altezzaclub

haha- that's where it started! I linked that up to someone on here for their handling ideas, and was vaguely reading through his datalogging ideas. That crystallised some thinking I'd been doing about watching the suspension travel with a webcam and I realised there is a lot of data you can gather. So, the logger is around $1000-$2000 for basic stuff, and the sensors might add another $1000. You'd need to make some money back off it somehow. I'll keep at it.

By now the shoes are full of oil anyway, so go buy two new slaves and a set of shoes. New slaves are less that $30 each. Start from scratch and get everything set up right. I can't see how a piston can ever come out of a slave cylinder enough to let the seal out, so something is very wrong in your setup. Even with worn shoes and worn drums it shouldn't happen.

I can see there is years of work in it! I checked a couple of parts shops, Jaycar, auto electrician, performance shop and none of them had any idea about data-logging at all. Then I went to the library and spent half an hour in the electronics section learning how little I know. I can see that I need a way to measure movement, I was thinking of the infrared distance sensor, but the transducer would do as well. We aren't interested in the whole range, just the compression really. Then that data needs to be recorded, so the sensor must talk to some motherboard that can remember it onto a phone chip or camera card, so we can take it out later and read it on a computer. The data also neeeds to be clocked somehow so we can arrange it against a start time. We will borrow someone's sports camera and run that at the same time so we can see the road and simultaneously see what it does to the suspension. That is the basic model, the next would be to add pedal movement and steering, with a G-meter. The ultimate chassis logging would be directional readings from GPS, so we can tie it all together and see how we can improve understeer/oversteer, traction, handling under braking etc without touching the motor.

I'd like to record a few things like suspension travel in the rally car but have no idea about how to go about it. I could rig up a mechanical system to get maximum compression over a rally stage, but would really like something to record 10 or 15minutes worth of movement. Then it will be G-forces, steering input, pedal movement.. I can see this will never stop! So, if anyone has any ideas on how you record data, store it and display it later I'd like to know. Farmspec of course, I could go and spend a couple of hundred thousand dollars and buy the commercial packages, but I'm sure ingenuity can do it. My kickoff point would be an infra-red distance meter from a robot shop, so it produces a signal of distance, but then what do I do with the signal?? http://www.robotgear.com.au/Product.aspx/Details/271-Sharp-IR-Distance-Sensor-GP2Y0A21YK0F-GP2D12-10-80cm

You can buy shock absorber oil, or if you're keen you can chat up an oil supplier for something with a slightly thicker viscosity and a high viscosity index. I had some stuff they used on sno-cats in Antartica, so it was a thin oil but held its viscosity very well at all temperatures. That is the killer, the shocks get hot when hammered in rallying and the oil goes thin. Not a problem on the road I suppose. I don't expect you to be able to buy wet inserts new, everyone just uses dry cartridges now. So if you've tossed the original shocks out you might as well pick a KYB insert or whatever and fit it. Then pick a spring that gives you the ride you want, even if it is too low. Once you are happy with the shock and spring rate, then move the perch to where you want it. It will let you use a longer softer spring rather than using a hard stiff spring to get ride height. Then sort out what will bottom first, shock, spring, bump stop... Its all a balance. The twin swaybars would make a big difference! so much to learn about.....

faaaark! Nearly wet myself reading this!! My wrecker is pretty keen... I feel sorry for the girl. In our local paper- http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/story/1552621/red-white-and-a-big-blue/?cs=103

Extractors have gone up.. $215 when I bought them today at the local exhaust shop. Still Hurricanes, the only ones available, and still hopeless in design. The 4 ports are not in a straight line, the welds block the manifold washers... better than nothing tho'.

Is the knock at engine speed or driveshaft speed? So is it different in different gears or always the same rate whether in 2nd or 3rd at the same speed?? Does the engine pull smoothly on all 4 cyls? If it misses a bit on one cyl the knock might be from the engine tilting and vibrating as it misses. Are all the engine mounts firm? No chance of it tilting and getting steel on steel under acceleration? .FWD gives the mounts a hard time as they try to counteract the torque.

The KE70 stock wet strut can be easily modified at home. We used to pull the Datsun 1600 ones apart and block a couple of holes in the foot valve, put in fresh oil and stick them back on. If you don't like the handling you pull it out the next weekend and do something more. The little circular shims can be removed or stiffened too. Other than that, I'd say 99.9% of people with adjustable coilovers set them to a happy height and never adjust them. So you can do what we did and reset your spring perch to the height you want and leave it there. That way you get a good spring rate with travel. 520 is pretty low, I think I'm on 610mm. I'd go for either playing with the stock struts (you learn a lot!) or putting inserts in the AE86 struts and using those. I will admit my rears came from the wrecker, I found a KE70 with shiny new rear shocks just sitting there. Really, there is years of research and learning about suspension before you can put something together that gives great handling and ride all at once, so I'd aim to spend small amounts of money in all areas rather than blow a lot of dough in one place like struts. When you know more you add better things, so start with bushes and balljoints and reasonable spring rates. You never mentioned rear sway bars, yet I've gone from stock KE70 to stock Celica to aftermarket Celica with noticeable changes every step. Dirt cheap too, $15 from the wrecker and I stole the 3rd one off the spares car, and now I have great turn-in on corners. Lots on shock rates and shock graphs for tarmac cars on the net, as I found as I was chasing data for dirt use. This guy was excellent- http://farnorthracing.com/

