Banjo

Hi Geoff, Hats off to You ! You've got more patience than I have, but I sure it will look perfect, when you finish it all. Cheers Banjo

For what it is worth, I'd be leaving the respray until last. With a different engine install, there will be a lot of mechanical work necessary, & maybe the engine/s in & out a few times. Most heart breaking outcome, would be to spray it; then scratch or damage it, during the mechanical side. Where are you located gegraphically ? I'd love to have a look at your acquisition, if you are nearby. To find one of theses KE-17 Sprinters, without substantial rust, is a real find. Cheers Banjo

There is something about the rear roof rake on the Sprinter models, that was/is so appealing. Forget about the 20V or 2TG conversion. I asked the question on here sometime back. Who is going to be the first to do an EV conversion on a KE. Your KE17 Sprinter is perfect. It would be the first, & only one in the world ! (I Googled it, & couldn't come up with anyone whose done it) Here is the standard in early model Corolla KE resto. https://www.wapcar.my/news/goldmine-brand-new-1972-toyota-corolla-sprinter-trueno--4057 No pressure to make yours as good or better than this one. Love this guy ! https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/classic-cars/a12475265/teslas-shop-foreman-has-owned-36-first-gen-toyota-corollas-so-far/ Cheers Banjo

Welcome back ! Oh WOW, a KE17 Sprinter ! Arn't you a lucky guy. Carol looks in good shape for a resto. Will be really keen to see what you discover. Does it actually run, as it is ? So many of the KE17-20-25 series now are full of rust, but Carol looks likes she "has been loved", at some time in her life. Excuse my ignorance, as I've never got up close & personal, with a KE17; but is the circled component below a water heater control & shut off valve ? I've never ever laid eyes on one of them before ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Graeme, Not quite a Christmas Tree, but a a full set of clean; clearer, & brighter lights, which does give it a fresh new feel at night. Cheers Banjo

The LED changeover of all lights on my KE-30 has been finally completed, after the last LED bulbs for the rear ‘Number Plate illumination” arrived yesterday, & were fitted last night, with a really good result. I thought I would list them all, & their cost, so anyone else contemplating the changeover, will have the LED bulb type/model knowledge, & cost. There are a total 18 off bulbs involved . . . . . None of the bulbs required any modifications to connections or wiring. Headlight Bulbs: Two (2) off @ 36.57 total. eBay Description: 4-Sides H4 HB2 9003 LED Headlight Kit Light Bulb Hi-Low 2500W 375000LM 6000K HID _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Front Side Guard Indicator Bulbs: Two (2) off 12V 5W Wedge Bulbs @ $ 2.00 ea. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Front Turn Indicator Bulbs: Two (2) off Front Parking Bulbs: Two (2) off Rear Stop Bulbs: Two (2) off Rear Reversing Bulbs: Two (2) off Rear Turn Indicator Bulbs: Two (2) off Rear Parking Bulbs: Two (2) off Total off 12 bulbs Three (3) off packs off 4 @ $ 5.99 ea. Total Cost: $ 17.97 eBay Description: 4 X 1156 BA15S Car While Globe 18 LED Brake Revers Turn Stop Tail Light Bulb 12V ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rear Number Plate Illumination Bulbs: Four (4) off @ $ $ 7.48 (note: You only need two, but the pack includes 4 off) eBay Description: 4X BA15S 1156 CAR GLOBE 50 LED BRAKE REVERSE TURN STOP TAIL LIGHT BULB WHITE 12V _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Interior Dome/Ceiling Light: One (1) off @ $ 6.65 ea. (note: You only need one, but the pack includes 2 off) eBay Description: 2x CAR 12V LED 31MM FESTOON INTERIOR WHITE LIGHT BULB 18SMD AUTO DOME GLOBE _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You will also need to swap your turn indicator flashing unit, over to a model suitable for LED lamps, as the existing one, (designed for high current bulbs) will “hyper-flash", if used with LED lamps. LED Flasher Unit: One (1) off @ $ 12.99 ea. ebay Description: 3 Pin LED Flasher Unit Relay Indicators 12V For LED Light Turn Signal So all up cost is about $ 100.00, & you get a couple of spare bulbs, to pop in the gove box. The results were more than pleasing. There was no mods carried out to the wiring or connections needed. Obviously, whilst, you've got the "lenses" off to swap over the bulbs, you will give the lenses a good clean. I found the little rear bumper bar mounted licence plate glass lenses, needed a very good clean. The flasher unit, is simply a plug out; plug in; requirememt. It is located down behind the plastic panel, next to the drivers accelerator pedal & leg. The only other advice I can provide, is about the electrical contact points in the car, for all these bulbs. The existing filament bulbs carry reasonably high currents, that "burn through" slight corrosion on the electical contact points, in the sockets. However, the LEDs, have very small DC currents, by comparison, & I would suggest giving all the electrical contact points a good clean, before inserting the new LED bulbs. I found an easy way, was to a bit of steel wool wrapped around the end of a pencil, or similar object worked well. Just make sure to blow out any tiny bits of steel wool, before inserting the new LED bulbs. For complete safety; this cleaning suggestion, should be carried out, with the negative terminal of the battery isolated. Probably the best results, I've had on my car, for a $100 spend. Cheers Banjo

