So after fighting this car not wanting to say running, I think I have figured out the problem. I got it running for a little bit and then it would never start again. Checked the plugs and found most of them to be fouled and soaked with fuel. I pulled the bowls off multiple times checking jets, power valves, for plugged passages. Still nothing. Replaced the plugs and it sounded like it was hitting on a couple of cylinders but never really fired up. Apparently, I either removed the idle mixture screws or turned them almost all the way in when I was cleaning it after chopping off the choke tower months ago. Bottomed all of them out and 2 1/2 turns out, and finally it started idling on its own without help. I guess it has been lean this whole time and the squirters were overcoming the amount of air flow and that's what fouled the plugs. But I found that the accelerator pump diaphragm is leaking now. Going to replaced those tonight and adjust the rear end over to center it up and then maybe, just maybe, I can take it out on its madden voyage to get more gas. So, we'll see.
Just read through the thread. Keep up the good work!
This is sweet. Keep it up.
So everything started up and ran. Yes! On my way to the gas station only about 1.5 miles away, I discovered that my gas pedal was way too close to the brake pedal. The soles on my shoes were rubbing each other. "That's not good!" Also noticed a loud banging noise when going over small bumps. Now that the suspension is at full ride height, it is way too low and I think it's bottoming out. Gonna raise it up tonight and see if that fixes that problem. Topped off the tank and a quick pedal adjustment with brute strength and I'm back on the road.... Then the headlights stopped working. And of course it's 8:30 at night. Ehhhh. Planned to go to a local small 2 hour car show with other rot rodders, so I will probably be leaving early and heading home before dark.
Well folks,....as promised. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE1OPqOaToY
At this point I haven't started fine tuning this yet. Haven't pulled any plugs to see if it is rich or lean. I have a timing curve that is close but will probably change. I haven't even tried to see if I am getting full throttle yet. All in due time. I plan to keep true to the full on street car theme. Drive it around town. Run 87 octane. And be able to fill up at 7-Eleven, drive 30 miles to the track, throw down low 10 sec. passes all night long, and drive it home! No Trailers! May be a tall order but that's my goal.
My wife and I went to Hotrods and Hamburgers car show last night that a local diner puts on every week. And I think it kinda stood out being that it looks like a bucket but with a heart of a lion compared to all of the other really nice cars. It was a nice little tip and it didn't over heat which is a plus.
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Well last weekend I got a wild hair, so I took my sleeper Corolla to the metal scrap yard. Not junk it, but see how much it weighs. Found out that it weighs 2560 lbs. with about a half tank of gas and without me in it. It weighs 2820 lbs. with me in it. Not quite as light as I was hoping for, but I'm sure there are folks out there that would be delighted to have a car that weighs 2800 with them in it. Time for a diet! Not so much the car but for me. Only a couple of things left, then its track time. A pair of wheels, driveshaft loop, and seat belts. Safety First! I can't wait!
Well not much got done this weekend. Easter kinda got in the way. It seemed like every place i needed to go to was closed. But, I scored some old seat belts from a friend and washed the at a car wash. They look much better. also went a bought some wheel screws.
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Maybe next week. Gotta keep the eye on the prize.
E7 Corolla's should be able to be gotten down to 1000 kilos (2200#s) with relative ease... as that was their overall mass in many markets around the world
Yeah I was hoping for around 2200 lbs. also. But after thinking about it for a few days, all I have done is add weight to it. The drivers seat and the back seat done weight that much. Even though the original motor and trans appeared to be cast iron, everything that I have changed has just added weight. Cage, the 8.8 was way heavier than the Toyota axle, the back wheels aren't very light, the all aluminum motor is kind of a wash with the cast iron 4 cylinder, the steering and front suspension was only a couple of pounds lighter, the radiator is much bigger, exhaust is super heavy compared to the stock stuff, etc. And being a four door doesn't make it any lighter. I can do some more, I haven't set out to put it on a diet yet. The shell of the car is still as it came from the factory. Still has all of the glass, window regulators, passenger front seat, hood, trunk lid, front bumper and supports. I can get more creative by cutting out the front side of the strut tower, and take out all of the unnecessary oem wiring the I am not using. Small steps for now. The thought of even doing a full tube chassis. But that is a little over kill and I talked myself out of that.
