Frosty

I have a good one from my youth.

Needed a car and had f all money, saw and old Hilman Minx on the side of the road, so much rust round the back window the hood lining was hanging down.

Ran like a dog but no smoke or rattles, offered him $50, he said yes so we went and did the change of rego, all mine.

Fixed the leaking inlet, points etc and she ran like a swiss.

Few weeks latter the papers turned up and had the mileage as 489000 ish miles, that's four times round the clock in miles.

Now here's  the really good bit, the first owner was my Great Grandfather, he had bought it new the same year and month I was born.

Buy time time I sold it it had just rolled round for the fifth time, That's over 800000km's.

To the moon and back then half way around the world.

Not bad for a 1965 Hillman Minx.

Shit like this is why car guys are CAR GUYS.

You may have to get a reducing nipple and a socket, male female reducers are not the norm.

Is it a Bilstien / Tein shock?

Right color yellow and the txt is the right blue but can't read it.

If yes, it can be fixed.

Autolighn have the technology to rebuild him.

09 574 2288

Do them as a pair, my last set was just over $150 a shock.

Modern FWD cars are set up to under steer. putting a rear sway bar on will help a bit it won't fix what is in effect a safety net.

Basically the car under steers so you lift of the gas shifting the weight of the car to the front wheels allowing the car to get round the corner, not to mention the butt clench that trains the driver to slow down.

The biggest bang for buck will be lower and stronger springs followed by a more aggressive wheel alignment, the difference in turn in is astounding.

To really combat under steer, reduce ride height, increase spring weight, fit urethane bushes, adjustable top plates and a strut brace.

Wheel alignment for fast road work, between 0.5 and 1.5 deg negative chamber and a couple deg extra caster to reduce the tram lining using heavier springs will aggravate.

REDUCE UNSPRUNG WEIGHT so what you do actually gives you a real benefit. I know fitting a smaller wheel and tire with some side wall seems counter intuitive in this world of bigger is better and low profile tires but when it comes to wheel weight it works.

I know race cars have low profile tires and huge negative chamber but if you actually had to drive one for a week in the real world on real roads you would want to give it back the first day.

FWD corner technique is.

Slow in fast out.

Slow the car down before the corner, turn in a little later than what fells comfortable, hit the gas and let the power pull you out.

Good on you for wanting your Shuttle to behave badly, there's to many rules and to many haters.

Try this number 89561-30080.

Could not find any Celica or Supra (MA45) built in 1980 that was efi other than the US ones.

As far as I can tell the JDM EFI version was only fitted to the Crown.

I would suggest it was a conversion and this could be at the heart of your intermittent problems.

Just in case here are the numbers for the US spec M-EU ECU's, the pin placements are most likely the same.

89561-14040

89561-14060

89561-22020

89561-22040

You may also find that the ECU is to old for the checker to check.

Firing order 1243.

Remove the coil lead from the dissy cap and hold the end a few mm from a good earth and wind the engine over with the ign on, you should get a spark to jump between the lead and the earth.

If no then.

Check for power at the distributor.

Check the earth lead in the distributor is attached, one end to the body of the dissy, other end to the points plate.

Check polarity of the coil, negative side to the dissy.

Check fuel at carb.

That's the basics.

5 possibles from factory.

Ford Kent, push rod 4 cly, available in 1100, 1300 and 1600. (only 1600 used in the MK3 I think)

Ford Pinto, OHV 4 cyl, available in 1600 and 2000 both used in the MK3 and will be the best of the crop with endless upgrades available.

Ford Granada V6, push rod available in 2.3, 2.5 and 3.0. as far as I know not fitted factory in the MK3 but many conversions done over the years and Crawford did a V6 version as an aftermarket option that was backed buy Ford's warranty.

Ford straight 6, fitted new in the MK3 as a 3.3 (200ci) pre crossflow. This meens almost any Ford 6 cyl will go in one but ONLY if it was Aussie assembled and that's a VERY BIG ONLY. It is possible to get one in the English and NZ new ones but it is a massive job with firewall, radiator support, steering and cross member changes required (the Aussie ones even had different suspension and brakes more like a Falcon)

Another factory option was the Ford V8 Windsor fitted in the MK4's in South Africa, a similar version was also done in the Capri renamed the Parana, this option will fit in the English and NZ cars with greater ease that the straight 6.

