archangel62

If it's got a towball I'll swap for my KE20 too haha

If you haven't already, put it on www.ozgemini.com - it should get snapped up. Gotta love the early models, and it sounds like this one's got a few goodies and is a nice car inside and out. GL with sale.

If anyone uses one of the older Weber carbs, particularly 32/36 sold in Escorts and Cortinas, make sure you check out the fuel fitting. There was a factory recall on the press-in fittings on these carbs, but most of them didn't find their way back to the factory. My mate only found out about it when his awesome Escort went up in flames. Turned out the weber I was about to put on my Gem was one of the "firebomb" originals, and when we took the fitting out it didn't put up much of a fight. The solution is easy enough. Source a new barbed fuel hose fitting with a threaded mount, remove the old press-fit one, tap a thread, clean out the metal shavings and fit the new one, with an appropriate, fuel-resistant sealant or loctite.

TOMORROW IS NOW OFF!!! ;) :dance: :dance: Guys I'm really really sorry, got the call from Jo on Friday and haven't had time to get to a computer, it's been postponed as they just ran out of time and didn't have the people-power. I'm a little disappointed, but on the other hand it does give us all more time to get the cars ready. I know some guys had actually booked accommodation up there and had been pulling all-nighters to get their cars ready, they're not happy at all, but lots of other are actually relieved at the extra time. So yes, VERY sorry everyone, tomorrow is OFF, will keep you all posted.. But it's completely out of my hands at the moment. Eli

UPDATE: SPECTATORS NOT ALLOWED!!! Sorry people! But support and camera crew are welcome, or anyone who feels like helping me change tyres :lol: Will confirm it's all going ahead tomorrow evening... And the schedule might change a bit! And here's a rough idea of the track... Track 1 - Running anti-clockwise - and the track will start/finish at the far left point. Check out the other threads on Tailem Bend for more info. Also, we can take out one or two corners on the skidpan to make it a bit faster. We can basically play around with setups all day, there should be about six sessions for grip/drift so we can do allsorts! Track 2 bypasses the skidpan and takes the wide outside corner instead. Will mostly to track 1 but can to the second one a few times too! Will be an awesome day but WE NEED A FEW MORE PEOPLE! Cheers

Ok guys, some might know me, most won't. My name's Eli, I'm the resident Gemini nut. I was trying to organise a private day on the 6th June at Tailem, but it ended up clashing with the first drift day, so I happily postponed my event and went to that instead. Well, now it's time for my event. It was full, but postponing it and a few last minute deviations lost a few people - so to ensure it goes ahead, and to give you guys the opportunity to hit up one of Tailem's first events, I'm opening it up to the first people to confirm! Here's the deal: Grip, drift and burnouts will all be well catered for. Cars of and drivers any level, noob to pro, stock to hot, street to stupid. The normal basic scrutineering will apply. Don't worry if you've never been to the track before, or aren't a great driver, or if your car's slow. All are welcome, noone needs to feel pressured or stupid. Any "heroes", people that think they're ten times better than everyone else, or people who put others down, need not apply. I want this to be a friendly and welcoming event! Across the day, the will be six 30 minute sessions for grip and drift, it should be driver's choice each run! That's three hours' session time - way more than other events give you for that kind of money. I'll be capping the event at about 17 people maximum, at this point there's 13 and likely to be a few drop-outs... So in short, you'll get as much track time as you can take! There will also be six 10 minute burnout sessions throughout the day, situated at the end of the main straight. If you can't fry your tyres in six sessions, you're doing it wrong! I'm mainly in for drift though. Important notes (the good and the bad): - Every driver on the track must wear an approved helmet, but helmet swapping is OK. - If you need a helmet, go to Mr. Motorcycle Dismantlers on Smart Rd, Modbury (look for the bike up in the air), he sells them new for an awesome $80, all approved etc. I have one and love it. - Spectators should be OK in a similar fashion to the drift event on the 6th. Doubt there will be a BBQ but there are plenty of food places nearby. - Car sharing is OK! But every driver must pay their entry fee. HOW MUCH? Cost should be around $115 including a day's CAMS license, or $90 if you're already licensed. This will depend on numbers - if we have less than say 12, 13 people, this may rise slightly, but I'm sure we'll find the numbers. Get your mates into it, I need to hear back from everyone like, yesterday, so reply ASAP and please only say you're coming if you mean it! If you're keen PM me your name, email address and a contact number if possible. Here's a rough schedule: 9AM arrival guys! Scrutineering will start, as will driver registration and payment. I want everyone to be there by 9:30 at the latest! 09:00 arrival 09:30 scrutineering and driver registration for latest arrivals 10:00 driver briefing, track walkthrough etc 10:30 first grip/drift session 11:00 close 11:05 first burnout session at the end of straight 11:15 close 11:20 second grip/drift 11:50 close 11:55 second burnout 12:05 close 12:10 third grip/drift 12:40 close LUNCH 13:30 third burnout 13:40 close 13:45 fourth grip/drift 14:15 close 14:20 fourth burnout 14:30 close 14:35 fifth grip/drift 15:05 close 15:10 fifth burnout 15:20 close 15:25 sixth grip/drift 15:55 close 16:00 sixth burnout 16:10 close Events conclude for the day. Drivers and spectators welcome to gather for a discussion on how the day went, suggestions etc. Let me know ASAP for an awesome day of grip/drift at Tailem! Each driver should get twice as much track time as last time, since there will be less than half as many cars, and only one "class" - plus some people will be there purely for burnouts I think. I'll be there drifting and possibly gripping (if I can find the self-discipline) in my orange Gem! Spots are limited, so GET IN FAST! However, guys, if numbers fall below perhaps 10 people the event will be at risk of cancellation.. so help me make this happen! Eli/Arch/the "drift panda"!

