Ke17 Sprinter Race Car

[pinsx3]

I have a KE17 sprinter race car in Seattle. I got it in a trade for a cortina project and raced it once. I liked the car and decided to restore it. I just redid the body/chassis but the motor needs help now. It has a 1200 3k in it, but one of the original TRD pistons had cracked ring and I am scared to use it.

 

I have heard that a 4k or 5k looks the same and swaps in. I was thinking that would work, but it would need to fit with my trick head and intake manifold.

 

is a 1200 head a bolt on for a 4k or 5k?

 

The new motor needs to look identical to the original or I'll get busted. What cars used the 4k and 5k here. I see many are T motors and they look totally different.

 

I attached some pictures of the car.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Pete

[Felix]

You only need one thread.

 

Maybe look around for a 4k out of a Starlet. Not sure if you guys got the 5k's over there.

 

Cool car. :P

Edited June 15, 2010 by Felix

[Taz_Rx]

5k's came in KM36 Liteaces, but as felix said I don't think the US of A's got them. There was also a Karina that had a 5k in it but probably the same deal.

 

Theoretically, if you ground the 5KXXXXX engine number off and re-stamped it with a 3KXXXXX number nobody would notice (from the top side) what you've done.

If you jacked up the car and looked at the sump, only a very keen eye (trained in K's) would pick the fact that the sump is slightly deeper and has 4x more bolts than the 3k one.

 

......but we don't condone cheating here at rollaclub!! :P

[camerondownunder88]

Hi,

Very nice ke17 there :P

 

Few things we can do with the engine. If you get a 4k or 5k just puttie/fill the numer eg the 4 or 5 so it reads K-XXXXXXX for engine number. As these early cars did have a K motor so easy to hide any K motor in one.

 

But that leaves the sump.

 

To get the 5K into my KE156 I had to move the sump where it crosses the engine cross member with my hammer. So this might also be a dead giveaway.

 

As for the TRD pistons. Try Yahoo auctions or look around you can still get those pistons.

 

As If you have a TRD head on thsi motor it will not bolt onto the 4K or 5K :y:

 

If you bolt it onto the 4K the valves WILL hit eh pistons. The TRD ones are fly cut to fit the valves. Alsot eh 4K would need boring. As the TRD inlet valve needs the extra diameter.

 

As for the 5K there dished piston motors so putting a stage 2/3 TRD head on a 5K will drop the compression ratio. And I know the TRD heads are cut close to the water jacket so don't wanna shave one much.

 

And if you put flat top pistons in a 5K again the valves will hit unless you fly cut the pistons.

 

So I think try finding a set of TRD psitons first then go from there.

 

But out of interst can we get more pictures?

 

Mainly of the dizzy. As I see you have the TRD one with no advance unit for vac advance.

 

And Can we also get photos of the oil filter cooler lines and how there attached and the oil breather pipe that bolts onto where the fuel pump should be on the side of the block?

 

I am very keen on many pictures of this engine as TRD motors are few adn far between.

 

Cheers

Cameron

[pinsx3]

So now I have even more questions. I have, in a box, a brand new set of forged race pistons. The pin diameter is smaller (will get specs soon) than stock and the piston tops are cut for valves. The skirts are really short (like short skirts?). I have NO idea what they fit, but they appear to be about 60 thou short. They came with the car.

 

Could they be to a 4k or 5k? I wonder if I could source some longer rods to make up the difference. Do any of you know?

 

The rods appear stock too, but well prepped. The pistons held up well. I have another set of good used ones. Do you think I should just use the stockers? They seem to have worked well in the past.

 

I sure wish I could find a 4k or 5k here in the states. It would be nice to not twist a motor as much and still get the power. Our eligibility cut off is 1969 (I call my car a KE15 to get by that rule). But heck, we have 510 running 1800s which did not come out until mid 70s and porsches with 2.7s and 2002s with M3 bottom ends and t5 trannies. I don't feel bad about a bigger motor if I can get one. It is not real racing. Its idiots goofing off. I like it that way.

