rxtoy

so i haven't updated this for ages because i'm lazy and photo bucket is a dick and life is busy and stuff

that doesn't mean i haven't been doing anything!!! although to be honest i haven't been doing a lot either

got the trans to the point where if it wouldn't go into reverse i could turn it off, then back on again and it would be magically fixed. no fucking idea how that works. Had an electrical failure just as i rolled in the garage one night, the night before dyno day of course when it was due to go on the rollers and i had already paid and the crown was out of action to take its place if it did fail. so i called my mate Aaron and he came round with testing equipment and we fucking searched everything to see why the hell the alternator wasn't charging. at all. spent almost 4 hours on it before realising that the dash had shit connections and put some contact cleaner on them and all of a sudden everything works again, hooray!!!

so took it along to the dyno day with high hopes of 180 ish hp, nope, it only had 118.5. it did however sound AMAZING!!! but fuck, thats shit. so i pulled a bunch of stuff off the engine, basically all the stuff that i can check myself/replace before i take it in somewhere to get it fixed, if this doesn't

injectors off and cleaned, computer out and Aaron replaced all the capacitors and shit that could fail because 90's toyota computer, i still need to replace plugs and leads but am super broke right now so they're on hold. checked compression. everything is good. so put it back together and took it for a few drives since and its still got detonation, and power seems about the same. will replace plugs next time i've got a spare $80, then its time to take it to the experts. or maybe i just need to hook up a check engine light and see what codes its throwing, but thats getting well outside my field of expertise

but for some reason the auto/reverse problem is gone. well, its to early to know for sure but i've taken it for 6 short runs to various places and all without a single fail. which is a record, so i'm counting it as a win.

cheers

Matt

These things have been growing on me lately. There's a super clean one that gets around Perth:

And a mates got one that's sort of for sale, and the late model version with IRS and 22RE, could be fun for khana stuff. But I always buy sedans and I want a coupe!!!

Also early mirage (1st gen) rear shocks are bolt in for the rear, I think you need to cut the mounting tubes at the bottom or something super simple like that. Keep some pretty short springs captive for uber cheap

Coil or leaf rear end?

Oil or gas shocks?

We could install some captive slam for almost free.

Really really needs some cheviot turbos too.

Aren't they all coil? I swapped gsr rear into my ex1600 back in the day, was a bolt in swap

Sweet find, they're fun cars with a bit of power

I think I worked out my problem.

Of course, it was when I pulled the 4th drum off, so I figured I'll take them all into work and clock them all up anyway. Easiest drums I've ever removed

At least it looks good!

Can I glue these back on with something? Or pay someone? I really haven't got time/money to find new shoes and linings when it's getting a disc swap semi soon anyway

Cheers

Matt

All good. I hate it when people jump in and do stuff that is unnecessary and costs time and money for no good reason..........especially when its me.

Ha, I'm guilty of this in quite a few cases but pretty broke at the moment so being ultra careful with what I replace.

Plus if I keep it I want to go discs so brake money is wasted money

I ask because if there is no free play, then the master cylinder will start to pressurise the brakes and lock them on

There was normal free play until after the big run we did, which is where it started locking up. I'm not sure why this happened, but the master cylinder had a bunch of shit in there.

I've been driving it round for years with no issues, rain and shine, although this is probably the biggest workout the brakes have had.

There is some free play at the moment, it doesn't feel like quite enough but it's hard to tell with the brakes doing what they're doing. Will check/skim drums then check it again

Cheers

Matt

Ha, I'll be checking the run out. Been running a lathe/mill for the last 8 years, I'm not just going to dive in. Hoping that I haven't warped all 4, will only skim if/what's needed

Pedal slack was good, but is not at the moment. Will sort brakes and then adjust free play.

Shitballs, skim or replace are my only options?

I actually know exactly what happened now that you put it like that.

I was parked in the inlaws steep driveway while waiting for the missus to grab the dog, handbrake needs adjusting so I sat there for ten minutes with my foot on the brake pedal.

At least I can skim them myself at work, hopefully they're not to thin

so i had my RS41 Crown out for a cruise through the hills a few weeks back, it got a pretty good thrashing brake wise and on the way home random corners started seizing on (one at a time). i parked it up at the in laws because it was pissing down by then and not safe to drive it home. 

figured it was probably the brake master blocking up with shit because thats the only thing i could think of that would seize on individual corners at separate times. Went back and pulled the master off a couple of days later, brought it home, pulled it apart and there was a bunch of corrosion and shit in there, but the seals and bore and piston all looked fine. Cleaned everything up and put it back together and then ignored it because i was working on the hilux instead and i thought i had the problem sorted, just needed to put it back together and bleed everything up

so today i went and did that. hungover. much sweating and banging head and getting dirt in eye. fun times.

bled up nicely, probably the easiest car i've ever done. ran a container of brake fluid through the lines to get all the old crud out and pedal feel was nice. backed it up the driveway, then let it roll down and tested the brakes. 

