jsnapsnz Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 So a few years back I bought myself an AE86 Levin - impulse purchase off Trademe Discussion: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/51964-jsnapsnzs-1985-ae86-levin/ I had spotted it when first imported and lusted over it so when I saw it for sale ~3yrs later for a suspiciously reasonable price I had to have it!!! Here's the pics as advertised on TM: Mmmm Runfree style (built by them perhaps?) Ooooo turbo! Sweet digi dash, immediate love Peaky power but WHATEVER! Trust Oil Cooler had me gagging Visiting the seller way up north I found there were a few strange things about it (strangely high revs at 100kmh (claimed taller ratio installed), external High Stop light mod, roped closed rear hatch, average handling (claimed due to poorly setup coilovers), too much fibreglass for my liking, single shitty bonnet catch, shifty alarm, dodgy boost gauge install & slipping clutch) but was an immediate sucker for the newly added rear quarters and zero (bullshit! It's totally true though) rust and fresh paint. Anyway, three days I later I took it off his hands 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Upon viewing for the first time I discovered the reason for the high revs @ 100kmh The chap even went as far as to change out the 4.3 ratio for a 4.1 cwp. I quizzed him if he changed the box and this was met with derision, had to physically show him 5th gear. I also noted no mention of the turbo which was odd because even when it was first imported it was turbo! It came in with an old school HKS setup with log manifold and huge external gate - apparently this was all shit so the prev owner got rid of it (wish it was on display in my shed ) I decide to run the gauntlet regardless and maybe re-cert later. Furthermore the rear interior was gone and asking about it resulted in: "What do you want that for, it's not a family car!" "Well you know it's nice just to have..." "I threw it all away" **sighhhh** I also commented on the external High Stop "Stink bro, did you have to do that for the WOF?" It was defended at least times throughout the convo referencing it's style, the fact it looked like a rocket and it's forward facing LED light "so you can see when you are braking!" Naturally I "rescued" the car ASAP Here's a couple of pics I took on my phone when first imported: Wee bit jacked on TRD sus - tried to buy for my KE70 at the time but too poor I am pretty sold on the Goodline Aero now of course! Sweet shopping list I want to do terrible things to that bumper... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 So first thing I did when I got it home was cut out the rope tying the hatch down inside. Once I got the hatch open I discovered how the external High Stop had been installed - cabling run under the ducktail then under the hatch - lifting the hatch revealed the long cable length "allowing" hatch operation! No idea why this wasn't run in the usual place at the hinge... Damn I wish I kept a pic of this Begone foul High Stop! Next mod was to install the NCRCA's I bought when the car was first imported - the TRD sus was removed for BC adjusties and they were deemed unnecessary as the BCs had camber plates. Don't mind if I do! Nice synchronicity returning these parts to their rightful place: Can anyone tell me more about these? "Spirit5" brand from the looks of it. Couldn't really find info online, just a pic of a sticker in an AE86 in a Drift Tengoku mag. Discussion //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/51964-jsnapsnzs-1985-ae86-levin/ At this time I discovered why it handled like shit as my thumb sank into the tyre sidewall - just a casual 15psi all round (much better now it's 30+) I ran the NCRCAs on my crusty KE70 then on my ©rusty AE85. These plus 32mm spacers guaranteed guard rub with my Celica rims Now I find the Watanabe's rub my bumper mounts like crazy! Bloody 205 tyres... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 Next mish was sort the clutch out. Happily it came with a new Extreme Clutch so out came the T50. I removed a very sad Cusco Super Single which had hugely pitted surfaces. I had the flywheel ground in prep for the new full face disc and cover (not hopeful re: longevity) so I could try out high boost as it had been wound back to 9psi to ease slippage. When the old owner asked me if I'd tried high boost yet I said I'd yet to install the new clutch and bed it in. "Bed it in?" he reckons - ahhhh Not that motivated until me mate Louie calls me ~9pm Friday checking if I'm still keen to drive him to Fielding (from Whangarei) to pick up his TradeMe purchase - KB310 Sunny Coupe with Z18ET! Soooo we smashed the clutch and box back in and left around 1am driving through the night. 