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

I found another one in my garage, & had a quick look. I stand corrected. It does not have a phosphor bronze pivot sleeve bearing in it. It has two (2) tapered nylon bushes, one at each end. New bushes are about $ 30 a pair on ebay. I did however confirm, that the idler arm bracket, fits all models from KE-30, through to KE-55. Unfortunately, the idler arm ball joint is not replaceable, & if the ball joint has failed, you need to replace the complete pitman arm, which incorporates the ball joint. Both items; complete idler arm assembly, & the pitman arm, are available on ebay. Cheapest I saw the complete idler arm assembly was about $ 60.00. The pitman arm, including ball joint, was about $ 40 - $ 52, so on that basis, it would be wise just to pay the extra dollars, & obtain the full new assembly, & get everything. Cheers Banjo

Lovely story about the very early (60-70 years ago) EV conversions, on the ABC website, yesterday. Good read ! https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-02-04/worlds-first-electric-porsche-forgotten-history-evs-melbourne/101891670 However, it was a side story about a guy in Chinchilla, in Qld., that caught my eye. He converted a Dato 1200 ute. I worked for a company that had one of those once, & the ute cabin was hard to squeeze into. We can't let the Dato communitity, be the first ! Sure there must be someone out there, considering, doing an "EV", on their Rolla. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-10-18/converting-classic-cars-to-electric-vehicles/100533104 Cheers Banjo

I had a look in my heap of spares, & I do have an idler arm pivot assembly, out of a KE55. I can't imagine, Toyota changed that much throughout the KE30-35-55 series. I was going to compare it, with my KE30 2 door coupe one today, but it was raining, so couldn't put my KE30 up on the ramps, to take a look. If it's fine tomorrow, I'll take a look. This one is missing the phosphor bronze bush in the middle. I'll take a look through my heap of bits tomorrow, & see if it is there somewhere; or maybe I've used it previously, but can't recall.

I have never come across a "crushed" bush on an idler, on any of my Rollas. All the ones I've seen have two tapered half bushes. The only reason I could imagine, they placed a crushed idler bush, would be, that it assisted "self centering" of the steering. That would require, I presume; that the nut be tightened up, on the crush tube, with the steering in the straight ahead alignment. It might be easier to just get a whole new idler arm assembly, with the two tapered, removable & replaceable bushes, & dice the crush tubed version altogether. Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff, If your KE26 idler arm pivot, is the same as those in the KE30 series, I have never come across them "locking up". The bushes in these take a beating, & I replaced them every 4-5 years. I guess, that if the nut on the top of the pivot, was too tight, it might not turn easily & could appear "locked". By all means, back the nut off, until it turns, but don't leave it loose. Cheers Banjo

