Frosty

Check the master for a leak from inside the cabin where the shaft goes through the firewall. I fell pretty sure you will find fluid running down the inside of the firewall. If it's only just started you may not see any but there's a rubber boot on the inside end of master cylinder, Pull it of and check for fluid. Good luck.

Yes I've done it but sadly no pictures. Only works on the live Toyota diff not IRS. Got my spacers made up by Specialist Engineering Services in Bell Block. Only other bit needed was a 1mm shim behind the wheel bearing to compensate for the different thickness of the backing plate. Because the Mitsi uses a small drum and shoe hand brake system you just fit the Toyota hand break cables into the backing plate. Here's the way to do it. Remove the old brakes, axle and backing plate. Check the backing plate thickness against the Mitsi one, in my case (1973 RT87 Corona Wagon) it was 1mm thicker so I needed a 1mm shim to get the right depth for the wheel bearing. Use the old backing plate to make a patten and transfer that patten onto the Mitsi backing plate and use a rat tail file to get the holes to line up (again this was only 1mm or so in my case). Use the rat tale file to clearance the hole in the backing plate for the hand break cable or get the engineer to hone if as part of the job (Needed bugger all to get the cable to fit). Get the axle, Mitsi backing plate bolted up and dummy fit the caliper and rotor to check how thick the spacer needs to be and record the measurement (5mm in my case) Take the axle and rotor into the Engineers along with some measurements. Spacer thickness for behind the Rotor. Shim thickness for behind the Wheel bearing. Wheel Bearing OD, OD for the shim. Inner bore size for the Diff housing, ID for the shim at few mm bigger. Thickness of the Rotor at the axle flange. Then ask the Engineer to. Remove the old Center bore location on the Axle. Make up 2 Shims for behind the wheel bearing. Make up two spacers using the OD of the axle flange, Center bore of the Mitsi rotor and the Toyota Center bore as the diameters and measurement for spacer thickness, rotor thickness and the old length of the Toyota Center bore locator as the 3 needed thickness and the stud holes to match your PCD for the wheels (114.3 x 4) and the two holes for the screws that will hold the spacer and rotor onto the axle flange (needed for cert) Replace the old wheel studs with some new ones about 10mm longer. Drill and counter sink the two holes needed in the rotor for the counter sunk screws needed (same reason as above and the same screws). Please excuse my drawing. Take the lot home and put it together and disc brakes on a live Toyota diff. I did this and no one ever noticed at Wof time but it would comply for a cert as long as it's all screwed together at the axle flange and the center bore locators are correct.

Check the top bush on the strut, Not the pivot point at the top but where the the shaft goes into the shock body. Most will leak oil when it's worn but it may my be the problem. It can cause the symptoms you are describing because the shaft is held tight when it's extended but free to move side ways when the suspension is loaded.

The 3TGTE and 18RG powered Coronas, Carinas etc (RT140, TT140, RA60, RT60) used a larger vented rotor and a heaver shock (Same size as the GA70 but different geometry) and would be a bolt in as a complete replacement to the whole strut. I don't know if the rotors would fit the unvented strut, you would have to check the wheel bearing sizes,rotor size and caliper position. Pretty sure the wagons use a steering box and not rack and pinion as well so that may through up a whole lot of extra stuff. You may be better of finding some MR2 twin pot calipers (SW20 NA use the same blot spacing as the Coronas) and using a custom rotor on the Coil overs you have made. Richard Pierce at Taranaki Brake and Clutch did some custom ones for my old RT86 Wagon at around $300 for a pair. Back end is easy VR4 Galant or early Evo solid rotor rears require only a spacer between the axle flange and rotor and elongating the backing plate holes, the Toyota handbrake cables even fit into the Mitsi backing plate.