9am we pick up the Sunny and roll home - fun drive with two boosted Old School weapons! Some where between Cambridge and Taupiri on the way home I clocked over my 1000km and let rip! Glorious 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 Next job was test out high boost! I'm not proud to say I made this decision ~1 week later visiting family in Wellington - showing off for my younger brother sans boost gauge so no idea what it did, just that it clearly went beyond what the 2.5bar map sensor could handle (~21psi) and my Chinese Turbo promptly started filling the motorway with smoke. Bugger it!! Disconnected the boost solenoid and limped home to Whangarei. Generally all good except for under decel (poor pedestrians at traffic lights wondering why their eyes are suddenly streaming) It used bugger all oil (5L on hand just in case) until I started thrashing it from Taupo on using around 3L to get home I think it was a DSR430 - a bit big I reckon. Nightmare removing the SS capscrews from the dump pipe so just cut the beeyatch off. Now I find the gate doesn't open fully as it hits the dump housing. Ports are miss-matched all round. Manifold has three major cracks under the miles of header wrap. No wonder the slut ran so hot and cracked my bonnet paint! I threw out these parts in disgust - best the prev owner would offer is another of his turbos at cost. Didn't like it anyway... **sulk** One month of driving then POW! The missus was unimpressed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 Right about now I decided I wanted Supercharged Boost! My good mate Rob had already given me an IHI blower from a Mazda Millenia I had intended to run this on an Injected 3.5L Rover V8 in my GX61 MkII. I ended up buying the AE86 instead of spending an uncertain amount of $$$ on a cool but vague project. Voila! 1x supercharger itching to go. I had a hankering to attend the D1NZ round at Toll Carriers in Whangarei so I rocked into Muffler Services for some Coby Headers to replace the rooted turbo mani. I was relieved my pulsing "bridgeport" idle was not affected by the removal of the turbo. It was great to see Fanga win the home round! The Levin ran like a bag of shit with it's turbo tune in the Link but no matter! I towed it across town early as then idled it into the event I also met up with Nick Teeboon who sold me a sweet Runfree Rear Strut brace. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 I also bought a Vertex style bumper off Nick Teeboon for a thrash bumper. I noticed my Goodline front copped some major stone chips driving to Fielding and Wellington so thought a spare would be a good idea. Pretty rashed up - just what the doc ordered. I also started mucking around with PlastiDip coating my bumper for protection. I really like how it looks like factory plastic I also checked my paint code and discovered my Levin was Blood Panda originally so I left the red stripe up top. One day I will go back to Panda scheme if I find some body mouldings... You can also see my custom Towhook I had my local engineer cut out for me. I then used some Plastic and Bronze bushing with a Rated D Shackle to complete it. I love the industrial look! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 For years now I have had 1x only 14x8J -13 Work Equip Excel wheel. It sure looked nice on my shed wall but nothing more... Until TradeMe struck again! (TradeMe keeps me so poor). I scored 3x 14x6.5J +6 and 1x 15x7J (oddly enough with a 14" center and tapered lip!) and full hardware! Drift damage claiming the other two rims... Happily the rear barrels are all the same so I got 41degree Race Wheels to knock up a set of 3" Lips to make me a set: I don't want her too low or with big tyre/guard gap but I do want semi-legit tyre/rim width. 185/60 would be sweet but probably too stretched. 