1995 Camry Coupe Restomod

In reply to maschinenbau :

maschinenbau said:

This will allow the engine to removed by simply unplugging the ECU and this connector while leaving the engine harness on the engine. 

berkeley yeah dude, serviceability FTW 

First drive today! It's a certified ripper! Lots of tire squeal and torque steer

Nice!!!  Congrats!

Nicely done!!

maschinenbau said:

First drive today! It's a certified ripper! Lots of tire squeal and torque steer

Just as it should be :D

And now I'm here for the future awd conversion after you've snapped every remaining Camry axle in north america.

Here's the full update. 3 main things were keeping me from a first drive: mounting the ECU to the firewall, mounting the gas pedal, and building an exhaust. Got all three done this break. 

I removed the old cable gas pedal and built a bracket to adapt the 2GR electronic pedal. Pedal ergonomics seem good so far but I might tweak this later.

The ECU was just hanging out in space so I bent up one of the original brackets and drilled the firewall for rivnuts. The lower bracket got cut and welded, and attaches to a bolt for the A/C lines.

And finally, the exhaust. I had left off at the Y-pipe just behind the engine subframe which was way too loud. I added a big huge resonator from the donor car and 2.5" all the way back to a universal Walker 17615 "mega-flow turbo" muffler. It is nice and mellow at idle, cruise, and even some mid throttle. A little rasp in the higher band but so far I am pretty satisfied with the sound, especially given how cheap this system has been to build. I'll put together a sound video soon.

I am really happy that a few big questionable items have been proved:

• The clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel combination works without any weird noises or issues. It just feels...normal!
• The axle bearing bracket did not immediately fail! 
• Power steering pump seems compatible with the old Camry and I was able to fill and bleed it properly. And it does not leak!
• No exhaust rattling or engine interference with the body or other parts.
• The engine does not overheat, and the radiator fans kick on and off like they are supposed to. Heat works too.
• No immediately bad engine codes like misfire or sensors. The questionable junkyard engine is healthy!

Of course I've uncovered a few new teething issues too. Fuel pressure setting is questionable due to the cheap gauge that came with the cheap regulator. Short term fuel trims were hovering near +20% which implies the ECU is giving it more injector to make up for lack of fuel pressure. At full throttle I get a code for knocking, even after filling up with a tank of 93. After messing with the regulator, the gauge responds erratically so I was just guessing at that point. Eventually got a lean code. So I'm going to try a nicer gauge.

But yeah, I'm pretty happy with the 6 month engine swap turnaround. I brought this engine home from the junkyard on July 27. Can't wait for the $2000 Challenge road trip!

maschinenbau said:

Of course I've uncovered a few new teething issues too. Fuel pressure setting is questionable due to the cheap gauge that came with the cheap regulator. Short term fuel trims were hovering near +20% which implies the ECU is giving it more injector to make up for lack of fuel pressure. At full throttle I get a code for knocking, even after filling up with a tank of 93. After messing with the regulator, the gauge responds erratically so I was just guessing at that point. Eventually got a lean code. So I'm going to try a nicer gauge.

But yeah, I'm pretty happy with the 6 month engine swap turnaround. I brought this engine home from the junkyard on July 27. Can't wait for the $2000 Challenge road trip!

Knocking at higher RPM: are you running out of injector/fuel pressure resulting in the lean condition? 

Just found this. Been hearing updates from Foster at work from time to time but didn't realize there was a build thread! I'm watching now. Cant wait to see this thing at comp.

In reply to Mezzanine :

That's my theory, running lean due to lower than expected fuel pressure. The 2GR normally runs a returnless fuel system that is regulated in the tank, with no manifold vacuum reference (always has constant fuel pressure). The ECU will "trim" the fuel injector pulse width to compensate for any pressure changes the best it can.

How accessible is the tank?  Toyota generally doesn't change stuff unless they have to, so I wonder if you could drop an entire fuel pump "bucket" with regulator and all into the hole where your current stuff lives.

Another possible solution is to put a cat in and hook it up. To many after market cats in any configuration not to be running one.

With the shop build, haven't had any time to troubleshoot but I did drive it a couple times and it seems magically better now, with trims under +-10%.

Exhaust video. It's very mellow and quiet. Just a little rasp only when you get on it.

https://youtu.be/3gTnsqx3gN0?si=KhRBioR4sInGfXEc

Tires arrive today for the sweet new rims

And finally got those trash wheels replaced with RARE one-year-only 1999 Avalon Platinum Edition wheels made exclusively for Toyota by Enkei. 15x6.5 with a non-dry-rotted all-season tire. Unfortunately I'm missing two of the center caps.