Mechanical Sympathy

It's great driving weather! I tested out some new driving moccasins and a merino skivvy on a hot fudge sundae run.

Haha! That's where I test and tune! It actually spat the (water heated) intake manifold gasket along there last month. Wasn't happy. I prefer dry gaskets but I had been persuaded by an aircraft mechanic pal to use goop on the first gasket. No good. So the new gasket went on dry and I'll nip up the nuts in a few weeks While I had the carbies off I realised the pump rod was jammed on one of them, making it impossible to tune. All sorted now and it's going heaps better. Still not 100% on a 1500rpm clutch dump but certainly driveable. I might swap around some pump bleed jets to narrow it down. I think the old 15" tyres are a bit hard and maybe even flat spotted from sitting as I've got a bit of a vibration over 100. So I haven't taken it very far. Still ironing out the niggles to be confident taking it on a road trip but it's done around 1100km now. Fitted a Cusco strut tower brace which probably doesn't do much, but I always wanted one. $200 delivered from Japan in 3 business days which was fairly reasonable I thought! Next project is in progress. I've dug up the entire backyard for a driveway. That should keep the mud out of the shed and off the car.

All Corollas look great with generous ground clearance.

Woohoo! Great write up. I always wondered how hard this swap would be.

Hooly dooly, that's some sheet metal skills and determination!

Cheers Mat! I won't feel (as) ashamed to put it beside yours now. We'll get them out one weekend soon as the cooler cruising season approaches? Between parental duties. I reckon the new Bunnings carpark will make a great drift circuit! Of course, I'm joking. I can't drift #leafspringlife

One thing that was causing me some consternation was my inability to get a decent buff on the duco, despite numerous attempts. At my first Cars and Coffee outing it was clear that mine was the only car with swirl marks. And at night, it looked like nothing special at all. As with anything, you will all know it comes down to the right tools/product/procedure for the job - which isn't always obvious to the layman (i.e. me). In the end I got there though! I washed it with 1200 wet and dry, then I washed it again with 2500. That took care of the orange peel. SCA branded polishes just didn't work. At all. Turns out the product I needed is called "One step ready" which I picked up from DIY Colourfast at Lawnton. It apparently starts as an abrasive and rubs down to a cream in <one step>. I applied the One step ready with a foam pad from the same store, on an electric buffer and the swirls disappeared before my eyes. Only one burn through to touch up! Bah.. Swapping pads, I then hit it with Bowden's carnauba wax to seal in the glossy goodness, and buffed it off with a microfibre cloth. I'm very happy with the results now. Previously I was like, "It's ok for a 40 year old car" while secretly being envious of 2 pac painted cars. Now I know that acrylic can be just as good - it just takes some rubbing - with the right gear! I also applied some pinstripes.They're chrome, so it's a bit hard to make out in photos. But they've straightened my painted lines and add a nice *bling* highlight when they catch the light. Yeww! (That's what young fellas yell out to me)

Season's greetings Rollaclub! Thanks to the admins and financial contributors who keep our projects, anecdotes, images and knowledge base online. Cafe racer burger run.

Weber Performance sell a great book by John Passini called "Weber Carburettors Tuning Tips and Techniques" I thoroughly recommend it. I've read it cover to cover three times now and I'm still picking things up. DIY will cost more than a few hundreds though. For the same money you could possibly pay someone to set them up. One bonus for you though is that if they are new and stock jetted 151 model DCOEs in new/good condition, then by my estimate they're just about set up perfectly for a 1200-1300cc engine

I'm on.

I totally agree! I had the option of going across town for a "lenient" inspection, but was happy for the "safety" aspect to be strictly adhered to.

Second one is free! (i.e. less than 14 days later) But I won't go back there for a third if he's picky haha

Got it onto my mate's hoist on the weekend and fitted new tie rod ends, pitman arm and idler arm, as well as tweaked a couple of exhaust hangers to clear the body. Mmmmuch easier on a hoist than laying on the floor! And it steers great. Tomorrow I'll take it for the second inspection.. which should just be a formality but I'm still anxious. I still have a droplet of coolant appearing at the water pump relief hole. Literally just a droplet. He mentioned it last time, but hopefully doesn't knock it back for that because I still haven't ordered a 2TG water pump just yet. All other leaks seem to have subsided.

Foamy fuel is what I was worried about initially but it doesn't seem to be a problem so far. These ones would be next on my shopping list if that occurred. $120 though.. I'm done spending! https://www.weberperformance.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=115_101&products_id=236

And wow, what a difference getting rid of those made. It now starts turn key when cold, settling to a smooth idle without any nursing.