I've never tried on a Rolla, but most Geminis come out with 24mm front swaybars. With decent bushes it makes a massive difference over non-swaybar models (pre-Lotus/RTS). Depends on the casting material and non-horizontal length of the bar as to how tough it'll be though!

This was the first Rollaclub cruise I've been on, so I didn't really know what to expect. Now believe me, I'm ALL for driving fast. I f***ing love it. And hell, I kept up, traffic pending. But my KE20 is a cruiser, the clutch slips like hell, the springs are spongey and the brakes are tiny... And above all else, Easter Sunday is a REALLY fking stupid time to be blazing through the hills. That's not to say people can't go off ahead... But certain members who shall remain nameless, who think tailgating with their lights on, and overtaking across double white lines, makes them cool, hardcore, and hectik fast uleh, should really get over themselves. Perhaps the people they're overtaking are hills nuts too, but just value their license, or just wanted to cruise? In which case, you succeeded in proving nothing but what an absolute knob you can be. End rant, but seriously. Fast is good. Hell, it's great. But cruises should cater for both fast and slow driving - like waiting for the slower cars before major direction changes or after red lights. And meets for hills runs etc should be organised as such - so that people know exactly what they're up for, and know what to expect. Also, what's wrong with my mate coming in his Gemini? We [Gemini drivers] all love Rollas too, they're both very similar cars, and Geminis are just as Japanese as KE**, they're basically a rebadged Isuzu with a few locally assembled/manufactured panels :) Anyway, got some cool pics, I might even get around to posting them up sometime :( and there were some nice cars out. Eli / Bamboo KE20

Change of plans, Ash and I probably won't be coming, we were a little disappointed with the feel of the last cruise we went on so we'll probably just chill for a while... Have fun everyone!

Should be there in the KE20, my Isuzu (thankyou very much) Geminis are all either off the road or pigs at the moment... lol Ashley should come in her 20, too.

lol, weird as hell, but consider yourself very lucky! Glad you found it, I would have spotted it a mile away because I have the same wheels, in a different PCD, on one of my Geminis.

I'll be there in my bamboo coloured KE20 "Bambi", and my girlfriend Ashley (ashie on here) will be there in her orange KE20 "Sad". We're closer to Parafield, but I'm not sure if we'll have time to meet earlier - might be at the Northern meet point, otherwise see you all at Lofty!

Bloody good stuff.

Nice... First car's sweet, second one's f***ing fantastic. Love the front lip and the quads. I wish there were decent stills of the second car!

Look closely. She's totally running MA61s.

