jonahcorolla

That's correct. I'm pretty sure they're the standard 6kg and 4.5kg. Yes they're camber tops. I'm keen to have a play once they're in the car. My LCAs have been extended 10mm too. Don't tell me there's an engine mount trade secret I don't know about? Courtesy of The Grandfather, this home made hoist been concocted from scrap laying around the house. My life has become alot easier now. Front swaybar, blower fan and cabin air con unit were deleted today, which I'm happy about. When I reinstall the castor brackets, I may as well wind them in as much as possible right? To gain maximum negative castor. Managed to snag these beauties yesterday. 14" factory alloys for $50! I haven't seen any of these around at all. Twas quite the Christmas miracle.

Time for an update. . After many months of saving and pondering, I've had a set of RA40 spindles welded onto a pair of AE86 BC racing coilovers for my KE70. These are the DS DA type, with progressive dampening - very fancy! Should be a nice upgrade over my professionally chopped springs w/ stock struts. Courtesy of Toyota lego, I've decided to upgrade to a RA40 front end. With the availability of JDM AE86 bits diminishing, I thought it would come in handy to have two cars share the same platform. A a mint boot lid has been acquired! This alone is cleaner than the entire car. Along with the bonnet, these will be candidates for fiberglass molds in the future. This rad was pinched off the donor car when I manual swapped the KE70, and has since been stashed away until now. \ Onto a bit of spring cleaning today. Heater hoses removed and a general tidy up of the bay. Extractors have been test fitted and look great!. Time to order my $150 Chinese Wonder Weber from Amazon. I'm going to experiment with a linear, 38/38 style carb. I'm sure others will find this interesting - I came across this info sheet of a TRD rally spec AE86 with all the relevant part numbers. Springs seem to be 6kg front and 2kg rear.

I must admit I've been quite the lounge lizard as of late, as I only had surgery a few days ago. I've managed to consume countless hours of 90s rally Australia content to lift my spirits and keep me entertained. That being said I did manage to swap in the raised struts with (flogged) re-valved bilsteins and AE86 power steering knuckles today. Don't feel like your butting in at all Banjo, the more the merrier! Correct me if I'm wrong, but this being a FWD engine, the dizzy has been relocated out of necessity for RWD application? I know that on a 4AG carb setup a particular distributor is required in order to function correctly - might be a similar situation here. We were told this current setup ran many moons ago, although quite poorly due to a lack of a proper intake manifold.

There's certainly no secrets with you! Also during the world's most eventful day, we pulled this corona from a paddock out the back of Walcha. Unfortunately over the years the 3SG has managed to seize, so it's looking like a full rebuild and hopefully into the Celica eventually. In the meantime I'll keep it cheap and simple - bolt on some Chinesium goodies to the 18RC and learn how to steer.

The stars continue to align. I got my hands on a Weir 4.8 CW/P center off a mate for $300! The 4.8 center is currently being installed in its respective pumpkin in Sydney. Here is the combined haul from Brisbane and Walcha. The Big Girl's seats - complete with the snapped plywood base, front struts with flogged Bilstein's & terratrip wire, bumpers, extractors, spare LCAs, knuckles and castor rods. Things are (were) coming along nicely! I'll be out of action for the next couple of weeks as my toe heals.

This circus is exactly what I signed up for! I've been very fortunate to connect with Stephen and have become quite the local across two visits. This is the newest addition to the fleet. A first gen Surf I drove back from Brisbane. I'm convinced I'd be able to crawl quicker than this thing through Thunderbolts Way. It doesn't help that the turbo was pinched likely for a Hilux in the 90s, leaving me with a bit less power than the factory intended. I've learnt that there's never a dull moment in Walcha, as a week's worth of activities are achieved in a day. A precariously bogged Hiace (can you tell I'm a city slicker?), some gravel trucking and a shattered big toe all in the same day! The graveyard is quite the spectacle, with the remnants of one particular vehicle standing out above the rest...

