[Ke26 restomod project]

I also spent some time with the idler arm, the thread on it says enough, but the old one was seized on. I stripped the bolt getting it off... But the rubber bush was pretty much torn through which is not ideal.

 

But I have a new 555 idler arm, it's once again rust converted, primed and painted in satin black.

Whilst I was at it, the old locks were... I don't know how to describe it except to say some one has put a screw driver through all of them. So I tried the ace auto parts locks but the ignition barrel was wrong. However auto parts complex had the right locks for the job! I'll post up soon how they look, but they fitted... I am not happy with the look of the petrol cap but I'll fab something up

[Ke26 restomod project]

From the original photo the rear shocks were completely gone as the car was sagging in the rear. So I have replaced the rear shocks with some kyb shocks for now... I'll post up a bit later with my adventure down suspension lane

 

The rear shocks were stuck in their compressed state, but once the kyb shocks went in the car went back to a neutral stance with a little weight assistance. 

 

So I marked the new shocks and started on the new shock brake combo. That's a mission but I think it will work out

[Ke26 restomod project]

I'm not sure I'll keep up with Sebastian in terms of love/dedication as his build is epic! but I'll keep you updated. 

[Ke26 restomod project]

I have also removed most of the steering and suspension. 

The bushes for the suspension where so shot that they literally crumbled and fell out when I jacked the car up. 

 

But following the labor of love I spent time with the wire brushes, a jug of degreaser and a few cans of wurths rust converter, primer and then Eastwood's top coat in satin black. A sneak peak of the suspension arms with superpro bushes

 

 

[Ke26 restomod project]

The tail gate is in a sad shape, there is much rust to be repaired and then a serious accident had seen the left have caved in and filled with bog.

 

Following the bread crumbs I can see that the rear passenger fender had been replaced, and the internal panels are... Questionable as there were also covered in bog. So I have started on the tail gate and will post pictures soon. 

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

Thanks banjo,

I originally tried to purchase from them but they were out of stock at the time. They said they were changing owners and so things were a bit delayed. So I just made them. 

[Ke26 restomod project]

The fender then needed the sheet metal work. the old aerial hole got welded up, it was a pretty nasty hole but it got welded up and once again file finished.

 

The bottom off the fender behind the wheel was completely rusted out, I tried to get the fender patch panel from rare spares but they weren't in stock. So with some CAD (cardboard aided design) I cut a new peice from 0.8mm steel. Put it through the English wheel, the slip roller to get the right curve, then the swager to get the fold lips started.

Once the old panel was cut off there was a lot of rust between the panel and the brace. So I sandblasted it and then applied some rust converter and weld through primer. 

 

 

And then tacked in place whilst I test fitted it back to the car.

And obviously file finished

I need to fix the panel gap, a line of weld should fix it at the point of the door. 

[Ke26 restomod project]

The first panel to be restored was the passenger side fender, it was rusted and filled will big from an previous accident. But after a few minutes with the rubber mallet she was mostly straight

 

But taking it further I matched the contour from the drivers side fender which required heat shrinks to bring it back into line. It is now file finished on the damaged section

 

[Ke26 restomod project]

So I have finally started on the restoration project for an 1974 Corolla ke26 wagon. He is affectionately called Kevin.

Anyone please feel free to ask questions and I'll try to answer then as best I can. 

 

But I have started stripping the basic panels from the car. They have been acid dipped and coated in kephos to keep the rust at bay for now. 

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

No I built them from scratch. I'm spending time at motorretro and they are teaching me to make the parts and old school panel beating and metal work. 

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

The car has a fair bit of rust, I'm making patch panels and welding them in as I go. The front and rear shocks were collapsed so they are getting a complete rebuild. I should start a build post... 

 

I bought the ball joint press kit from super cheap. So it was a proper press. The press tube was a little shallow and left an impression on the bottom of the ball joint but it seemed only cosmetic.

 

These were the ball joints, 

https://www.autosurplus.com.au/toyota-corolla-1200-1400-1600-ke20-ke25-ke26-lower~8943

 

But the new ones are ordered, so hopefully this weekend it'll be sorted

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

Yeah, I replaced both ball joints. The rubbers were gone on the old ones and whilst I had the suspension arm off the car is a good time to replace them. I'm actually just cleaning, painting and replacing anything that is perishable. I know the car want registered since 2014 and since all the bushes literally fell apart when I jacked the car up I'm guessing the steering/suspension is original with the car...

 

Ill send the faulty one back, came from autosurplus as nos stock. So not sure of it's origins but it has '555 made in Japan' printed on the ball joint. 

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

Actually playing with the ball joint, on the loose one I can push and pull the joint up and down. So I am calling it a dead ball joint. I'll have to run with the trupro for now

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

OnThanks altezza.

I have taken the entire suspension arm out, cleaned it, painted it and just replaced the bushings and ball joints. But the new 555 ball joint is very loose. Like I can push it around with 1 finger. 

 

I tried pushing grease through both the new 555 ball joints. The loose ball joint the grease went through very easily. The tighter one the grease went through but mostly stayed in the bottom

 

I'm just wondering if I should press out the loose ball joint, even though it's new and put a new ball joint in. I can only find trupro ball joints but they should be ok?