So ends easy the factory options.

Next bit is advise not law.

Always thought the Mazda / Ford K series V6 with a Rotary gearbox would be nice in the MK3 and there is Turbo versions available as well if you look hard enough.

Something not so hi tech would be the Ford Essex V6 made from 1981 to 2007 used in a heap of American mid sized cars and utes and from 3.8 to 4.2 liters and a lot of the utes where manual.

Moving away from Ford engines I would say stay away from straight 6 engines as there's not enough length in the engine bay unless Aussie assembled.

For a good performer that is easy to service and cheap to buy the Holden 3.8 V6 from the Commodore would be hard to beat but purists will want to kill you for putting a Chevy engine in a Ford but it's worked for T Buckets since Chev started making V8's.

Rotary is cool but hungry and expensive to build.

4AGE is cool to but RWD conversions are getting a bit pricey now.

Nissan's SR20 or CA18 are much the same with manual RWD stuff going for moon beams.

Toyota Altezza 3SGE would work nicely and again not to hard to find, a low mileage write of somewhere around $1000

One option that would give very good results if you have the budget is a Chev LS1 crate engine. A new engine is a big plus and there are endless upgrades available.

Something a bit different would be the Volvo deisel. Road user charges would apply.

What ever route you go do your research first and once you have a plan stick with it.

Your solution needs to be cost effective and bullet proof while retaining the column shift. Yes?

All these solutions like "get the gearset ISF'd", "getting gearbox internals cryotreated", "Polishing the Gubbins", "Full syn 75w85 gl4 oil + all the other things everyone has suggested"  sound very expensive, more so than than a late model Toyota conversion?

Bell housing from a MK 2 Cortina (bolt on) won't be hard to find and also has the heavy duty 3 lug starter mount.

Linkages are just a matter of a few sums to sort and the basic layout of the current follows the same basic pattern as the Toyota five speed (double H patten).

Drive shaft, speedo cable and cross member are all easy if you talk to the right people or do your research.

One huge benefit that you will get is availability of parts once installed, if you kill a Toyota 5 speed a replacement is available and cheep unlike a modified factory one.

Not to mention a huge range of clutches straight of the shelf and because they are made in big numbers they won't be moon beams price wise.

If you can feel it through the gear stick as well as getting worse with torque load it could be tail shaft or lay shaft bearings?

How long since the gearbox had an oil change? they do need doing every million km's or so.

MK3 Zephyr internals in the Cortina box? or just run the whole thing?

The 6 cyl Vauxhalls  PA , PB etc had a pretty good box in them to as did the Austin A90, 95 and they had an overdrive option in the top two gears as well.

What ever the problem is it relates to isolation of the drive train, so look for worn mounts the full length of the drive train, engine, gearbox and diff. Sound and vibration can be very hard to pin point especially in a modern car with sound proofing it will tend to come from where that is least effective rather than it's actual location.

Left field thinking might suggest a stone or the like could be trapped above gearbox or diff?

Another thought is a cracked or bent mounting in anything that is rigidly mounted to the drive train like the exhaust for example.

Bit late to the party but I use these guys for all my Window Rubbers etc, they do a huge range of gear for oldschool car glazing.

http://www.basisnz.co.nz/

ToyoDIY parts look up would indicate all the A engined C50's and C52's from 83 to 89 including the FWD ones use the same output shaft so I think you're safe.

Ratio swaps within the gearbox are straight forward just make sure you use both half's of the gear set from one gearbox. ie if you want second from the C52 in the C50 use both 2nd gear gears from the C52, input and output.

Same goes for the Crown-wheel and Pinion, use both from one gearbox don't change the pinion buy it's self, IT WILL JUST BLOW AGAIN.

Dam that sounds confusing but it's not.

Sounds like a poor connection somewhere and is most probably related to the work you have done so the first place to start is in the alt.