DEATHTRAP wrote:
the all aluminum motor is kind of a wash with the cast iron 4 cylinder,
I weighed the LS3 I'm putting in my Volvo and also weighed the Ford 5.0L that I took out. Similarly equipped - intake/exhaust manis, balancers, ignition system, no accessories or flex/flywheel - the Ford weighed 411 lbs. and the LS weighed 393 lbs. I used to race a 2TC Corolla in SCCA and had the engine in/out multiple times. It weighs significantly less than the aluminum V8. Not sure how much -- but I'd guess you added 75-100 lbs. even with the aluminum block motor. Cranks, pistons, rods -- all bigger/heavier (and 4 more of the rods/pistons), and extra head and a bigger block. Your Toyota motor (3TC pushrod motor came in yours I believe) was cast iron block/aluminum head. So the new motor definitely contributed to the weight gain.
I think you came in pretty good on the weight myself given what you added to the car. Well done! Mine '74 (TE27 body - 2 dr coupe) raced at the class minimum 1950 lbs. without driver. I had to add a bit of ballast. But that body style is quite a bit smaller than yours.
Rather than spend money on extra wheels for my slicks and have extra wheels left over after I switch to drag radials, I've decided to all in and drive on slicks until they are gone. Then but drag radials. I still don't want to trailer this thing to the track, but it may end up being the best thing in the beginning should it break. Plus, I still don't have headlights. I've been putting that off. But for now here is a pic of my slicks. They are 26 x 8.5 which is small when people start talking about slicks but they are the biggest that will fit without a total gut job in the back of the car. Hopefully they hook up pretty good.
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Thanks for the info MichaelYount. I was under the impression that the conventional ls motor woudl be about 190 lbs. lighter than the conventional sbc assuming it had an iron water pump, heads, and block. But I may have been a little too greedy when I was doing my math. I am pleased for now but I won't stay that way for long.
I was able to take my car to a dyno day this morning. I have always heard that dyno's are notorious for breaking hearts, and today was no exception. I only rolled 286 hp and 274 ft.lbs. That is Terrible! I was running no air filter and with the dumps closed. Wanted to do a comparison on just how much the small exhaust chokes it out. And right at the 6800-6900 rpm mark the belt slung off and both rear tires started rubbing the front body seam on the quarter panels. Just Great. I chose to stop there before i ruined a pair of tires. Only one pull. It's was only this morning and i am ready to go back. Here is a link to the video that my friend shot. Its a little grainy but you get the idea. I am so ready for Redemption!
https://youtu.be/kkgqyQlRAIE
I am still trying to decide how I am going to work out the tire rubbing issue. It looks like it is rubbing where the rocker and quarter panel join together. [URL=http://s829.photobucket.com/user/YOTA81UNDERTHEKNIFE/media/20160404_184652_zpsh9aolmqt.jpg.html]
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I may see if I can stretch it with a very large slide hammer or a regular hammer. I could just cut it, but I want to try to avoid that. I don't think it needs much. After watching the video on the dyno, it was rubbing from about 120 mph and on up and comparing to the print out.
And I think I found where 100hp went. I checked last night and found I am only getting 1/2 throttle maybe a little more. So a more robust gas pedal assembly is in order. That will be this weekends project. Yet another small step backwards. Redemption is coming!
DEATHTRAP wrote:
Yet another small step backwards.
On the contrary -- you are making big leaps FORWARD!
Finished buttoning everything up last night. Found my idler pulley to be loose. I tried to tighten it up and found it to bind up on the bracket assembly. Pulled it off and found nothing out of the ordinary. So I put it back on and tightened it back up with it bound up on the bracket and found the pulley to be a full tooth off from the crank and alternator. Hmm. Need to figure this out today while I have the parts dept. just on the other side of the door.
My friend had an idea about a year ago, and I must say its a pretty good one. If you guys don't had lights in your engine bay or under the hood area, you are missing out! I have added them to mine and glad I did. It wasn't dark outside yet, but I closed the garage door and turned off the lights. And as you can see there is plenty of light to do almost any repair. I still need a couple of clamps so I can attach the wires to the battery when light is needed. These are led boat lights I got from Academy. They are also everywhere online. I think I paid about $30 for both. Very worthy investment. Check it out.[URL=http://s829.photobucket.com/user/YOTA81UNDERTHEKNIFE/media/20160411_185449_zpsszlxujuc.jpg.html]
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Know what you mean about the time line - pulled the 5.0L Ford out of my 82 242 Volvo last fall -- putting a new LS3 in; and I'm starting to want it to be done! Wiring harness/ecu on the way, exhaust head pipes the last thing to be fabricated so getting there. But engine has to come back out to clean up wiring and clean/paint engine bay. I can taste it!
