kangaroosa

Not at all. Most people are scared off by that thought. You can do it for as little as a few hundred dollars. Some people like to do things properly the first time. If the mechanic said it needed a rebuild, then take his advice. If it was just a faulty PCV valve, he would have said so. He's retired, so its not like he will be holding out his hand hoping you appraoch him to rebuild the engine. Alternatively you could buy a 2nd hand engine.... and just keep driving the car. Part of owning a corolla is the fun of rebuilding your first engine. What better time than now? At least you will have a fresh reliable engine at the end of it.

Your mechanic is suggesting putting new rings/pistons in to fix the blow by. He's basically fixing the cause, rather than treating the symptoms. If your going to go to the trouble of re-ringing the engine, you may as well get the crank machined and new bearings fitted. Is the engine burning much oil? Either way, the mechanic is spot on. It also depends whether the engine is using that much oil that it's more cost effective to fix the cause, rather than replacing air filters and topping up oil levels.

PCV

If your in VIC, scrub the idea of having it engineer approved. 12A would be the nearest option. But book an appointment with an approved engineer (from your state). They should be listed on the Road Authorities website. First appointment is generally free, and will be able to tell you within a few minutes whether it is possible or not. He simply takes max power figures from both engines, does a few calculations to see whether the power gain is within the allowable tolerance for your given car. Then from there if its possible you can run with it. If its not possible, he will advise on what your next available option is. Either way, if you want the conversion approved, you will have to be in talks with an engineer. So you will have to bite the bullet and see an engineer. May as well get the approval straight from the horses mouth.

1) There is a slight thickness difference between the two. I had to get the head side of the intake manifold shaved down a few mm to make it the same as the extractors. Otherwise the extractors tighten up, and the intake just hangs in limbo. The locating holes in the intake manifold were slightly off. Was just a case of drilling larger holes to allow alignment. 2) Apparently the fire walls are different. Location, Slope, Height....I don't know exactly. But the pipe ends up heading where its not supposed to go. 3) Not sure about specifically for KE1*. But my KE30 ones are 'Pacemaker'. I remember hearing that 'Genie' stopped making them years ago. You could always get later model ones and have the pipe cut off or even re-bent into the shape you require to clear the firewall.

$800 is enough to buy two 14V Makita cordless drills, a chisel set, hammer, rubber mallet, and a few small hand tools. Which is more than enough for a first year apprentice to get started. Considering their main duties will be running board through an edge bander and cleaning it up for a qualified cabinet maker to assemeble. Or loading and unloading of the CNC. P.S. The boss supplies the broom and shovel too. :yes: Our apprentice works a min of 45hrs week and anything around 60hrs is not uncommon some weeks. Its a great opportunity for anyone interested to get a foot in the door and start knocking off the years until decent wages are available. Has the job been advertised elsewhere, or is just the Rollaclub community that hasnt snapped up this opportunity?

The government kicks in with extra payments these days. You also get an $800 tool allowance after a certain period of time. I am a shopfitter, and we have a 2nd year apprentice at work. He was taken on from scratch. He is on a decent wicket clearing $400/week. Not bad considering a few years ago it would have been around $100 less from memory. Your employer has the option of chipping in with school fee's if he's keen to keep you onboard. So its really not all that bad to be an apprentice.

'The Blind Factory' ads have to be up there too.

You should drive along Beaconsfield pde in Melbourne. They ride 3 and 4 abreast which takes up a whole lane, and quite often the outter rider is just inches from the dotted road lines. .......then they get the shits up because people fly past them extremely close and scare them. If they didnt break the road laws and left half a lane free so people could merge around them, drivers wouldnt get so frustated with them. I must admit i have intentially come within inches of side swiping a cyclist who was riding 3/4lane out of the gutter. He wasnt too impressed...but I think he got the message.

If i remember correctly, removing the manifolds with the stock exhaust and intake manifold was a piece of cake. 14mm socket on an extension....or even a 14mm spanner for the middle bolts if i had the shits up and was getting frustrated. I have extractors and a twin side draft carb manifold. The only way i can get to the middle bolt is by means of a 14mm open ended spanner cut in half. The alternator has to be dropped down low to allow hand access under the extractors. Then its a case of tightening the bolt 1/6th of a turn at a time. So if your having drama's with the middle bolt, try chopping a spanner in half and getting to it how i described above.

