sobe_death wrote:Found this one locally. Not quite challenge priced, but nearly.
Oh my. Fix it, drive it, change shorts.
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Jan. 31, 2010 3:42 p.m. 93celicaGT2 SuperDork
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Feb. 1, 2010 5:56 p.m. irish44j Reader
dammit, guy still hasn't emailed me back. Or the guy I emailed about the '82 corolla. I hate dealing with people on CL......this happens constantly. They're happy to post a car for sale, but the moment you want to "know more" about the car or get a half-decent non-cameraphone pic of it, they never get back to you.
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Feb. 1, 2010 6:03 p.m. aussiesmg SuperDork
4AGZE Turbo, hmm one or both?
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Feb. 2, 2010 8:14 a.m. 93celicaGT2 SuperDork
aussiesmg wrote:
4AGZE Turbo, hmm one or both?
Probably 4agze with supercharger removed, turbo added.
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Feb. 2, 2010 10:25 a.m. Jerry From LA HalfDork
irish44j wrote:
One is on CL locally...in what appears to be pretty pathetic condition....
Unfortunately, 99 percent of the remaining cars are in pathetic condition. They were bought originally by people with no money and neglected for the most part by the original and subsequent owners. Two or three years ago, a low-mileage version in nice original shape went for $5000 on eBay.
Getting 100hp out of that motor requires doubling the original 53 hp. The heads don't flow (non-crossflow) and no good cams are available. There was a Mikuni setup available once upon a time but super-scarce. Corolla rear ends were a favorite swap. The rear end ratio goes from stock 2.93: 1 to 4.56: 1.
I bought one at a police auction for $200.00. Drove it for three years. Got 26mpg sitting in LA city traffic and 38mpg driving it 80 mph on the highway. The air conditioning even worked but you lost five mph every time the compressor kicked in at 80mph on the highway. It's definitely a "momentum" car.
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Feb. 3, 2010 7:18 p.m. ae86andkp61 Reader
Just to add to what others have said, they are tiny, lightweight, slow, surprisingly practical, and have the potenitial to be a lot of fun.
Mine was easy to drive at what felt like it must be 8/10ths or so and I didn't really stick out from modern traffic.
Given enough room to get up to speed, it was fairly easy to do 80mph and I rarely got worse than 30mpg. I could get over 40mpg on the highway fairly easily. The light weight, short wheelbase, great turning radius, and skinny tires made it lots of fun to hustle and toss around. Once I put 13" A008R's on it (yes, I owned this car a while ago!) it could corner a lot harder and became a bit twitchier at the limit...a suspension upgrade was in order with the sticky rubber.
In terms of driving experience, think of it is a slightly older RWD Geo Metro, and you get the rough idea. In terms of mechanicals, think of it as a slightly more reliable LBC, or comparable to a Datsun 210 and you get the rough idea.
The long-term plan for mine was 4A-G twincam with the T-50 transmission and Corolla GT-S disc brake rear axle. I was also going to put the AE86 GT-S struts up front (easy but not quite bolt-on) for bigger brakes and was going to try for a rack+pinion setup, but hadn't worked out the steering details. Sadly, I sold it and picked up another Corolla instead.
With Corolla mechanicals the performance should be ahem..."adequate" for a 70's/80's econobox!
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Feb. 3, 2010 9:23 p.m. wheelsmithy New Reader
In reply to ae86andkp61:Any more info on how to put the AE86 stuff up front? What's needed, and what needs modifying? THX
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Feb. 4, 2010 8:24 p.m. ae86andkp61 Reader
The basic layout/architecture between the two cars is the same, and the rough dimensions (like overall strut length and strut top) are in the same ballpark, but they use different small details and specific measurements in some areas. The two cars have different balljoints, and a different spacing between the mounting holes between the bottom of the strut and the steering knuckle. You have to decide where the Corolla stops and the Starlet starts. If you just use just the Corolla strut, you need to find a way to attach the AE86 strut to the KP61 steering knuckle. Otherwise you find a way to attach the AE86 steering knuckle to the KP61 balljoint.
Here is a pic of my AE86 steering setup totally disassembled just before a rebuild. Of interest is the knuckles (lower right corner and lower left corner.) The skinny end has a hole for the outer tie rod, and the fat end has three holes, two to attach to the bottom of the strut (these are spaced differently Corolla to Starlet) and the one in the middle of the three attaches to the balljoint. The balljoint is pressed into the end of the LCA.
Here is the setup in the car, viewed from the front
The steering rack is behind the LCA and not visible. The balljoint is inside the dark black rubber boot just above the outside end of the LCA. Just above the balljoint is the steering knuckle and you can see one of the two bolts holding to the strut. On my Corolla there is a shiny aluminum part above the knuckle and below the strut as a roll center adjuster (RCA, or bump steer spacer for you Datsun guys) which is exactly the same spot you would setup your AE86 strut->Starlet knuckle adapter....and use longer bolts, of course.
When I had mine, nothing was available, it was all DIY. TechnoToyTuning now sells an adapter for the latter approach:
http://technotoytuning.com/productdetail.php?p=775
This guy also has a nice writeup on his Starlet suspension upgrades:
http://www.esgarage.com/02kp61/sus/sus.htm#.htm
The AE86 strut->KP61 steering knuckle is probably easier to make at home because it could be done with basic machining on some bar stock, or possibly even with hacksaw/file/drillpress-type fabrication if you work slowly and are confident with your measuring/marking capabilities. YMMV...try at your own risk.
I was wondering if it would be possible to take the entire Corolla setup and modify it to fit in a Starlet, but I didn't get far enough along in measuring and mocking up to get an answer. I thought it would be awesome to use Corolla struts (with all the aftermarket struts/springs) and Corolla brakes (bigger and vented) as well as the Corolla rack and pinion. The biggest issue is that the Starlet is narrower. I contemplated a custom crossmember or modified Corolla crossmember with Corolla steering rack, lower control arms, knuckles, struts, and brakes. I figured I might be able to narrow the crossmember by cutting off the top (including motor mounts) narrowing what remained down the middle, then trim the hole in the top to fit the piece I trimmed out of the top, weld it all back together, and then modify the hole spacing as needed to bolt to the Starlet unibody. I was hoping that approach would result in 4AG-spaced motor mounts up top, with Corolla LCA mounts on the bottom, but narrowed to Starlet engine bay width, and with Starlet spaced crossmember->unibody bolt holes. The LCA aren't quite the same length, so I would probably have either gone coilover+camber adjustment on the struts or else also modified the LCAs with more cutting and welding.
The two huge issues I didn't even begin to wrap my head around or get any real numbers/geometry for were steering rack with, tie rod length, and resulting bump steer potential, and less important, any possible fit issues with the steering rack and Starlet unibody.
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Feb. 5, 2010 1:24 p.m. poopshovel SuperDork
sobe_death wrote:
Found this one locally. Not quite challenge priced, but nearly.
I really, really wish you'd stop doing that.
