with a borg warner uni in the front and jap spec in the rear (don't ask) and a shaft to suit a ke20 with borg warner. I had the diff pinion modified to suit, but i'm not happy with it as there is only 5mm of tapped thread in the shaft flange. so i'm going to have an adapter made to bolt up the borg warner shaft to my jap diff. - Tail shaft adapter - Fit open centre diff - Refit locked diff - Space gearbox up - Mill lowering blocks to adjust pinion angle OVERALL PLANS Rebuild gearbox and short shifter Front Konis from MR2 Strut brace Braided brake lines 3k with knife edged crank, lightened flysheel, arp rod bolts, head stud kit, alloy pulleys, big reving cam, lots of head work, twin dcoe40 webers, electric dizzy, etc I'm sure my list will be added to after the next time to the track. Here is what she is looking like now

So I now have a collection of gearboxes... I fitted another K40 (early KE20 Type) into the car to get it ready for Lakeside in Febuary. I also sent my tailshaft away to have it rebuilt and balanced. Ran the car in 6 session over the weekend at Lakeside and then drove it onto the trailer at the end of the event... not one breakage. Well, not that stopped it from running anyway. The tail shaft developed a vibration at 120kmph plus. The LHR axle seal started to leak after the second session and after having the plugs out on Firday night the sparkplug tubes leak. I pulled down the K40 with no third. The box is perfect. The shifter is ratshit. Snapped the casting the shifter rod runs through which ment when trying to selct third the rod would just fall out. I am in the process of repairing it to add this box to the collection of useable boxes. After a little inspection I found the axle seal to be running right on the front edge of the bearing retaining collet. New seal pushed in an extra 3mm and it should do the trick. While I had the rear wheels off I sorced some rear wheel cylinders. The orgionals are 7/8th, I could get 13/16th from another variaty or KE20 or 3/4 from a KE25. I thought I would try the 3/4s. While I havn't run it on the track yet, on the street it has cured my low brake pedal on the first stab. Also I am cleaning up some old hotwire style mags I have had sitting around for it. I acid washed them, and then prepsoled the centers and sent them to be painted 2 pak black in the center. I got them back the other day and am starting to polish the lips. 1 is looking pretty good so far. I'll post some pics when I get them on. I'm still working on the tailshaft issue as my driveline angles aren't great with the current ride height. Does anyone else have problems with vibrations in their low KE2* I aslo picked up some DCOE40 webers, I think they could be overkill for this motor, so I might not put them on until I do a rebuild and get a bit more power potential with a bigger cam and heads. Pics up soon.

Food for thought....Normally speaking when you increase the track, you are moving the wheel further out from the spring, (be it leaf or coil) creating a bigger lever and softening the spring. Which i think is the actual change that is resulting in alot of the handling characteristics mentioned. Also, the set up in the rear of a RWD car has alot to do with if the diff is open or locked. So running a wider track (softer) should work well with a locked diff, so it lifts the weight from the inside wheel, reducing the push/understeer.

Just checked out in the shed and i have a k40 but with the wrong shifter position, so if anyone has a ke20 k40 they want to get rid off, I will pay freight.

UPDATE... I finally got it to the track. I had to build a trailer to transport it to a HRCC Try, Train and Test day at Morgan Park. I knew the suspension would be to soft, so I changed the front coils to 225lb and fiddled around with the rear springs. The car was too low, so I went back to non reversed eyes and an extra leaf on the rear. I also removed the half rebound leaf as the Konis are so much stiffer in both bump and rebound then the origionals. I also really wanted to change my race seat to something that fit me better. I went down to my local RPM Racegear and without looking at the price tags, sat in every seat. Luck was on my side because the most comfortable, best fitting seat was an Imola S. While more expensive then a Sparco Sprint, a whole lot cheaper then some that I had tried. I fitted the seat without rails to get it mounted as low as possilbe. I would still like it another 30mm lower, but I would have to cut the origional seat mounts off the floor to get it any lower. I also changed my 4 point RMP harness to a 5 point RMP harness. I found the 4 point lap sash would ride up while driving. Unfortuantly I still don't have the money for semi slicks so had to run on my street tyres. Which are Pirelli P5s on the front and some no name crap on the rear. I had major over steer in the first sessions with quality Westlake tyres on the rear. Was told any more oversteer in the next session would result in the end of my weekend. Swapped the tyres front to rear with the Pirelli's. From over steer to understeer in one move. Went out for session 2 and was running much faster untill breakage... I lost 3rd gear in the shifter. I pulled the shifter out to reveal the selector shaft laying in the bottom of the box. Loaded her on the trailer and watched the rest of the sessions.