Yeah, old Dattos there, old KEs, old Coronas... Some guys came down for the rally and I met them at the wreckers. They left with a Stanza that had been there for over a year on their trailer. Those photos are very telling! Jeez that Celcia is a big girl! Look at the second photo, its miles wider than a 1600. We will have to practice subtle nudges in the paddock bashers! Still, they were good enough to help when you were blocking the road... The panelbeater has dropped out, so its all on for the Uni holidays as we do it ourselves.- it will be bloody freezing in that woolshed!

That surprises me- I haven't researched wagon diffs, but my auto sedan ran a 4.3, the manual KE70 runs a 4.1, and the Celcia 3.9 I've just fitted is even higher. So you wouldn't pull a load with a 3.9 I thought the wagon would use a 4.1 or more likely, a 4.3. Is it an Aussie BorgWarner or a Jap banjo style? If I were you I'd go for a 4.1 from a manual KE70- If you're talking BorgWarner it will need to be setup for pinion contact in your current housing.. It will probably be easier to change the whole diff, so you'll need to stick to finding another wagon at the wreckers or modify the 5link to leaf springs. I assume that just means weld the leaf mounts on. If you're talking banjo it will be hard to find but the whole diff comes out with the nose section and it will just bolt in to your housing.

Are you going to run toe-in or toe-out? Make the flywheel and the crankshaft as light as you can. Same with wheels, to hell with looking cool, keep them small and light. Every rotational part should be as light as possible to help the motor spin up quiickly, its better than more power. Look like great fun. Have you read this page- http://farnorthracing.com/index.html

You're right Phil, the 65mm downpipe has an area of 32sqcm. A 40mm tube into a cyl has only 12.5sqcm and the 30mm I have on the SUs has only 7sqcm. The 65mm intake is twice what it needs to be, but that makes sure it is no restriction. I don't have any ideas on how long a motor lasts with fine grit getting into it. I suppose the mining industry have the best data, but I have run filters in my cars from time to time for personal asbestos counts, and its amazing how dirty the air in a city is. There is a lot of ground-up metal and stone blowing around.

I supose you can make an airbox that gives a decreasing area as it moves from front to back, so 4 cyls worth of air to start with, then 3 cyls worth, then two.. The side plan will still need to be larger as it goes past cyl 3 to get enough air back for cyl 4, so it will be a strange shape. If you're running 30mm diameter inlets their area would be 7sqcm each, so your cross-sectional area to start with would be 30sqcm. You feed two throats on the front carb and only need 15sqcm to feed the back one. So at cyl 3 it would be 1cm by 15cm if you can't get more than 10mm beside the turret, or 1.5cm by 10cm, a skinny box section, to feed the back carb. Make it our of cardboard and fibreglass over it. Then put a pod filter on the front of the 65mm diam plastic downpipe tube, the same as I use.

CRC sell an electronic diagnostic spray for exactly that purpose. Heat changes the resistance in semi-conductors, and chilling them can make them suddenly work normally. They will still work out-of-spec, or fail when hot then work again when cold. My graphics card dies on a hot day when worked hard, but works after a re-start... must cool it one day! Can you chill the igniter with a cool-box and a handful of dry ice? Just a plastic kitchen container cut to enclose it. Mate of mine used to do that when racing, the inlet system was lined with a dry-ice container to chill incoming air.

"maybe".... I'm sure you "should" register it as a motor change, but they all look the same, and no-one is going to measure the bore and stroke to check. You can bore a 4K out to 5K capacity, so you get a solid-tappet 1500cc, then its a matter of the other mods you want to do. 4Ks are a lot more common that 5Ks. filfrederick put 4AGE pistons in his 4K, so he was out at 1600cc. Torque comes from cubic capacity, power comes from revs, so someone pulling 7500 on a 16valve will always make more power. The manual conversion will be the biggest change you can make, and a 1500cc will mean you don't have to touch the gearbox or diff. A 4AGE conversion means a lot more work and money, as you can see by the number of half-finished ones for sale. Not many people see it right through to a road-registered daily driver.

