Island_racer Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Hi all, I just bought a left hand drive KE55 and I want to run it in Dex / light rallies and road fun here but I want to build it right so I figure that I should start by seam welding it and identifying a suspension that will work for my application. So I need some help in getting information on how and where to seam weld and the right suspension including a quick rack steering (if that is still available) for this can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st.nick Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 LHD?? Wow. Where are you in the world?? I guess building a car begins with how mental you want to go with it, how much of a racecar you want to make it, and.... $$$!!! You could build a KE55 with a SPASTIC 4k, that makes 140BHP@8700RPM, Adjustable suspension, 4 or 6-pot Brembos, poly-carbonate windows, Fibre-glass guards/bonnet, Quaife LSD and straight-cut Gearbox, ceramic button clutch, Carbon-Fibre interior etc etc etc. However this would probably end up costing as much as a good-condition Lancer Evo3!! (But wouldn't it be clean off its tits!!) Other end of the spectrum, you could bolt a 4 point roll-cage in, some racing seats and harnesses and chuck on some rally tyres... But that little car will last only a year or maybe 2, then it would be f@$ked. My advice: Put it in a shed, strip it to a bare shell, clean out ALL the sound deadener, and paint-strip all seams on the body.(This is the WORST job in the world!!) Then stitch-weld every seam you can find!! Concentrate on the front-rails/firewall/strut towers/drive-tunnel/any thing appearing to be structural, and weld these thoroughly!! It will make the whole car stiffer, and improve its life!! Once complete, paint with chassis black or primer. Renew as many brake-system components as you can find!! New rotors, pads (buy the best ones available), wheel bearings, caliper-kits, rear brake shoes and wheel cylinders. Maybe even rebuild theMaster Cylinder. Brakes cop a BELTING on a race/rallycar, and they are one of the only things stopping you from ending up in the trees or down a bank (or upside-down in a river... hehehe)!! Renew as many Suspension components as you can find!! Balljoints, Tie-rod-ends etc are most probably gonna be worn out, and that doesn't help the cars handling. Suspension rubbers are vital too. As far as set-up goes, the basic rule-of-thumb is 'soft and low(er) for the rear'. Basically, have the rear ride-height lower than the front (helps for stability and weight transfer), and the rear suspension softer. A GT-Gas shock with standard springs should be fine. Maybe retro-fitting a swaybar (if it doesn't have one) from a KE-70 may help too. Don't forget to replace the rear spring bushes... Up front, Nice and stiff and about standard ride-height. Again GT-Gas shocks should be great until things start getting serious!! After that, 'Coilover' type is the next logical step. Wind your caster as far forward as you can (need more info, PM me, I'll take some pics) using the caster bars. This will help with 'turn-in' into corners. A little negative camber is good too, and can be obtained with Mitsubishi Sigma lower control arms. Not 100% sure on Rallying Legalities regarding this... Option 2 for negative Camber would be adjustable strut-tops, like K-mac. Check with local tyre-shop regarding "toe-in" and wheel alignment setups. Other Miscellaneous bits: Remote-mount your battery in a 'battery-box' in the trunk. This helps weight distribution. Try and fit a bigger screen-washer bottle. You go thru that washer fluid like crazy if the rally is muddy/wet. Big Flaps. Nice big mudflaps will protect guards from 'gravel-rash'. And they look great!! Night Rallying: Try to get some Driving Lights for the front. Of course 4 Cibie "Super Oscars" would be nice, but some good quality Hella or similar will do fine for starters. Map light for Navigator to read his notes. These are a bendy light, check out rally/racing stores online. Rear facing lamp is great idea. Basically one driving light mounted on the rear bumper. Comes in very, very, very handy on night rallies + cars behind you can see if you are backing up. Lastly (And I mean, lastly) is the engine performance. As long as its reliable, relatively strong and not leaking loads of oil... Its fine. Get it breathing a little better (extractors and big exhaust. Ask advice from exhaust centre), and give it a good service (quality oil, new filters, clean the carb, points plugs etc etc). And give the gearbox a service too. And you're all set...Ok, so it won't be REALLY REALLY fast, but it will be cheap, sideways fun. You'll have stuff-all to repair, and you'll f@$kin' LOVE it!! Having bugger-all power (to start with) will teach you how to be smooth and fluid in your driving style, which is more important for racing than I can describe to you here!! And, if you do get it crossed-up and 'all-outta-shape' (loose control), you'll be more likely to catch it than if you were going 100mph!! Don't take what I say as Gospel. But learn from my experience... I did it all backwards in my 250BHP Mazda 323 4wd turbo!! Way too much power and not enough driving style OR using my brains... The car frustrated and frightened me!! I spent a fortune constantly repairing it, and got sweet-f@$k-all good results!! Don't do what I did... Lecture over... :D Anymore advice etc, just ask :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Island_racer Posted November 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Thanks for the advice st.nick and I agree with it. I just want to do it right but I don't have a lot of $$$$ to spend on this project now, so that is why I need to do as much research before I go spending. I am in Jamaica in the caribbean so getting the parts will be a challenge but I guess that I should be able to find some of it in the states. The suspension is a concer for me as I would like to use stronger parts on it e.g ball joints and strut mounts. I would love to hear that a ball joint off a hilux pickup could work on my car because of my perception that this would last longer and it is a standard part that I could get here easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxtail Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 How stiff do you want it? Chuck in Wagon or Panelvan rear springs and front springs from a heavier car, like a Ford Falcon (but you probably don't have them). Those springs are pretty stiff Find a twin downdraft carbie manifold (Toyota optional part) u will notice the difference. Wagons also had factory headers that help a bit. I put TE72 struts, springs and steering arms in mine, the brakes arnt much bigger but feel heaps better, and the springs are a little stronger. No quick racks, ke55 doesnt have a rack! Its got a box, if its got heaps of play in the steering, try tightening the grub screw on top of the steering box. Get some good brake pads. Shave the head and get the cam reground if u can, thats cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.