97 AE102 20v Swap

[mindbeats]

Yea I've read that also but the handling will be superb I'm sure

[trife96]

Not much to report...But I will have some progress coming soon enough. I have a lot of engine prep work to do still since my car has sat for the last two years. I got some new gear oil for the 6 speed, Redline FTW! Fuel treatment, and fogging oil to prep the engine before I crank it.



Also, a while ago, I found this GT label on Celica. I liked it so I decided I will be putting it on the trunk. Also, I got more updates coming concerning the sub frame and the control arm bushings, but more on that later.

[Rinconrolla]

How much did the oil cost?

[trife96]

$65 for three qt.

[trife96]

Got more goods in today.  This is for the rear trailing arms.  Since our cars already tend to under-steer, the better we tighten up the back, the better grip it improves for cornering up front.

[mindbeats]

Sweet trife!!!!!!!!! Gonna be ready to hit those curves

[trife96]

If you may recall in my last post, I have been questioning the size of the larger bushings I installed in the front control arms, and once installed I realized, they don't fit right, even though after I've read many times they should fit. The problem is; and again; this falls back on the notion that the 7th gen to 8th gen chassis are the same. Let me say, they are very similar, and some parts will bolt up fine. But not exact. This being the case here. So, I ended up getting the control arm bushings that the Hulk ordered for his car (can't go wrong with that). Not a total waste of money since the smaller bushings that I got the first time DO fit perfectly. The Prothane kit was $45 so it's a matter of just having matching colors. The SuperPro sells these bushings separately and not in a kit. So the smaller bushings alone are around $40. Anyways, here they are.

I will finally get this all bolted up this Saturday and will post some more progress pics soon.

[trife96]

So major progress today...finally.

Notice the differences. The Superpro sleeves are made to fit the ring my finger is pointing at. The Prothane kit does not. This also causes it to sit to tall. You can't squeeze the bracket down over that bushing. There's no way. Notice how flush the bracket is with the Superpro bushings installed.
















So after test fitting, I repainted the arms since they got a little messed up correcting the bushings and go the sub frame installed. Also got those good motor mounts installed also. All is looking good.






Rear motor mount



Front motor mount



Lower ball joints and sway bar links reinstalled. Also installed those new sway bar bushings






Topped of the radiator with water for now, still have to flush everything. Had to order the pass. side CV axle today since no one had it in stock. It should be in Wednesday. Then I can finally get the front end all buttoned up and add my transmission fluid. I did however remove the valve cover and spark plugs and sprayed that fogging oil in the cylinders and on the cams.

Started the rear suspension link swap so I can have both links adjustable. Also still have to remove the trailing arms to swap out those bushings. All saved for another day.





And last, installed the GT emblem on the trunk

[7thgen7a]

I did the same thing to gain more camber in the rear to seat lower and it feels a lot better too. It kinda wants to slither like snake when digging heavy I a turn. Since we do all of our own work it also helps when you have access to an alignment machine too ASE certified too bro.

[trife96]

^ and if we were close, I would be bringing it to you to get it aligned cause I know that's the first thing I'm going to have to do once it's all done.

[Rinconrolla]

So how much in total did it cost you in control arm bushings

[trife96]

right at $200

[trife96]

More updates!

I spent this past Saturday working on the car. Again, made a lot of progress. Removed the valve cover and spark plugs. Prelubed the engine with the fogging oil. Removed fuel pump and removed old gas from the tank using a wet/dry vac :wink:

Added a couple gallons of 93 octane and some Lucas injector stocker. Removed fuel inlet hose. Removed ram tubes. stocked carbs. Got it all that back together.



Got the CV axles installed, added gear oil. Just for the record,I will be willing to share which axles work once I get it rollin and I know exactly any issues...if any that I run into, but for now, just know it took forever to figure out which ones would work.







After a couple cranks, it popped right off and ran beautifully. Put transmission in gear to test and noticed the engine wanting to die like it didn't have enough power to get it going. Which I thought was odd since the car was off the ground, so gave it a little more gas and as I eased off the clutch, I heard the most terrible loud clunk sound. :surprise: so I quickly shut it off. After checking, I noticed the CV axle ABS rings were almost pressed into the axle hub on both sides

Oh well...this is what happens when you modify. So, took it apart, saved most the gear oil, removed the weather shield rings for the ABS sensor on the back of the hubs. Put it back together and they fit fine now. Temporary fix but I probably will have ABS issues since the sensor doesn't quite line up with the toothed ring now. Cranked it again and this time, perfect!! Wheels are turning with no binding. Went to second gear, still turning, turned the steering wheel back and forth. All seemed good, then I noticed gear oil on the ground! Somehow, driver side popped out of the transmission :facepalm:

Well, I didn't have time to fool with it anymore at this point and honestly wanted to move to the rear suspension and interior. So I got the interior mostly back together, got my shifter base bushings in and installed.







Also got the rear trailing arm bushings installed and the rear sway bar bushings installed. My plan is to swap the rear drums for disc so I didn't bother to change the bushing on the wheel hubs.













And finally, since this will be driven more for daily use, I upgraded my filter without sacrificing my ram tubes. Notice the old screen gaskets I made came off and were pretty worn, but served there purpose. No need for them anymore













So, A/C compressor should be in tomorrow, and I will get some more pics of the interior, got some other surprises coming but this is all I want to reveal for now :grin:

So my to do list is quickly shrinking, but still feel like there is a lot more to be done.

[Rinconrolla]

WoW - Nice Plate for the trumpets - Where did you get that made at ?? Plus where did you get that air filter ??

[trife96]

Thanks, Battle Garage

shop.battlegarage-rs.com/

[trife96]

Also, got my A/C compressor in today, but it had a dang broken plug on it :frown:

[Rinconrolla]

Where did you get the compressor from

[trife96]

eBay, but it was through a company so, I'm pretty sure they will stand behind it. I sent them a message as soon as I got it yesterday and still haven't heard back, but no worries for now. They have until the 20th to respond to my claim.

[Rinconrolla]

No I mean what compressor is that from ?? A black top or another type of toyota ??

[trife96]

^ thats what I thought you meant at first but then I guess I read into your question too much lol. The blacktop uses the same compressor as the 94-96 Tercel 1.5L