 

Thanks Pete

[pinsx3]

Hey clairification on the pistons. The wrist pin is larger diameter than stock. The pistons are cast, not forged. Wrist pin is .060 closer to the top of piston and the pistons have only one compression ring and they have valve reliefs cut into them. Hope this helps.

 

Sent from my iPhone

[camerondownunder88]

^^ Sounds interesting ont eh pistons.

 

TRD motors had 2 options very well preeped stock rods with the upper bushing removed to accomodate a 20mm gudgon pin.

 

Or Carlio (Think taht is the brands spelling) conrods. These were FAR FAR better and avaliable in the later 4K TRD engine. Again a 20mm pin.

 

But from what I own and books the TRD stage 3 had the 20mm pin stage 1/2 had 18mm wich is stock diameter.

 

The pistons you describe with a short skirt, 1 ring, don't sound like TRD items. But I have heard of some motor bike pistons fitting into a K motor so they could be motor bike items even hard to say with no pictures.

 

TRD pistions usually have TRD marked on the inside of the piston fastest way to tell a TRD item they usually did mark it.

 

But I am a bit confused with your post you say the "Stock ones have held up well" Does this mean you currently run stock 3K pistons? Stock pistons will work ina stage 1 head setup.

 

If you do have stock pistons int eh 3K try evil bay i the US they always have sets of 3K pistons on there NOS.

 

Cheers

Cameron

[Crostek]

IF your motor has the TRD pistons it will be O/S bore to 79mm and have the same 1300cc cap as a 4k.

 

You mite be able to find a 5K motor in a toyota gas forklift?

[Project Sprinter]

Hi Peter - I too have a KE17 Sprinter as a race car. Mine is being prepared for historic racing here in Aust so I'm required to keep the 3k engine. There are pics here on the rollaclub site (just click on my pic over to the LHS).

 

But you can also see more pics at my facebook site - www.facebook.com/EarlySprinterRegister

 

You can join us there too and put your car "on the register" if you like.

[azzy_10]

as i see looks like you have an oil cooler on your motor could you please tell me what you did and needed for the job would be great cheers

[Project Sprinter]

We took bit of stab at this; we purchased an oil cooler from a guy with an MGB, thinking roughly the right capacity. That hasn't been track tested as yet...

But basically we have modified the oil pick up and filter arrangement so that it pumps outwards for cooling post filtering. The guys at Road & Track in Ipswich QLD did this modification, and pretty sure they'd be happy to assist.

[ketuners]

Which manifold and side carbs are you running? I own a ke30 with a 3k and am wondering which carbs would best suit the engine.

 

Cheers

[ketuners]

Which manifold and side carbs are you running? I own a ke30 with a 3k and am wondering which carbs would best suit the engine.

 

Cheers

[untubbed_20]

Carlio=carrillo?

cheers

darren

[exracer]

Hello, I rebuilt this car and raced it for a year a long time ago. The oil cooler adapter was from a ford 351 Crown Vic Police car. Carbs were solex 40mm with i think 32 chokes. It was over carbed and had nothing below 4000 rpm. It had a Shadbolt Cams custom grind cam (which they still do if you call) Installing the crane PS ingnition system helped. In Canada we have the steering on the left side of the car so the master needed to be moved. The builders of the car used a 1976 honda brake cross shaft mounted on the inside of the firewall to do this. I had the Tosco racing manual with this car and Stewart Ford had a copy on line for years. This car had Race history in Vancouver BC back to the early 1970s. I sold it when my new showroom stock ACR neon came in. The Corolla sprinter was faster than the stock neon on our local track.

 

I don't remember many specifics as I only had the car one year but I do have the award for 2nd place in GT5 that year.

I will try Scan the Picture of it at the Molsen Indy Vancouver sedan support race where my Co-Driver Tony Riddle had it on two wheels crossing the chicane curbing. He had a good quote from that race

"It made the most power Ever, just before it Siezed"

 

thanks

Lawrence

Edited March 20, 2013 by exracer