LOL That's the first thing you should draw from this thread. But your 50 cents thing - hey, make it five cents. Might not go down well but it'll be f*** funny. Just don't get kicked out. Trust me, life's easier at home lol

Just found this thread and thought I'd dig it up to have a whinge, I hate Mitsu L300 engines. My mate has one and it's honestly the most hopeless car I've ever encountered. Overheated, slow as hell, rough with no torque at any revs, not to mention the rest of the car. Steering dead spot, column shift with about 5cm play in each direction on the shifter, bouncy suspension and downright scary over 80km/h, not that it has the power to obtain such speeds. I honestly reckon my old stock Gemini with a blown head gasket, running on two cylinders had more power. Having said that, the later model Camiras were alright mechanically. I still hate them for being FWD shit that contributed to the end of the Gemini, but I must say that when well-maintained, the later models with multi-point EFI made reasonable power and were smooth, driveable and economical. As for the G161Z, they're slow as a wet week, but they're designed to just go forever. They do take a hell of a beating really, the stuffed ones out there have all been thrashed for ten years. I had one that did a heap of head gaskets, but that's because I ran it with boiling coolant on a daily basis, go figure. I had another one that I dragged second to 90 a few times without so much as a rattle. That one only died when it did a head gasket from boiling coolant, dud radiator you see, you'd think I'd have learned, but it dumped all it's coolant in a hurry so the gauge read fine... The 161 was designed for 89RON unleaded back in the 70's, ie, total shit... The crank and rods are forged from factory, heads flow quite well and respond well to bigger exhaust valves, cams and porting... But the standard pistons are bollocks and you really need to add three to the compression ratio to go anywhere... They're not a bad engine though, really simple effective design. I'm running a G200Z in one of my Gems, with a 161 head, 11:1 comp (ish), it goes really well and has a stack of torque. What else do I hate.. Rattletec V6's are rubbish IMO. I also hate the - erm, 18R I think it is, that comes in Celicas and Coronas, simply because every example I've seen has major timing belt noise, rattles like crazy and goes nowhere due to shot compression. I bet when they're in good condition they're decent, though.

That video is fantastic!!! And loving the pics! What was the chase car?

Oh, and I have a few Gemini workshop manuals, if anyone needs more info on the carby, or tuning info etc, PM me.

One of my Gems had brake issues for ages. I had a few people look at it, both said it was the master... But I was convinced it wasn't. My problem was that the pedal would go almost to the floor on the first pump, but on the second pump it'd be hard as stone and wouldn't sink, no matter how long you held it. Within seconds of letting go, you're back to having to pump. Now from what I understand, in most cases a dud master won't hold pressure.. Anyway, so I bowed to professional opinion and replaced my master.. It got MUCH worse, the new master WAS a dud lol.. So I had my existing issue, plus the pedal wouldn't hold the pressure properly once pumped. Turned out it was a stupid simple issue of freeplay in the pivots for the rear shoes, so despite them being correctly adjusted, it took a stack of pumping to gain pressure. Yours sounds nothing like that, but I tend to ramble. I'm still suspicious of a leaky line, cracked hoses, perhaps the seals in the front calipers, or bad fluid/air bubbles... Or general overheating of those tiny brakes (how are the front pads, and are the disks within spec, not that that should cause this sort of thing). I'm doubting it's master but you never know.

Heh.. I'm a massive Gemini nut. I have three of them, and an insane amount of parts. To be honest, a lot of Gemini drivers hate the Nikki carb. I mean, everyone hates factory carbys, but specifically, Nikki's often have/develop a massive fuel-cut issue during high G-force (ie, cornering). I'm not sure if this can be ramified by changing the float level, fuel pressure, cleaning or adjusting jets, etc... But the vast majority of Gems running Nikkis will cough and splutter and lose all power whenever you're taking a corner hard. Believe me, this takes a LOT of fun out of driving. Think of how you drift a low-powered car - attack a corner hard, entry however you want, initiate, then punch the gas when the rear tyres are loaded, and the car's at it's grip limit. The Nikki shits itself way before that. You punch the gas, ready for it to power-over, and guess what... Nothing happens... Or you're just going for speed, you come in too hot and the back steps out hard under brakes. You lift off the brakes, countersteer a little, then see the corner's exit. You give it some gas to stabilise the car and power smoothy out. But guess what? Nothing happens, and you're left to keep the car settled and putt out of the corner. Sorry to go on. This is a huge whinge point for me. I've had three Geminis, ran four engines so far, and have spent the last five years trying to get AWAY from the bloody Nikki carby. I've finally whacked a 32/36 on my high-comp G200Z and it instantly fixed the fuel surge issue, and, contrary to popular belief, doesn't chew any more fuel, I still get 10L/100km on average, with a 2lt running ~11.5:1 comp, big Lukey exhaust and mild cam. I did know one guy who never had the fuel surge issue. And one guy who didn't have it quite as bad as me (it got worse when he put a bigger engine in. Hmm.) so perhaps it can be fixed with a proper carby rebuild or professional service. But don't expect to whack one on and go faster. I'd sooner convert my 3K to run biodiesel, or cut a hole in my floor and Flintstone it, than convert to a nikki! But I guess I've had a bit of a raw deal with it. Besides the major fuel-surge issue, though, they're good. Economical, smooth as (when set up correctly, e.g. original purpose), and yes, auto choke. The venturi's are 22/29, so obviously not as big as a 32/36 (which is popular amongst us Gemini addicts) but definitely well sized for K series. I'm not sure if this is the G series head (with it's big ports, crossflow and huge inlet valves :hmm: .... haha sorry, had to) but they also get mad induction noise once the "frying pan" is bypassed. Lastly, if anyone wants one, or bits for one, I have three missing bits or in need of love, come get em, $10 for the lot... Will also accept beer or iced coffee.. :yes:

