OK. Not a lot has been happening, mostly been waiting on parts and waiting for Art to get his shop all in order so he could start to put some work in on my corolla.
During the down time I finished up some odds and ends on the motor since is basically the only thing I could do. Ive spec'd the build out into three phases and being at the end a big chunk theres really nothing else I can order until im able to start to test fitting and solidifying other ideas. I've learned a few lessons about ordering too soon and buying twice- going forward I'm gunna take a bit more time and really figure out what ill need before dropping cash.
Still been waiting on some straggling stuff to come in here and there its still been showing up consistently albeit slowly.
Quick rundown
Floor plate with quick off plugs, Im thinking about using this to protect the ECU on the fire wall, not entirely sure yet but ill figure that out when i can get my hands on everything together.
Lexan windows finally showed up. Truthfully I dont know why I just didn't order blank sheets from mcmastercarr and just jig them myself. I'm likely going to do just that for the front window, after looking into track rules about this to generally see if its a bad idea to not have actual glass for any reason. Id like to be able to remove the window with counter sunk screws for better access to the BMC's and clutch master that will likely have close clearances. It will also save some serious weight, more on that later once I figure out what i'm going to do.
Next up is the KAAZ 1.5 way LSD. The US factory didnt have any in stock but the guys did me a solid and air freighted me the one I needed from Japan within a week.
Ive been researching a bunch of Diffs for months now and this one was always really really well reviewed for grip driving. Best part is I'm able to have it rebuilt locally when the times comes, it was also a no brainer when I found out it was compatible with the Weir SC/Turbo axle kit I was looking at. Comes with hypoid oil for break in that will need to be replaced with a Lipoid blend after doing figure 8's for an hour.
I left the LSD itself in the bag for pictures because I have a special place in my heart for how much I HATE the smell of gear oil. BLEGH. You get the idea.
Next, I went with the the Weir axle SC/turbo kit. These are the V2 and have a 28mm diameter and made of a more stout alloy than OEM. I had Spence at Weir leave off the wheel studs since ill be pressing in the extended ARP ones when the time comes. These come with Koyo bearing installed and are over-all beefy as hell.
When i got the car initially I wanted to be certain that the rear end would be up to the task of the f20. Ive spoken with a bunch of people about my best options and after doing the math staying with the 6" rear end was going to be the best of all worlds. I could have easily pieced together a Supra rear or a Ford 8/9" inch that will be indestructible up to 900hp but they are MUCH more weight, reciprocal weight at that, and i didn't want to lug that around the track. The ae86 6" almost look toy sized but can actually handle modest power when built correctly. The car weight over all wont be much and im not planning on doing much clutch kicking. Its the shock loading that kills rear ends and thats not what this car is about.
I choose to get the lighter option and see how it goes. I can always change this out if needed later.
Next is the seals and adapter gears for the differential that are made to fit the beefcake axles. very nice quality. Made in the USA, cannot be beat.
Heres the Pinion spacer and shims to correctly load the pinion gear in the housing. The standard ones crush and deflect over time and eventually lose the preload spec. This causes misalignment that skews the gear on gear contact until they both get chewed up. This kit is as beefy as the axles and will stop the initial deflections and keep everything from moving around.
Got the motor all together, had the injectors cleaned and balanced and reinstalled them into the AEM rail. I totally neglected to document this process, and by process I mean i dropped them off and picked them up the next day.
I painted a few parts here and there and generally just replaced the remaining stuff that was 'used' .
Also wheel polished the front of the block where the grease pen that was used to mark the motor had etched itself the metal. It bugged me quite a bit and hell, I had nothing better to do. Its starting to look quite the part..
Also, third time is the charm. re-re-redid the oil pressure sender mounting. This time I shock mounted it and simplified the hose to be more compact. Also kicked up the size of the hose from -3an to -4an based on some reading I did on the subject.
Next was the Oil pan, had some finishing touches done too, Art grinded down a spot for clearance of the non-power steering rack so it can sit correctly with the new mounts on the new cross member
After a hunt I found the correct threaded bung for the British oil temperature sensors that came with the gauges. They needed some work to fit correctly on the pan where they could be fully submerged next to the oil pick up. This is by far the best place to read engine oil temperature from you have a few other options with this motor off the head or block but those temps can run as much as 20deg more. Ive used threaded and tapped oil drain bolts in the past but hated that you take out so much material from such a crucial bolt, then as it's already considerably weakened you hang a sensor on there too? yikes. Thats a recipe for it to loosen while on track and bum you and everyone else out.
My solution here was to place it as low as possible at the rear of the motor.
It was akward placement and needed a trim.
cut down the fins, fitting much better..
Oil pan all mounted up and Hondabonded into place
The main progress came in the way of the chassis work. A few weeks ago I picked up a rotissere for the car, basically they're just two over grown engine stands. Best part was actually picking them up from John Mason, a family friend who has been a welder from everyone from Paul Newman to Penske. He's done work on Lemans cars NISMO Group C, TRD, BRE, Indy, formula, GTP, GTU on and on.
The pictures around the shop and just hanging out chit-chatting is like being submerged in racing/automotive/aeronautic history. Great stories and great insite, im very lucky indeed to be able to do that. The rotisserie pieces we got, I was told, was last used too build a Lola t70 (!!!) awesome.
They had been sitting outside for some time and needed a bit of re-enforcing and lengthening before they could be slapped on the rolling chassis of my humble old corolla.
After some clean up Art got to work and build a slightly less sketchy set up to get the car up in the air.
Mega props to him for getting it up in the air on the solo after I fell asleep after work instead of coming to help. :[] Im pretty sure techniques used were not OSHA approved.
cross member and 4 links are all coming off and being replaced with new ones.
As you can see the media blasting got most of the sound deadening off of the bottom, However there were spots where it was literally over two inches thick and the blasters just kinda gave up. These spots all need to be down to the metal before the frame rails and mounts can be stitched to the floor pan. Even parts where theres no welding to be done cant have any residue or undercoat since the final stage is sealing the bottom with Whitecoate por15 inhibitor. That product needs a totally clean clear surface to bond with the metal substrate and actually stick. Even though that step will come down the line after the cage, trans tunnel, sway brackets, 4 link boxes are all replaced and no more welding will be needed.. now is the time to prep all those areas while its all easily accessible.
Some more detailed shots:
Very straight chassis, thank god.
As you can see, when you use a angle grinder with flap pad it basically turns this stuff into cob web, its a total pain in the ass. I found that heating it up with MAP-gas for a few seconds then using a paint scraper will get off the big thick chunks, the remainder will grind down with a wire wheel.
Kyle marveling at how thin the metal on the car is. You can easily bend everything by hand if you wanted too, hence getting a good cage.
Another look at the rivets around the door frames, rear window to be done soon too.
The removed 3rd member, this is going into K1 motorsports for LSD/axle and clean up, will go back into the car looking brand new.
I just like this picture oriented this way, very 2001-ish
When turning the car sideways you see how much media was just sitting in the frame rails and nooks and cranny's. After reorient it on the spit and give it a couple taps you'll see like half a cup of pink sand trickle down and accumulate at the new low point.Our guess is the chassis in this state weight about 650-700lbs
Next up is metal work for the cut-out rusty bits
More to come.
