Banjo

Just awaiting the extra long 10mm dia. pivot bolt to arrive tomorrow, so I can lock this 120A Holden alternator in place, & try it out. I said earlier, I was planning on replacing all the filament bulbs on the KE-30, with LEDs. Now my rear tail light clusters are in pretty good nick, but the amber lens, was slightly fadded; but certainly not at the stage where you could get nabbed. I had seen some 21W amber, auto bayonet bulbs on ebay, & thought if I pop them in, & it will improve the colour output of the turn indicators. Wrong ! I even got my wife to come out, at night in the dark, & compare the results with a standard filament bulb, & the amber LED bulb, in case I was going nuts. The amber LED bulb, was definitely duller, with less colour than with the standard filament bulb. Now, it's a long time since I was in a school physics class, where we refracted white light into it's colours, but I figured it was something to do with colour wavelengths. So I quickly Googled; & sure enough, I wasn't seeing things . . . . https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/blog/amber-or-white-led-behind-an-amber-lens-with-video/ So apparently, it is a white light behind an amber lens, or an amber light behind a clear lens; as many modern cars now have. So I'm going to get hold of a cool white bayonet LED bulb & try that. A bit of futher research indicated that there are pressure sprays specifically produced, to improve the amber colour of turn indicator lenses, that have faded. I've yet to look & see if they are commonly available here in Oz. SCA have one, but it only appears to be for red tail & stop lights. Has anyone else on here, tried what I've described, & come up with the same result ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Si, I took a quick look at the alternator today, when it arrived, & my first thought was; this is going to be tight. Tight it is, but it does fit in the conventional space, on the same mounting access, as the original 30-40A alternator. It will require a custom made bracket, to attach to the block; but that is no real big issue, as it is simply a flat thick bar, with a couple of brackets off it. I took the cast mounting bracket off the block, & reversed it, & turned it upside down. Using the original long mounting pivot bolt, which is about 11cm long, I was able to mount/hold it in the final position. The clearance at the rear of the alternator, is a bit tight, but workable. I don't want to modify the alternator mountings in any way, in case it has to be changed out, in the future. The pulleys line up perfectly, with a staight edge, but I might have to make up an angled arm, to allow for fan belt tensioning setting. Just need to get hold of a 14-15 cm long 10mm dia. bolt, & with a few washers in that gap between the end on the cast bracket & alternator mount, I should be able to run it tomorrow, & check it all electrically. I was concerned earlier, that it might finish up, with the rear of the alternator being too close to the cross member & engine mount. However, I discovered that the front cross members, vary from model to model, in this area. The cross member supporting the 5K engine, on which this "lash up", was tried; has very straight up & down sides, where it supports the engine mount. Others I have here, taper outwards as they descend from the engine mount pad. I'll post some pics, once I've got it all going. Cheers Banjo

Hi Si, The aftermarket Holden 308 alternator arrived today. A quick play at lunchtime, indicates it will fit; but it's going to be a small gap possibly, between the back of the alternator, & the front cross member/engine mount support. Maybe the alternator block bracket on the 5K motor can be modified; but probably, will be easier in the long run, to fabricate a new bracket, from scratch, to attach to the block. Would love some pics of how you got yours to mount OK. Actually, I might work it all out, on another K motor, I have on an engine stand, as it is a bit hard, down there, under the exhaust header, where it is cramped. Actually fitted a 30cm lg LED driving light bar, over the weekend, just above the front number plate. KE30 won't know itself now, at night. Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff, Looks good ! Looks like plenty of adjustment there in length, once you install rear springs & diff, & let it all hang, at lowest drop point. Keep up the good work, & the pics. Cheers Banjo

