widomski Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 Hello all, I've been lurking around these forums on and off for some time so I thought i would post my KE. Bought it last year for $300 and told the head could not be removed after crapping the head gasket (lies!). I've worked on it sparingly since (uni and work is getting in the way nicely) and have just dumped a few hundred on a press, bushings and ball joints. Plan is to have a solid platform for a better engine in a few years when I am not so broke. I bought an OK replacement engine for cheap so the 4k stays, but is going to get a single weber and extractors. Never really done this sort of work to a car before, last car I had I only did oil changes etc. Bit of a step up! What is done: tear a lot of things out to look for rust cleaned interior out (kind of) Seats out crusty motor is out engine bay degreased some rusty spots painted really badly by me some terrible bog work by me (i will fix this!) diff cover put into electrolysis tank to de rust and painted What needs to be done: Put replacement 4k in Engine work (webers, extractors etc) Replace bushings, shocks, springs (in progress) New brake components New front seats, steering wheel Chrome back/front bumpers Quad light conversion (?) Other misc things I am not too good at body work or painting, so the cruddy body is more or less staying the same, bar removing rust. Photos are a few months old. I'll update once front suspension is fully out. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skellington Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 Engine looks a little rough, but the rest of the car looks like a nice start. Body looks clean and straight from the outside. Where and how much rust do you have? Look forward to seeing progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widomski Posted April 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Well, took some more photos of the panelwork/rust. Nothing is too structural, just a bit of a concern for me. I have a replacement door i picked up for cheap, just have to swap inner stuff. Got the front suspension and steering rack out today. Everything came apart pretty nice. Simpler than i thought! Rack has clunky rack ends, so I'll swap them out soon. Can't seem to get the swaybar out though... Anyone have a good method for removing the vinyl stripes/black plastic bumper things? Some are already falling to bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.L.Z.BUB Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Anyone have a good method for removing the vinyl stripes/black plastic bumper things? Some are already falling to bits. You can get a heat gun on them then use a glue remover for the residue. High probability you will peel paint off at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widomski Posted April 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 You can get a heat gun on them then use a glue remover for the residue. High probability you will peel paint off at the same time. Good idea! Found a vid on youtube using the heat gun method. I'll give it a go when i get a chance :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feral4K Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 mix ur filler properly!judging by the pikkies it needs more mixing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ke70dave Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 $300 seems like a fair price, but you got a bit of work ahead of you there! might even be worth getting another car for $300 and hopefully you get enough from 2 cars to make 1 good car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altezzaclub Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Where is that last rust-hole photo?? You need some welding in there in case you have the inevitable accident. The sway needs the castor rod mounts removed off the chassis, easy enough. Keep at it, the car will be great when you're finished! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widomski Posted April 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 (edited) Epic rust hole is hidden when the boot closes. It's just above the rear left hand side tailight hole. I can't find a better shot of it. Getting another car isn't doable as the car and all my tools reside at a friends house whose parents have been kind enough to lend out their space. Can't overstay my welcome haha. I have no room where I live to store an unregoed car. Mix the filler properly. Got it. Do you think it is worth getting a MIG or a TIG welder for properly fixing such holes? Could come in handy later. I've been trawling on the forums looking for a way to upgrade my suspension. Apparently, KE70 struts are useless for good shocks, but information seems conflicting. I've seen everything from ae86 struts to coilovers. What do you all reckon would be the best (on a low ish budget) for a street car? I don't plan on drifting etc, but I do plan on taking it through some of the harsher dirt roads in my area. I'd love to get stuck into it, but uni is in overdrive mode :bash: Thanks for all the info so far! Edited April 24, 2013 by widomski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altezzaclub Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 I do plan on taking it through some of the harsher dirt roads in my area. Ah- that wipes out most road shocks. They will all collapse downwards very easily, lowering the car, then resist going back up strongly, keeping you glued to the dirt and smashing the bottom of the car. You could pull your KE70 struts apart and re-do the valving yourself so they resist that, which is what we used to do when rallying as paupers. A bit of epoxy in the foot valve made them much harder to go down and stiffer springs kept them up. Later on we bought Bilsteins, the shocks designed to keep a car chassis off the dirt. I've just re-visited all of this with the RA40 Celica rallycar, where the underside was destroyed by the wrong shocks being fitted. I think Coronas and Celcias both have the 50mm strut tubes, which gets you into better inserts if you want. Check the 4WD offroading guys to se what shock rates they have. I wouldn't go anywhere without Corona LCAs as well if I were you. Just look at the Steerfast rally KE30 build for welding.. If you can afford a MIG now, it will last you for years and years over lots of cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widomski Posted June 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 Bit quiet on my end recently, uni is hitting hard :( Managed to paint my LCA's and brake dust covers (is that what they are called?) , install some new ball joints and fit those swaybar connector bushes. Impending potato photos (sorry, i didn't bring my good camera!): I also took the springs out of the struts and decided to take apart one of the struts. A bit of epoxy in the foot valve made them much harder to go down Where exactly is the foot valve? KE70 manual is kind of useless for this, it just labels the assembly as a whole. Also, what kind of oil should I be using? The oil that i collected is thin-ish and smells of sulfur but resembles new-ish engine oil. The manual specifies Castrol Shock oil, whatever that is.... Got a heap of bushes to put in (front and back), new brake lines, tie rod ends and rack ends ordered and springs are being ordered soon :thumbsup: . Now to find the time.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widomski Posted June 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Took a day off uni work to get things done. Tore off the cluncky rack ends and got down to business fitting the LCA bushes. Or so I thought...... I could not, for the life of me, get the bushes in. Tried again and again for about an hour with no success (bush promptly pops out and launches itself into the bushes). Here's my setup (press, bush, LCA, sockets of even height to hold up LCA): The bush flexes a fair bit. The press is OK as I've pressed in ball joints only a few days ago. Anyone got any ideas on how to do this right? I read online about freezing the bushes, not sure if that is legit or not. Got tired of that and cleaned/painted my strut bars: Hopefully the other much shorter bushes are easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altezzaclub Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Yep, you buy shock oil, thinnish oil with very stable viscosity over a wide temperature range. The foot valve should be on the end of the tube that the shaft runs in and have thin circular shims held on with a nut or something, The oil goes through the holes and forces the shim up slightly to get past. There are shims on both sides of the footvalve as oil goes both ways, depending on the shock going up or down. The valve body usually looks like this- Small holes go one way, big square holes the other. Did you lube the bush with soapy water or rubber grease?? I can see it would crush and expand rather than go in, but I don't know how they do it. I assume they push it down a tube the right diameter, a few mm larger than the LCA hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBattle Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 as far as the bushing is concerned i don't know why yours are being so difficult. are they super pro? i got the prothane kit and the front LCA bushings came in 3 pieces. the bushing was 2 pieces and then there was the metal sleeve that you pushed into it once the bushing was in the arm. I'm guessing yours does not come apart like so? if not you could always cut the bushing in half. realistically the subframe is going to hold the bushing ends in anyways. Battle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.L.Z.BUB Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 I managed to get bushes in by hand. Maybe try to put a steel tube around it that the press can slot in to so it doesnt flex. And lots of grease, just don't put any on the actual bush, just inside the hole in the LCA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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