Where do I get this stuff from? From doing it and seeing the results for myself. Since the age of 14 I have been obsessed with modified cars and bikes and to this day I just have to change things, My methods may be different from most but they work not just for the road but on the track as well. I have been involved in building dirt, grip, drift, hill climb, drag, road, rally and with my brother and many of the lads from Taranaki they have had some very competitive cars. I don't know everything. far from it in fact, I am still learning and will continue to do so till the day I can no longer swing a spanner. If there's one thing I have learned is there is not a perfect car, they are all a compromise between cost, horse power, driving dynamics, practicality, this list can go on forever. I do agree with the comments re NASCAR but you are only talking about the Headers and X / H portion not the muffler section that exits the side under the sills. Something like this. People are always telling me "that won't work, your crazy" and I take great pride in the fact I can get it to work. I can remember a session I did with Bunter (Richard Pierce) on his sprint car when we where building a set of Pulse headers, these work by timing the exhaust into the collectors in an even timing, this requires following the firing order and putting every second exhaust pulse into the collector which can be very tricky as it means taking the pipes over the engine on a V8. It did help with power output but it was a mongrel to fit.

Epic thread. Stuffed around with this stuff years ago when I built a 351 Clevo for track days, and what we found with hours to spend on a dyno (mates workshop so it was free) there is in fact an ideal exhaust size for any given tune. With the 351 fitted with road cams it was around 1 3/4" duals and a balance tube with tri y headers. With it fitted with larger cams and 4-1 headers 2" duals worked best. As soon as we went bigger we lost power. Only thing we could put it down to was pipe temps and inner surface area of the pipes affect flow so a larger pipe not only looses temperature but the larger surface area restricts flow due to greater friction. I do know this sounds stupid but maintaining even exhaust temps right to the end works. Many dyno sheets bear this out. Example. A Harley with open mild steel pipes will produce "X" horse power. Wrap the pipes with header tape so the temp remains as consistent as possible for the full length of the exhaust and the horse power goes up. I've seen this myself with a VG Valiant when the complete exhaust was HP coated from engine to rear bumper, it does the same thing it keeps the exhaust temps from changing at every restriction, turn or muffler making it flow more evenly. What you have to remember is as gasses change temp their density changes which can affect velocities as well in the same way area does. Good flow is not just affected by pipe size and volume but by the changing temperature as well, start doing this 3 or 4 times with a system and the flow goes to shit. Another thing we found regarding the sound was get the first reso as close to the headers as possible to remove the harsh raspy engine noise and using mufflers one size bigger than the pipe helped both for flow and sound. We actually cut the flange of and welded the reso straight onto the collector with the header end of the reso reversed and the gap filled with a bit of pipe the same OD as the reso. For N/A engines Coby made a reso with a small chamber at the entry end and that helped with the sound reduction making it possible to just run a couple of them removing the need to fit a back flow muffler in the system but I don't know if they make them any more. For power the answer is as little restriction as possible, a straight pipe in a stretched megaphone shape and as short as you can achieve if sound regs at the track allow, look at a moden NASCAR for an example, they run a flattened megaphone exiting the side of the car. For a deep rich N/A sound my solution is 1st reso short and as close to the header as you can get it, 2nd reso at mid pipe and as long as you can fit then a Magnaflow type at the rear with a short pipe added. For a turbo 1st reso at mid point and as long as you can fit then another short reso at the rear again with a short bit if pipe. All use mandrel bends at the pipe size and reso's / mufflers 1 size bigger than the pipe and as few turns at as large a radius as you can fit. this will maintain flow speeds and keep the temp changes to a minimum meaning the velocity will stay as constant as possible. At least that's what nearly 40 years of spannering on all sorts of cars has taught me. One thing I have read that doesn't make any sense is the guys that say exhausts have no affect in helping the engine to draw air in, this is total crap, you only need to look at a two stroke with an expansion chamber to work that out, it may not affect 4 strokes to the same degree but it does have an affect. It's called scavenging.

Oh I forgot. Don't try to adapt a W55 bell on the W50, that's when the shaft length will fuck you up, by using a bell that matches the box things will fit right.

