Grassroots Motorsports

Updates

• New engine in the works March 12

  Well, I no longer have the patience and funds for my rally car project, or …

• Oil pump back together March 19

  I started re-assembly of the engine today…I had it stripped down to a shortblock just …

• Head reassembly started March 22

  Since the engine was rebuilt only a couple thousand miles ago, there isn’t much that …

• A peek at the bottom end March 22

  Here’s the bottom end…I opened it up just out of curiousity. Everything looks great and …

• And the high-comp March 22

  Here is a look at the top of the rotating assembly. The high-compression forged pistons …

• Aesthetic upgrade as well March 22

  I don’t just want to get the mechanical stuff in order with this new engine; …

• Management has arrived April 16

  I know have a huge box full of wiring harness, ECU, ignition coils, injector drivers, …

• Engine reassembly in progress April 24

  The oil pump is back on, the sump and windage tray are back on, the …

• Cams back in the head May 01

  It feels good to see it starting to come together after taking it apart for …

• Degreeing the cams July 16

  I got the new camshaft oil seals installed, as well as the back timing belt …

• Details, details... July 29

  Down to the detail work on engine assembly, AKA the fun stuff! :D The backing …

• Plywood (!) intake spacer Sept. 14

  I really like the idea of insulating the intake manifold and ITBs from the heat …

• Plumbing; mostly oil Sept. 14

  A lot of the rest of my work lately has been on plumbing. Thankfully, a …

• Going overboard on the details? Sept. 14

  I’ve made some more progress with another round of detail work on the engine. As …

• Slowly but surely... Dec. 17

  Long time, no update! I have been chipping away at a little work here and …

• Port matching the intake side Dec. 21

  I’ve been working on getting the ITB->intake manifold->spacer->cylinder head doweled to keep everything lined up …

• Intake thoughts and oil plumbing fixes Jan. 01

  After some more reading and thinking, I am going to make my own airbox over …

• Intake spacer completed Jan. 08

  I finished the plywood intake spacer/heat insulator. It is fully port-matched on both the manifold …

• Another pic of the intake spacer Jan. 14

  A peek at the inside; you can just see the port-match…sort of…:)

• Oil temp sensor finds a home Jan. 14

  I also found a spot to put my new smaller oil temp sensor which will …

• Making ITB gaskets Jan. 14

  The final bit of progress is on the intake side of things. With help from …

• Alternator and thermostat housing Feb. 04

  I traded in my old crusty and oil-soaked alternator for a Toyota remanufactured unit, which …

• Engine and steering finally in Dec. 22

  Here you can see the engine has been dropped in for mockup and detail work …

• Another view of engine/steering Dec. 22

  Here’s the other side of the engine mockup and steering/crossmember install. There are a lot …

• More steering Dec. 22

  Here’s a peek at the underside, showing the new outer tie rods, adjustable at the …

• Small interior updates Dec. 22

  Looking inside we can see the new manual steering column which I swapped over, as …

• Yikes! Ancient alarm wiring nightmare! Dec. 22

  I have always wanted to remove it, but figured that the car worked, and the …

• Prepping new diff and final drive Dec. 22

  Here is my new Toyota OE 4.3 final drive with a my gear deburring going …

• Another view of gear deburr Dec. 22

  Here is another view of the final drive after hours with a tiny grinding bit …

• Transmission cleaning Dec. 22

  My long term plan is still to rebuild a T-50 or two, but since I …

• New transmission mount Dec. 22

  Next I got the old sloppy stock mount replaced with a TRD hard rubber mount. …

• Aero mirrors-exterior aesthetics Dec. 22

  The other bit of progress is the acquisition of a pair of used aero mirrors …

Comments

turboswede:

How can an AE86 not get more votes? Especially one as nice as this one?
May 30, 2008 2:41 p.m.

Stuc:

Cool! (Check mine out haha) Where'd you get the 4-2-1 header? Update the pic with the new bumpers too
Jul 17, 2008 4:45 p.m.

ae86andkp61:

I got the header from a company called KBD, and sadly they are now discontinued. I think at one point they were known as Dobi, and made the headers back when the car was fairly new. These days they do mostly bodykits, but several years ago we got a couple dozen Corolla owners together and had them do one last run. Apparently they got rid of the tooling after that last batch. :( It is a nice street header because it enhances and smooths all of the powerband over stock, and saves a nice bit of weight. Unlike most of the other offerings on the market, it is designed first and foremost for LHD cars, so it fits, and the primaries are a good size for a stock head with other breathing upgrades (mild tune.) Most others on the market are good for heavier mods or racecars, but give up some bottom/mid range on the street. I will have to take some pics when I get the bumper back on. I took it off again to tidy up wiring for the lights and so my buddy could copy the Japanese bumper brackets.
Aug 27, 2008 5:11 p.m.

wheelsmithy:

Man, beautiful ride. Great to read @ your engine builkd up. My 4age is going together much milder-webbers, stock cams, timing pulleys, on a 120K engine. Good to get ideas for that inevitable first rebuild.
Nov 5, 2009 8:48 a.m.

Spinout007:

NICE car! I've always wanted one, even before the drift craze hit, I'm gonna have to keep an eye out for one after new years, gotta finish my rx7 first. Again, NICE!
Dec 6, 2009 10:34 a.m.

ae86andkp61:

Thanks for the comments, guys! I am always flattered when someone else finds my efforts inspirational. I am getting excited to drop the engine in and get it wired and fired this winter in anticipation of driving it next spring and summer. My buddy I've been helping is nearing completion on his similar build right now, so we should be able to focus on my car soon; keep your eyes peeled for updates!
Dec 18, 2009 12:29 a.m.

sal713:

Awesome HachiRoku!
Jan 5, 2010 12:57 p.m.

KasSasaki555:

Wow awesome Hatchi dude! The engine work is super clean! The wheels are xxr 513 in gunmetal =] they look great on corollas!
Jun 10, 2010 11:28 a.m.

fabron:

I like the red wrinkle paint on the valve covers. Those aluminum pulleys (free horsepower) look good too. Reminds me of rebuilding my 4AGE on lunch breaks at my job. Good times. What kind of cams are you using?
Aug 28, 2010 5:04 a.m.

ae86andkp61:

Thanks guys…sorry I have been so-so about updates. The camshafts are older HKS 272's (both intake and exhaust.) They are 272 degrees advertised duration with 8.35mm of lift. I was going to use HKS 288's with 8.35mm of lift, but the bottom end wasn't built for enough revs (or at least not reliably) to get the most of the 288's, so I downsized, and I think I will be happy with a big midrange-top end power boost. I am planning on an 8300rpm rev-limiter.
Dec 22, 2011 9:23 p.m.