Excellent ! There is an olde saying that says; "a workman is as good as his tools". Always makes it easier when you have the right tools for the job. Good work ! I gather the exercise, has given you a lot of interest in the trade. My guess is; that as you've "I took a few tafe courses . . . . ", You might move to this field untimately ? What a dream job, working for a company restoring olde cars professionally, would be ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff, That is awesome ! All cudos to you, as many of us would not have the skills or inclination, to tackle what you are doing, to that level of detail. (No bog involved) Your pictures tend to indicate, you have a wealth of metal working machinery to work with. Is that all your own, or do you work in that trade, normally ?. Keep up the excellent work, & please keep posting pics. You'd be surprised, how inspiring this is to others, who may be considering tackling, something similar. Cheers Banjo

Hi Ben, Sorry to hear you are having so many issues with this particular problem. My only comment at present is, that the special one piece gasket you have purchased, does not look like the the one, we have available here in Australia. The one available to us, is quite thick, & tends to take up those small gaps, between manifolds & head face. It appears from your picture to be a metal gasket, with "facing" added to it. If it is metal, one would think, it wouldn't have the ability to "absorb", small clearance descrepancies between the inlet & exhaust manifold faces. Cheers Banjo

When trouble shooting electrical issues, in olde Corollas; the problem is often compounded, when You turn to the wiring diagram at the back of a manual; whether it be a Toyota factory "Yellow Bible" manual, or an aftermarket ones, like Haynes, InterEurope, or Gregorys. Generally, a mass of wiring lines, running all over the page, which are very hard to trace, & has your eyes straining, after a few minutes. Commonly, you are only interested in one part/section of the car's wiring, related to your issue at harnd, (say head-lights); but you get confused when it is swamped by the complete wiring diagram. Some wiring diagrams, depict various items, with a shape that is easily recognised. (eg: battery, headlight, or alternator) but many wiring diagrams, simply depict, the various items, as little rectangles or circles; (as above), with a number next to it, for which you have to look up the "KEY" or "LEGEND", to find out what it actually is. The simplest way, is to photo copy the wiring diagram, from the manual, then high-light with a texta pen, just the wires & electrical components, that you have an issue with. Altezzaclub, has often placed wiring diagrams, here in that format, & that certainly assists. However, even if you just isolate the wiring diagram for your area of interest, the little rectangular boxes with a "KEY" number next to them, & 2,3,4, 5, or 6 wires attached to it; give you no idea, as to what is going on inside the retangle. This is especially a problem, if the rectangle represents a switch, or a relay. A classic example would be the "hazzard switch", LEGEND 41, which is a little rectangle depiction with 6 off wires going into it. (good luck with that one) I was looking at a problem at the weekend, that I came across; whilst comverting all the lighting in my KE-30, to all LED lamps. I had previously also added to the complexity, by adding relays; so that lighting & dip switches, which originally carried heavier currents (especially in the case of the head lights), would often burn out the switch contacts. The conversion of lighting to LEDs, overcomes this problem altogether, as the same, or greater light levels, are produced, with much lower currents.. So I sat down, & drew a circuit of my KE-30 "Lighting Only" wiring diagram, & depicted within the relays & switches, just how they work, which greatly assists, whilst chasing lighting issues. I've even put the wiring "colour codes' to assist. However, please don't blame me, if some of the colours are incorrect. Even on the factory wiring diagram, you'll find wires that are labelled one colour at one end, & another