Carb'd 12A 1985 AE86 Coupe build in the Lonestar State

[dr.occa]

Picked this rolling chassis up about 2 - 3 years ago in San Antonio. I'll keep the dialogue to a minimum for the time being.

These cars never came to the States in a Levin format so here are snippets of parts to convert the US Trueno to a Levin.
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/levin-front-assembly.jpg


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/levin-fenders.jpg


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/levin-trd-wing.jpg
The TRD replica Group A/N2 wing my daughter is holding is obviously just a luxury.


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/levin-headlight-brackets.jpg
The factory Toyota brackets needed to mount the headlights accordingly graciously provided by a buddy (Aaron Rue a.k.a. Hondarue).


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/levin-fender-01.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/levin-fender-02.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/levin-fender-03.jpg
Some of the parts mounted.


I'll be the first to tell you I'm horrible with welding. I'm especially worse when it's with a cheap Harbor Freight wire mig welder.
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/levin-hood-conversion-02.jpg
I decided to try and rig up a hood by using spare flip up head light covers to weld up an appropriate hood. It's going to seem some bondo if I do go with the hood.


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/IMG00021-20101211-1734.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/IMG00022-20101211-1735.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/IMG00024-20101211-1735.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/IMG00023-20101211-1735.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/IMG00027-20101211-1736.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/IMG00030-20101211-1737.jpg
More turd welding.


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/48IDA-manifolds.jpg
Picked this up for $200 from the same kid I got the chassis from.


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/IMG00055-20110122-1715.jpg
Engine bay rattle canned.


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/IMG00058-20110128-1607.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/IMG00063-20110128-1609.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/IMG00060-20110128-1608.jpg
Power plant in.


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-05-03212947.jpg
Aero mounted. You rotary guys have some killer affordable rads!


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-05-03213058.jpg
Oil lines ran...


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-05-03213008.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-05-03213036.jpg
...and cooler mounted.


Then...

Today, I just finished up the DLIDFIS ignition setup. A big thanks to Rotary Car Club (AND RX7Club to be honest) and especially Master Chief from Tulsa Turbo for the wiring and explanation of how it operates.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-16173750.jpg
GM HEI Modules


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-16173722.jpg
2 Accel Coils 1 for each leading plug. 1 to the distributor for the 2 trailing plugs.


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-16173632.jpg
The hook ups to the magnetic leads in the distributor. I finished up the alternator wiring into the SR5 harness as well as evidenced in this pic.

[rx71king]

i like it....the welding looks good to me...:icon_tup:

[speedjunkie]

You may not like your welding, but at least you're doing it yourself. Truly home-built.

[WE3RX7]

Nice. This is the 2nd AE rotary powered project to come across this board... I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.

Good luck man... and bonus for doing most of it yourself!

[dr.occa]

How the trans sits down under:
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-24191115.jpg
Hockey puck pieces drilled.


Today, I drilled out the original fuel return hard line on the tank cap and welded in a 3/8 stainless 90 degree. Pardon the welds.
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-24121511.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-24121434.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-24190604.jpg
Running a Carter 4070 under my custom port-a-potty toilet lid:
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/fuel-pump-routing.png

3/8 fuel return routed:
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-24190909.jpghttp://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-24190922.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-24190941.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-24191002.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-24190802.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i153/birdienumnumbs/Garage/2011-09-24190650.jpg

[DriFD3S]

That's a wicked cool build man! Good Luck! if I lived anywhere near you,
I would be honored to assist you with your labors, for car love.

[dr.occa]

Progress:

Some shots of when I was installing the mini-spool:


Here I've got the diff already out of the carrier and the ring gear and side gears & pin removed.
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2011-11-13160700.jpg

Here's the differential with the mini spool snuggly entombed in it ready to do what it was born to do: THRILL!!!
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2011-11-13160952.jpg

We'll have to see how the stock SR5 axles hold up to the "throttling" they're about to get ;).



BC Racing rear springs
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2011-11-23191924.jpg

AJPS adjustable rear spring perches
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2011-11-23192002.jpg

Fuel pump and fan relay & switches
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2011-11-23220257.jpg
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2011-11-23220005.jpg

Fans and shroud mounted, wired up and running
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2011-11-23220047.jpg

Updated furnace shot
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2011-11-23220109.jpg

SR5 driveshaft (lengthened by an inch) slips perfectly into the RX7 transfer case
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2011-11-23220410.jpg
The I.D. and spline count of the split yoke are identical - 20:2 spline count.

