Rhyscar's Toyota Levin - ‘fab it all from scratch’ project

[Rhyscar]

On 27/05/2024 at 16:43, Mitch.W said:

I’ve worked on afew cnc tube benders in the past. You are limited with them to do longer radius bends Depending on which die you have and also not being able to do compound bends and also distance between bends usually needs to have a small straight between them. 
great for making exhausts though! 

Yeah this is exactly what I’ve found. They need silly gaps >100mm between bends to re-clamp before the next bend. 
 

So I’ll do it the old fashioned way. 
 

On a twist of fate I’ve also found the tube I have is different centre line radius to my kinex blocks. This is helpful for fitment but makes my primary lengths out as a 180deg bend is like 80% the volume of the larger CLR.
 

Im planning to use my daughter’s sandpit sand as a measurement of volume to double check everything before I weld… 

[Rhyscar]

So lots of hard, unsexy work to get these headers together. What a difficult job.... 

 

Decided to incorperate a step in the primaries as I was a little worried the step from port size up to primaries was a little large, BUT also it helped with packaging and I have heaps of 38mm 90 bends from a job years ago lying around which meant I could avoid buying more 44 bends... carefully counting the $$ at this stage of the project so it doesn't blow out too bad... wife is trying to hold me to a budget which is fair enough I guess. 

So I did a bit of sense-checking for the steps to work out how long to make the step. All I was worried about was getting as smooth a transition as possible to suit a range of gas flow rates. This won't tell me if I'll get any reversion etc but I used it as a quick guide, AND oldschool loves graphs so here you go. 

 

So as always, turning something from theory into reality is always a challenge. This was definitely true going from the kinex blocks to stainless, resulting in lengthening the primaries by 2 inches. Probably not the end of the world (primaries were a little on the short side previously). It may bring the 'tuned' power down to 5000rpm ish, where previously I was targeting 6000rpm because the high-cam will come in around 5000 so wanted to avoid a whole bunch of torque at once... BUT in reality, I think VVTI adjustments will void how important the total length is to some extent, and being on the bigger tube size they should have plenty of headroom for high RPMs and cams in the future. 

 

Another challenge was different centre line radii of the different tube bends. Meaning I made a small gauge to compare, measure then calculate each primary length as I went. Top is what the kinex tubes were (handily these have approx 1" chord length), bottom is the bends I ended up using. This came in super handy and means all the primaries are within 1/2" of each other (mainly cause I can't measure any more accurately than this). 

 

So there are some differences in the tube runs, but they follow the general concept of the kinex blocks. For example;

 

So I now have everything tacked up and ready for welding. Very happy with how far away from important things like brakes and fuel they are and while being awkward to work on, actually have plenty of space around them. 

 

Jeffy lent me a second argon bottle for purging these so I've got a massive job ahead of me. Will weld secondaries first so any warping can be accounted for in adjustments to the primaries before I weld (fingers crossed anyway). 

 

So in non-exhausting news, we filled the brake system and bled it on the weekend. Surprised to have no leaks considering everything in the system is new so that was a win. Also going through and sorting lots of non-exciting little fittings (fuel, powersteering, oil etc.) hoping to get it ready to fill with oil and fuel and run in the coming 2-3 weeks. 

 

[Rhyscar]

Oh boy, this has been a process. Welded up first 2x primaries which then completely changed the positioning of the v-bands so had to adjust everything to suit. Certainly understand why people recommend to start at primaries and work your way back. 

 

Purge welding has gone well, took a bit to get settings right and get rid of bad habits. Pretty happy with welds on the last primary I welded up!

 

Got it out of the car to do flange welds and last collector welds for each primary. Jigged up a spare head on my drill press and some wood to support the V-bands. Hoping this will minimise warpage as there isn't any room for movement or the V-bands won't seal. 

Will drop a exhaust valve from each cylinder and use this to purge. 

 

It's pretty tight in there. Only a few mm clearance in a few spots!

 

 

[Rhyscar]

 

 

[Rhyscar]

Before the headers went back in, I wanted to get the powersteering lines sorted as they are almost impossible to reach with everything in place. 

I'm using a SW20 MR2 electric powersteering pump. Hose shop couldn't re-purpose my factory fittings into a new hardlines so had to go braided. Have seen a few racecars using this setup and seem to be reliable. As it turns out getting aftermarket fittings to suit this and the rack is a complete pain in the arse! But got there eventually. But for the rack return fitting, I ended up having to weld an AN fitting onto the factory fitting to make it work.