colour at the other end. I remember well, several years ago, when completely rewiring the engine bay of my KE-30, that when I unwrapped the factory cable loom, I found badly crimped factory wiring, where the wire changed colour, inside the harness/loom. (Must have run out of that colour wire ?) I have depicted the Light switch & Dipper/Dimmer switch, as two seperate items, only for understanding; as to what goes on inside them. They are in fact, one unit. One of the issues with this switch is that; +ve 12 Volts power, is switched to the headlights, with a relay; but the switching, of the same high currents, betweeen low & high beam; is accomplished with fairly small switch contacts in the lighting switch itself, which switches to the ground/negative side of the supply. This, often burns the contacts in the switch, & requires a replacement switch. (Been there, done that !) https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/65882-after-market-ke-light-column-switch/#comments This problem can be overcome by either fitting LED head light bulbs; or fitting two relays between the Dimmer/Dipper switch & the head lights, which Altezzaclub has described on here previously. In the Light switch section, there are 3 positions. 1. OFF 2. TAIL 3. HEADLIGHTS + TAIL The Dipper switch is a little morre complicated, as you may want to flash the head lights high beam during daylight hours, when the lights are not on; so the dipper switch also has to turn on the Headlight relay, as well as select the high beam, when you pull back, on the spring loaded dipper switch. Hope someone, somewhere is helped by the above wiring diagram. Cheers Banjo.

Good point ! Ben; remember that the inlet manifold (aluminium) & exhaust manifold (cast iron) are made of two different materials, with different expansion rates, when heated & cooled. The use of a very thick hardened washer, is a necessity, to be able for the "pull down" on each manifold tab, to be flat & strong. Don't be tempted to file down the exhaust manifold tab, on the outer side, if it is thicker. I have once, long ago, filed the outer side of the aluminium mainifold tab/s; when it was the thicker, & it solved the issue, but it was not a lot of material removed. The really import fact; is that a straight edge across both manifold's gasket mating surfaces, should have no gaps of more than a thou or two. The heavy & thicker one piece gasket, with absorb any small alignment gaps like that. I can assure you, that I have done this job on 2-3 K Series engines over the years, & after, what I have described was carried out, the result was permanent, & I have never had to revisit them again. We have had a number of people on this forum, over the past 12 months, that have learnt, that sealing of the "inlet manifold track", is extremely important aspect of getting idle & tuning correct. All air entering the cylinders; must be air that only enters through the carby venturi, & not from elsewhere. P.S. One last suggestion. Once you have done this, & the engine is running sweetly again, make sure you re-tighten/re-torque the manifold stud nuts. Cheers Banjo

Hi Ben, The out of roundness, as you describe the gaps & spaces between exhaust & inlet, are not an issue, as very large thick washers should be used to clamp down both manifolds. What is more important, is that the faces of both inlet & exhast manifolds are in perfect alignment, & perfectly smooth; when manifolds & gaskets are fitted to the head. Bear in mind, that the inlet & exhaust manifolds are "bolted together", directly below the carby (see above). It is always a possibility, that these have been seperated at some time, in their long life, & bolted back together, with both gasket faces not in perfect alignment. Unfortunately, I've found over the years, these bolts will be almost "welded" to the exhaust manifold, because of the heat in that area. The flanges on the manifolds, where the big thick washes clamp down; must also be the same thickness, so the thick washers sit flat. A little bit of attention to detail in this area, & it will work, & your inlet sucking air in from unwanted areas, will be solved. Cheers Banjo