Hi Col, Welcome aboard ! If you use the search feature up at the top of the screen on Rollaclub, you'll find numerous articles about this subject, often related to changing out the front struts to Corona ones, with various brake disc & caliper options. Plenty of reading there. I personally, went a slightly different track, & used Celica RA40 struts. Adjustable T3 top bearings, & Cresida, caliper & dics, from two different year models. Then you need to upgrade the master cylinder to suit, so your force needed, on your RH foot, is not so great. (Mitsubishi Pajero) When searching, you'll come across a post, I put up here years & years ago, with how I did it. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/63524-ke-3055-brake-upgrade/ My KE-30 brake upgrade has been wonderful, & it has always stopped well, since upgrade, & is very light on disc pads. Your KE-55 should have 9 inch brakes already,on the rear, unlike the KE-30, that had 7 inch only. Give us a yell, if you have any specific questions or queries, once you've sifted through the numerous posts. Cheers Banjo

Thanks Si; I will look forward to those pics. The H4 LED replacement head light bulbs arrived yesterday, & I couldn't wait until it got dark, to swap one out in the KE30, & see what the difference was. At a bit over $ 30 for a pair, it is only an experiment, & if it turns out alright, I might purchase another pair, & fit these to my Wife's Corolla or Echo. The first thing I noticed, was the very tiny plastic electric fan, at the back end of the assembly, to "keep it cool". They are tiny, & my first thought was, "I wonder how long they will last". As the fan is positioned, where the cable harness, would normally plug in, they provide an integral plug & lead. The Existing H4 headlight bulbs I had installed, were 100/90 W models, so they were already pretty bright; but I really wanted that "cool white" LED light, rather than the yellowish light, from a tungsten fillament standard bulb. Changing just one bulb, allowed me to directly compare the light outputs of both bulbs, at the same time. The result was brilliant, & the pic below, doesn't really illustrate how much better the LED bulb is. So I'll pop the battery out today, so I can get at the LHS bulb; & take it for a run tonight, out somewhere, where there are no street lights. Then, I'll start looking at "LED-anizing", all the other parking, stop & indicator lamps. Cheers Banjo

Hi Si, Thanks for that info. There are a lot of Commodore, & other Holden models; that appear to have used that particular Bosch alternator, so they are certainly commonly available, as either genuine Bosch, or several aftermarket brands/makes. You wouldn't buy a second hand one, when the aftermarket ones are fairly inexpensive, with 5 year warranties. I did however notice that they come in 100A, 120A, & 140A models. I also noticed that there are some models, they use the multi groove ribbed flat belt, rather than the standard V belt. I'm not sure whether the 140A version of this alternator, used the flat belt exclusively, due to the possible higher torque required to turn it. Did you have to modify the pulley on yours, to fit it to your engine ? Definitely seems to be the way to go. Do you happen to have any pics of your alternator installation, on the engine. A picture usually replaces a 1000 words. Cheers Banjo

Last week, my horn stopped working, & fearing the worst; I thought my little wireless mod above, had given up on me. As it turned out; it was just that the tiny little model A12 battery had finally failed to drive the circuit. So before I pulled the steering wheel insert off, I looked up on ebay, to see how much the FOB push button/relay boards were now, in case I had to buy one. I came across a product I had not seen previously, which was specifically designed to switch a horn, via a wireless signal, as I accomplished back in 2019. However, this one, has a button assembly, which simply clips around the steering wheel, & basically, does not require you to take one hand off the steering wheel, to "honk the horn". https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/75658-ke3055-horn-steering-wheel-contact-ring/ So for anyone, confronted with the same original issue, I faced; who does want to build what I did, inside the steering wheel cover; this could be a welcome suggestion, with minimal installation. Cheers Banjo