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I appreciate all of the props from everyone here. On other forums there are cool guys and guys that look down on you cause your cars a bucket. Not everyone has a 6 or 7 figure budget for a car build (ie.toy). Pretty much all of the feedback has been for the positive. I feel like my particular build fits in but is a little outside of the box. Been on a couple a different groups and don't seem like i fit in. Feel good here.
All of the sentiments aside. I feel your pain MichaelYoust. Building headers suck a bit. I bought most of my stuff from a circle track shop. But i found a site called "Cone-engineering.com" along with "boostdepot.com" that have all kinds of exhaust components. Flanges, bends, donut tubes (for tighter bends), collectors, collector spikes, etc. The Cone-engineering.com is pretty cheap. They even have the options for mild steel and stainless. And have options for 3,4,5,6,8,and 10 cylinder options if i remember correctly. I think they are a good cheap option for guys like me who have a wierd build like mine and have a little determination (or just being cheap for custom work like me). This may help some of the other guys here on future builds. Hope my in devour has given other people the hope that any obsurd idea can be possible, even in a small home garage. Thank you for all of you who have posted comments and compliments. I appreciate all of them.
I appreciate all of the props from everyone here. On other forums there are cool guys and guys that look down on you cause your cars a bucket. Not everyone has a 6 or 7 figure budget for a car build (ie.toy). Pretty much all of the feedback has been for the positive. I feel like my particular build fits in but is a little outside of the box. Been on a couple a different groups and don't seem like i fit in. Feel good here.
All of the sentiments aside. I feel your pain MichaelYoust. Building headers suck a bit. I bought most of my stuff from a circle track shop. But i found a site called "Cone-engineering.com" along with "boostdepot.com" that have all kinds of exhaust components. Flanges, bends, donut tubes (for tighter bends), collectors, collector spikes, etc. The Cone-engineering.com is pretty cheap. They even have the options for mild steel and stainless. And have options for 3,4,5,6,8,and 10 cylinder options if i remember correctly. I think they are a good cheap option for guys like me who have a wierd build like mine and have a little determination (or just being cheap for custom work like me). This may help some of the other guys here on future builds. Hope my in devour has given other people the hope that any obsurd idea can be possible, even in a small home garage. Thank you for all of you who have posted comments and compliments. I appreciate all of them.
Thanks for tips - thankfully, not building headers - using a nice cast stainless manifold from Speedway Motors. Just need to connect the 3-bolt 3" flange from that unit to my existing 2.5" dual system - so just 15" of head pipe that needs to be fab'd -- should be able to cut/weld a couple of mandrel bent 45-degree ells on each side and git'r done.
I think that I have ironed out my pulley issue. I installed a 1/8" washer behind the pulley with a longer bolt and everything seems to be good. Only tomorrow will tell. Looks like it will be 71* for a high and no rain. Gonna try and have fun and hope things go as planned. But don't worry, if things go well or I have an epic failure, there will be a video. I'm keeping my fingers cross for good things.
And as promised. My wife and I took this little beater to the track on Friday and had a good time. My first pass ended up being a 11.90 pass. Its ok, and not bad for the first pass, but not satisfied. I determined that my torque converter is too tight. I am only leaving at about 2500 rpms. Good to know. As the night went on I kept being plagued with shifter cable issues. Not going into 2nd, not going into 3rd, etc. I decided to take one more stab at it. I adjusted my timing and got in line. Final pass of the night. You guys be the judge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-PfGByRRds
Best pass all night. It turns out that the other car is a guy i know. Neither one of us knew we were out there. Its a built Z06, headers, cam, etc. The video makes it look bad for him but i would like to point out that his mph is faster then mine. i just crossed the stripe first.[URL=http://s829.photobucket.com/user/YOTA81UNDERTHEKNIFE/media/20160416_110427_zps998770bg.jpg.html]
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I know it seems like i may have been a debbie downer with the constant cutting, building, and modifying, but friday night made it all worth it. And to all of you guys out there struggling to keep modivated, keep your eye on the prize. Its worth it in the end.
i would like to thank all of the GRM folks who chimed in with advise and praise. It has kept things going. Thanks to my friends. And big thanks to my wife (loyal supporter)!
10.9 @ 123.... 
makes my E7 pass of 15.77 @ 89 seems time dragging... but I'm running 1/2 the # of cylinders.....
keep up the work.....
btw.... @ over 120 mph.... his aero is better... likely reason he ran a faster trap
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