Trufauru

love to see that people still tinkers with this old engines

Sorry I had forgot about this Thanks a lot Banjo for the kinds words, as you said it was a labor of love, and of need, because noboy wanted to fix this car hahaha. Lets start tying some loose ends One of the issues that had been left behind was finishing the steering column So clearly, I started with the easy part of cleaning and painting everything. I don't have pictures, but what I did was take the upper part of the steering column from the Corolla, the lower part of the steering column from the Starlet, and started cutting to see what I was working with, unbelievably it was much easier than I thought, since the internal axle is the same in both cases, so it was a matter of joining both pipes. To match them, I had to open the lower tube of the Starlet a little bigger, and thus place a bearing between the tube and the steering axle that centers everything in the lower part. Then have a bushing turned that centers the lower pipe on the upper pipe and that's it. Unfortunately there are no photos of all this. And that was it, I just had to fit the bottom bracket of the Starlet to the firewall, with the original part of the Corolla. Since I was painting, I got excited and painted several things that were laying around. Since I was motivated it was the turn of the rear leaf springs. I got the habit of cleaning parts by leaving them submerged in anti-rust acid. They easily come out like new, there is no need to spend work and after washing them they are ready to paint And remember I was painting everything. With all this, we are between May 2020

What a lovely work you are doing right there Wenisman, hats off to you, lovely to see that level of skills being put at work. Great to see a wagon being saved, that fuel door it's awesome.

Thanks a lot Banjo, more pictures this way First of all, we are going to settle what was pending, which was to shape the tip of the rear fender. Now we are going to see if we finish the trunk, to make my work easier, again I ordered a piece to be folded with more or less the profile of the upper edge of the panel. After a bit of cutting and adjusting to make the curve, I welded it to the main panel and the piece was rigid again. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49855784247_c4142ed473_c.jpg Now with that firmer panel, I proceeded to work inside the trunk (remember to rotate from work to work so as not to hate any more than the other) and start making a very simple piece. Always using the holes as a reference for the new piece that had to be made, each piece is more or less complicated. In this case, the floor had a rib, and I wanted to keep it to give it continuity. So to the shaping block, I welded a plate as a mold, and with the hammer and patience I hammered that mold to the piece that I was assembling. The piece on the other side also had that strengthening rib, also some curves, it was all a matter of replicating all the turns. As always, to replicate the pieces, you always have to remove and put the piece in the car a thousand times, verifying that the entire shape more or less matches. And after we have the shape in place, it gets welded and it looks like nothing happened. Luckily I remembered to test the rear panel and check that it is in line with it. On the other side, while trying to make the piece fit the right place, in one of the tests I realized that when hammering the material went where I didn't wanted and the piece no longer matches the width in some parts, but since the piece was 90% ready, so well... I wil welded and fixed it later. Luckily with the mig, metal is easily added, and these types of gaps are easy to fill, it's more work afterwards to grind it, but with patience and paint, it's relatively neat. As you can see, I was also working on the bottom of the trunk that I found some holes and on the side panels. Here we have a small repair in the curve of the panel, and it is already marked for the cut of the next piece. As always, it is a matter of cutting the problem into smaller parts and solving them one by one. Here on the other side, also repairing small and not so small rust problems. In this case I had to bring the tail lights to validate that they were fitting in place and that the whole piece was correct. While we were at it, I took a photo with the whole panel in place. Things are changing, but as you remember, the panel has several holes. So it was a matter of cutting, and then making all the necessary pieces, as we are used to.. To then place them all in place one by one. And the rear panel is taking shape Very crazy to think that everything that is painted is because it had a repair hahaha With the back panel soon, I started with the repair of the edge that also had rust (incredible I know), in addition to the ugliest parts, I took advantage of and some small holes, I enlarged them and filled them to cure the problem As always, repairing and checking that the panels that make up the piece, in the order that they make it up. And to take advantage that I removed the rear panel, it was the ideal time to convert the VW Gol spare tire well into the Corolla well, so I roughly cut the piece and began to shape it with love and blows, but luckily the size was very similar. and the piece had extra material to work with. A matter of welding and grinding until we are happy, then some paint and it is ready. A minor detail, I rescued the central screw from the original panel, and weld it to this hahaha. Many years later once again it had a spare tire in the spare tire well like the first day. We're already winding this up, so a new level unlocked of hiding ugly welds with body sealer, almost seems like a half good job Trying the trunk lid before calling it quits, and luckily everything clicks into place. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51887829418_e1ac316525_c.jpg So it was a matter of starting to weld, and taking out the cleco pins one by one and welding as we control the heat on the panel. This process took April and May 2020

of course With all the rusted metal out of the way, I had to start building new parts, first the parts that are below and behind everything. Making new parts it becoming a hobby Then welding them in place, and painting for some protection. Also this panel had a little dent, so I had to fixit before we keep adding new metal And after a lot of cursing, it turned out good enough, not perfect, but a little of body filler will take care of the rest Now with this pieces, and some measurements for the missing metal We got this new piece It is looking like a car again