Thanks Wayne, good to know! I wasn't too sure when I was setting them up, but they're gone now. Upon inspection it seems that any torque over finger tightness was pinching the rubber ring off the aluminium plate and pushing the ring into the centre. The irony being that the more I tightened them, the worse it got. I also had a loose hose clamp on the crankcase breather that I fashioned out of the fuel pump block off plate, adding to the roadworthy guy's impression of moisture in that area. The Celica gearbox ratios might make it feel faster than really it is - pulling easily to ~55 in first and 85-90 in 2nd without wringing its neck feels very un-Corolla-like! Confoundingly the new SAAS tacho I fit in place of the factory clock doesn't seem to be work so I'm not sure how much it has in it.

Took it for a roadie last week, basically its first drive in anger since I've owned the car. It soon became apparent that there was a discrepancy between my forward trajectory and the orientation of the steering wheel. I hadn't really noticed in the yard! This was duly noted by the inspector and tie rod ends were earmarked for fixing. I've purchased a nine piece front end rebuild kit from ebay ($250 delivered) and I'll get it up on my mates hoist this weekend - now that CTP has been paid and I can drive it there. Redline carburetor soft mounts are shit. You can't do them up tight. Petrol pooled in the manifold and dripped out below the soft mounts, appearing as an oily substance. This was also noted by the inspector so I'm removing the soft mounts and replacing with gaskets that arrived today. A plug cut reveals richness - hopefully I can lean the idle jet out a bit once it's satisfactorily sealed. Goes good but. While he was being picky, he noticed that the exhaust just touched on the underbody in front of the diff. I'll have a tinker with that while it's on the hoist. Getting there!

I'd have a crack troubleshooting a DCOE! It was all jargonese before.

After buying several hundred dollars worth of emulsion tubes, venturis and a big box of idle jets, main jets, air correctors - I was certainly tempted to take it to a shop! Though I baulked at the hassle of securing a trailer/tow vehicle/reputable tuner on a weekday. But that book I bought saved me from spending more. Very insightful. I've read each chapter over three times now. Even with the benefit of modern dyno and gas analyser testing, the author still advocates plug cuts and road testing for fine tuning and has taught me how. I figured I've spent the same as getting someone to fix it, but I've learned how to do it along the way. It just obviusly took a lot longer! I've now got it very responsive to the throttle from idle, pulling cleanly and easily to ~55 km/h in first haha. Currently set at; 34mm chokes 55F9 idle jets 140 F16 185 main/emulsion/air That will get me to rego. Plugs are dark brownish but I don't want to lean out the air corrector too much until I can either check plugs/performance on a sustained 100km/h stretch or fit an AFR. I've sorted the last of the oil and coolant leaks. This weekend I'll wire up the reverse lights, pay the third party insurance.. could I really be ready to ring for a roadworthy?... Looking forward to getting out and catching up with you all around town soon!

Is that in Pickering St. Mat? Sweet, I won't even ring around then.

Yeah I'm certainly keen to get a wideband bung welded in. Once it's registered I'll swing by the muffler shop and get them to fit a resonator at the same time.

Float levels fixed it, and fresh plugs. Set the fuel level to 5mm below the port in the emulsion well, rather than the 8mm below that they were set at ex factory. Seems to suit the F16 tube a lot better. Feeding it some throttle in 1st and 2nd up the street broke traction on the Jacaranda flowers. And the sound is addictive. Must.. resist. Plug inspection suggests probably could lean it out a bit. Leaks, tweaks, rego!

Tuning kit. No more jets, I'm done. Deal with these guys and your gear arrives in less than 24 hours. I've gotten through the progression with the idle jet, using 34mm chokes and F16 emulsion tubes. With the few jet sizes to hand I was able to load up the clutch on the corner of the shed slab and torque it up enough to do a skid, but the main system still bogs and spits With these and what I have, fresh plugs and another 10 litres of 98 - I seem to be going through a lot of those - I'll be able to have a really decent crack at finding the goldilocks zone. Just maybe not this weekend ahhh This book has been enlightening.

Yeah I'm beginning to think along those lines also. I was only shooting for 6000 rpm so I hoped 30mm chokes would be streetable. According to the internet guides a 34mm choke means a 140 main 190 air as Bruce said above. Would really just have liked to get it driveable and then fine tune with an AFR when I could drive it to an exhaust shop to get a bung welded in. But I might have to trailer it for a bung if 34mm chokes has no effect.

Aha I've just now picked up 120 main/f9 emulsion tubes /175 air correctors based on that guide, so I'll see how I go with those.