Electrical faults are always hard to trouble-shoot; but more so, when they are intermittent. Fuse blown very unlikely, but could possibly be the socket into which the fuse is lodged. More than likely, it is the relay, so I would see if there is another identical relay used in your KE70, & swap them, & see if the fault disappears. If previous owner has "been at the wiring", or done mods, that could easily be an issue. Might have an additional/extra wire wrapped around another, without being soldered or used with a terminal. Altezzaclub, knows all things about KE70 wiring arrangements, & there is probably a wiring diagram on this forum somewhere, you can acess, to trouble shoot, with reference thereto. Cheers Banjo

Yep, that is a problem area, many Rollaclub members have experienced. This post explains the issue & ways to fix it. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/82146-new-to-rollaclub/?do=findComment&comment=731487 It is imperative that before you fit the mainifolds, that both exhaust & inlet manifold faces, that bolt up to the head, are alreeady in line. Check with a straight edge, before fitting. The one piece gasket is also a must. This thread might assist your understanding of the manifold issue. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/74148-one-piece-manifold-gasket-k-series/#comment-715486 Unfortunately, it will require you to drop the exhaust pipe, & extract manifolds & carby, & start again. Cheers Banjo

Welcome Aboard ! Any decent & reputable auto paint supplier, who you give a code like 684 to; will be able to make it look a little darker to your specific requirements. Are you having the KE-35 professionally painted, or doing it yourself ? If professionally, then any good spray painter will also be able to modify the mix to your exact requirements, if you provide the 684 code, & advise you want it a little bit darker. Let us know how you go, & progress, & please post some pics of your resto KE-35. Cheers Banjo

Thanks for those suggestions ! In the case of the Corolla bonnet, I found that, was not necessary. There are two factory cut-out holes in the bonnet's structural ribs, that are in the perfect position, such they look perfectly "balanced", with the bonnet closed, from the outside. I totally agree; but unfortunately, those holes provided in the bonnet structual ribs, do not align with the radiator mounting bar. They are forward of the bar. I just cut a couple of pieces on thick sheet metal, & mounted them to the radiator bar, using bolts already provided. Worked well, & nice & firm. No flexing or movement of the plate, when closing the bonnet, & clicking in place. Cheers Banjo

Over the years, the ignition system, & how it functions; has shown itself, to become an area of our Rollas, that "non electrical" members, struggle with; especially when confronted with an "uncoperative", or "disfunctional" ignition system. The following article on the DIYAutoTune website, has got to be one of the best & clearest explanations, as to how ignition systems work, & what sort of issues are common. Read it a couple of times, & I think you will agree. https://www.diyautotune.com/news/tuning-tips/ignition-system-remix-by-greg-banish/ Cheers Banjo

Hi Si, I wasn't thinking about rods & pins quite that utilitarian. More something like Russell posted earlier in this thread. I was attracted to the failed ones, I bought, more because they are available in a variety of colours, that doesn't make them so obvious on the car, & blends in a bit, with the existing duco colour. There is a series out of the USA, called Quik-Latch, which appear to be all aluminium, without any plastic components. Anyone, previously used any of the Quik-Latch products ? Cheers Banjo

It's been quite a while since I said I would get some of these bonnet quick release catches. I did purchase a set, back in late May 2022, but didn't get around to fitting them until a couple of weekends ago. I had to make a couple of steel plates up, to mount the "ball" locking pins to, as there was no body work directly below, where I wanted the buttons to fit. They are tricky things to install, because the hole in the bonnet & the pin, must be perfectly aligned & centered. I got it all working & centered, but after about the third time I closed the bonnet, one of the locking buttons completely fell to pieces, with little springs etc. falling down in the engine bay. I collected most of them, & discovered, that the design is very poor. The ball on the end of the locking pin, self centers, in a little plastic insert in the round latch on the bonnet. This plastic piece, is threaded into the aluminium button assembly, with a very fine thread. Any side loading on this plastic piece, releases it from the assembly. A complete waste of time, & I won't be using them again. Cheap & Nasty ! So I now have two round holes in my bonnet, so am committed to finding a good quick release latch, that is far more substantial. Anyone used one, that they would recommend. I like those "olde school" ones, but doubt they are still available. Cheers Banjo.