My KE30 turns 50 next year, & I've planned on giving her a few extra features for her birthday. (I'm only Her second owner) One of the presents is to replace or modify, all lighting, inside & out, with LED lights. Headlights are pretty easy, as you can easily source "H4 bulb compatible" 4 sided LED Hi intensity lights bulbs. I've ordered a set this week, so that will be the first step. One of the best things you can do to an olde Rolla, is increase the capacity of the battery & alternator, although replacing the original crappy load bearing wiring, with cable a lot thicker, would be a close second. (I've already done that) The original alternators fitted to the early KEs, were all in the 30-35-40 ampere capacity. I replaced my alternator with a reconditioned 85 ampere model, out of an early Hilux, years ago, & it has been a great asset. It was very straight forward, & just needed a few washers on the long bolt that attaches the alernator to the engine bracket, to allow the pullies to line up perfectly. As I will be putting a 5K in it, once my EFI experiment is completed, I was thinking of maybe upgrading to something like 100A capacity. I searched on here, & found Evan did an upgrade, 12 or 13 years ago, where He fitted the internals of a VL Commodore alty, into the frame of the original Denso Corolla frame. Has anyone on here experimented, & found a late model commonly available 100A alternator, that can be fitted to a K Series engine, without too much alteration, or fabrication. Alternator design has improved greatly over the past few decades, so a current 100A capacity alternator, is not necessarily, any greater in size, than the original 30-35-& 40 ampere originals fitted to K series engines. Any suggestions, gratefully received. Cheers Banjo

Absolute "Work of Art", Geoff ! I take my hat off to you. That takes real patience. Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff, Just be careful, as to what rear spring bushes you chose. I ran into all sorts of problems several years ago, when I pulled the rear end out, & rebushed front & rear of the rear springs. Initially, I went for the "blue" polly bushes. They were were so squeakie, I couldn't stand it any longer, & pulled the whole lot out, & put in the red ones, which were nice & quiet. Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff, I was walking through a major shopping centre car park, this afternoon, when I spotted a Hyundai Coupe, from a few years ago, with an interesting & business like fuel lid & surround, that you might like to consider for your project. It has a curvature, from top to bottom, & may well suit the spot on your KE26, where the fuel filler is. It certainly appeared to be large enough in area & diameter, to cover the KE-26 fuel filler opening. If you are interested, I would see if you can find a Hyundai Coupe & measure it up, & take a pair off scissors & cardboard, to assess the profile. Cheers Banjo

Hi Sebastian, Thanks for all your wonderful progress pictures. In English, I think we refer to what you are doing as "a labour of love". You've taken something, unloved, battered & bruised; & doomed to the dump, & are slowly bringing her/him/it, back to life. My "hat goes off to you", particularly, as you first had to teach yourself to weld, before commencing this project. Just inspiring ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Dave, A Pertronix sports coil with a 1.5 ohm primary winding are available on ebay for a bit over $ 100, ex Adelaide. The 5K dizzy is an electronic distributor, with a built-in ignitor. However, the ignitor, has a limit to what the minimum resistance of the primary winding, can be. My Yellow Toyota Bible does, not give specs for the coil for the 5K. It suggests coils with primary resistances of 1.3 - 1.6 ohms, or 1.5 - 1.9 ohm, for a dizzy with points. Electronic ignitors could probably go a little bit lower, but you would run the risk of maybe damaging the 5K on-board ignitor. A 1.5 ohm primary coil, sounds like a good compromise. Cheers Banjo

Incredible work & perserverance Sebastion ! I've been looking forward for an update from You ! Keep it up, & keep the pictures coming. You are inspiring others. Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff, Hmmm ! I see your problem. Modern cars do not display the fuel cap lid, & have a little spring release body cover, that hides the fuel cap altogether. If you wanted to go that way, you could cut such a cover from a later model car, & with your acquired body working skills, you could blend it into your waggons body work. However, I suspect your fuel cap sits just proud of the existing body work profile line, & that may not be possible. An alternative, is to measure the diameter of your existing new fuel cap, & see if you can find a period fuel cap surround, from a car of that vintage, that could cover what is exposed in your picture. You might like to check out this website, that seems to have a few fuel cap & surround products. https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/au/171898127-fuel-filler-cap-surround.html Sorry I can't be more help than that. Cheers Banjo

