Rhyscar

Not much progress to report but lots of technical stuff going on with the design/fab of my headers, so sorry but this will be a nerdy post.. not claiming to be an expert, just figuring out how to make stuff work.. 

So here's my scratching for re-checking my length. Unfortunately I need to run 4-2-1 header as I can't fit 4x runners under the steering rack. The expansion chamber clashes with the swaybar (wasn't in the car when I mounted it argh!), meaning I've needed to push it back another 100mm. I'll need to incorporate the slip joins into the '2' section (because bottom section will be permanently attached to exp. chamber) as this is the easiest place to get the runners parallel where they'll slow into place.. This means my 9" secondaries are going to look more like 12", which by keeping overall length the same, will mean my primaries are getting close to 15-16" (which is the minimum as I understand it). In summary its complicated..... 

With restrictions in tube sizes available (above calcs is inches ID), I've had to go for 44OD primaries (works out well as is the same size as exhaust port) and 57OD secondaries. Secondaries in particular will be a little larger than optimum considering it's only a 30" long pipe, so it will likely favour higher RPM's. As long its making solid power from 5-6krpm I'll be happy. 2zz's have a massive torque hole at 4krpm so I'll be bringing the high cam in as soon as possible. Might also push me to add a big cam sooner rather than later.. 

Found this super interesting paper on the development of the 2zzge. Pretty much says they designed this awesome high-revving engine and then proceeded to put a terrible exhaust manifold on it to reduce noise emissions and wasted all the hard work they put into the head etc. https://www.lotustalk.com/attachments/toyota2zz-ge-technical-data-pdf.1297134/

For the header design, I'm following the theory laid out in Graham Bell's Four stroke performance tuning book. Main examples are based on 2L touring car engines, which is pretty comparable to what I'm doing (12:1 comp, itbs & 9000rpm). All my sizing/calcs are firmly in what he defines as purely 'racecar' realm... I also think engine & ecu technology has moved on since early 00's which has proven you can get away with a lot bigger tubes than the 'old' rules of thumb. 

I'm using an adaption of a venturi collector design with a centre divider plate. Apparently the venturi and divider plate should be equal-sided triangle 1/2" bigger than the primary tube. Nailed the fabrication on the secondaries in particular which I'm proud of. Will be interesting to see if these work as it does essentially create 2x venturi effects in the same collector - 1 where the pipes join, then a second as it expands to secondary. Who knows if this will work as intended? 

So this is my crossmember conundrum... I ended up needing a small bend between the collector and expansion chamber which is another compromise.. 

Primaries are roughed-out in Kinex blocks. These are a bit of a spaghetti junction as the 2-3 cylinder runners need to go the furthest so need to take the 'under' route.

No doubt these will be refined a few more times as I confirm the position of the secondaries. I plan on tacking secondaries up to slip join, then start back at the top and work my way down. Wish me luck!!

All this learning has taught me is everything is a small compromise when it won't fit in the car. Exactly how the power band will work out is yet to be seen, I won't be surprised if I end up making a few variations as I test these.. just got to keep putting in the effort and one day this damn car will be finished!

Quick update. Been busy over the past month so this has taken a bit of a backseat. 
 

Got some stickers made for steering wheel/dash. Makes it feel a lot more finished. I’m not 100% happy with them yet but they’ll do for now

also tidied up the curly cord mounting. Looks legit now.  

So the set of pulleys I brought back from the states didn’t fit my alternator (which turns out is from a 1zz fielder). So jeffy came to the rescue and made a bush to suit. 
 

For future reference..1445mm belt works with no PS, and underdrive alternator and water pump pulleys. This took quite some time to figure out 

found a wee molded hose to finish up the heater piping. Still need to 3d print an airflow thing for the dash heater ducts. 
 

Cooling system is now sealed and ready for a pressure test (pending a few extra hose clamps!)

Also replaced gearbox axle seals and filled with oil for first time in 10yrs. Hope not too much damage has been done from sitting around. 

 

Bought and sold another Levin to pay for Link Storm g4x and engine wiring loom. Loom worked out great looks very hidden away. Some small mods to make but all simple enough. 

 

next up;

1. fix stripped thread in engine mount 

2. replace sump with baffled version

3. remount expansion chamber 

4. make headers

5. first start??