Yep- They looked fine earlier on, and when I bought them they were 2nd-hand but not very used. I think where the four pipes all run paralell the heat-wrap goes right around all of them, so it trapped the heat and they heated each other up. Where the pipes are wrapped singly up at the head they can get the heat down the pipe and away, so they were still painted up there. I run the car leaner than most people do, and a lean burn is a hot burn, so I don't think anyone else will have this problem. I suppose it might be a lesson for people who fit a carb and never get it jetted correctly, or fit a 4AGE and don't get the injection right. The car ran fine at those mixtures, it would climb hills at 19:1 until I go the boot down a bit when it dropped back to 14.7. I'll put a webcam in there with the next ones, see how red-hot they get! The new ones are ordered, I hope to be fitting them on Thursday and be back on the road.

4K. See filfrederick's thread on his twincam 4K. I'm using RA60 Celica, RA40 would fit, any T diff.

Why not drill the 4K out to 5K, spend some money on the crank, the head and something like bike quads. You'll always be a tad behind a 1600twincam, but its much easier, faster to do and it won't end up in the For Sale forum as an unfinished conversion with no rego. You could put a 4AGE head on if you're really keen

The fact that it revs when cold suggests that heat is the problem. Wrap the top 6" of the headers and fit a heat shield. I'm fitting a polished stainless steel case from an old microwave cut to shape, a suggestion from an insulation expert. Add to that a cold air tube taking cold air from beside the radiator to the dizzy & ignitor. An option to engine heat would be a buildup of electrical resistance heat within the ignitor, the only thing I can think of for that would be to swap it for another one and see if the new one gets as hot.. If it does then you're back to deciding if it is to do with the electrics or extractor heat causing it. Running lean would make the extractors hotter than normal, so check the mixture with a mixture display. Perhaps the choke function works when cold to make it run normally, but when warmed up the 'normal' run mixture is too lean.

Billzilla- Just have the curved entry into the carb throat.

OK, just caught up with your other topic on this- Get the components checked, although they are probably OK. Stick a flat-edge across the flywheel and make sure the flywheel is flat and its not burned. You did buy a car people build to thrash the crap out of... The clutch plate sits with the spline 'nose' facing away from the flywheel, as you have learned, so the fibre ring sits flat on the flywheel facing. If you spin the clutch plate slowly on the gearbox input shaft it should spin without any runout at the edge. A wobbly clutch plate will shudder. The pressire plate sits nicely flat on the clutch fibre plate with a couple of mm gap under the places where the 6 bolts go. That is all the pressure movement the pressure plate has. Tighten the bolts across the pressure plate evenly in a star pattern, (not around the plate) a turn at a time each. Slow, but it pulls it down evenly and doesn't distort anything, like tightening down a head. With the gearbox on, the slave cyl should touch the arm for the thrust bearing before halfway along its stroke, and with its piston well inside the slave cyl. I don't know what rod you have for that connection, but Datsuns have an adjustable one and you wind it out to start the piston right at the bottom of the slave cyl. You might have to make something there. At the other end, the clutch pedal shoud have no more than an inch of movement from picking it upwards to starting to push the master cyl. Then it should only move an inch or so before it is pressing the pressure plate, and it should have released the pressure plate by about half to 3/4 way down. You might have to change the rod that joins the clutch pedal to the master cyl for this, and make sure the pivot and the firewall mounts don't flex. Don't be afraid to change rods, I cut the rally car ones shorter to get the pedals lower for Steve's long legs. They are just another mechanical system that can be customised.

What was the problem in the first place?? Did you replace the clutch plate, pressure plate and the release bearing all together?? Pop the pressure plate & clutch plate into a clutch shop and ask them to check it. There might be a crack in the ring that joins all the fingers together. I've seen exactly what you described, they are not in a flat circle when bolted down and the clutch shudders, but when you take the plate off they look OK. Another problem can arise from burns in the flywheel, usually made by a bad clutch plate in the past. The burnt areas have a different grip level to the rest, and the only solution is to machine the face clean. I don't know what differences there are between the 4AGEs, but the obvious ones would be that the clutch plate diameter has to be the same, the flywheel surface has to have the same height across it where the pressure plate bolts down, and the thrust bearing has to have the same throw. I can't see Toyota bothering to change it.

Change fuel first for sure, but if that doesn't fix it then its catalytic converter time I expect. Its no longer breaking down the produsts of part-combustion and you are smelling suphur compounds. A gas analyser at a testing station will tell you how good it is. The clutch wouldn't slip and smell in reverse, and you would feel it not working.

.....aaaannd.... bloody thing was no different! A week without wheels, cracked knuckles and bleeding hands in a freezing garage, and it still sounds like a tractor. Had a cup of tea and dragged myself back in there to strip it again. This time I got a floodlight and checked everything vert carefully. Well, the shadow is not a shadow, its a bit of pipe missing! I thought it was a bit too noisy for a cracked piece. Anyway, they are beyond even Woolshed-Spec repairs! So, $215 for extractors they said, a new pair will be ordered on Monday. Then the big question about the oxy sensors, a difficult mod without a car to run around town while I buy and drill and have welded... Maybe I'll just run the SUs as they are for a while, I know they behave the same.