So the trigger wheel/disc, with magnets, & it’s decoder, is now running the engine, by firing four (4) off COPs sequentially; albeit, at a fixed advance of 10-12 degrees BTDC. (as per pics in the previous post) Next step to build an advance / retard controller. I built my ignition controller, with a “mapped” advance retard curve, by revisiting a tried & proven programmable ignition system, designed by Silicon Chip magazine, way back in March 2007. I say proven; as I have been using it in my KE30 2 door coupe, on a 4K-U engine, for years; with an Accuspark 3K dizzy Hall Sensor setup; & never had to touch it since, after I initially getting the advance mapping correct. I looked on the Silicon Chip website on-line store, & they still had the programmed PIC micro-processor for this project. I have built it up, in recent days, & tested it on the bench, & it appears to work well. The programmable ignition controller, can accommodate 2 off 11 x 11 advance/retard maps, (for duel fuel applications) or a single 15 x 15 map, which is what I’ve used There is no software, that communicates with this system, so a little hand controller, with an LCD display & some push buttons, is used to create the map. It’s a bit laborious, but works well. I used Excel to create the map. The MAP is a "little flat", to start with, but can be changed, during load testing, to optimise the advance setting, for various RPM & load ranges. I also limited the maximum RPM range, as my test trigger disc, & speed controlled electric motor on my bench, is not balanced; & the motor is only capable of 3500 RPM maximum. Once I get it on the engine & do some fine tuning, of the advance/retard map, I will be setting the advance as high as practically possible, without introducing “knock”, which could “spoil the party”. Not wanting to do that, I’ve yesterday built a Knock sensor kit; again put out by Silicon Chip in June 2007. (Silicon Chip still had the PCB in stock) Knock is caused by detonation, or too much advance; or high engine temps; or lower fuel octane rating, than normally being used; & results in mechanical piston rattle within the cylinder, around TDC. Modern cars all have a knock sensor, on the engine, that detects this piston rattle, & tells the ECU to back off the advance a bit. Apparently, all “knocking” in engines, creates “noise/knocks” in a frequency band width of between 4.5kHz & 6.5 kHz. The knock sensor itself, is basically a tiny microphone, listening to your engine. They typically use a piezo-electric sensor, which is attached to the engine block or head. The “knock or detonation” sensor controller, is basically a “notch” filter that only looks at frequencies between 4.8 – 6.4 kHz. When detonation, or knock is detected; a signal is sent to the ignition controller. As knock only occurs around TDC, the controller only looks at the knock sensor output, around TDC & for several milliseconds after firing has taken place. That avoids any other engine noise, that gets picked up by the “knock sensor”. The controller then automatically reduces the advance, between 0.5 to 6.0 degrees of advance, depending on the severity of the knock. I could nip down to a wreckers, & pick up a knock sensor, but I notice they are not that expensive on ebay, ranging from around $ 20 upto about $ 80.00. I prefer the screw-in type, rather than a bracket on the engine; as the sensor, then becomes part & parcel of the engine, & integral, to the block or head. Next question is where to mount it. My research indicates, that the preferred position is on the head some where. Has anyone out there ever fitted a knock sensor to their K Series engine, & if so, where did you attach it ? My personal preference, would be to fit it, high on the engine block, on the opposite side of the engine, to the exhaust header. I found a couple of threaded holes, behind the mechanical fuel pump, that appear to be roughly between cylinders 1 & 2. A bit tight in there, as the mechanical fuel pump obstructs; but I’m using an electric pump, & that area, has a blanking plate. Would welcome any suggestions. Cheers Banjo

Hi Mate ! What model 4K engine have you got. Is it a 4K-C or a 4K-U ? As you have advised that the 4K is "fully worked", I'm presuming the camshaft has been reprofiled ? Is this the same camshaft that was in the engine, before you had the crankshaft ground & new bearing presumanbly; or did you have the camshaft profiled or a new one fitted fitted at the same time ? We had someone else on here recently, with camshaft tiiming issues. I'll dig out the thread & link it here, & you can have a read, & see if the info therein, is relevant to your situation. Here is some it below . . . . . . I've been trying to find You a pdf version, on the web; of the "Yellow Bible", which the Toyota factory manual produced for the K Series engine. I have a hard copy which I purchased years ago. I covers every K series engine from the 2K to the 5K-C. I have just scanned the picture that is most relevant to your issue. When a manual refers to things like assembling & dissembling a car engine, they assume the engine is out of the car on a bench. There is a difference between the word "vertically", & "perpendicular." The K series engine block has the top of the block (where the head bolts on), & the bottom of the block (where the sump bolts on) being perfectly parallel to each other So when the block is on a bench being assembled etc. the keyway on the crankshaft is both vertical & perpendicular, assuming the bench top is level. However, when the K series is installed in the engine bay, it tilts over to the LHS, when you are standing in front of the grill, looking into the engine bay. I've never measured it, but it looks roughly about 15 degrees. You are looking at the keyway, & saying it is 20 degs out; or off the perpendicular, but your engine is in the car & already tilted, to the LHS. Your reference plane should be the bottom edge of the timing chain cover, which as the diagram above indicates, is exactly 90 degrees to a line drawn vertically through the crankshaft keyway. I don't know how else to describe it to you. Probably the best I can do, is show you a picture on Rollaclub, I took about 4 odd years ago, where someone else, had a similar issue to that which you have. Notice the engine is sitting on wooden blocks, supporting the engine on the block flanges where the sump is attached. Note the crankshaft keyway, is both vertical & perpendicular. If you want to read that post, then go to this link. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/74223-worked-5k-problems-on-1st-start/ In conclusion, I don't believe that your engine needs to get pulled out. I believe the "timing error" you are seeing with the timing light, is caused by something else; probably vacuum problems. To stop any vacuum issues, causing timing errors, simply pull off the vaccum hose from the dizzy, so it cannot affect the advance at all. However, you must block the hose off, & any other offrices into the inlet manifold, so that the engine has a chance of getting the right air / fuel ratio. I hope this assists. Cheers Banjo