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

On a side note, I was replacing the lower ball joint on the suspension arm and again using 555. One of the ball joints is tight and requires some force to move. The other is very loose, I can move it around with just one finger. I'm wondering if the loose ball joint is defective, or since it's probably not going to move alot the loose joint might be ok?

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

Thanks for the feed back guys, that was very helpful and much appreciated. 

That self centred steering makes sense, and explains why the rubber is so torn around the ends.

I was having banjos exact problem of things weren't lining up when I put them back on the car. So I have backed the nut off and I'll tighten it once it's all aligned. But I will see about what can be done with regards to getting a tapered bush arrangement

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

Just for context, I attached two photos of the idler arm to bracket interface. You can see the teeth on the crush tube and the indexing notches that are in both the bracket and end washer. 

 

Both the old original idler arm and the new 555 idler arm have the same setup. 

 

But I'm also not sure how I can replace the bushes. They are just a solid rubber peice. The ke30 idler is different in that it has some bushes that sit between the rubber and the crush tube I believe.

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

Thanks banjo, I'll back the nut off for now. But without a castlated nut I hope it won't come loose

[Ke20 idler arm questions]

Hey everyone,

    I took the old idler arm out of my ke26, but one of the captive nuts stripped off the bracket as it was sized good and proper. 

 

So I bought a new 555 idler arm, but the new arm doesn't seem to turn. I have taken the idler arm apart, the tube in the middle has notches that seem to be used to index onto the bracket and the end washer. The rubber bushing doesn't look to rotate, so I'm wondering how this arm was designed to work?

 

Should I just released the tension on the nut holding the idler arm to the bracket until it turns freely?

[So Who is Going to do the First KE Rolla EV Conversion ?]

@KWHPWRDAN I would love some more info on your build. Did you keep the original transmission or did you update or even remove it? 

 

And maybe what you did about some mod cons like aircon etc.

[So Who is Going to do the First KE Rolla EV Conversion ?]

Yeah, I'm looking at getting the egt213. A casual 150hp should suffice

 

https://electricgt.com/shop/213-e-crate-conversion-system/

 

I am drawn to this system because it's the easiest system to install, will without going down the rabbit home of sourcing parts yourself and designing in ev system. But the costs are very high, $49k usd for the v6 equiv crate motor (313 system) is a turn off. 

 

[So Who is Going to do the First KE Rolla EV Conversion ?]

There are a number of people who make parts for the rwd conversion of the duratec engine as they are pretty common in caterhams and Westfield's.

 

I am seeing if I can get an electric gt ev crate motor in aus. If it is closer to a direct drop in then it may be a costly but convenient option.

[Ke20 diff offset]

I am in the middle of tearing down the ke26 wagon and I was wondering if a drum to disc conversion was possible. I was looking at a wildwood unit, but without taking the drums off I don't know the axle offset.

 

Does anyone know what the axle offset on the ke20 was, I have a u code diff so it maybe slightly different but close enough will do for now 🙂

 

 

[The Consumers Right to Repair]

Personally I think that once i have bought and paid for an item, no matter the size and value then I am able to make decisions on how the item is to be repaired/upgraded etc. The prospect that some company can hold me to ransom and say that only they can service/repair an item is ridiculous, especially as the manufacturer will only "support" and product for so long. This is forcing us into an upgrade path that we may not want to take.

 

Its an legal conundrum as we actually own the item and so why arent we allowed to upgrade or service it with whomever and with what ever parts we like. Sure we may void warranty but isnt that our right to choose? 

[So Who is Going to do the First KE Rolla EV Conversion ?]

I was actually looking at doing the EV conversion on my ke26, as i was half way through rebuilding the engine and thinking of going efi... there are only 2 issues, the first is do i have $30k to do the EV conversion and the second is where to put the batteries. Easiest solution is to keep the gearbox and drive train and get an adapter plate and bolt the motor in place of the engine.

I went and did the EV course online with EV Alliance and the rough ratio for a 1 tonne car is 20kwh will get you 100km of range... that is actually 4 tesla battery modules or about 7 LG Chem modules, this is about 70cm x 60cm x 30cm (and close to 160kg) when you add in the cooling plates and battery management modules and package it in a weatherproof box. Needless to say this is actually a large space that is much bigger than a fuel tank on a car. You also need to consider that you will need to engineer  the solution and speaking to my local engineer you can go about 10-15% over the original weight of the car from the factory if you want to be able to register it for the road, so when you add in the weights of DC-DC converter (so you can run the 12v system on your car like lights, aircon etc), chargers, motor, Management modules, adapter plate for motor to gearbox etc you don't have a lot of wiggle room of you only take out an old 3k motor and gas tank. 

Also the original drive train wasnt designed to take the full torque that an electric motor can put out, so often people have to upgrade the gearbox or at least the internals, and the replace the axles.  

Whilst I am still looking into the best solution as throwing time and money into an EFI conversion on an old 3k motor is good, is there something that will keep the car running longer? Personally if i can get 200km of range in a battery package about the size of a gas tank then the EV conversion will become worth while, so whilst i have time i am keeping my options open