advokit

Alright so I finally pulled out the Crossmember and cleaned/painted it. While it was out I also took the opportunity to replace the rack ands and tie rods as they were looking pretty tired and lets face it, Ive replaced everything else.

Crossmember is now in place with newly plated bolts.

LCAS painted up, new bushes. Just waiting on these Roll centre adjusters to arrive from MRP/T3, its taken almost 8 weeks now so hopefully they turn up soon.

Will also need new brake lines, still trying to decide on OEM vs Braided type brake lines. Anyone got real life experience in the difference?

Hopefully can pick up the 20v next weekend all going well!

Wow bride seat rails no good either? Sounds like this guy doesn't trust quality Japanese engineering.  Im pretty sure Toyota and Bride both know what they are doing when it comes to mass producing stuff......

What the hell? Its the factory position for the brake lines?  New UJs and make sure driveshaft bolts are correctly torqued and it should never let go behind the 4age.

Some certifiers are painful. Out of interest what else did they pull you up on? Im interested as I will have to go through this process also.

Last weekend there was much work done in the front end. Got the LCAs out and sent away for bushes and ball joints.  Pulled front swaybar and tension rods out so I could paint and replace bushes in these also.

Now the crossmember looks a bit shabby also, I found some newly plated bolts on Trademe so grabbed them yesterday. Sooo looks like im now pulling that out to clean, paint tidy.

Tension Rods Painted

While the LCAs were away I started thinking maybe I should be strengthening them as most Jap guys that race/drift AE86s seem to buy Silk Road type modded LCAs. Long story short I sent a photo to Shane and set it in motion.

End result = Much Win! Nice and strong, new low profile Balljoints and new bushes fitted.

Now I just need to get the crossmember sorted so I can put the puzzle back together. 

Wow.. This thing is awesome! Its great to see an RX that is actually done tastefully for once (not on 17" lensos). I love the smaller wheels and classic lines too! 

Personally I would throw some SSR MK2s on and drop it a little but im partial to Japan styles.  Nice build, enjoy driving it!

Holy crap.... This thing is going to be mucho rapido. 

Do you have the same water line issues in those engines as with the FWD 4age?

Nice rust work man, its good to see another old Toyota saved from the dreaded rot.  

Yeah in Mt Wellington. I think they recently came across a cheaper supply for keeper springs too.

Hey man yeah - 585mm front bottom (under spindle) to top thread.  My ones are MX73 ones but will be the same for AE86 ones. 

I can highly recommend Racelign in Auckland if you want to build up some decent shocks. Shane there is a good bugger. 

From the outside looking in it looks kind of simple really. The Certifiers you showed it to thought it was a good idea but did not inform you that it probably wouldn't pass as its not a legal mod. 

Its not really the committees fault as said above its not legal so I think the blame needs to be redirected to the guys that have been advising you it would pass.

Such a shitty situation to be in though.

Finally my Prothane bush kit has arrived so tonight I started pulling out the front suspension. My RCAs apparently didnt get sent so have to wait another 2 weeks........

Anyway tonight I did this:

Finally fitted the keeper springs 

My shocks are so pornographic it hurts.

New bearings and front rotors.

Will pull LCAs out and hopefully send off on Monday to get the Bushes pressed out/in and get the Balljoints replaced.

Much to do this weekend!

All good man, Ill measure them up when I have them out. I need to take some pictures of them anyway.

Hey Mint_86 what measurement are you after, from top of shock thread to underneath the spindle?  Im pulling the struts out either this weekend or next week at some stage to fit bushes, RCAs etc so I can take whatever measurement you need.

They are not AE86 struts though they are MX73 and have been shortened by around 70mm from memory. Im not sure if that makes a difference?

Let me know what you need and Ill whip the tape measure out when I have it apart.

I got bored tonight and made this out of some ali I had laying about.



Should do the trick. Still need to tidy it up a little bit. 

Brand new rotors arrived today too, ill save the photos till they are installed.

So I picked up my diff housing yesterday. Still have to go back through the storage container and find the diff head nugget, I have a 4.3 ratio single spinner stashed in there somewhere. 

Brand new Kouki (Big Spline)axles - Was almost cheaper to buy new than pay 86 tax......

So I am currently mocking up brakes, axles etc and figuring out what I need to order. At this stage I have everything except Bearings, new filler and drain plugs, new seals and caliper kit. I already have an OEM 1.5 or 1 Way LSD which will do fine for now.  

Just realised there werent any recent interior pictures - So here is one showing off the Nardi.

Picture-less update today.

On the weekend I picked up 2 x aftermarket seat brackets, another Dash (in better condition than mine), a full 2.25" exhaust and a boat load of interior stuff.

Soooooo I just caved and ordered a Bride Brix recliner from Japan - now I have to wait a couple months for it to get here. Have also ordered brand new front rotors and brake lines.

With some luck my RCAs should be due any day too.

Sweet! I really wanted a TE71 but I think most have them have turned to dust.

Made the trip up to Auckland today to visit Zebra U Pick. Found a few more goodies!

MX83 Front Calipers, which bolted straight up to my MX73 Struts (My MX73 Calipers have pitted bores. MA45 Driveshaft which has W series front yoke and T series rear (part of it may be useful). Also grabbed an external fuel pump from another GX series cressida.

MX83 Calipers bolted up to my MX73 Struts. They are pretty much the same but have a larger pad area and a slightly larger piston. They are really tidy and at this stage I dont think I will rebuild them.

GX Fuel pump with mounting bracket etc. Should be able to make this fit and look factory-ish.

MA45 Driveshaft laying next to the Altezza front half I already had.

T3 RCAs are on order along with the full Prothane Bush Kit. Have already ordered new Balljoints from Racelign so when it all arrives I will send the LCAs up to racelign for them to fit new bushes and balljoints. I want to get this front suspension finished so I can move onto finishing the rear end.

Looking good man. What rear end are you running?

Yes not too far off strength wise compared to W5* series as Sambo said. They have been known to break behind Turbo Altezzas and from what I am told the cause is purely a circlip that pops off. Apparently you can machine the groove where said circlip sits and they are pretty much bulletproof. I havent looked into this as I wont be pushing much more then 150HP into it and 20V doesnt really make enough Torque to break it.

Yeah I looked at going W series as the W58 has got pretty decent ratios for a 4AGE but I had always thought I would eventually like to go 6 speed.

So I had to go over to Tauranga today for a work meeting. I have been meaning to get over to the Tauranga pick a part for ages so I threw some tools in the car and after my meeting dropped in to see what treasures I could find.

Well I hit the jackpot this time. 

So not a hugely exciting update but an update all the same. Today my 3SGE starter arrived, I now need to take it along with the J160 bellhousing to a machinist to get some bits machined down so it will all fit.

The new 1.4KW starter.

What I need it to look like once machined down.

Hopefully this should turn over a Blacktop 20v nicely!

Haha nice! Yeah im really glad we got there, it involved a huge day driving up from a team burst day at Meihan so we got there quite late. Such a cool shop as you said and very welcoming to people having a look around. Sakai-sans wife even made us all Green tea.

I just really like the Motorfix philosophy, its not about how the outside of the car looks its all about how well it is built underneath that counts. Also it seems a lot of what they build is done using off the shelf Toyota parts from other models as opposed to spending mega bucks on aftermarket stuff.

If you hadn't guessed thats kind of what I am trying to replicate with my build. Low budget but maximum fun!

N/A All Day!