And let's keep up with this, and by this, now is time for the trunk that below the bumper reinforcements, it was very bad. So let’s start the grinder Also the rear panel was rotten and with a lot of holes After a lot of thought the best idea was to remove the rear panel to get better access, so I took a deep breath and started to remove all the spot welds, after a while it was something like this El Corolla Camino any one? You can almost Imagine the dropped tailgate And with more access, it was much easier to cut and remove the rusted metal. While I was nearby also started to cut the outside On both sides it was horrible And the pile of rusted metal to create from scratch was getting bigger and bigger. Also, in the back you can see the reinforcements that were actually in great shape

Then onwards the driver side, the rocker panel was done, but we needed to continue on the rear Like before, first cut all the bad metal that we are going to fix And with a ruler, a grinder, and a hammer you can make anything I did the internal reinforcement, I didn’t go all out with the shape, but it's close enough. Making all the little parts behind the corners that nobody will see. Also little pieces like this in the floor, while I was in the area And then starting with the welding of the panel that I had bent to shape. And again, weld everything, and paint everything to make this panel done (but I still need to bend and trim the end) And we keep going

Indeed it was a long term proyect, but ever since I rented the garage, the work took of and it got a lot of momentum and its getting closer and closer to the finish. Thanks a lot for the kind words, and as you say I have a lot of updates to post Well at least after a while you'll have a pool and a garage to have fun with hahaha, so the wait it's worthy Now I have some short posts, but I tried to split the photos into diferent sections of the car while I was fixing them And we start with the rear end of the passenger side. First of all let's cut all the rotten metal, and we end up with something like this And then we have to make all this metal from scratch Little by little, with a hammer and patience each of the parts for this puzzle come to life The process is simple and the same for every part, take some measurements, find a piece of metal with that size, cut, hammer and bend to shape, and fit and refit and test fit until the shape is right. When you are happy with the fitment, and also checked with all the other parts in the vicinity, get the metal glue gun, and zapp all the parts together, then a little weld through primer and on to the next piece Test and check and weld And with that we have all the corner looking like new Onto the next part

I forgot about the reminder and nobody comented on it, but I'm back. Yes, you'll see some of that sealant, but mostly paint, and lots of paint in order to try to get everywhere, and get in crevices and tiny places Off we go, ever since the Jetsons, we’ve all dreamed about the flying car, so I had to make my own flying car Well actually I just removed the rear differential in order to work more comfortably on the rear underside of the car Without it you have so much room for activities, and I got the car as high as I could safely do so Once on the air, I got to cut the rear part of the rocker panel, and reveal all its nasty secrets Also got around inside the wheel well, to get a better view of all the rust (after this, I decided to remove the rear axle) Some cleanup and let start to cut some spot welds and pry stuff apart A little better looking after a lot of wire wheel And I had to fix a little piece on the side of the passenger floor If you remember from the last post, I took another piece as a template for the side panel to the same place that had made the rocker panels, and again it was a great job Remember to bag and tag everything you remove from the car And back on working, as with other parts, you take the old rusted part, and with a bit of patience you make a new one in fresh new metal Now I just need to weld all the seams and done And then you well the piece in its new place (it is the end of the wheel well) I also made a new reinforcement for that area, but not as nice as the original Then make and weld the new inner piece. And a bit of paint on the inside and it’s done With all the inner pieces done, remember to paint the back of every inside panel with weld through paint, and it is time to weld everything in place, Also in between tasks time, I did some other things. Like, remove the paint to see that the roof was fitted with lead, they used to blend the joint between the roof panel and the quarter panel Also took another shot at the trunk and remove this reinforcement Only to find more rust than I was expecting And some new parts, as you might know this is the original dash of the non sport TE27 So I contacted the guys at speedhut.com and have made a new tachometer that fits inside the original hole, and with an orange background, the name of the car “rustyrolla” and the logo of a group of friends By now we are finishing march of 2020

Starting february, and starting with a new part of the car, a little grinder love and I got this new hole on the car, on the rear driver side. Old metal laid on the bench, for measurement and finding new metal I had some of cuts from the front floors, so I was reusing them With the old piece out, you take some time to find a new one and then you just swap them, and go from this… To this… And before you can realize, you got a whole new floor on the car Then, since the passenger rear side was in better shape, I didn’t cut the whole floor, and just made some patches, and filled some holes And given that I had welding gas, I got to finish the steering rack brackets and welded them in place. By this we are February 9th.

Quite a story, and great to know that. I've checked on my car and it doesn't have any of that... but also I don't have the original keys, nor the original locks 🤪 I the US, Toyota still caries the original blank keys and they aren't that expensive https://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem/toyota~key~blank~90999-00066.html

