[S.T.U.V]

EDITHOTOBUCKET SUCKS SO I AM USING FLICKR NOW WILL UPDATE THREAD WITH CORRECT PICTURES HERE AND THERE


So a month or so ago I was approached by a few "Car enthusiast/engineer/use me for my mechanical skills" friends of mine that they wanted to do the 24 hr of lemons. They basically wanted me to build a car for them with there occasional help with what they can do.

I made a few suggestions as to what car we should find...mostly cars that are known reliable and cheap...old honda civics etc...and something we can buy for 600-700 and sell stuff off of to make the 500 budget..well non of my suggestions were heard...they wanted v8, manual trans,small car.....so I annoyingly agreed to do whatever they wanted as long as I was not obligated to participate financially but still would have mostly final say( if you know a engineer,you know what I mean) in how and what was done and that I of course would be a part of the race team.

One team member was really stuck on putting a lexus 1uzfe in a celica...Unfortunately, I lost the majority vote...so here it goes.

So we found a 84 celica GT coupe with a blown up 22re(hydrolocked) with a w58 manual trans up in riverside. Pretty clean body and interior. Bill of sale states sell price of $250. Sold the 22re for $150 to a coworker cause he needed the fuel injection.

About a week after we pulled the motor in the celica we found a 95 ls 400 in a scrap yard, running for $500. The people selling bought it at auction for $500 only to get it and find out the front drivers core/support and frame was bent a little. So they were selling it for what they had in it. 210k on the clock and running like a champ. I almost wanted to keep it or race it being it was so comfy.... That idea was shot down quickly. Not looking forward to driving the celica around a track in a solid bucket race seat for 4-5 hrs. So after a thorough stress test of the v8 by drifting, rallying, jumping,big smokey burnouts, I sadly separated the torquey little 4.0 from its home. I almost want to cut the body in half and make a wall where the dash would be and make a little movie theater with a projector behind the rear seats.... Maybe.

So last weekend I collected all the wire diagrams and bits and pieces of info that other people have collected that have done similar swaps and went to town on the wire harness. Deleting useless wires IE auto Trans harness, evap, other useless stuff. I now ha e immense respect for people who do wire harness, wiring for a living. It is no fun.

So here I am now... Waiting for the adapter parts to be made to adapt the v8 transmission bellhousing to the celica transmission body. And a donor celica we found for almost free to get stock Springs(springs are cut on the race body) and rack and pinion that isn't trashed.

I'll update this occasionally when progress is made etc

https://youtu.be/sd0Ch2vlCu8

20160701_090203 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160701_090711 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160701_163805 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160701_163823 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160701_163858 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160730_193632 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160806_113211 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160904_124937 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160904_100855 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160807_103739 by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

Thanks everyone! I will update as I go along. Hopefully be done by october/november. Currently depending on sponsorship for safety equipment. Roll cage,harnesses,suits etc.

Yes I really want to keep the exhaust and maybe make it bigger but we will see. Might just make a simple x pipe with dual side exits.

 

[S.T.U.V]

I really like the second one... I am going to ask if they will allow the exhaust to come out the hood and up. Cause building manifolds like that will be much easier. I have to build a mostly custom one on the drivers side to clear the rack and pinion.

 

[S.T.U.V]

Here is a little update. Over the past two weekends I was able to dig the donor car we bought awhile back out of some guys backyard finally. His wife was so happy I was taking it.

We bought it for the stock springs, new-ish rack and pinion, manual doors, extra diff and axles, and the brand new shocks and struts we found in the trunk!

The race seat the team picked up was super tall so I had to lower the floor about 6 inches. Just realized I have no pictures of the seat in...so next weekend.

Having issues with the company that is suppose to be sending the adapter kit for the trans..suppose to have had it a week ago but he says he accidently put the wrong address and bs bs..so hope to have it today to mock up motor this weekend.

Here some pix.

Swapped fuel pumps from lexus to celica. 95 Lexus on the left and 84 celica on the right. Almost identical.

20160903_093114 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160910_124518 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160910_182343 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160917_111055 by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

Got the adapter plate in for the trans and the hydraulic slave cylinder. Finished the floor to mount the seat. Once again didn't get a finished picture with seat in. Had to install a quick release steering wheel cause once seat was in position to be comfortable for pedal position. Steering wheel was to close to get in and out of car. Lucky my dad had an extra lying around.

Mock fitted motor in to see that a lot more work needs to be done to fit the motor far back as possible.

20160917_160055 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160917_171008 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160917_143503 by RJ S, on Flickr

20160917_143512 by RJ S, on Flickr

20161202_221434 by RJ S, on Flickr


20160917_182103 by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

Izat an engine or a motorized wire randomizer? :grin: I don't envy you wire bending future. Looks like that thing hasta go back a foot or so? You might be loosing windshield wiper motor at that point, huh?