195/45 is far to rubber band like so I think I'll try to find 195/55R14 Toyos or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 I decided I was unhappy with the tight bends of the Coby Extractors at the Head and I also noticed the muffler shop didn't bother with a flexi. Time for custom headers! Rob recommended biggest diameter primaries I could find to maximise results with the Twinscrew Blower. The issue is I want to mount the S/C over the exhaust. All the best headers sweep up and I couldn''t find any decent lo-rise headers at the time. Consequently I hit up a local welder Jack Blagrove (now running Invil Custom Design and Engineering in AKL) to tackle the job. I went with 41mm 180 bends and straight tube in 1.5mm wall mild steel. I also gave him SS304 Tig Filler wire and misc consumables from work to keep costs down. Finally Jack cannibalised the Coby Headers for the Exhaust Flange. He bloody outdid himself creating an equal length, firing order specific, merge collected & vee banded masterpiece in metal. Finally he got them HPC coated for me: I wish I could have left them bare - I love the weld discolouration 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 My mate Dion hooked me up with a Niteparts A-W bellhousing so I "had to" rebuild my W57 from my old GX60 Cressida Wagon as I wasn't confident the T50 would handle the jandal. $600 odd bucks later Rick Larcombe in Paihia fitted new bearings, synchros and reverse gear as well as painting it battleship grey. Great deal! Rob came to my rescue when I asked if he had an AW11 S/C Clutch & Flywheel handy. He sure did - just a casual OS Giken TS2A Twin Plate for a monster Adub he was planning but decided not to complete. We sussed a deal and I bolted it up! No TOB supplied so I dealt with Barry Manon for the first time and bought a Quarter Master Hydraulic Release Bearing. What a mission to get the input spline in! I ended up borrowing a cut off W input shaft from Henwoods Hotrod Shop to line up the plates to the spigot bearing. I also got master fabricator Jack to make me a gearbox crossmember The W57 shifter position was a little further back and I was NOT keen to cut my tunnel but what do you do! I also got my TRS short shifter modified to position the knob better (closer to the handbrake and steering wheel ) Finally I sent my driveshaft to Beatties to shorten, balance and replace the hanger bearing. Damn that was expensive!!! I promptly sold my T50 and Extreme clutch setup to help pay for all this shit... Yay I don't have to touch the diff - already got a TRD 2-way out back so no desire to muck with that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 The IHI blower is oil fed so lucky my beast used to be turbo! I bunged some brass fittings underneath to join the two drains to the hose down to my sump and connect to the turbo oil feed line. I needed a cradle to mount the blower so time to get Jack on the case again! Using 50x5mm and 80x5mm Aluminium Flat Bar, angle grinder, hydraulic bender and ACDC Tig he created this bad boy I then proceeded to sticker it up... Here's what the headers look like fitted. Note the Mitsi wasted spark coils and the Magnecor Leads from Mr Manon Here's what the blower fitted looks like! I had to front mount my Remote Oil Filter Housing due to hose length restrictions and blower belt path. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 Oh yeah by now I have decided to do a full re-loom. True to form the old loom was a dogs breakfast. Melted insulation from the stupid turbo mani aside - what had me gobsmacked was the cavalier approach to wiring in the ECU. Link loom was cut down to ~100mm. Original ECU plug sockets desoldered from the PC Board. Link loom soldered to PC Board pins of said sockets then painted in some insulation - sweet bro now we just plug into the original wiring loom! Better yet let's use crimp terminals on the injector loom and slide em right onto the pins in the injectors! I shudder to think what would have happened if one popped off during spirited driving RB Injector plugs fit mine after cutting them down, no idea what my injectors are. 1x new Link loom later: and around $500(!!!) worth of Narva Amp Super Seal connectors and misc switches and relays (I clowned it up and booked half a doz to my work account, then after fitting them I checked the price and nearly fell over. Commited now so suck it up and finish the job.... AND PAY!) Oh well at least I know I can trust this now. I am certainly not an auto sparky but I know what a diode is. I just took my time running 1x wire at a time to replace the dodgy shit and kept the number of joins to a minimum. Satisfying job but I can't recommend it. Not sure what I would have done if it didn't work - bloody electrickery!! Aftermarket Mitsi wasted spark coils and a $20 Suby Ignitor (and expensive new Bosch Plug for said ignitor) and engine bay wiring is complete. Why bother with wasted spark? Damn dizzy is in the way of my blower... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 Right! Time to sort the belt drive. Oh hells yes I wanted that gilly whine Endeavour engineering Tauranga supplied their 4AGE kit and changed the belt length for me. I sussed some steel 8M pulleys thru work resulting in ratios of ~1.56:1, 1.6:1, 1.75:1. Once I settle on ratio I will probably get it remade in Ali instead... I already had an Optibelt low noise type so I requested a full tooth profile belt for max whine!! They only had one belt so I hit up Maud Kirk for another spare. Alternator pulley fit issues aside (promptly sorted by Endeavour with quickly supplied replacement pulley FOC, w/full boss instead of a spacer) this was dead easy to bolt on. I do love being able to do most things on my car myself I am just lucky to know many talented machinists/fabricators. Thanks everyone!! 2x spare belts - sorted! Pulleys bored and keyed by Mike @ Kinsmen Engineering. Now it's idler time. I had a custom back idler spun up out of black UHMWPE by my master machinist workmate Jim. He then fitted 2x 6001DDW triple lip sealed NSK bearings and a crush tube. Finally I got Logan @ Brian Craig Engineering to machine a shaft and mount plate to bolt to the block's engine mount position it being a GZE block Stickers by Jsnapsnz of course proper TRD racing part, you just won't find it in any catalogue... I'm a keen Longboarder so this is a wee nod to my other wheeled past time. My mate Bene suggested using an old skate wheel instead but running 608 bearings means 8mm shaft so nahhh - and Urethane's too soft I reckon. Cheeky pic of me Drifting on Mt Akina (Mt Haruna in real life) on my dream holiday to Japan (my rental car at the time was FF ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 Here's a better close up of the new Remote Mount position. Major pain in the ass due to ports position and hoses coming out of the housing as well as proximity to the intercooler and radiator I cut up the intricate pieces of 2mm steel to weld to the intercooler mounting support but clear the hoses - and yet be strong enough to resist bending when removing a tight filter!! Bloody mission but works great, welded by Mike @ Kinsmen Engineering. I am a huge fan of the K&N Oil Filters with 1" Hex on the end! My stupid GZE CAS didn't clear my dope headers so I had a custom cap machined from billet by Bene You can see my horrific new loom in the background but I left everything separate in case I had to trouble shoot later... And the blower hides this shit! This was actually after he criticised my cheapie quick release steering hub (I only wanted it for spacing my Nardi, my legs are long but not so my arms...) Sooo Bene reckoned he'd make me a spacer from billet and Hot DAMN. It turned out fantastic What a gun machinist! Naturally he got the job making the Dizzy Cap 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 Some more random pics: "Repairing" Nick Teeboon's old bumper Eminently thrash ready New shifter position (after cutting and welding) with W Short Shift from Torana Race Supplies (TRS) fitted Just the casual 6" crystal bubble knob brought home from Japan, didn't want to go "Over the Top" Sweet Cusco Spin Turn Knob from Nick @ NST - there's no spinning involved! Now I know how it works... Strange 15x7J Work Equip Excel with 14" Center Good to have a spare center in case one of my rims eats it at the track later I guess... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 Just before I visited Japan in March 2014 I helped my mate Brad supplying my car for a photo shoot promoting his clothing brand AKA Apparel Note the longboard leaning against the shed Oooo JAF badge, scored this at a V8 swap meet for $2 (whaaaat!!) Nice camber up front thanks to my Techno Pro Spirits NCRCA's! (Thanks Mint_86 for identifying those :grin: ) Strategic photo composition just got my longboard in the shot far right There was also Beam's 20B turbo Luce (ex-SKDKNG), Adam's 12A Mazda 1300, ___'s (? sorry bro) turbo 13B RX3, KTM's Caprice Wagon and Mark's Belair. Properly Old School I'm happy to report my car perhaps sounded the baddest of all due to my sweet new headers and nothing more - unfair advantage. My cams make my 4A-GE pulse at idle like a bridgey Creative shadows shot by Axel Cawthorn on my new Nikon D3200 Waxing the Levin the night before... Cool old freezing works Shoot Location, thanks Gus I scored a $50 voucher from Brad for my troubles! Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 Making my airbox for my blower was a flaming mish! I started with a Cardboard Mockup then got Mark @ Absolute Stainless to make it for me out of 2mm Aluminium Sheet I have already been to Japan by this stage - Motorfix Windscreen banner already fitted! Can't see much of the Airbox Mockup You can see my old crappy quick release in this shot... Better view of my mockup Aaand here's the finished product with Peugot V6 K&N Panel Filter in place It's a crying shame you can't see my awesome headers Finally here's a classy shot of my engine bay from D1NZ round 6 @ Puke on Fanga's Stand - helping Brad again promoting AKA and selling merch Thanks Jared Donkin! This makes it look epic and almost finished! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 While in Japan I did all sorts of badass shit but two (ok really just one) garage visit really stuck with me - Nozomu Sakai @ MotorFix is just the sweetest guy ever! We traded heaps of stickers and he even went as far as to chase me back to the train station in his missus 4A-GZE AE70 because I left my windscreen banner stickers behind! Grinning like a fiend, I'm sure you can understand why Brad has a KE70 so I scored him a Windscreen Banner and this photo... 8 Throttle 1UZ-FE Windscreen Banner fitted once I got home Sakai-san and Family His cute daughter kept grabbing the stickers from her Dad to give to me. I exclaimed it was like Christmas - "Hahahaha you're like Santa!" he reckoned cue grins all round... Language barrier is nothing. Hajime mashite Sakai-san! - arigato gozaimasu!!! Watashi wa Nihon-go wo sukoshi hanase masu. Watashi wa Nihon-go daisuke desu! That's about all I've got... Just one of many cool cars at Motorfix - Carina wagon with 6 throttle 2JZ-GE I like the lo-rise strut brace, just because 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 I'm sure many can relate when I claim I have a thing for Japanese 14" rims... Anyway having a set of 14x8J tipped me over the edge so time to sell the 15" Watanabes (thanks Mint_86) to fund more 14"s. Sad tyre selection be damned! I found a set of 14x6.5J +6 ET Starsharks (guess where??? - TradeMe ) 8 hours of masking and several coats later they looked like this: You can see some faint Gold Anodising on the lips and under where the bolts were. I reckon they must have looked like this new: We are Shark and we sure do love Colin It's all about the Red finish I reckon! I note they have the same width rear barrel as the Work Equip Excel so I will widen these to 8J later and expect they will be -13 ET as well... In the mean time they are my thrash wheels! 185/60R14's will do nicely for skids etc (and ground clearance) I also scored some used Toyo RA1 Semi Slicks in 205/55R14 and 225/50R14 so I'll probably mount them on these when I drag my beast to the track. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnapsnz Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 Obscure wheels alert! Many years back I tried to buy a dope set of 14"s for my KE70. I even encouraged my mate Simon to buy them for his (our) AE85 Trueno! So this guy at Ace Towing called Jarod bought himself a Liteace with a cool set of rims already on it, ex-repo or some shit. I tried to buy for a while but to no avail only to find my mate Cam rocking them later on his AE70 coupe! Stretching some crazy 155/55R14's from memory on them with inner tubes. Bugger it he swapped some chrome 17"s for them!!! Anyway I was browsing TradeMe (surprise surprise ) and I saw a pair of the same wheels for sale!! Turns out they are called Crimson Zed Compe and they happened to be 14x7J -0 ET! From memory the Liteace had 14x6.5J and 7J so SCORE! Note the funky bolt pattern! Anyone out there prepared to part with another 7J pair? These have very strange front lips that curve back in on themselves like nothing I've seen before... Here's what they ACTUALLY look like: Spot the Semi Slicks underneath. I think I will leave them unrestored, "rat" style (read- too lazy to clean/paint them) Later I found out from Jarod he bought the Liteace for $70 ( ) Discussion? //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/51964-jsnapsnzs-1985-ae86-levin/ By the way if anyone knows of any center caps let me know!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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