My KE-30 2 door sedan turns Fifty next year, & it is in fairly reasonable original condition. However, the years are taking it's toll, on the non-metal parts. The other night I was out driving; testing some of my LED light conversions, & suddenly; the rear vision mirror glass fell down. It didn't break luckily. However, the reason it fell down, was that the plastic holder/frame for the mirror, had basically turned to dust. Luckily, I had another one from a my olde KE-55 2 door coupe, which went to Corolla Heaven a few years back, with a case of servere cancer in the top rear quarters. The previous night I was removing the interior light, to clean it up, & oil the switch, which was a bit stiff. I noticed that the head lining was turning to dust also.. In the illuminated environment, I could see all this dust coming down from the fabric, everytime I touched the light fitting. The lining is not torn, & at first glance, looks pretty good. It is a bit stained, in places, along the seams, & I was thinking of maybe spraying it. However, I'm concerned about breathing all those little particals in the air; with Winter on the doorstep, when often the windows will be closed. Time methinks, for a new headlining. So I searched this forum, for "head-lining"; & there were several suggestions from over 10 years ago, which basically suggesting taking out the liner, & taking it to your friendly "motor trimmer", to cut & sew a new one. That's fine, but for one major issue. The lining in the early Corollas, is suspended on rods, across the interor, which clip into the top body frame, with special little plastic clips, which are impossible to source. I remember well, when I stripped the KE-55 2 door coupe, they almost all broke. Others on here, have also asked where you can get these plastic clips. The common problem these days, with head-linings are, that the material, whether it be fabric, or vinyl, separates from the back board; & sags. Early Corolla's head-linings, were not made that way. There was no back board. I was wondering if there is any plastic or vinyl linings on the market, with a thick insulating backing, that could be simply glued to the underside of the roof, & just "cut & tucked" over the top metal surround lip. There are plenty of lining materials, available with a thin foam backing, but it would be nice, if there was one with a 25-30mm thick foam or insulating backing. So completely out of my depth here, so hopefully, someone on here has had this problem previously, & solved it. Open to all suggestions ! Cheers Banjo

Why not try my suggestions no1 & no5 above; which do not require the bonnet to be cut or hacked, initially. (I'm assuming you have a stone tray underneath, the front of the engine bay) Drive it around for a week, & just see if there is any noticable difference, with the results of "heat soak". Another exercise you could try, which could only improve the heat soak situation, is to remove the LHS horn, & cut a circular hole in the front inner panel, & feed the inlet air to the turbo, from in-front of the panel. You might even be able to fit the air filter in between the rear of the grill, & the front of that LHS panel, where the horn, is currently mounted. Cheers Banjo