Running 200 series teflon-lined hose for high pressure (apparently these run at 700psi). Mounted some p-clips on a small ledge then double-clamped the return hose. Applied copious amounts of heat shielding to try deflect exhaust heat. 

Very happy with how the routing worked out. Turns out there is the perfect amount of space behind the steering shaft for lines to run.

 

 

 

Last job is to mount the power steering cooler to complete the system. I always had PS boiling issues with this car. Maybe driven too hard, maybe rack has always been shit? Dunno but going over the top to try solve it. 

[shrike]

Any thoughts to go actual electric power-steering later on? ie Corolla, Prius, echo, 86

[Rhyscar]

36 minutes ago, shrike said:

Any thoughts to go actual electric power-steering later on? ie Corolla, Prius, echo, 86

No I don't think so. Couple of issues the modern electric power steering options I've seen on lots of rally/race cars;

- Hard to get certified as most often, they require adaption/modification to the steering column. Can be bulky to fit under dash with peddle box too. 

- Can be difficult to get assist level correct. Involves current modulation controllers etc that are typically within one of the many ecu's in the cars they come from. Although some models like Astra, some Merc ones etc more user-friendly than others in this regard. 

 

The SW20 MR2 pump is a proven solution that seems to work pretty reliably. Although, I might feel different in 10yrs time when they are impossible to find replacements for.. 

[Rhyscar]

Been a busy couple of weeks sorting lots of little jobs. 

Got the headers back in the car. They are such a pain to get in/out its like playing tetris! Headers managed to fit around swaybar better than expected, but had one of the secondaries has an unexpected clash with the subframe... Bummer. Will cut it up again and re-jig to create a big of clearance. 

 

And with subframe in (subframe needs to be removed to get headers in/out)

 

 

...AND here is a physical representation of my emotional distress after all those hours working on the headers. 

 

Added an O2 sensor bung to back of the megaphone. Position isn't really ideal, but didn't have any better options. Had to position the grommet hole for the probe as the tail of it wanted to stick through the tunnel... It's pretty bloody tight. 

 

Tidied up the head shield on the firewall with some double-folded edges so i don't cut myself on it all the time. Also added a clutch hardline and new softline. This area is looking pretty well finished now. I'm not 100% happy with the clutch hardline solution aesthetically, so may change it in the future, but it will get me going for now. 

 

So after putting some fuel in the tank in anticipation for commissioning activities, I found the bulkhead fittings in the bottom of the Jaaz tank weren't 100% tight before the tank got installed... DUH! Quite literally almost impossible job to do while in the car involves removing entire filler neck and being elbow-deep in a black hole), but I persevered because taking it out is an even bigger job. Sooo many curse words were used but got there in the end and now it doesn't leak. phew. 

 

One job I'd been putting off was the rollover valve & ventline. Managed to find an inline rollover valve... but its 10mm or so too tall for the cover. Will need to mod in the future. I also previously screwed up the ventline so it was plumbed back into the filler neck. Complete oversight on my behalf, so while I was at it I modified the filler breather with a tee that runs a 1/2" line out the back of the car and breaths through a small low $8 pressure fuel filter. I've found this solution works best for keeping dust out of fuel and killing fuel pumps.

As I CBF'd welding the tee on, I brazed it on (quite poorly I might add). Haven't done any of this in the past but starting to find more solutions where you want to stick metal A and B together that is thin or maybe not 100% compatible. Great for small jobs that don't need to be done super well. Need to learn more/get better for future. 

 

 

Only a few jobs left on the list to complete. Only some small wiring jobs stopping it from cranking currently. 

- Header clearance

- Radiator leaks

- Trumpets/airbox

 

Unsure what the plan is once its started. Will wait to see how the Ke20 rally car engine rebuild/Daybreaker rally goes before committing to any serious tuning activities. Can't have it all, just got to do one thing at a time. 

 

[shrike]

@Rhyscar sounds like an incentive to do a custom subframe or to clearance the existing one :p, a dimple die hole at the location of the headers might do it

[Rhyscar]

@shrike yeah that is the plan eventually as the roll centre on this car is HORRIFIC at this ride height… but that will need to wait for another day as getting custom subframes and geometry is a massive exercise with lvvta. (And not one I want to tackle at this stage) 

 

I considered a dent, but again from cert perspective doing it properly is the right thing to do. It’s only another 4-5hrs to sort it out properly so may as well be 100% happy with the solution. 

[GARDRB]

1 hour ago, Rhyscar said:

@shrike yeah that is the plan eventually as the roll centre on this car is HORRIFIC at this ride height… but that will need to wait for another day as getting custom subframes and geometry is a massive exercise with lvvta. (And not one I want to tackle at this stage) 

 

I considered a dent, but again from cert perspective doing it properly is the right thing to do. It’s only another 4-5hrs to sort it out properly so may as well be 100% happy with the solution. 