I have done this conversion. You will need a 2T or 3T bell and starter and relocate the starter wiring to the other side, I think the clutch slave swaps sides to (as far as I know the W40 or W50 was never used behind the 1G). 2T or 3T flywheel will fit as well. Splines are the same as long as you get the later version of the W40 or W50 with the 29mm input and the same gearbox mount as the W55/56/57/58. The early ones had a 24mm input so it's easy to spot the difference but you can still use them if you get the right clutch plate and out put yoke for the drive shaft, be aware some of the early ones had different gearbox mounts which would need a modified cross member. Cross member and speedo cable will fit to and in my case the drive shaft from the auto fit as well but that will depend on which box is there now, just check the full length of the box against the manual you will use. Good luck.

You will find the ABS pump is full of air. Air can be compressed so when the ignition is turned off the air decompresses and the fluid returns to the master. If I remember correctly the solution is to use a pressure bleeder which forces the fluid through the system. A reverse bleed may work to. (pump fluid from the bleed nipple to the master).

mjrstar has the skinny on this. I have stuffed around with them in the past and can say for sure the castings so ports etc are the same. What changes is the what happens after that. Holes/threads are machined to diferent sizes and positions depending on exact model it comes from. If you are willing to get the odd hole machined, taped, helicoiled, sleeved etc they will all work on each other. The valves, springs, col-lets and retainers could be quite different as well especially between the NA and forced versions and generations as well.

Ether the relay or the combo switch. Not really anything else it can be due to high beams working. A multi meter should track down the issue pretty quick..

A dot with a center punch in the edge of the housing could be employed to retain the cups but the clout with the hammer can move the cups, this is why you see them spot welded in or a washer spot welded over the end of the cup. To check alignment before you tack the cups in, fit the drive shaft and check it with a run out gauge. Another option that could be considered is build a new drive shaft that uses clipped in UJ's. Fine if you plan keeping the car and using it as your coffin when you die.

You can get them pretty close to centered by using the old install marks as a guide and it's considered normal practice for workshop repairs to be tacked in final position with a couple of shots with the mig, don't make the tacks to big as the heat can turn the grease into carbon. The re-builders will do a balance after install and is why most of your quotes will be $200+. You can do a DIY balance if the shaft vibrates after repair with a hose clip (just take it for a drive and rotate it to get the vibration to go), yes I know how rangi it sounds but you would be amazed at how common it is when you work in the industry.

Oh, can I bring a + 1 to the BBQ?

You are running the right firing order for the kent? 1243 (rotor turns anti clockwise) and not the normal 1342, Ford did all sorts of odd shit with firing orders on their V8's to. You might need to run through the tappets to or it could be a sticking or burnt inlet valve or even a vacuum leak, all can cause back fires through the carb. Re timing, it needs to be done with the vacuum line disconnected.

A heap of the Valiant utes ran a BW LSD but they all run cones not plates and ramps so can be a real pain to get tight and are very fussy regarding oil type. Ran one in my XA 351 powered wagon and it was in and out every 20K km's for a re-shim, ended up using a Ford 9" in the end. Some of the early Holden's (banjo style) ran what was basically a scaled down Ford 9" but can be tough to find now given their age. The HQ Common Wealth version (4 link) and a lot of the HQ cop cars and utes ran a Salisbury (correct me if I'm wrong but I think they are the same as the Chev 10 bolt) LSD to. Most of these can be found with ratios between 3.5 and 3.9. Most of the later BW78's will have 3.23 or 2.92 ratio centers but they have major pinion bearing issues the the earlier versions didn't suffer from. Father in laws EA Taxi killed it's first one at under 200K km's and after it's second one at over $1000 each a second hand XD one was modified for half the money and has now done over 300K km's without hassle.