What a great project. Nice work! Thanks for the update - keep em' comin'!

HaHa yea I dont want to remove the wire harness cause of how brittle the plugs are. And yes I will be closing myself into the car and locking the doors with a cooler of my favorite beverage and getting to work.

Motor needs to go back about 3 in. Need to move the the brake proportioning valve cause the passenger side head hits it. Hopefully can just lightly bend the lines a bit to move the valve about 2 inches to the drivers side.

Rules state that we need at least one wiper working or a small child taped to the roof with a squigee...so we will have a vote if the motor stays or goes.

 

[S.T.U.V]

Little update. Haven't had much time to work on it due to other jobs lined up. Got motor mounts done(best I can do with the tiny plasma cutter and giant grinder) and stock front springs put in. It is crazy how high it sits with the 1uz v8 being as it came stock with a 22re...that 22re is a heavy lug of motor.

20161015_093404 by RJ S, on Flickr

20161015_122719 by RJ S, on Flickr

20161015_131855 by RJ S, on Flickr

20161015_140951 by RJ S, on Flickr

20161015_185206 by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

DUDE! You lay down a beautiful bead.

Nice work.

I can only imagine what your work would look like if you were in a properly equipped shop. Keep the updates coming.

NICE WORK

Thanks guys. I do day dream about having a shop where every tool/machine has its own place and it doesn't have to be dug out of a corner or have to be moved outside to use. Out of three work benches the picture that has all 4 pieces of the mounts together is about how much free space is available. But if I need something weird or odd...it is probably in the garage...just finding it is the issue.

My dad had shoulder surgery about 3 weeks ago and I have been doing all his jobs he had lined up which included rewiring a samurai that a guy swapped in a tracker 16v motor and ran out of talent to do the wiring and swapped a used motor in for another guy who cracked the block of his cummins 24v 99 ram(diesels are a pain in the butt to work on but in theory really simple) and the same guy owns a quad rental place so half the garage is filled with quads that need complete overhauls.

 

[S.T.U.V]

Very small update but between my lack of time and the weather i finally got about 6 hrs last weekend to work on the car...got part and by part I mean open runner of the manifold done. It is hard work cutting all the angles right and bends straight etc. I need to redo the one runner that isnt complete cause the design changed about half way through. Built part of it in the car and took the motor out hopefully for the last time to build the rest.

So got the manifold done and the motor and trans in hopefully for good. Until it gets torn completely apart for race prep. Clutch in. Fuel filter mounted mostly.

20161204_100043 by RJ S, on Flickr

20161204_100052 by RJ S, on Flickr

20161210_111450 by RJ S, on Flickr

20161210_111516 by RJ S, on Flickr

20161210_124740 by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

Added to above post.

 

[S.T.U.V]

Started on wiring. Made a quick modular panel so the whole of it can be removed if need be. The ecm is mounted on the back side and the whole will be mounted with rubber mounts to the fire wall. It all will be plugged in for quick removal. It is being quickly mounted up to get car running and moving then will all be removed and car shipped to the roll cage builder, which we decided to outsource cause I barely have time to do the car period. Have to get some deutsch/weatherpack connectors for power outs to sensors,injectors,ignition components. That will replace the bus bar for the relays when I finalize wiring.

20160812_202952 by RJ S, on Flickr


version 1
20170108_144053 by RJ S, on Flickr

version 2
20170120_061931 by RJ S, on Flickr

version 3 FINAL!
20170329_184043 by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

Added to above post

 

[S.T.U.V]

Update. Got car back from exhaust shop and roll cage is in. Threw some wiring together and mocked some fuel lines together and she's alive!! Next is cooling system and front end. And deff needing to put a small muffler or resonator in the exhaust to quiet it down a smidge.

IMG_20170122_1832304991_zpsay8acd0a by RJ S, on Flickr

IMG_20170122_1609449661_zpslqevvfqp by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

Here is some progress. Car is about 90% besides some odds and ends. It could drive if it ran right. I think the ECU is dead. All my wiring checks out but I cannot get computer into diagnostic mode. These computers are famous for the capacitors to explode and leak inside the ECU. I had one that was suspect so I replaced them all but haven't had time to start car and see if it idles correctly. Hopefully today.


20170407_233542 by RJ S, on Flickr




Full house at the shop. tundra needed a starter replacement. And the tow strap hanging was being used as a swing before I showed up and ruined the fun.

20170428_213734 by RJ S, on Flickr

20170425_190715 by RJ S, on Flickr

20170422_183935 by RJ S, on Flickr

20170410_182314 by RJ S, on Flickr

Fan switch adapter installed into coolant pipe. Had to use this crap hobart welder at work.

