Santa knew what I wanted this year! :D

Going onto mudah.my in the hope of finding some TRD parts for my 4AGEs, what are the chances of finding something good... Just my luck, I found this; A set of TRD Race Pistons for the 4A-GE 16valve first generation with TVIS, and got it for RM480 a set but without piston rings. 

Called the guy up, said he only has one set left. Went to find him the next day, brought the TRD parts list and also the measurements. And it all matches. These pistons match to the parts number: 13101-AE861. Now the only problem is that its a standard size piston. So if I were to fit this into a block, it needs to be a not too worn out block, if not the pistons are gonna go into the display cabinet... I'd thought that TRD Pistons would cost four to five digits but I can say that this is a lucky catch. 

The Catch of the Year! Toyota MR2 AW11 1985...

One random day, searching for cars on mudah.my I found myself searching for MR2s, most for sale are the SW20 2nd generation MR2 which was apparently not a much success as the 1st generation MR2 which was the AW11 model. So call it what you want; luck, good timing I found one for sale and it was in the same state, same district! I couldn't believe that I found another one for sale after seeing one six months ago go into a friend's hands. On top of that, when UMW Toyota imported the MR2 AW11 model into Malaysia in 1985, they only imported in 20models officially. And this was one of those 20 models! The owner claimed it to be 95% original, kept in good condition, and only 85, 000km done on the odometer.

So me, my dad, and a number of friends who are die hard petrol heads went to see the car. Marvelous the car was, no big issues, everything was working, everything was original, the 4A-GE 16valve in there was spectacular! No strange noises, no funny vibrations and still being able to rev to 7300rpm without any problems.

The only problem was that because it wasn't used much, the water in the radiator was starting to turn brown, and also as the car gets older so does rubber components. Luckily for us that the engine mountings were still in good condition but the radiator rubber hoses weren't doing so well. Also the paint job on it, was just a touch up where the original red paint of the car faded. So nego nego nego, got the car at RM35, 000.

So then we took it to our regular workshop and got a few parts changed. Rubber radiator hoses were changed but it was one hell of a treasure hunt to find them. Brake master pump, clutch pump had to be changed. Brake discs, brake pads changed and the calipers serviced. New Michelin XM2 goes on the 14inch wheels. Airconditioning serviced, all fluids drained and replaced plus the timing belt. So now after 3 weeks in the workshop the very next day a drive up to Bentong, Pahang, then to Cameron Highlands, and back down to Ipoh. The next day back to Selangor. The car handles well, no issues at all taking it that far and back. After I drove this car and my friend drove this car, the question in our heads is, when did cars stop being this good?

As for spare parts availability for this car here in Malaysia... Very difficult. Some parts you can find from a similar Toyota from that time, but stuff like lights, gear knob, sensors, etc very difficult. However, overseas the MR2 AW11 was sold in large amounts,  thus today there are a lot of used parts for sale and some also new old stock.

Some information about the MR2 AW11 1985:

Chassis Model: AW11
Year: 1985
Engine: 1600c.c. 4A-GE 16valve DOHC first gen N.A. with T-VIS, MAP Sensor producing around 120hp
Compression Ratio: 9.4:1
0 - 100km/h: Roughly 8.0 seconds
Engine Layout: Mid Engine
Gearbox: Transverse 5 speed manual C50
Weight: 1060kg
Wheels: 14inch
Steering: Rack and Pinion

Some New Goodies for my Toyota Corolla KE35!

Its been a long time since i blogged, here's the reason why!

Interior:

I found a place in Taman Mayang that does only interior work on cars. The minute i stepped into this place, the only cars i see are all classics! Old triumphs, VW Beetles etc. So since i got some time where i didn't need my car for the running around i usually do, I dropped it off at the interior shop and got the insides all done up! Roof lining, back seats, dashboard, steering wheel. The whole car, in and out is just black and yellow. I didn't realised i only had 2 colours i could use until the interior guy pointed it out... His pricing are as follows:

-Steering wheel refurbish: RM250
-Dashboard refurbish: RM800
-Roof lining ( taking off the old Proton PVC and replacing it with a black cloth ): RM600
-Changing the colours of the back seats from orange to yellow and black: RM500

On top of that, I managed to find real original OMP 4 point road harnesses from the OMP dealer at Johor. He comes down to KL frequently so i got it from him for RM750 if i'm not mistaken. As usual, getting customs to clear them were a big hassle...

My dad also brought back an aluminium number plate for my car, where the alphabets were not pasted on the metal but molded. It was a thin piece of aluminium so we had to go to the accessory shop to get the regular plastic plate glued to the back of the aluminium plate and then only managed to stick it on the car. 

Total FOR INTERIOR ONLY: RM2900.

Now the juicy bit!