You just need to start from some place, and do a thing at a time. As Simone Giertz says, split the job in smaller jobs that you have the confidence to tackle, and build your skillset to tackle new jobs Indedd, by the time the car will be done, I don't think that there is a part of the car that wasn't touched in some way or another. And lets keep up with this, while I was working on the drivers side floor and rocker panel, sometimes you get frustrated with some part, or it gets boring to test fit the same part 10 times, and you want to change what you are doing in order to not burn everything to the ground. So, while the driver side was being made and I got bored I was also working on these parts… I got the hang on how to make the end of the rocker panel, so I made the passenger side again, and got to weld everything in place. To this day I don’t like how the end cap looks and fit, but it works If you remember, I had removed the front windshield panel, and under that panel it wasn’t all fine. I had to remove the lower lip that when I removed the panel, I just cutted close to the edge as possible, but now I had to fix that The worst offenders were the cowl intake vents, so I drill them out and someday I will fix them. It leaves a nice hole, and some places to fix. While poking some not so good looking metal, I also found a new hole that was right above the drivers feet... yay more work for me. Walking around the car, I kept seeing that the spare tire well was very rusted, so I took the grinder and make a brand new hole on the car But fear not! with the dimensions of the spare tire well, I went to a place that sells sheet metal parts for cars and after a lot of talking with the guy at the counter, I got the last spare tire well for a 94-08 Volkswagen Gol (a very popular car over there), but, lucky me, it was the last replacement panel available in the shop hahaha. And to finish this post, a sneak peek of the next work ahead... As with the last post we are on the end of January 2020

Indeed they look like they are close enough, but never considered on using the Starlet frame, I just had read online that some people used the Starlet rack, so I went and got one, cut the rack supports, measure a little and attached to the TE27 subframe the best I could, there wasn't much more thought hahaha And now we start this journey on December 17 It took a while, but I was able to find some gas for the welder, and since it was on the lighted side I started with the driver side floor and rocker panel. First step is to remove all the rusted metal, so lets turn on the grinder and let the spark fly. And after you get to the good metal, it is time to test fit the new pieces. If you look closely, I had to cut the panel in front of the driver floor, and the inner base of the A pillar. This is just a rough test fit, to get an idea of how many parts this jigsaw needs and how all those pieces fit together. Little pieces like this, that I’ll have to make from scratch, or cut from a bigger part. I could gather a patch from the rocker panel I had made. The best way to do this is to make a wooden mold or buck, that will help to give the metal a new shape. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want, as long as it the rough shape that you need, the more complex the more time and materials that you'll need, and as you can see I’m using some scraps of 2x4, it isn't very strong, but for a one off it helps a lot. And after a lot of hammering and some cursing, you get a new piece As usual, it takes a lot of trimming, test, trim, test, fit, trim, file, but it all pays out Then you do the same for the other part And again, after a lot of testing, you got what you want Some action with the welder, and a lick of paint and it looks much better With that done, the work on the floor can continue. It’s all a process of testing, hammering, and testing again until everything clicks in place And once you are in peace with the fitment of the pieces, pour some liquid metal over the joints to make them become as one. Meanwhile I was working on the floors, I also was working on the base of the A pillar, as a whole with the floors, also checking that the fitting was right. Also checking that the door and the fender still bolted correctly, and everything landed on the right spot And again I had to make the indentation for the front fender to bolt correctly. But I had learned a lot since the last part, so I made it again and took a different approach to build it and this one came out much better. With the rocker panel in place, weld everything inside And then seam seal all the interior and weld everything in the outside And done, with the seam sealer it almost looks good and that nothing ever happened. With that done, lets go to the other side And ended this part on January 26 and we are on the 2020

I did took a lot of measurements, and I think I'm close enough, but as you said, it is a whole subject. I used this site, https://www.racingaspirations.com/apps/suspension-geometry-calculator/ with all the measurements took from the TE27, and trying to be close as possible. I just read online that they used KP6* starlet parts for the swap, and given that over here there are a lot of them and parts are cheap, I decided to do it. Sadly I never took those measurements, and I don't have the car nor the engine close to me to take those measurements that you need. But I have the factory body manual with a lot of measurements of the stock crossmember

The first job on the shop was to make a new workbench, so I went to homedepot, bought some wood, some 2x4’s and got this It has some great natural light by the day, but I was going to be working by night mostly So I bought some lights, which were the second job in order to make the shop more usable. The car was lovely lit from one side, and could be turned around easily to work on the other side. Onto the real first job to the car while I was there, I wasn’t able to locate welding gas so I couldnt . The TE27 comes from factory with a steering box, it’s a big, heavy, and old tech, while I was reading on forums and groups, many people use the steering rack of a KP61 Starlet, and most ideas online use parts that are impossible to get over here, but luckily Starlets are everywhere and very cheap. So I got a starlet subframe, rack and column. Why the subframe? You might ask Just to get the steering rack mounts Then I chopped the TE27 steering stops, and cleaned the subframe And done Well, not so easy, if you want to keep a good steering, there are a lot of measurements involved, I did my best to follow all of them. First of all I needed to find the centerline of the subframe, the steering rack, and the original steering bar You want that the pivot point on the suspension arm, is as close to the pivot on the steering rack/steering bar as possible. As you can see, the pivot on the original steering is inwards, and with the starlet rack it moves outwards (always measuring from the centerline). As you can see the Starlet is longer. But luckily without much modifications everything fits just fine, I just had to use the starlet inner tie rod, and the corolla outer tie rod, they screw right on and allows for the “correct geometry”, time will tell if everything works All the old parts, and missing from the photo is the steering box that must weigh like 20kg by itself. A little video of everything working together By now it is 10 of December 2019