I just read that you should let the paint settle for a few seconds after mixing it to allow any air bubbles to rise (using a gravity fed gun). Something that I have never done, and havent had drama's with not doing do. Maybe its possible for 2pac....but it seems a bit far fetched to me. Its just another possible scenario i guess.

I've only sprayed Acrylic on my Corolla's, but i found that Silicone based problems generally happen almost there and then when spraying...as opposed to a day or two down the track. Thats not to say it doesnt happen, just that it hasnt happened on that time frame to me. 2pac is unchartered territory for me, so i can't comment on the hardener side of things.

Playing dumb doesnt work with me. Its a few screws. If you can swap engines....swap broken diffs and gearboxes, you can loosen a few screws and inspect a simple carby to make sure that nothing is jamming and that the needle and seat is sliding easily.

Check the fuel float. Maybe its sticking and fueling up?

My engine has a DCOE weber bolted it to. I'll be sticking with that for now. The manifold is in 2 sections, so i can unbolt one section and run an IDA Weber instead which would probably be the better option. My priority is just getting the engine, box and custom tailshaft fitted up to the diff. Then i can work on the other 'details' from there. I like to keep things simple, so carby it is.

Yeah, i keep meaning to start my own Project thread so i don't clog up yours. But in short, January the action starts to happen on my car. Make sure to drop me a PM when the rocket is up and running. I'd love to drop in and see/hear it.

Cool. That method of porting looks to be the winner. The rebuild is a while off yet. The actual grafting of the 12A into my car will hit me hard enough for the time being.....but its a healthy motor so thats the main thing.

Arrghh i got 20secs into it and remembered the eyy eyy eyey guy. STFU!! :dance:

Measure the length of your diff from the outside of the wheel mounting plates on the axles. I will measure my unmolestered diff and you should be able to confirm your suspicions.

I sold my donor car to 'Mister Mazda' wreckers in Carrum. He races a S2 RX7 and builds motors etc as well as running a workshop/wreckers. He is who i got my quote from. One bloke that bought some parts off me recommended 'Rank Rotary'. I had my car tuned there years ago and found them to be ok on that side of things. Apparently the business turned to shit, so they moved location and have fresh faces there now. His 12A BP cost in the ballpark of $5000-$6000 for a full rebuild and port package. I might hit your mate up for a price in future if he is keen? I was told to only go for a small BP job if its just a streeter. Apparently the full BP is a heap thirstier and more unreliable. I'm doing the R31 diff conversion in my KE30 (well the workshop is). The diff is in my backyard along with a spare shorter axle. Hopefully just the longer side will be shortened and use the shorter axle to suit. You can't beat the fact thats its the right PCD and disc brakes though. I have an LSD one, but the ratio is 3.8:1.....so not really suited to a rotary, but i'll worry about that in due time.

Love the plates. I ordered a set for my KE30 (soon to be 12A) last week. "BRAPPN" How much did the engine rebuild cost? An engine builder I spoke to said he just rebuilt a Turbo 13B BP with dowelled etc (the works) for $7000. But he wouldnt give me a firm figure for a N/A 12A small BP. I'm budgeting on around $5000.....hopefully.

Some more inspiration for you.

Damn! Thats awesome. I love the old Escorts. Almost bought one as a first car, but the indicator on the wrong side kinda gave me the irrates. Nothing like a Porsche going hammer and tongs either....just wait for the ending. (its a longish movie)

Cool. Its pretty comparable afterall. The Agreed Value is on a similar ratio to the Premium.

I spoke to Just Cars years ago to get a quote and see if they could better Shannons prices. They quoted me over $1000 for Full Comp on a 4K Corolla. I hung up and never bothered with them again. I'm hoping it was a mistake on their behalf.....but they had their chance to have my business. Out of curiosity, what is Just cars charging for Corolla's (whatever mods)? I'm keen to know how they compare these days.