You all forgot the crank and cam seals

Only one idle screw on the primary barrel, any other adjustments will be mechanical for idle speed and choke on off points. Cable and water choke don't mix, you run one or the other. If you wanted a cable choke you should have got an Escort GT version of the carb. To get the water choke working you will need to connect it up to the heater pipes using a tee into each line, if you just hook it up to one of the heater lines the choke will only work when the heater is on, you may need to use restrictors in the choke lines to keep the heater running right, the choke only needs a small amount of flow to work. I have seen them hooked up to a cable but it wasn't tidy, I have also seen the water part removed and replaced with an electric one from a jappa carb and that worked real well. The rest of the tuning is done on a dyno to get the main and secondary jet sizes bang on, you can do this with a proper dyno or if you have some experience with this type of mod the bum in seat dyno and tail pipe color can get it done to, it just takes time. MAKE SURE YOU TIMING IS DONE FIRST AND THE ENGINE IS WARM AND THE CHOKE IS OFF BEFORE YOU DO THE IDLE MIXTURE, yes I'm shouting it's important.

Dude, A35, 4AGE and Fishers Fishers Fishers Fishers. They used them on the Cross Flow 8 port Mini heads back in the day. Someone must have a set laying about, surely. They look something this.

"I mean if I remove the factory setup can I run a short shock with the spring incorporated onto it?" This is called a coil over. Realistically with the Crown the only simple way to get an adjustable height is to bag it. The stock shock mounts are no where near strong enough to take a coil over system without some serious reinforcement. You can still run an adjustable shock with bags and I think the bags them selves are available in various rates just like a normal spring. Another way is to get a set of springs that match the lowest you will want the car and then use a urethane spacer between the spring and it's perch, stock these are rubber and only thin but you can get them in various thickness and by running them top and bottom and using different combos you can achieve a whole lot of different ride heights to suit the wheel and tire combo. It will mean taking the spring out to change the height but that's not a major on the Crowns after all you only have to take the shock out and the rears are free and the front is take the shock out and undo the inner lower mounts for the lower A arm, job done in about and hour. Don't forget the front springs are about twice the strength of ones used in a strut because they are positioned 1/2 way along the arm so if you are trying to get the effect of a 6kg spring it will need to be a 12kg one to get it right, this also means the amount you trim or adjust the spring length is roughly doubled so be very careful if you plan on cutting the springs, it's very easy to trim to much off. I think the Falcon (XR - XF) front springs are a good fit for the Crowns? They where a perfect match for my GS126 and are available in a huge range of heights and spring rates along with a Bilstien from a HQ Holden. Can't be much help at the back as all the Crowns I have worked on are IRS or Elliptic sprung. Good luck.

4AGE Red Big Port with massive cams and Silvertop rods, FWD alt and shit, tig the water pump impeller on the the shaft so it won't get yanked of by the fan or run an electric fan. T50 for the box and if you have Power steer use the FWD stuff there to and get custom lines, works out way cheaper than trying to find the RWD specific stuff. That's my 2 cents worth.

You forget one thing. Even with the Regulator unplugged the Alternator is still hocked directly to the battery by the main charging wire and so is everything else in the car. If unplugging the Regulator stops the battery going flat that's the problem. You can do the same thing with a IR (Internal Regulated) one to buy unplugging the plug that has the lighter cables. All you are doing is removing the mechanism that controls the charging the diodes are still in play to. Everything works as normal except no charging is happening and the idiot light doesn't work.

Make sure you use thread lock on all the fasteners. Pre-lube the bearings, spiders and LSD bits if fitted. Do not reuse the crush tube on the pinion (this takes all the guess work out of pinion preload). Other than that just stick to the required stats. If you are real paranoid use bearing blue to confirm set up, very old skool I know but it can be more reliable than just using fellers to set up the crown alignment. Take your time and be careful dropping the center into the case, it is surprisingly easy to chip or mark the crown wheel or pinion. Going to be good to see your car back on the road. Hope the move doesn't hold you up to much.

The vent system on the Cortina 2.0 is under the inlet and has it's own pipe that goes from the inlet manifold into a canister on the block. The top one is designed as a way for the air to get into the engine not out. You might want to check the little valve that controls the air flow on that lower pipe isn't blocked or defective.

Pick a Part, measure the width of your existing spring and find a set with that width, buy them, around $30. Pull both sets of leaves apart. Put them back together with the extra leaf. Reset them to required stance and install. Job done.