The old age question ! How do you squeeze all the parts into a smallish engine bay, to result in relatively cool air, finally entering the inlet manifold or plenum ? Now our friends in Europe in Nordic countries don't necessarily have this issue, but here in Oz, & other hot climates, it is a big problem; once you want to create HP, from dear little olde engines, which the Japanese designers never anticipated; ever being put to this task. This picture clearly & certainly demonstrates the issues we face, with intake, turbo & carby all next to each other. There are just so many parts that need cooling. The radiator, an oil cooler, an airconditioner radiator, & an intercooler or cold air intake, depending on whether you have a turbo or not. They all are needing space down at the lower front of the engine, which just isn't available, for all of them. Down low; because the lower these are fitted, the cooler the intake air. There are a few things, that can be achieved, in terms of airflows through the engine bay, that "will assist". Ideally, we don't want to draw air out of the engine bay, in an upwards manner, using upward rear facing bonnet outlets; unless you like stopping at regular intervals, to clean the film off the windscreen. Ideally, the air should pass over the engine, & down under the car, & out the back. There are several places this can be accomplished. 1. Remove the stone tray. Now that may not be an option, if you are rallying on dirt roads, but the engine stone tray, does hinder airflow into the engine bay, from under the car. 2. Open up the panels & supports, either side of the radiator, after repositioning the horn/s. 3. Position one of the radiators in front of the grill. (Not everyone's liking.) 4. A forward facing scoop on the rear of the bonnet, that forces air down between the rear of the engine, & the firewall. This air will ultimately pass under the floor, & create draft from front to rear, in the engine bay. 5. Another one I've seen from time to time, is to place some 25mm spacers & longer bolts connecting the rear of the bonnet, to the hinges, This results in a gap all around the edge of the bonnet; at the rear. As this problem is accute in this engine above; it might be worth a try, as it is simple to implement. Other than that, it is time, to fit, an intercooler ! Cheers Banjo

Tah ! I can now see that alternator tucked down under there. Thanks for the good comments re the TEFBA radiator filter. I'll definitely have to get myself one of those. I've been thinking about it for a while. Sad about the heat soak issue ! Would worry me that if it's that bad; that the rear cylinders could be running at a pretty high temps, without some recirculation of coolant, from the back of the block. Most piston & rings failures on K Series engines, are on cylinder 4. I have a K series engine here in the workshop, which will atest to that; & it was just stock standard. My experiments indicated that the removal of the mechanical fan, & using a thermostatically controlled electric fan is the very best option. That mechanical fan steals so much power. The ram effect of air passing through the radiator, only gets impeded by those fans. I'm interested as to where these two hoses go to. The one that appears to be connected to the front of the sump, appears to be scavenging. Not sure where the water hose to the return side of the water pump is connected to. I read your comment earlier on in this thread, that you had locked the dissy up. Is this a contstant static ignition advance setting, or is the dissy just providing a trigger to an simple single output ECU, which uses the dizzie, to direct the single coil, to the correct spark plug/cylinder. If so; that could also not assist, in your restarting issues, when the engine is hot. Is the electric fan wired up, so that it runs on, after the engine is switched off ? Sorry about all the questions, but I'm really interested. Particularly, as you've put so much effeort into it, but there are still some operational "issues". Cheers Banjo

Really awesome conclusion to a long project, Mate ! (aren't they always) Lot of quality workmanship & a lot of hard work all over; but particularly under the bonnet. I'm usually not a fan of "black background engine bays"; but on your KE it looks really good; especially with the highlighting of the rocker cover & fabricated inlet tube, in blue, the same as the body colour. I see you removed the mechanical fan, so I'm guessing there is an electric fan hiding down behind the aluminium radiator ? I'm guessing the master cylinder is original, as there is the bracket attached to the front thereof, to support the mechanical clutch cable. I did a Pajero swap years ago, & I'd forgotten that KE's had that big rectangular master cylinder. When I first looked at the engine bay picture, I thought, "how the hell did He fit the alternator down there under all that ?" I guess the turbo is up high enough, to just clear the alternator ? Battery move to the other side is always a good move, in KEs, but I guess was "compulsory" in your build. Can't remember anyone on here ever using a TEFBA radiator filter. It fits well where you have it. Seeing you've been driving it a bit, has the filter worked for you ? I was thinking to myself; I wonder if you are a plumber ? Lots of essential plumbing under the hood, but well done; as never easy to get a good result. Cheers Banjo

Earlier on in this thread, I mentioned . . . . I tried it out, & it did not work. To create some internal magnetism, to get the "Bosch" design alternator away, you need about 250mA (1/4 Amp). This circuit below, which I also found on the nett, does however, work well. Where is says "To Alternator field Terminal"; that is simply connected to the +D terminal on the "Bosch design", alternator. Cheers Banjo