Probably should update that MS2x installation has been going on, soon I'll find out if the problem was actually the ECU, or something in the ignition system - in which case CoPs will be going in as well.
Probably should update that MS2x installation has been going on, soon I'll find out if the problem was actually the ECU, or something in the ignition system - in which case CoPs will be going in as well.
Ahoy mateys, behold a small but precious bounty!
Door switches, a discontinued voltmeter, and thanks to HungARRRy Bill, a full set of Superpro urethane bushings!
OK just got word the engine is running great on the MS2x, but a brake disc crack was just discovered, I have some old spares somewhere so it might be fixable tonight.
You ever figure out what was bent in the suspension?
Not yet. Gonna put it on a frame machine later. I wonder if it might be a subframe-to-chassis alignment problem, but I don't think that could cause such a big difference. I've also been thinking that maybe the frame tear near the driver's footwell could be a culprit, but again it doesn't explain the difference, the tear had only opened by a couple mm and was compressed closed for the repair.
I've been thinking about making custom adjustable control arms to get some caster adjustment without using special consumables (which only offer adjustment in a "binary" fashion). It would be extra difficult on an AE92's control arms though, if it were even an AE101 it would be much easier.
I found the spare discs, they're at least going to get resurfaced today (if possible).
Got the spare discs off the donor car, rust was surprisingly light so I just gave them a quick pass with some fine-grit sandpaper to take most of it off.
That's the end of the good news. The distributor isn't putting out a clean enough signal to act as a CAS for the MS. The trigger wheel will have to be put on. Also at least one problem with the rear brakes was discovered: On the left side, the outer pad is making little to no contact with the disc. Moving the car around the shop revealed an awful cyclic gouging noise that seems to be coming from the rear, that may be related. Sounds like stone cold race brakes dragging.
It looks like this project is going to be mothballed until the end of October. I put everything on getting the Samurai's engine fixed for the offroad rally this past weekend, which I missed anyway due to a machine shop taking too long with crank polishing (I'm thinking it might be irreparable), ruining my shot at the championship and costing me more in signup and expedited shipping costs which turned out to be for nothing. My usual navigator and sponsor hasn't answered any calls since I delivered the bad news.
I have both vehicles dead and about one Benjamin I can spend on getting one running over the next month or so, and it's most likely not going to be the Corolla.
Soon I'll get things going again, got the Samurai running so I have something to drive, the trigger wheel to crank adapter has already been sent off for fabrication. There are a couple more places to drive it now, there's a new autocross pad at the track:
And another local track has reopened and is hosting track days.
Well this is bad, the entire season's worth of events will be run next weekend, there's no news on the crank adapter and the mechanic hasn't answered any calls/texts/emails or even shown up to his shop in about a week now 
If he's still MIA tomorrow I'll have to look into rush-shipping a new distributor in myself (OW), then limping the car somewhere else to get the brakes fixed, then later I'll have to sell the distributor.
Heard back from the mechanic later on Friday, his phone had just broken. Work's started on the trigger wheel adapter but it's not done yet...at this point it has to be done or the car won't be ready, if a distributor was going to be rushed in, it would've needed to be ordered on Friday.
Well I'm just waiting on the machine shop now. Historically this is a situation that has never turned out well for me.
I've thought of something that could be causing the alignment strangeness other than a bent frame: subframe alignment. Both subframes were removed so maybe they're not positioned quite right, although I wouldn't expect significant front misalignment to be possible while the subframe brace is installed. If you look at the numbers, they could be explained by the front subframe pointing left and the rear subframe pointing right - and it would make a lot of sense if the rear subframe was shifted too far to the left as well, considering the odd rear wheel clearance discrepancy. Whether the frame turns out to be bent or not, this is something that can be adjusted to help correct the problem.
Only got the trigger wheel adapter on Friday, didn't have enough time to set up the hall effect sensor and everything else to get the car running without that distributor. Couldn't find any other ones to borrow either so I didn't get the car to the event. Plus I found that one of the shiny new rear hubs has a "tight spot" in the bearing somehow - that's what was causing the effect that seemed like brake drag.
I shared an Ignis Sport and got 3rd in the event so it didn't go too badly overall.
Whoa huge problem, the hubs were the wrong ones, the diameter of the hub face was 1mm bigger than they should have been, which cracked both brand new rear rotors
Wonderful!
Keep at it. In the end it WILL be worth it.
Gotta put a hold on buying stuff for this project again, the cracked discs were the straw that broke the miniature alpaca's back (doesn't help that the Samurai desperately needs a carb rebuild right now, that custom aluminum ring that holds the trigger wheel to the crank pulley wasn't cheap, and I ordered some more tresharrr last week). No more purchases until 2015. I can get the engine running in the meantime. So next year the first things to do are:
I'll still post some more updates though, one for the latest haul of booty, and one to show some of the stuff that's been done recently.
Well me and this mechanic are through. We were completely opposed on the issue of machining the discs vs. the hubs, and he refused to budge from his position of machining the discs, no matter what options I offered. The extra costs of towing the car elsewhere will eat up any money I could've used to get the car running this year.