I'm happy to report that I have regained my rear brakes, and I will be meeting with Stephen on my trip! The rubber line from the body to the diff was clogged. After a thorough clean, new brake fluid and a bleed, the car is stopping alot better. The drums are fine - they still have a lot of meat on them and the diff seals seem to be doing their job. I'll tackle the steering box once I sort all new links and joints. I've stripped most of the interior, however I'm quite puzzled how one goes about removing the left over carpet/foam/sound deadening that seems to be caked onto the chassis. I'm very fortunate that my grandfather is an ex boiler maker, so this is where my welding crash course begins. We just got our hands on a mig welder, which should be sufficient for reinforcing the car and all the various repairs. There's a long way to go before my first rally, so it will be exactly that - a rough noisy road car for khanacross and rallysprints until things are in order. Here are a few goodies I'll have to tackle eventually.

Understood. I'll just keep it simple and address the brake situation as is, and look into installing that biasing screw near the gear level later down the track. I take it that adjusting a steering box to remove the 'slop' shares a similar adjustment mechanism to adjusting valve lash. Regarding the specs for the cam grind, what should I tell the machinist? Or will they know what to do? Can I get much castor adjustment with the stock setup? Or will I need to get extended castor rods, bash the guards/body in for clearance etc? I'll keep my eyes peeled for favourable T series gear sets. I know exactly the page you're referring to with all the gear sets and diff codes, but I can't seem to find it right now either. If I were to install a certain gear set and weld the diff, does that render the crown and pinion of the gear set unusable again? E.g if I brake the diff, can I transfer that gear set into another diff center? "every amp out of that alty is a power loss to the rear wheels." I had no idea the alty had such a big impact on performance. I will definitely have to take this into consideration, as spotlights are essential to any cool rally car. I'm fortunate that the frame is quite straight and clean, however there is a fair share of rust mainly in the boot, but also a bit up the front. What I'm most concerned about are small rust holes in the frame, where the front guards attach to the chassis. Once I strip the car I'll be able to get a good look and upload some photos.

Amazing. I expected nothing less from the rally aficionado and Toyota whisperer himself. I must confess I'd be nowhere without the invaluable information and knowledge provided by yourself and others on the forum. Here is my beloved yellow submarine that I care for dearly and is where the obsession and learning began. The stock 4K has been manual swapped courtesy of your guide, and is being pedalled by an auto 4.3 borgy. Fruits include electronic dizzy, ebay aisan carb fenix radiator, and electric thermo fan. Carbed 4AGE coming eventually... Anyway back to jalopy no. 2 From what I've gathered I certainly feel like a mini Stephen hahaha. What is the best way to contact you both? I will definitely have to stop by on the way home and hopefully leave with a boot full of goodies. Here comes the question ping-pong. Fixing the brakes is definitely priority number one. It wasn't until I drove home from BNE to Newcastle that I realised I only had fronts... Would installing a manual brake setup be ideal? I'm honestly quite unfamiliar with a manual system, as I've only recently learnt they are favourable for race/rally cars. Would a manual conversion be much hassle and would I see much benefit on stage? (May as well add braided lines to the list while we're at it) Something I forgot to mention. I was shocked that this has a steering box. Did Toyota cheap out or was this a matter of clearance and engine packaging? Regardless, the ball joints- specifically the pitman arm - is so flogged that when I went over 80km/h the entire front of the car would death shudder and vibrate. Felt like I was driving a jack hammer the entire way home. I don't see a point in a rack & pinion conversion, as rally cars of yesteryear seem to have managed fine without. New ball joints, bushes (eventually), tie rods, and both pitman and idler arms should have the car feeling like new. This and the brakes are top priority. Can you recall the mob that re-valves the Bilstein's in Sydney? Or know of anywhere else? Regarding the springs I was mainly after any rates you can recommend off the top of your head, or is it mainly an issue of gaining clearance? Are sigma LCAs a bolt in replacement and extend 30mm? Probably easier nowadays to extend the stock LCAs myself (30mm seems to be the sweet spot?). I was also keen on cutting and shutting the knuckles for quicker steering and a bit of extra lock. I'm a big fan of borgy diffs and the plentiful amount of 4.3s lying around, but was quite shocked at the options for the T series. As I understand Australian Celica's never revived a 4.3 ratio? I believe 4.3 gear sets for T series are also quite rare? Did auto AE86s ever receive a 4.3? Wondering what other options I have without splurging on an aftermarket gear set. This is fascinating. I've never seen mention of 'partially' welding a diff before. If you could elaborate on this that would be amazing. Does this imitate an LSD at all? Does cornering at low speeds allow for minimal wheel rotation, or is still fully locked and only a matter of diff longevity? I recall you installed a 4.8 Weir gear set in The Big Girl and welded the spider gears. Did you do something similar, or has this been a 'recent' enlightenment? You seem to have read my mind. A 3SGE with a J160 would have been my first pick if money were no object, but a worked 18RG with screaming carbies would make my heart smile. One day... Yeah a half/full cage and chassis reinforcement is a bit of a non-negotiable, but is lower on the priority list at the moment. The same with exhaust clearance and bash plates/under body armour. Those cages fabbed by Josh look like works of art! The boot is a bit of a rust heap, so removing the wheel well for some added real estate and a fuel cell is a great idea. Another great reliability upgrade - I've been eying those electric heaters for my corolla too. The heater core bomb detonation is a matter of when not if unfortunately. An aluminum rad and thermo fans are high on my to-do list aswell. How concerned should I be about the power loss of the electric fan and heater? Can I upgrade my alty so this isn't a problem? Roof vents for the win! That can be the finishing touch to make everything official. Cheers for the heads up on the bump stops aswell. Realistically the Celica won't see unsealed road until the brakes, steering, engine and diff situation are taken care of. The fun is just about to begin, especially with uni holidays starting in a week.