Complete SR5 factory rear end. I installed a mini-spool into the rear end.
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2011-11-23220509.jpg

[dabranco]

Looks nice man, keep up the good work when you get a chance get a better welder and just go over your old welds for a good safety measure.

[dr.occa]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjQfRKpu37g

Finally got it to turn over with a can of starter fluid and 2 ounces of Valvoline VR1 20w50 down the carb throats.

Needed it to idle for a while to get some Alumaseal in the cooling system with some water. There's a good chance there's a coolant leak in the rear housing. Kentetsu from RX7Club.com had a similar issue and reported nothing but success in solving his problem with some Alumaseal.

I think I just gave myself cancer and went deaf all at the same time though.

Oh! And turn down your volume too before you play the video. You'll die if you don't.

[WE3RX7]

The video is set as private so it wont play for anybody until you switch it to public. Have fun on the rebuild for the sealant, lol...

[prrex4ever]

Nice build, good luck with your project.

[1twistedrx7]

cool project !

[dr.occa]

Fabbed up a heat shield to keep the heat away from the intake, carb and any fuel lines.
I didn't have enough of a single piece of aluminum to make the seamless shield per my design so I riveted another piece to complete it.
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-26215313.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-26215449.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-26215514.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-26215529.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-26215647.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-26215538.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-26215624.jpg

[dr.occa]

I picked up an S13 throttle/accelerator cable on a single trip to the yard this weekend. It was considerably shorter than the Tercel cable I was originally running but longer and more closer to an ideal length than the original SR5 cable. I ended up having to fab up a new cable stay out my dwindling scrap aluminum. With all the aluminum dust I'm sponging up I'm well on my way to the Alzheimer Carnival. Here's the outcome of one of many misadventures to ultimate memory loss island:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-28184535.jpg

Another piece I borrowed from the S13 chassis is the slightly larger bore BMC with built-in proportioner:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-28184507.jpg

and

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-28184612.jpg

Yet another non-native puzzle piece is the thermostat water neck pulled from an 87 Ford Ranger. The one that originally came with this 12A was longer and had a coolant cap on it. If you look in the background my radiator already has a cap. I wanted one less point of pressure leak hence my "solution". Also the length and the angle at which the outlet was facing created more of a severe turn in the upper coolant hose. I was able to greatly reduce the radius and length of the hose with the new thermostat neck. I just had to bore out the mounting points equally to get them to line up. Really easy fix. Ok, too much yap: here.
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/2012-01-28184843.jpg


I ran a new batch of coolant through her along with a bottle of alum-a-seal since I had some "suffocation" issues with the last attempt. Idled the car for about 30 minutes at 7pm. Though the car was just idling, the heat shield for the intake area is working fabulously so far. Idle is at 1400-1600. I'm sure my neighbors were thinking daggers though. What do you think: am I a turd neighbor?

A funny note: as I was recording me blipping the throttle the last "shove" took out one of my outdoor garage lights. Not only were my ears assaulted, my eyes had a little magic show too.

Exhaust wise: still just the Racing beat header and that's it.

[dr.occa]

Rebuilt the 48 IDA and it's looking better.

Picked up a McDaniel Control 1.5" 1/8"npt 0-15psi gauge.
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120316_135855.jpg

Even though it isn't glycerin filled, I figured this would be better than a cheap-o Chinese one.

I've got a 2" McDaniel all steal gauge with glass face 0-10psi but it's too bulky to keep attached to the lines. It sticks out way too much with the snubber and 1/8" adapter.

[12arotary]

damn that engine bay is simple! looks great!

[dr.occa]

It lives!

2:35 to 2:40

5 seconds of proof.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/38908861

[Prodigy]

Great build do far, decent video too. Do you knows who's FD was at 2:04..?

Ps, I live how your car sounds.... I get visions of a giant pissed off bee hive when I hear it... Lol


J.

[dr.occa]

I barely saw that FD. Eagle eye you is!

Sorry, don't know whose that was.

[speedjunkie]

^Someone with a V8 swap.

[dr.occa]

Added these 2" spacers to the carbie setup:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120329_083340-1.jpg

So it bumped the carb up and should stand to improve the low end response a little bit.

Here's what it looks like:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120330_172703.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120330_172457.jpg

Also, removed the oil metering system and blocked it off:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120330_172548.jpg

I'll be running pre-mix.

[RX-7FD3S]

cool car, is the 12a stock? if so you should tear it down and port the shit out of it, then that little levin would fly :D

[Rich@SR]

Love this build!!! Keep em' coming. :biggthumpup:

[dr.occa]

cool car, is the 12a stock? if so you should tear it down and port the shit out of it, then that little levin would fly :D

According to the previous owner it's street ported.