Here's a couple of possibles.

Dirty contact patches between the commutator and brushes, clean up with some fine sandpaper and re radius the edges with a ball point pen, they should be bright copper in color and smooth not brown with lines.

Check the connections for the brushes to the diode pack, there may be some corrosion.

Poor earth for the diode pack.

Oil between the mounts and the engine or loose bolts can also cause a bad earth.

Damaged wiring or components in the alt, When brushes wear out they can spark quite heavily and damage insulation and internal connections.

Could be the reg if it's the old type with points so check them for pits and burnt contacts.

Got a fuel pump out of a AE82 Blue Top here, know it's a goody as I drove it home and gave it a rite good thrashing.

I never thought the day would come when a 5 door Corolla FWD would be a desirable old school car.

Don't get me wrong it's great, always thought the 4AG FWD was way better that every one else thought it was, sort of Toyota's Mini if you like.

I own a 4 door (AE80) myself that I'm slowly butchering into something more than Toyota ever intended.

Float level if carb, AFM stuck wide open or buggered if injected, these would be the best place to start.

Good luck.

Had one in an Avenger with twin twin choke Minkuni's as a lad, new diff every couple of weeks till I put a Holden V8 one in it.

Stupid question.

Would it be possible to move the linkage to inboard and leave the master and booster where it is?

Another option may be a cable, you could use a gear change or clutch cable?

This would still use the stock master and booster in the normal position and making parts easier in the future.

It may still require a cert but I doubt anyone would notice.

Stupid question.

Would it be possible to move the linkage to inboard and leave the master and booster where it is?

Another option may be a cable.

This would still use the stock master and booster in the normal position and making parts easier in the future.

It may still require a cert but I doubt anyone would notice.

It's factory on a lot of forward control vans for a booster and master under the dash and may be adaptable making compliance a bit easier.

The Lite Aces even have the clutch master under there to, fells a bit odd pulling the cluster out to fix them but it works.

Brake, fuel and cooling lines in the cabin are also allowed which can make a smooth under belly feasible on an older car.

Slam, 100 wires, scalloped candy paint and fluffy dice, Latino low rider.

or lace seat covers, cushions on the parcel tray and a noddy dog. Grand Ma spec

or moderate low with wide steels, matt black bonnet, numbers on the front doors and a Heatwave Rally NZ sticker on the back window for the classic race car feel.

or do all 3 at the same time, who said a race car can't have Candy paint and a Noddy Dog in the back window.

Yes I know, I a very sick man child.

I don't know whether to congratulate or commiserate you on your latest ride. I'm firmly of the opinion that to own an older English car you have to be at least a little mad.

Ether way we seem to in a growing community of old school car enthusiasts that own both Japanese and English and in the case of some early Nissans both in the one vehicle.

In the build thread you ask how to rebuild Strombergs.

You will only need one tool, the biggest hammer you can find and use to dismantle said CD's, please keep in mind this is just IMO.

Then find and fit a set of 2500S 1 3/4 SU's not only will you get more power but all the issues the CD's have will be gone to.

Or better yet find some 2600 Rover HIF44's for the extra power and far better fuel economy, think these where fitted to the Triumph TR6 along with increased comp and some other Trumpy trickiness for near 150hp.

Both will fit straight onto the manifold and retain the same throttle linkages and are no where near as tricky to rebuild or tune, In the SU's case there is only one gasket and if your float level is right you only need that for vapor control, the car will run fine without it.

Good luck, the Triumph 2000 and 2500 are great cars.

Does anyone know if they ever did the big six cylinder stuff or just the small BMC's?

A90 Six, A95, Westminster, Princess R, Wolsley, 6/99, 6/110, 3 Litre etc.

Had a 1300 do this exact thing after a rebuild.

Used a set of Hepolite pistons and used a single piece oil ring. Big mistake.

Most aftermarket pistons only have small oil return slots / holes where the oil control ring goes.

The solution was to fit a 3 piece oil control ring and inlarge the return holes.

Was also using double valve springs without seals, smoked on startup and when getting back on the throtle after slowing down. This is normal.