Hi guys. I have recently acquired a RA40 and am wishing to convert it to an amateur rally car. It's no show car, so don't get upset about it's new life as a bush basher. This will be my first foray into motorsport, so any advice is appreciated. I have read Altezzaclub's fantastic thread on How Not To Build A Rally Car, which has been an excellent read. First order of business will be to strip the interior, address sump plug, rear main and diff pinion leak. Additionally, I went to bleed the brakes the other day and nothing came out of the breathers on the rear drums! I suspect either a dodgy master cylinder, or a busted diff line on the drive home (rubber line that connects the body hardline to the diff, it pissed fluid everywhere initially and has magically stopped). The pedal went to the floor as I was approaching a set of lights, and I had to pump them back up. I'm not loosing brake fluid anymore however, which is strange. Here is an overview and a few questions I have pertaining to each part of the car. I am currently a university student, so you might notice an emphasis on 'budget' throughout. Suspension Are re-valved Bilstein's my only real upgrade over stock shocks? There doesn't seem to be too many options for 'budget' rally/gravel suspension. What springs should I be looking at? traditional coilovers are basically a no-go for a rally car I've gathered. Drivetrain Stock standard open 4.1 diff. I'm thinking of welding the spider gears and calling it a day. A weldy for a mix of tarmac and gravel is a no brainer right? As there doesn't seem to be a way of obtaining a desirable ratio without spending an arm and a leg on a gearset or LSD. Engine Currently, the 18RC is running and driving and seems very health and is paired with a 5spd manual. I know I'll be going nowhere fast, but as 18RGs seem unobtanium and $$$ these days, It won't be a bad platform to get comfortable on. For reliability, simplicity and throttle response, I'm wanting to install a weber carby, extractors, electronic dizzy and drive until it blows up. Also, as I have to remove the gearbox to replace the rear main seal, should I bother with machining the flywheel? WTB Most RA40 threads are over 10 years old, but I suspect some of you have still have some Celica goodies lying around (diff, donor shell, sedan boot lid, overfenders, duck tail spoiler, suspension, 18RG, etc). If anyone has anything that they would be willing to sell, I'll be driving home from Brisbane to Newcastle in two weeks with a fistful of cash. Cheers!