Thanks Dave ! Really interested as I have a complete rear diff/axle/brakes assembly out of a KE-55, ready to go into my KE30. The beauty of the later KE55 rear end, is that it had 9 inch brakes as standard, whereas the KE30 original "rear stoppers", were only 7 inch drums. I knew that most of your braking efforts are done with the front brakes, & it took a bit of playing around, & trips to the wreckers with a tape measure before I made a setup, using Celica front struts, with Cresida rotors, & Cresida pads & calipers. however, the rotors were off one model Cresida, & the calipers & pads from another. I fitted a whole new master cylinder arrangement from a Pajero. It worked perfectly, & is still working after many years. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/71412-pajero-master-cylinder-upgrade/?tab=comments#comment-695311 Cheers Banjo

I purchased a knock sensor off ebay, suitable for a Subaru WRX. I chose it for two reasons . . . . 1. It wasn't that expensive. 2. It didn't have a threaded stud on it, but just a hole, so I could hopefully bolt it into the K series engine, using an existing unused thread in the block The knock sensor arrived today, so I quickly headed for the garage & engine, to find a good spot to mount it. The hole through the centre of the Subaru knock sensor takes an 8mm dia. bolt. The two bolts I highlighted in my previous post above, are 10mm in diameter, & I didn't really want to drill out the hole 2mm, in my new sensor. However, the holes directly below, that secure the mechanical fuel pump to the block, are 8mm in diameter, so that is where it is presently. I still might grab a 10mm bolt, & turn it down to 8mm, partly; & thread it, so I effectively have a 8mm stud onto which I can slip in the knock sensor, & "clamp" to the block, with a nut & thick washer. Where it is currently depicted above, has a gasket on the back of the cover plate, covering mechanical fuel pump hole, so the knock sensor has an "absorbing material" between it & the block proper. Next time, I'm running the engine, I'll put the CRO, across the knock sensors output, & see what the waveform of engine noise looks like. Cheers Banjo

Hi Dave, That looks amazing, & very professional, & simply bolt off; bolt on, from what I can see. It just raises two questions. 1. How much does that conversion kit cost, as displayed in your pic. ? 2. What size wheels did you fit, to wrap around that enlarged setup ? Would love a picture to see the wheels & front guard, to gain an insight into the resulting "stance" of the car. Did you match this front brake upgrade, with anything done to the rear brakes. Were your original rear brakes 9 inch, or smaller. Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff, Fabulous start to your project thread. I take my hat off to You. That is such a daunting project, when what you have to start with; requires so much love/care, & work. Enjoy, & keep this thread updated. Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff, Did you make those lower front guard panels yourself, or buy them from Rare Spares, who I know used to make them for early Corollas, as they were such a rust catch point ? P.S. Start a Build Post on here. Always good to inspires others to have a go, when they see others attempting the same jobs. Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff ! That is a labour of love, when there is that much corrosion accumulated over the years. Did you get the new ball joins pressed in, with a press, or create a ring anvill & hammer them home yourself ? I've always found 555 branded aftermarket bits & pieces OK, previously. Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff, Are you saying you only changed one of the ball joints (not two) & the one you replaced; withs a new one, is the loose one ? i've never changed ball joints on the end on the lower suspenion arms. I am well aware that the grease nipples underneath the ball jopints are in a vunerable position to get wiped out, & not replaced; & if the rubber boot on the top side deteriorates, & allows road grime in, they will wear away. I'm wondering why I missed out on the delightful maintenance need. i just popped out to the shed, & I have three (3) off identical sets, I've pulled of Rollas, at some stage. They are all nice & tight, without any slop or wear movement in them at all. If the ball joint is new, & has slop in it, I'd be returning it for a new one. I've never ever, had the need to cut an olde one up, & look inside, but I assume there maybe a spring in the base, to allow grease to be pumped in. Maybe if there is a spring, then your new bush has it omitted, or it has broken in assembly at the factory ? Strangw ! Got me tossed how a brand new ball joint can be that loose, Usually, they are as tight as hell, when brand new. It looks like the Made in Japan ones are about $ 150 on ebay, whereas the Trupro versions are almost 1/3 of that amount. Cheers Banjo