THEY FEEL TERRIBLE!!!

they're not soft, the pedal is just moving up and down as the wheel rotates, like one up and down per revolution. its a pretty significant amount, i'd say at least a quarter of pedal travel.

fuck.

someone suggested that i've warped a drum, or more than one. seems like a definite possibility. is there any other thing it could be before i pull all 4 drums off and give them a skim?

i'd just do that and see how it goes after that but I'm running out of time before the in laws get home and its meant to be gone by then so i thought i should check other options

cheers

Matt

One less in Nelson?

 

Just read the article, fucking NZHerald wrote it up as a boy racer thing, even though the guy was pissed. Because RX7.

This guy knows how to Straya!!!

Cheers

Matt

A bunch of mine from the last couple of weeks

This sounded very bridgey and smelled like race fuel

Bit rough around the edges ll a cool little ute

Cheers

Matt

Great looking car. Should have guessed Bertone was involved.

Mazda 1800 bonnet scoop confirms Bertone.

+1 for Simon being a GC, i buy all my air gear for the stout off him

Ahhhhhhh that makes me happy.

Pretty sure this is a guy called Garry's collection and that's only the tip of the iceberg. I got to check it out 7-8 years ago when my ex worked for his wife.

He's got a convertible 300SL he had restored that took best of show at some massive European car show (can't remember the name), a steel bodied gullwing 300SL that was mostly finished a full resto, and to top that he's got 1 of the 29 ever built (6 remaining???) aluminium bodied gullwing 300SL's that he had just managed to buy when me and the ex broke up.

Probably the most money represented by cars I've ever seen in one garage

Cheers

Matt

That thing is immaculate, I've enjoyed watching this thread and awesome to see it finished and being enjoyed

Pics from Mr Whippy NZ Facebook page:

And looks like their new stores are tributes to the old trucks:

Cheers

Matt

I'd be trying to buy one of these (probably unsuccessfully, I'm shithouse with money) if I was still living in NZ, such cool trucks. My best friend when I was a kid, his dad ran the local Mr Whippy franchise in Whakatane, I'm fairly sure his first truck was one of these. He bought more modern trucks and I don't think his one would have survived, I remember it getting towed a few times due to breakdowns. I remember me and Terry running down Gorge Rd one morning trying to catch them to let them know that their tow chain was dragging on the ground and throwing up shitloads of sparks.

Cool story bro.

Before you start swapping mounts over check that the L200 centre won't fit in the stock housing. When I was diff hunting for my EX lancer back in the day there was an unconfirmed rumour that L200 ones fit

Pic of the Celica lineup at a show I went to on the weekend

Cheers

Matt

He never sent me the pics, no idea where it ended up at this end

so i'd love to tell you all how great this thing is to drive and how much i've been enjoying it............

but that would be a lie. the lemonlux is still losing reverse intermittently. i can start it, go to reverse out of the garage, and nothing. try again the next day, exactly the same conditions, the thing hasn't even moved, and it works perfectly. can't bloody work it out. i had the sump of the box off again today, pulled the shift solenoids out and tested them, one seemed a little sticky but after a couple of tests it was working fine. not sure if i'm imagining it, or if i just made a shit connection the first couple of times with my car battery/cut off coat hanger test rig.

sealed up the sump again and put it all back together, just waiting for it to cure then will top up the box with fresh ATF, again, and see how she goes. i'm also going to try disconnecting the speed sensor on the rear of the box next time it loses reverse, apparently this sends it into 'manual' mode, and reverse should work, if its a solenoid/electric/computer problem.

i was also given a free A340E from behind a JZ, if i can't sort this reverse thing then i'm going to try swapping over the tailshaft housing and the bellhousing from my box and just use that, its an earlier version without computer control (apparently) so if i can make it fit then it should cause a lot less issues. fingers crossed i get a solution out of one of these options

a picture of the lemonlux in its natural environment, up on jack stands in the shed:

fucking thing.

cheers

Matt

That ke25 is badass!!! Always had a soft spot for sektas, had a set on my B1600 for a while.

Pics for thread:

Cheers

Matt