The exhaust manifold that i got with the engine, from the half cut shop was crap. So i was recommended to go to this exhaust shop in Segambut, Pakar Exhaust FIMA :) Very small place, one man show but this guy knows what he's doing! I got a used Japanese Manifold from him, FGK 4-2-1 for RM600. Less that 2hrs it was fixed on the car already, with no issues.

For some reason, I found out that I had fake NGK spark plugs that i've been running on since i first started the 4A-GE, and it was causing some misfiring issues. So i decided to invest in some Denso Iridiums, the same one that the Toyota Alphard uses. There is a higher performance iridium plug that Denso has, but I got this because the workshop was carrying this plug, and i know it won't be a fake since it has Toyota branding all over the box, i hope. But so far so good! :) So 4 new Iridium SK20R11 plugs cost me RM220.

The spark plug wire also has been giving me some problems, one of the wires' core had melted so at that time the workshop was trying to fix my misfiring problem and a quick fix for that one spark plug wire that was causing the misfiring issue is to replace it with a used but still functioning wire. I was doing a bit of research on the spark plug wires, it seems to have no benefit in performance but there is a benefit in spark delivery. My idling has improved with new spark plug wires and with the new iridium plugs. I went to Mun Lee, one of the biggest half cut shops in PJ, and they only had Ultra spark plug wires for the 4A-GE, and they are charging RM400 for 4 wires, not 5 with a trade in of your old wires. To me that was a rip off! SO i went online to check for wires, which brand suited the 4A-GE best. Then it hit me! The 4A-GE was a race engine that Toyota used last time, along with the 3S-GTE in the future. So TRD should have developed a spark plug wire for the 4A-GE and true enough, I found the parts catalogue and there was a spark plug wire set ( 5 wires) for the 4A-GE. Now the question was where do I buy them? I found a sit in the US that sells the TRD Yazaki spark plug wires, it costs USD$120 with shipping to US address. So i bought the wires and my grandma was coming back to KL the day the wires were delivered to her house so I managed to get them and installed on the car already! OH YEAH!


One shot, did it all! :) My next aim will be getting a new ECU for the 4A-GE! With all the upgrades in performance, there is a slight increase in power but not alot. Hopefully if i change the ECU it will help. Camshafts from the half cut shops, difficult to find for the standard engine, the standard intake and exhaust camshaft should be 240, with standard pistons and con rods, the biggest exhaust and intake camshaft to use would be 256. Any larger than that, it will be difficult to run the engine on the road.

GOLD!

Haven't had time in a while now to blog about my classic cars but, look what came in the mail for the Toyota Sports 800 :)










 The whole piston set thats enough to do a overhaul, no gasket included though but mechanic says we can actually cut out gaskets, any shape any size!

The pistons here are maximum oversize, still looking for smaller ones just in case, but for now my Toyota Sports 800 is doing good, just some small puffs of white smoke, most probably piston rings but other internal parts in the engine should be good.

The Steps of the Toyota Corolla Ke-35 Hardtop Coupe Transformation.

I am a person who wants a car that has looks, power and also in the reasonable budget range. I found the Corolla Ke-35 on mudah.my and after a year of work on this car, its in a phase where I'm satisfied. Before getting the car, I had to know what to do and plan. Buying the car is simple, go see the car, think about it and give the money. With the help of a JPJ runner, changing the owner of the car was made easier. Filled up some forms for the changing of owner and a photocopy of the current owner's IC and also the new owner's IC, of course get the registration card from the owner. Done! The car is yours now. For cars which are going to undergo restoration work without the change of a new engine, do whatever you like to the car. For those who wants to change the engine like what I did, its more work. 

Here was my way in order to change the engine on the Toyota Corolla KE-35 Hardtop Coupe legally:

1.) Research on the characteristics of the car.

2.) Buy the car.

3.) Change owner's name on the registration card.

4.) Look for a mechanic that you can trust to do the engine replacement for you.

5.) Look up what engine that will suit the car, in my case its the AE86 Levin Engine (4A-GE).

6.) Go to the half cut shops and look for the engine, ask them to start the engine as a step to make sure its working.

7.) Buy it off them and get a receipt from the shop plus a customs receipt.

8.) Deliver the half cut with the car to the workshop.

9.) Mechanics will work their magic over about 1-2 months to replace the engine.

10.) Once the new engine is in, it must have a standard exhaust, all brakes are working and balanced. Hand brakes as well must be working, the lever must not be too high or too low (seatbelts and airbags are not necessary depending on the car's year of manufacture). Lights and indicator lights must be functioning properly. Window tinting mustn't be too dark.

11.) At this point, its ready to go for another PUSPAKOM inspection. Bring along the custom's receipt from the half cut shop and also the registration card. 

12.) The car will have to undergo an inspection by the JPJ officers.

13.) If all goes well, a new registration card will be issued with the new engine code on the card. 