20170421_134351 by RJ S, on Flickr

Temp gauge and oil pressure installed. Temp gauge is LED so it does say 070 and temp

20170418_153555 by RJ S, on Flickr

20170418_153146 by RJ S, on Flickr

Oil pressure sender installed in factory location.

20170418_142057 by RJ S, on Flickr]

02 Sensor extender/bungs. (spark plug defoulers) Hopefully will trick computer into thinking car has a catalytic converter.

20170416_122556 by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

When is the race?

As soon as the car is done. LOL. But I think the first race here on west coast this year is in july. But I think the team wants to shoot for september race. We want to autocross it before hand to work out some kinks.

 

[S.T.U.V]

So it has been awhile and the car has kinda been low on the to do list except they signed up to race dec 2nd! So I have had to haul butt on it. Have a few pics ill post later but here is a short vid


https://youtu.be/M1yap4AEdMo

 

[S.T.U.V]

So here is some pictures. The car was autocrossed at the qualcomm last weekend and ended up blowing both rear axle seals. After removing the axles we found other issues. One bearing is cracked in half and both "lock rings" where the seal rides are deeply grooved. Going to be a busy 2 weeks.... We are towing the car with a tundra so we finally quickly thought of a theme of dressing it up like a space shuttle since its already white and black. Just add some decals and a wing and some bucket boosters. So we will see...

IMG956596 by RJ S, on Flickr

20171029_120851 by RJ S, on Flickr

20171104_130633 by RJ S, on Flickr

20171104_115109 by RJ S, on Flickr

20171104_160650 by RJ S, on Flickr

532584126 by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

So its almost D-day. Been a busy week getting ready and all the little things dealt with.. So here is some pics. Race is in sonoma,ca this weekend. Hopefully weather is ok and we get some racing in and the car comes back in one piece!!! Our theme is the space shuttle since we are towing with a tundra. So we will be dressing up like construction crew and some toyota executives. So hopefully we earn some bonus points and dont get to many penalty laps. We will see!!! My work lent me a bitchin trailer and tundra to tow so I spent a day at our race shop doing some stickers. They have a huge vinyl cutter and printer over there. I hate the tundra but will be much better towing then the ridge unfortunately.
But here is some pics. wish us luck!!!


20171121_112956 by RJ S, on Flickr

20171121_112945 by RJ S, on Flickr

20171127_191159 by RJ S, on Flickr

20171129_061431 by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

Today will be a long day at work!!! Wish us luck!!



2017-11-30_09-55-40 by RJ S, on Flickr

 

[S.T.U.V]

Well last weekend was a BLAST and a bit of a fail. Did a track day on friday and the car ran flawlessly..realized traction is very limited with the way the car is but it would still be doable..just point the car straight as fast as possible and floor it.

But to keep it short...saturday started out by getting t-boned on the passenger side after the first driver spun out within 30 minutes and then the third driver had all the motor mount bolts break out which punctured the oil filter and spewed oil everywhere!!! which he drove on it all around the track into the pits with no oil... but got the car running and was able to put down almost 100 laps that day. I was last in the car just in case and brought them from 145th to 119th place. Sunday we went down to about 117th place but unfortunately the second driver had the rear end give up the ghost on him. And unfortunately the spare rear end is sitting at my parents house... such a bummer!! It is very hard to cross all the I'S and T'S being the only one who is mechanically inclined and organized.

So unfortunately that ended our weekend. We loaded up and went out in the town of sonoma and had some wine and celebrated having fun. I cant wait to get the car back up and running and get back out there. Still on the fence with just putting the spare rear end in and get her going or going all out and getting a ford 8.8 and making the car just a bitchin wide body shuttle...we will see whats in store and what funds allow..but here is some pix from the weekend.

Untitled by RJ S, on Flickr

Untitled by RJ S, on Flickr

Untitled by RJ S, on Flickr

Untitled by RJ S, on Flickr

Untitled by RJ S, on Flickr

Untitled by RJ S, on Flickr

Untitled by RJ S, on Flickr

Untitled by RJ S, on Flickr

Untitled by RJ S, on Flickr


One of the drivers of the ranger was a 60ish yr old lady who had been racing most of her life...Me and her had a battle of epic proportions and after finishing saturday she had to come meet me. She was putting the pressure on me like no other in the turns but in the straights I was gone. She was trying so hard to pass me in the turns and got me just barely a few times but then I would pull away in the straights. It was awesome.
20171201_142627 by RJ S, on Flickr

1275-_MG_6341[1] by RJ S, on Flickr

0819-_MG_5949[1] by RJ S, on Flickr