Glad this thread got the bumpskis. Is there a write-up of the finished product? I'm really interested. Also, did anyone end up posting pics of CA engine/gearbox mounts? :yes:

205/60R13 is higher rolling diameter than 155/80R12, off the top of my head, could be late-night syndrome. I'm running 175/70R13 up front, 155/80R12 on the back due to my shortage of 110 rims.. lol.. And, I just couldn't bring myself to pay $80 for a poor performing tyre. I'm curious how much that extra inch would throw the speedo out by. Not sure about mine, but my gf's KE20's speedo reads high anyway, so it might balance out :yes: I did look into a lower profile 13" tyre, I called three tyre shops, two (Bob Jane, Kmart T&A) said they couldn't get them at all, one (Beaurepairs) had one listing for a 185/65R13, price was around $120/tyre (I'm assuming that includes fit and balance, and perhaps even tyre disposal). I asked if they were any good and was told they're a very good tyre, not sure if that was them trying to rationalise the price or not... But now that I think about it, that's stuff all profile difference anyway, again off the top of my head but that sounds closer to "standard small car size" than to KE20 size.

LOL, amen to that, same here. Except I have a million cars and have consequentially never run one box long enough for it to get upset with me.

Hey guys and girls, I'm sure this has been covered in some way, shape or form before, and I have done a little reading/searching. I'm no stranger to the general tasks involved in a major engine conversion, but I'm a total noob when it comes to KE20's specifically, and any advice, warnings or tips would be great. My girlfriend "ashie" and I just bought a KE20 off of a mate, it's defected for chassis rust and has basically seen better days. It's far from overrated, so rather than restore it we've decided to do something different and turn it into a track-only drift project. I've been asking her what she thinks of the sounds of various engines, and although I'd love to keep it Toyota, she says she likes the sound of CA18DETs, and they are a great candidate due to relative cheapness, availability of parts, easy power, and being relatively compact. The situation is... The KE20 was auto, so no clutch pedal. I'm pretty sure CA18DETs are all hydraulic clutch, would I be best off doing the AE71 hydraulic clutch conversion? Would a manual pedalbox from any later Corolla fit? Or only KE20? Space - will a CA18DET fit in the engine bay without too much major work? Are the manifolds, turbo etc likely to clear the struts/inner guards? Is the sump likely to clear the xmember? Will the CA's gearbox have a hope of fitting in the trans tunnel? Bashing is fine, but I'd prefer not to cut into the car's structure. What will be needed - so far I'm thinking CA18DET+gearbox+ECU+loom, exhaust (mostly custom), custom engine and gearbox mounts, custom tailshaft, EFI fuel pump+reg... Is there much I've missed? Is the shifter going to hit the handbrake or anything crazy like that? I know I'll have to cut a new hole for the shifter, I just want it to clear stuff.. Next, I'm thinking about drivetrain and brakes. I was thinking a locked KE30 diff (will it fit? I have a welder and some imagination..) until it breaks, then forking out for Hilux. Front brakes sound pretty hard for the moment... Although I was considering attempting an S13 strut swap, even though it's likely to require quite a bit of welding. Feasible? Or stupid? I know I'm ignorant, I know this is a BIG project... But I've got three other big projects as it is, I'm not completely new to all of this. Any vague opinions and thoughts would be great! And if you're going to turn around and flame me and say "you're a noob dreamer" etc... This is still an idea. It will be a track car, and it will make good power. If this idea is too difficult, we'll work on a new one. But for the moment, this is what we're working with. Cheers, Eli