14.) The car is now yours to do whatever JPJ doesn't allow you to do, i.e bigger exhaust, welded roll cage, aluminium dash board, etc.

When changing to more powerful engines, always make sure that the brakes you use must be better to enable the car to stop, suspension work must be done as well. These are the main criteria. Brakes, rear axle, gearbox, suspension should come with the purchase of the half cut. So those parts would be good to install on the car if you're tight on budget. 

The half cut has done 155000km before I got my hands on it so timing belts and hoses had to be changed. As for engine performance relating to my 4A-GE engine, I have only changed the air filter to a K&N air fliter to increase the amount of air going into the engine and replaced the standard clutch with an EXEDY Racing Clutch. Changing the exhaust pipe and engine manifold is what I'm looking at next. I've managed to take this car up to 180km/h even after its done so much mileage. All japanese cars has this 180km/h speed cut so does this engine. The maximum this car can go for now is 180km/h at 6000rpm. 

In the interior and exterior zone, I just painted the car back to its original yellow and put on two black stripes to make the car stand out more. Under sealing/ anti rusting has been done as well. The dashboard of the car is now the AE86 original dashboard which I got with the half cut, as well as the original steering wheel which I need to refurbish. Seats I have yet to find a pair of semi bucket seats which I like and that matches the car. Since this car was manufactured in year 1977, there are no seatbelts in this car, yes I've been driving around in this car, at times going at 180km/h without any seatbelts. Hopefully since I have more time nowadays I can do some work on the car to improve its performance as well as its interior plus its safely. 

4A-GE idle problem

Ever since I had the 4A-GE engine installed in the Toyota Corolla KE-35 Hardtop, I have this problem where the car would stall at the traffic light when the air conditioner was switched on. Went to the workshop in and out quite a few times just to fix it and it finally got fixed today. No more trouble with the engine stalling at the traffic light! Wasn't the current from the battery, wasn't because of the ECU setting, throttle body serviced and still had the problem. So in the end, took it to this person that does air conditioners in Sunway industrial area, the shop is called YS Auto Air Cond & Car Care, by the side of Sunway University College next to a small Restaurant called Lunch Box. He installed a FICD which controls the idle RPM when the air conditioner is switched on by increasing the vacuum suction of air into the throttle body. Morning starts the engine would idle at 1500rpm, and without the aircond at the traffic light, it would idle around 1000rpm. Once the air conditioner was switched on the rpm would drop to about 500 and the engine dies. Now with the FICD, with the air conditioner running, the idle rpm is around 800-1100 rpm. Costs me about RM75.00, way much cheaper than buying a new throttle body. He also hooked up my Stereo system and now driving the Toyota Corolla is even better than before. Now all I need are 2 bucket seats, a better roof lining, some old skool 13s, some new cams, a new steering wheel and most importantly two 4 point seat belts.

Wolf in sheep's clothing!

Well I got the Toyota Corolla Ke-35 Hardtop out of the workshop and paint shop a few days ago and I must say the painter did an excellent job on catching the colours that I wanted. The workshop boys did a fantastic job of putting the 4A-GE engine in the car.

Basically the car now is having a Toyota Corolla Ke35 Hardtop body but below it is a 4A-GE Levin. The colour scheme, I just tried to follow as close I could to the original Toyota Corolla KE35 Hardtop Yellow colour scheme, was hard choosing the yellow. There were so many shades of yellow to choose from, in the end this yellow shade was what we decided on. I added the two black stripes to help make the car stand out more because I felt that just the yellow body doesn't give it the wow from a distance, but when I pass by kids, they call the car bumblebee, haha. 

For now the 4A-GE engine, the only addition i could do is the K&N air filter. The budget is getting tighter and tighter as the project slowly reaches it finishing. The stock engine in this body still packs a punch due to the power weight ratio. But now the big problem is sorting out the handling, there's a lot of body roll in this car plus need to fins some old skool 13inch wheels. These 15s just doesn't suit a car from this era. Plus I need to do some work on the interior, maybe some semi-bucket seats in there and re-do the steering wheel's fabric. 

BEFORE:                                                                     AFTER:

A little info about the Toyota 4A-GE engine that I got:

Used in:


-Toyota MR2 AW11(MR)
-Corolla AE86 GT-S(RWD),
-Corolla AE82 FX-16(FWD),
-Corolla AE92 GT-S(FWD)


FIRST/SECOND GENERATION(83-89): 


Valvetrain : DOHC 16Valve (TVIS)
Fuel System : MPFI (Multi Point Fuel Injection)
Displacement : 1587cc (straight 4)
Compression Ratio : 9.4:1
Bore : 81mm
Stroke : 77mm
Power : 130HP@6600rpm(Japan, MAP sensor)
Torque : 131Nm@4800rpm




*After the paint job, I have spent approximately RM27000, including buying the car, the insurance, and road tax.