Hi, I have a 74 ke20 which i hope to run in group Nc as a run on. As the cut off it 72 but they allow models which where first manufactured within the specified dates (before 72.) What i am wondering is what cosmetic differences there is from the early ke20 to the late ke20 and in what year (and month if someone knows the specifics) they changed. It would be of great benifit to me if there was a model the same as my 74 manufatured before the 31st december 1972. Any help would be great. Cheers Andrew

No, I didn't see it and I search the pits high and low for any sign of a race bred corolla, only to be disapointed. The event I was watching was run by the Historic Car Club of Qld. They had hired the track for what I think was the first time for a members only run. The only corolla there was a granny spec ke10 in the spectators car park. I wish my KE20 was pre 1972 so I could have build it as an Nc car. (This is why you shouldn't rush into buying a race car when your 18) Looking forward to seeing more corollas on the track. Cheers Andrew

I've seen westfeilds compete in motorkhanas with electric reverse (backing into finishing gates, etc) so i can't see the difference. If they can make electric cars, surly you can make one do 5kmph in reverse with an electric motor. Thats how it seems to be done in the UK. Also, the less rotating parts you have the more powere you'll have at the treads.

I would have thought ditching the weight of the corolla gear box and using an electric reverse would be more practical. If there isn't a diff ratio to suit, you could incorperate a ratio box into your electric reverse.

Yeah, it is. I bought a drivers door off you back in 05-06 and you said you knew the car. It still had his name sign written on the window when I got it. The foam-a-fill in the rear quarter to "seal it off" for the cams log book caused alot of rust. Lots of cutting and welding. Pretty much only the drivers seat, cage and front coil overs is all that remains from when I first bought it. I full rebuilt a 4.222 diff and had it "professionally welded." Fitted on reset with reversed eye leaf springs with a half rebound leaf and Koni rear shocks. The tail shaft, gearbox, x memebers are all from a donner car I bought. The motor is a 3k-b which is supposed to have a cam and head shaved. Front brakes are KE70 calipars and slotted rotors. I am going to build a new set of coil overs because the ones in the car take a Tercel insert and I can't find a koni or bilstein small enough in body diameter to fit in the leg. It has a Pajaro 11/16th master cylinder, but it has a relativly low pedal even with the handbrake on (so it isn't rear shoes out of adjutment) The rear wheel cylinders are 3/4. Any suggestions on a master cylinder a little bigger to give a better feel?? I appreciate any suggestions. Cheers Andrew

Hi, I have been reading Rollaclub threads and buying off the forum for a few years now, so I thought I'd see what you guys thought of my little weekend toy. It is a 74 Ke20 sedan. I bought it with a crap load of rust, no motor or box but set up as a motorkhana car. I have had it scince 05/06. I bought it with the intention of building a street weapon with a 4age turbo 300hp ish. The body work took untill 2008 with it spending plenty of time untouched. Motervation was hard to come by when you know how much you still have to spend and with the "ecconomis crisis, I could have bought a completed car for less then I still need to spend to finish mine. I got as far as doing all the body work, mounting a dummy motor, having a shorterend R31 skyline diff fitted when I decided the car had sat undriven for to long. This was in September 09 after watching a historic event at lakeside. My goal was to have it on the road by new years. I bought a 3k-b off here, a couple of standard diffs, and gearboxes and got to work piecing it together. This is 06 I think, when I first started stripping it Painted with dummy fitted motor, box and shorterened diff Std diff fitted, note the 4x110 wheel fitted, sorry to loose the 15s Registered!! I still am waiting to get my roll cage back and want a new race seat. I havn't tuned to motor yet, I bought it off here and it runs quite rich.

I have 4x114 on it atm with 15x6 superlites but i am building it as a historic car for the regulations so i am going to change it back to 4x110 and run an orgional size wheel. I can get 12x5 superlites, but that is the widest. what are fatory 12s? I also want a set of white walls for when it is on the street. Where is the best place to get these? I asked at my local bob jane and he didn't seem very interested. Does anyone stil do the dying in QLD?

Hi, i have done a search and havn't had much luck. I would like to know the origional wheel and tyre size for a 74 ke20 coupe. I have searched google and have found 155 on 12 inch rims, but apparently some models have 13s, how can i tell what size came out on my car? Thanks for any help

I didn't relise there was 2 different sizes, i have a set of AE71 legs, which monroe and koni both list to have the same insert as a ke70, which i have measured up and a koni should slide straight in with a 25mm dished spacer at the bottom.

Run the spacer at the bottom of the insert to correct body legth of the shock. The compressed legths are 3 mm different, and the extended, 23mm. So if the car is lowered by 23mm or more you won't have a problem with topping out the strut any more then normal. and a strut is 1:1 ratio, with a 3mm difference in compressed length it won't bottom out any more then normal. Just make sure you have a bump stop, as with any strut. The ke70 Koni is externally adjustable for rebound, so you can adjust until the "launching upwards" is as you would like. Keeping in mind this adjustment doesn't change bump settings" Food for thought Cheers Andrew

You can run a koni out of a ke70 if you have a 25mm spacer machined up for the bottom of the strut leg.