Back before cert was such a ballache Barry from MRP and I played with the roll center on my ae101 sedan to try and get it right. Purely moving the pivot points at the wheel we worked out that the outer tie rod end and the steering knuckle on the hub both wanted to occupy the same piece of real estate. He's ended up cutting his knuckle off and plating it top and bottom with a spherical bearing in there

[Rhyscar]

@GARDRB thanks for the info. Looking at it that seems about right. My plan was to move the pickup points up by 50-70mm or so then use a tension arm and new subframe that ties the north south member to the existing subframe mounting point. 

Essentially a massive job. But I’ll get around to doing it someday. 
 

Yeah Barry’s car is a bit past being road legal now.. 

[Rhyscar]

Solving problems one step at a time. Took thursday off work (I'm working the weekend) to attack the headers. Was a bloody big job but all back together now with a bit of clearance. Hoping this is enough with growth etc. 

 

 

Made a bulge in my fuel tank cover for the offending rollover valve. 

 

 

[Rhyscar]

Quick update - it RUNS!! 

Bit of troubleshooting involved as always, but thanks to @vk327 for getting it running last night. Everything seems to work just need more time/less fuel to get it idling and revving. I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet it is considering it's 3" + 1x resonator. 

Has plenty of oil pressure 85psi at idle. I found a Penrite 5w30 mineral oil to run it in on so should be the pressure I should expect long term I think. I was a little worried since this engine has sat with no oil in it since 2015? or so. 

 

Wow its been a journey in the last month or so. Lots of small finishing jobs taking up time/being fiddly. 

1. Welded up my leaks. Then pressure tested radiator and found a few more tiny leaks. Took a couple goes to sort these out but got there in the end. 

2. Earth & battery cables run through the car. Tried to hide/do tidy. 

3. Heater hoses cut off and new rubber lines to get rid of leak I couldn't weld up in place. Added a heater valve inline for future comfort (still need mounting bracket & pull cable added)

4. Extra oil pressure & water temp senders installed in filter housing. Good improvement as now I have 2x sources of reference for water & oil temp and oil press. 

5. Gone to 215/40/17 tyre on the rear to match front size. Required me to adjust hub off-centre bolts to get a few mm of tyre-shock clearance. Might need a few more tweaks once I get it on alignment machine.

 

These jobs are as un-sexy as they come, soak up heaps time but all need to be done... 

 

To do list:

- Couple of oil leaks to fix now. My new Aeroflow oil cooler has a nice drip coming from the fins and the filter relocation kit has a decent leak coming from the seal so need to work out whats going on there. 

- Clutch bled up, only to find I've got my masters in the wrong places and has too much stroke at slave (clutch should be rear brakes, rear brakes should be front brakes etc). It's going to be a whole weekend just to sort this out. 

- See if I can select gear!

 

Haven't decided how refined I want to get this just yet. It would be nice to be able to drive up and down road for my own satisfaction, but not planning on doing too much until Daybreaker rally is over and done with in the Ke20.

Also I have a long list of safety/schedule A things like belts mounting, fire extinguishers and external kill switch to sort. Oldschool drags in Dec?? 

 

[Roman]

Yes yes YES! 

So stoked about this! 

1000% OS drags attendance please 

Would love to hear this thing sing the song of your people 
 

[shrike]

Bets on dyno numbers?

Im thinking 142.7kw

[Rhyscar]

29 minutes ago, shrike said:

Bets on dyno numbers?

Im thinking 142.7kw

I would be SO happy with that... 140kw +/-3 is my guess. 

[Truenotch]

1 hour ago, shrike said:

Bets on dyno numbers?

Im thinking 142.7kw

I'll go with 136kw. Can't have it beating my Beams (it probably will).

[Roman]

I'm gonna say peak torque at 6500 and peak hp at 8000. 

The numbers will change depending on which dyno you go to, but shape of the curve is the important bit. 

[Rhyscar]

2 hours ago, Roman said:

I'm gonna say peak torque at 6500 and peak hp at 8000. 

The numbers will change depending on which dyno you go to, but shape of the curve is the important bit. 

Yeah this will be interesting with vvti coming in as early as possible. 2zz dyno graphs normally have a massive torque hole around 4500-5000 then start going hard once lift comes in at 5800 or something silly. 
 

I don’t think it will make power all the way to 9000 with the factory cam but should make some good noises doing it and sometimes that’s more important