Update for today:
It's no RB pre-silencer BUT it is a 4" OD resonator that's about $200 more affordable for me and another step closer to finishing up the exhaust and being street "legal".

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120411_144037.jpg

[dr.occa]

Past due update:

Installed the NST steering rack adapter/spacer last Friday on my off day (4/27/2012)
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120427_115423.jpg

Here's a side by side comparison of the steering angle difference.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120427_115816.jpg
Passenger Side Before

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120427_115608.jpg
Passenger Side After

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120427_115908.jpg
Driver Side Before

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120427_115455.jpg
Driver Side After

(*note: this is a power steering rack w/o the lines and pump, etc...)

[dr.occa]

OMP adapter kit installed. Yay!
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120518_203950.jpg

Lines to the intake manifold via 90 degree 1/8" barb to 1/8" npt fittings.
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120518_204000.jpg

The clear lines are a 4mm ID/6mm OD, crack-resistant Teflon hose. The hose is a very snug fit on the 12A OMP nipples and 1/8 barbs fittings. They'll hold up well against the pre-mix solution. The pre-mix reservoir bracket is next on the list and then a longer linkage to hook the OMP up to the throttle lever of the IDA.

[dr.occa]

Got the replacement 12A (stock port) in, hooked up, fueled and ignited. Took her for a spin around the neighborhood at 9PM last night. I know my entire subdivision is making plans to get the HOA and local law enforcement to get it taken away now. It's LOUD!

Escaped from the neighborhood "watch" and made a bee-line for the gas & sip down the feeder, then U-d around once then twice to head back into the subdivision. Looking forward to jetting around town in it for the next trust-worthy test.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120814_221212.jpg

Could stand to step down a couple of inches in the rear and an inch in front.

[dr.occa]

Finally installed the push start button:
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/s720x720/419944_3134956712933_1306479869_n.jpg

It lives once again and more reliably (cross fingers):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzq6xpuzrXU

[dr.occa]

Went to meet up with a friend who offered to help me paint the car.

Here it is when I first arrived at LaPorte to meet up with my buddy Corey:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120818_131536.jpg

Wet sanded some spots and cleaned it up then brought it into the bay:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120818_154748.jpg

...and taped her up:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120818_154600.jpg
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120818_164325.jpg
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/IMG_20120818_164240.jpg

My phone was dead and Corey's was at the cusp of blackout but was able to snap a few of the car done. Here's one:
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/424238_10151014667588733_942565529_n.jpg

Corey grabbed some quick footage of me while we were driving back from LaPorte last night after we roller painted the Levin. The most relaxed time I've ever had painting a car and with extremely little clean up.

http://www.facebook.com/v/10151014682603733

Some fire "works"

http://www.facebook.com/v/10151014677728733


Corey, thanks for providing the facilities, the paint, the expertise (well, you have more experience than I did to begin with) and valuable time man. YOU DUH MAN!

[Kentetsu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjQfRKpu37g

Finally got it to turn over with a can of starter fluid and 2 ounces of Valvoline VR1 20w50 down the carb throats.

Needed it to idle for a while to get some Alumaseal in the cooling system with some water. There's a good chance there's a coolant leak in the rear housing. Kentetsu from RX7Club.com had a similar issue and reported nothing but success in solving his problem with some Alumaseal.

I think I just gave myself cancer and went deaf all at the same time though.

Oh! And turn down your volume too before you play the video. You'll die if you don't.

So how did the Alumaseal work out for you? Hopefully it worked as well as it has for me. 40,000 miles and still going strong. :)

[dr.occa]

Sorry I hadn't been on here for a while but here's a quick update:
After testing out the Sakura Fab prototype 12A intake gasket on the dyno (see thread here (http://www.86garage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6361)) Engine Logics (http://www.enginelogics.com) boss man and engine guru Chris suggested pulling the silencer from my exhaust. So "Mad" Brad Burnett obliged and in 60 seconds the Levin went from...
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/Levin%20Coupe/Levin-Dyno-WHP_6-28-14_zps3f1e7320.jpg


...to picking up 13.3WHP!
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/doctorokka/Levin%20Coupe/Levin-silencer-removed-WHP_6-28-14_zps3be4fa92.jpg

Okay, so I just have to always keep a pair of ear plugs handy when I drive around in this thing.

Already went from F11 e-tubes to F3s and also upped the air correctors a half step to 145 since the dyno run.


So how did the Alumaseal work out for you? Hopefully it worked as well as it has for me. 40,000 miles and still going strong. :)

Kentetsu. I actually ended up pulling the motor and replacing it with another 12A.