Nothing more American than a mustang in country music town of Nashville. 

A few snaps from Toyotafest. If anyone got some feel free to share as well.
 

Great to get the car out and chat to lots of people about it. Lots of motivation to finish it now! 
 

Trailer queen for first and last time hopefully 

Finley loved it too

Also quite excited about purchasing alternator and water pump undersized pulleys from Monkeywrench racing. Interestingly, they claim a 3-4HP gain on a factory motor, which combined with my lack of belt-driven powersteering, higher compression, ITB's and exhaust could potentially add up to 5-8hp total. Might even get close to K20 power?

This few HP is probably the cheapest $$/kw I'll ever make so stoked to have this piece of the puzzle coming together. These are waiting to make it into our suitcases when we visit the states in a few weeks..

Lots of finishing details taking lots of effort with this project. Stuff that's been sitting on the shelf 'finished' for a few years always needs adjustments or I need to remember how it was supposed to be installed... 

Final adjustments made to the gear shifter. Locked skateboard bearings in place with Loctite (they are a gentle press fit). Also replaced axle seals and got driveshafts in place. Gearbox is ready to roll once I add some oil... 

Polished up the headlights finally. Look great, but could be better still. 

Repainted mirrors in repco 'trim black'. Turned out great!

Decided to paint gurney flap black as well. Not sold on it but unsure what other options would look any good? Also, its amazing to see how unlike this car looks like a factory Levin... Dropping a car 4" will do that!

Pulled the front apart to do final welds on headlight frames. All comes apart in less than 30mins which is great. Wasn't stoked to need to remove radiator again though (it's a bitch of a job!)

And because I hate AN fittings & braided hose.... I sourced some Continental heater hose for breathers (not rated for oil but is no pressure and has 150deg C temp rating so should be fine). Bonus that it comes in almost an exact colour match to my car. Still one more hose end to fabricate for the final breather. 2zz has an obscene amount of breather ports so why not use them all!? Less crank pressure = more power. 

Last night Drew popped around to do a final measure up on engine loom. Added a few things and adjusted the factory loom to suit. 

He also brought some goodies with him. This is probably the biggest financial piece of the puzzle left so happy to make this step. 

Assembling the car and touching things up for Toyotafest at Hampton this saturday. Entered show in 'under construction' category. It's bittersweet because it feels good to finally have something worth showing/sharing with people for my 10+yrs of effort, but still so much work in the finishing touches. Next year I'll be driving it!!

Been driving this bit lately for a few events/occasions. Maybe a bit much - watching the kms. 

Perhaps two of the finest cars built in Japan in 1996?? Prove me wrong. 

Got out to watch some Targa in North Waikato over the weekend. Did a quick reece over one of the roads and wow when you get in it, this thing is a beast. Wound the diff up and it just glues to the road and clunks at low speed. Steering is super precise, gearbox is perfect which makes for a lot of fun carrying speed through corners. Very impressive for 1996, a modern car would need 450-500+ hp to keep up with the 1180kgs of 90's engineering. 

Unsurprisingly, the brakes suck but that's a later issue (has a slightly leaky master cylinder and rusty booster). Its done 240kms so its to be expected. 

New exhaust makes it a pleasure to drive on all occasions. Can hear BOV & wastegate doing their thing now which is cool. 

Car feels at home in the service park. All the old Targa geezers were fizzing. 

Found a gravel road to test out some launches. Goes better on gravel than tarmac 

Going in the shed for a while now. Need to give it a clean/wax and get the Speedlines repainted. 

End of weekend engine bay shot. Made a nifty heat shield for the firewall to keep the important stuff like brake masters and fuel hoses from melting.

Rocker cover is off getting a parts wash to get all the swarf out from drilling breather holes out. Sump needs to same treatment after I added an oil temp sensor hole. 
 

Getting a few loose ends of jobs tidied up before I tackle the last big job - extractors.
 

Starting to look like a complete car. 

Catch can finished up. Internal baffle, tiny K&N filter from a BMW bike, drain tap in bottom so you don’t need to remove to empty!! Fits very well in the allotted space 

finished up radiator and swirl pot pipework (pending rubber hose)

also finally finished the front bumper side ducting (radiator to come but that’s  big job/non important to start the thing) 

Keep moving forward