Care to elaborate? Sounds like a bonehead mechanic, personally as a mechanic Ill try to sway my customers if they have opposing ideas that I dont like but ill do it their way anyways even if it dont work cause they will come back to try the other way. Not freaking argue to the point of making the customer never return. Good luck and hopefully you can find someone good for you
As mentioned earlier there was a clearance issue between the discs and the hubs (although at the hub "flange" that the wheel and disc center to rather than the hub face that the studs mount through as I initially thought). This cracked a pair of brand new discs (I could live with that) and after investigating other options the only thing I can run are the old discs, which are in decent shape.
The mechanic wants to machine out the disc's centering hole, this would have the be done on all future discs. I wanted to machine away the 1mm diameter step-up on the hub flange (making it identical to the AE92 GTS hub). He couldn't give me a decent logical reason not to do this (closest he came was mentioning "safety"), only insisting that machining the disc was faster and easier (which is true, in the short term).
We argued for a while (he tried to end it with "this is not a debate" on two separate occasions) and eventually I told him that if there's no way at all he could accommodate machining the hubs (I offered to basically take care of it myself) then I'd have to take the car elsewhere. He told me to settle my bill and pack it up.
I have to wonder if he was just tired of the arguments we often get into and wanted my car out of his shop. If so, mission accomplished.
Only big problems it causes me are the towing costs killing any chance of finishing the car this year, and finding someone else to do aftermarket ECU tuning is almost certainly going to cost more.
Is this the same guy you had issues with last year? When you don't have ready access to replacement parts you need to be innovative. Maybe you can find a Cuban mechanic. They're renowned for keeping old cars going.
Yeah same guy. I could have kept tolerating him if he could budge on this issue at all, but I put the decision in his hands and he made it.
I know another guy who does good work and who I get along with quite well, but his shop is understaffed and this causes big delays - but that's a small subset of the problems I've been having with this guy.
Well here's an interesting twist, I'm back at the same mechanic again, and I've realized that I was wrong to think he had poor communication skills - he has negative communication skills (but disagrees strongly about that).
This is the second time I'd committed myself to hauling the car elsewhere and begun to prep it for transport over what was really just a communication problem. I've already learned that utter silence means "The part we talked about a few days ago has been made yesterday and I will be installing it today" and yesterday I learned that acting like a total dick via text means "I've found a better solution which I haven't shared with you yet and have a decent technical reason for rejecting your proposed solution which I also haven't shared with you yet." I'm supposed to infer these things. From now on if he says anything strange in writing I'll just find him in person where he communicates much better.
But enough ranting. So the mechanic's found the full specs for an AE101 disc and is super sure it will be a direct bolt-on fit. Since I can't afford to import discs again now, he wants to machine the old AE92 discs as a one-time quick fix. He's worried that milling the hubs could cause them to end up off-center. Not sure if they're really that hard to center in a lathe but it's at least plausible, and AE101 discs would be an improvement anyway since they're much easier to find and slightly lighter.
So the old discs will have their centering holes machined out, and they'll eventually be replaced with AE101 rear discs. Now for some pics...close-up pics. Here's what happened to the new discs (these were shiny with painted hats so recently!)
And here's the offending 0.5mm step-up on the rear hubs (these were bright & shiny too!)
OK time for an update, I'm off work from this week to early January so I'm working on the cars full-time now. So over the last couple of days I've been designing the CoP deck using two forms of CAD:
First I wrote down a whole lot of measurements and made this:
After taking an important measurement I forgot about and making some holes for mounting, it went right on!
(paper's there because oil's leaking from the distributor onto my new wrap again, D'oh!!!)
Test-fitting CoPs and deciding on the mounting direction:
Babby's first CAD (where "C" is not "Cardboard"):
Having no idea what the hell I was doing barely slowed me down! I was actually drawing with commands more than the mouse, much more convenient.
So now my plan is to rapid-prototype the design in card stock paper and then get it laser-cut...or drilled out by a sweaty guy in a shed if nowhere here does that.
And here's the crank pulley with the trigger wheel mounted to it with an aluminum ring that cost me nearly half a LeMons budget...sorry didn't get any pics before installation, it was installed in a rush back when it looked like I might be able to get the car to the last and only autocross of 2014:
There's supposed to be a track day between now and the end of the year, could be this weekend, I'm trying to get the car ready in time for it.
Made the final revisions to my CoP deck design today after testing with a full-size printout stapled to my cardboard prototype.
I also found something that will save me a lot of time and money: I don't need to make a distributor block-off plate, there's an official distributor hole plug available from Toyota. Part #90339-36001. I'll pick one up soon for under $5.
Also tried to get the starter fixed, it was failing to crank sometimes and needed hammering. When I got it back, it cranked great but the gear didn't move out to engage 
so back to the shop it went, guess I'll find out what's happening tomorrow.
Yarr mateys, behold the latest haul of booty!
GameboyRMH wrote: I also found something that will save me a lot of time and money: I don't need to make a distributor block-off plate, there's an official distributor hole plug available from Toyota. Part #90339-36001. I'll pick one up soon for under $5.
don't forget to show us this.....
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