Skellington

I pulled this out. And this. Here is what it looks like now. I have room to get some metal work done. I think I will put my spare T50 in place of the 3 speed auto. I may have to acquire a manual pedal assembly for this. The frame rail will actually be easy to fix. I was expecting to find rust all through the frame rail, but it stops in front of the crossmember. When I took the crossmember off, There was still shiny white paint.

Rachel wanted to turn some wrenches, so we started taking struts, grill, and front panels off.

This car hasn't been driven for over 25 years. The body moves around when you push it around though. The damage happened from the car sitting. The battery leaked acid and rusted everything below it. The rest of the car is decent shape.

I finally dug into my rusty TE27. I removed the bumper and brackets to get a better view of the damage. The passenger side (Right) unbolted no problem, but the driver side pulled right out with the frame connected. Seems my car came equipped with an additional window inside the wheel well. Must be there to keep the alternator cool... Lots of work ahead on this one.

I read the title and expected to see an engine swap. Boy was I wrong. Looks really good. Color change will be sweet.

I raised the front to a more daily derivable level. I lowered the rear, and put on my mismatched painted set of western mesh wheels. I also put in an aluminum radiator. My stock one got a massive hole in it when some road debris got caught up in the fan. Only 4 images per post... that's lame.

How did this go from tearing around a track to an upside down shell being towed away?

Nice progress. Love the air induction. Does your car pop its own hood on hard cornering? My wife's te27 pops when I push hard in turns.

can't go wrong with a T engine.

Nice pic.

SR5 have metal flares, t50 and the larger T axle. The S5 has a t50 and a S axle. S5 is basically a regular manual car with the added 5th gear (t40 was stock manual option). In dash tachs came on SR5 models. I have seem some in S5's but they were a dealer option or added later.

Today I took engine to the machine shop. I am excited to get it back and assemble. I also put the coil overs on the front. They are adjusted a bit low, so the car has the stink bug stance. :lol: :roll: I got all new hardware for the install. The instal went well. The only issue I have, Is that the stock, high backspaced wheels make the tires barely rub on the spring adjusters. I could of avoided this if I built with 8" springs like I did last time. I will put put spacers on it, so I can run stock wheels if I want. My 14" mesh fit fine due to the offset, but I don't have tires on the other two. I need to finish painting them too. New brakes, rotors, bearing caps. Now I REALLY need to get the back sorted. Here are some Pics for laughs.

Finished these. Would of looked better in black, but this is what I had. With these, I can run 8" or 10" springs to utilize my collection. I may get some keepers too.

Nice little 4 door you got there.

I drove my wagon over 484 miles to visit TORC (toyotafest) in Long Beach California. The wagon made it with no issues. There were some cool cars at the show. I also got more done with my coilovers. I have them all welded and assembled. I need to punch holes in the top hats, and give them a coat of paint.

I tore this apart (2t). Who knows, It might end up in the wagon. I have a 3t crank sitting there to give it +100cc. I am still not sure how I want to build it. *Warning: crappy pics*

A 2-door wagon in the states, You might as well look for hen's teeth. Cool car! keep the updates coming.

All that wrenching looks like fun. I hope the "new" engine works out better for you.

Struts are going slowly. I had an ancient tire blow out on me at a very slow speed, so I had to get some new ones. I got two for now and put them on one side for pics (the pretty side). I run them both on the back for now. Lots of traction. I grabbed by spare engine from storage and started to tear it down. I don't have a lot of space to work where I am currently living, so I started working in the back of the wagon. Plans are to build a 2tc with a 3tc crank and pistons (AKA 1700cc+). I want to megasquirt the engine and add a low boost turbo, but we will see how far I get.

Looking good. Keep the photos coming.

I am glad to see a build thread for this one. I saw your Vid on FB. Your car looks like it's a blast to drive. I am thinking of getting the same exhaust. Would you recommend the header?

AHHHH!!! Ill look away and focus on my suspension... MR2 SW20 rear struts Camber plates Waiting on my coil spring hats. I also ordered a bronze sleeve to fill the play between the camber plates and the strut. I also cut another inch and a quarter out of the struts, so they will be shortened by 2.25" total. 8) So far I have put well over 1000 miles on this car, NOT including the 324mile to drive it home.

Looks like you will have a really sweet ride when you are done. Plus, you will have the peace of mind knowing that you put it back together right. Too bad it wasn't like that from the start. It is what it is.

YUP! I did some work on my mesh wheels. 2 are about done. Primer: Bright silver paint: Clearcoat: Assembled: The outer rim / lip is natural aluminum. it will be polished. Pics do not do justice. It looks like bright glittery paint under glass. Out with the old, and in with the new Weber 32/36. I have done this on many of my old Toyota projects, so I have it down. I got to this stage in about 15 mins. I replaced the gaskets on my valve cover gasket, and figured I should clean it so I can see if it leaks. Before: During: After with new carb and clean-ish valve cover:

Those springs are perfect. They fit in stock locations, so little or no modifying needed. you could use a slightly shorter stroke shock with a spacer to keep a nice ride too (perhaps SW20 rears depending on drop). As long as you didn't want to put very wide wheels in here, These will be good.