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

dr.occa · 09-16-2011, 10:54 PM

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.

The TRD replica Group A/N2 wing my daughter is holding is obviously just a luxury.

The factory Toyota brackets needed to mount the headlights accordingly graciously provided by a buddy (Aaron Rue a.k.a. Hondarue).

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.

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.

More turd welding.

Picked this up for $200 from the same kid I got the chassis from.

Engine bay rattle canned.

Power plant in.

Aero mounted. You rotary guys have some killer affordable rads!

Oil lines ran...

...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.

GM HEI Modules

2 Accel Coils 1 for each leading plug. 1 to the distributor for the 2 trailing plugs.

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 · 09-17-2011, 01:02 AM

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

speedjunkie · 09-17-2011, 05:20 AM

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

WE3RX7 · 09-17-2011, 02:40 PM

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 · 09-24-2011, 09:53 PM

How the trans sits down under:

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.

Running a Carter 4070 under my custom port-a-potty toilet lid:

3/8 fuel return routed:

DriFD3S · 09-27-2011, 03:52 AM

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 · 11-24-2011, 09:03 PM

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.

Here's the differential with the mini spool snuggly entombed in it ready to do what it was born to do: THRILL!!!

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

.

BC Racing rear springs

AJPS adjustable rear spring perches

Fuel pump and fan relay & switches

Fans and shroud mounted, wired up and running

Updated furnace shot

SR5 driveshaft (lengthened by an inch) slips perfectly into the RX7 transfer case

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.

dabranco · 11-24-2011, 09:19 PM

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 · 12-18-2011, 09:33 AM

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 · 12-18-2011, 10:34 AM

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 · 12-22-2011, 10:43 PM

Nice build, good luck with your project.

1twistedrx7 · 12-23-2011, 07:37 AM

cool project !

dr.occa · 01-26-2012, 11:24 PM

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.

dr.occa · 01-30-2012, 10:54 AM

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:

Another piece I borrowed from the S13 chassis is the slightly larger bore BMC with built-in proportioner:

and

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.

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 · 03-16-2012, 02:52 PM

Rebuilt the 48 IDA and it's looking better.

Picked up a McDaniel Control 1.5" 1/8"npt 0-15psi gauge.

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.

09-16-2011, 10:54 PM	#1
dr.occa Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Mar 2011 iTrader: (2) Posts: 73 Rep Power: 14	Carb'd 12A 1985 AE86 Coupe build in the Lonestar State 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. The TRD replica Group A/N2 wing my daughter is holding is obviously just a luxury. The factory Toyota brackets needed to mount the headlights accordingly graciously provided by a buddy (Aaron Rue a.k.a. Hondarue). 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. 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. More turd welding. Picked this up for $200 from the same kid I got the chassis from. Engine bay rattle canned. Power plant in. Aero mounted. You rotary guys have some killer affordable rads! Oil lines ran... ...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. GM HEI Modules 2 Accel Coils 1 for each leading plug. 1 to the distributor for the 2 trailing plugs. 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. Last edited by dr.occa; 12-18-2011 at 09:50 AM.. Reason: Fixed bad link.

12-18-2011, 09:33 AM	#9
dr.occa Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Mar 2011 iTrader: (2) Posts: 73 Rep Power: 14	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. Last edited by dr.occa; 12-18-2011 at 03:13 PM..

12-23-2011, 07:37 AM	#12
1twistedrx7 Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2008 iTrader: (11) Posts: 411 Rep Power: 0	cool project ! __________________ Rotary Performance Motors(DGRRXI)sponsor 2011 RPM sale complete rebuilt your choice ported or bridge port short block W/RA seals 2300 no core required plus shipping. we now offer powder coating! 93 mb touring patring out sold! 93 vr touring sold 93vr died violently 93 ssm touring sold 93 black 20b project and a lot of money! underestimated !! http://rotorfest.lefora.com

01-30-2012, 10:54 AM	#14
dr.occa Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Mar 2011 iTrader: (2) Posts: 73 Rep Power: 14	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: Another piece I borrowed from the S13 chassis is the slightly larger bore BMC with built-in proportioner: and 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. 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. Last edited by dr.occa; 01-30-2012 at 11:12 AM..

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09-17-2011, 01:02 AM	#2
rx71king Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: queens ny iTrader: (0) Posts: 117 Rep Power: 16	i like it....the welding looks good to me...

09-17-2011, 05:20 AM	#3
speedjunkie RCC Loves Me Not You Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Colorado Springs, CO iTrader: (1) Posts: 2,089 Rep Power: 19	You may not like your welding, but at least you're doing it yourself. Truly home-built.

09-17-2011, 02:40 PM	#4
WE3RX7 RCC Addict Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: VA iTrader: (1) Posts: 1,812 Rep Power: 18	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!

09-24-2011, 09:53 PM	#5
dr.occa Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Mar 2011 iTrader: (2) Posts: 73 Rep Power: 14	How the trans sits down under: 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. Running a Carter 4070 under my custom port-a-potty toilet lid: 3/8 fuel return routed:

09-27-2011, 03:52 AM	#6
DriFD3S Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 174 Rep Power: 0	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.

11-24-2011, 09:03 PM	#7
dr.occa Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Mar 2011 iTrader: (2) Posts: 73 Rep Power: 14	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. Here's the differential with the mini spool snuggly entombed in it ready to do what it was born to do: THRILL!!! We'll have to see how the stock SR5 axles hold up to the "throttling" they're about to get . BC Racing rear springs AJPS adjustable rear spring perches Fuel pump and fan relay & switches Fans and shroud mounted, wired up and running Updated furnace shot SR5 driveshaft (lengthened by an inch) slips perfectly into the RX7 transfer case 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.

11-24-2011, 09:19 PM	#8
dabranco Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Nov 2011 iTrader: (1) Posts: 47 Rep Power: 0	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.

12-18-2011, 10:34 AM	#10
WE3RX7 RCC Addict Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: VA iTrader: (1) Posts: 1,812 Rep Power: 18	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...

12-22-2011, 10:43 PM	#11
prrex4ever Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Oct 2008 iTrader: (1) Posts: 274 Rep Power: 17	Nice build, good luck with your project.

01-26-2012, 11:24 PM	#13
dr.occa Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Mar 2011 iTrader: (2) Posts: 73 Rep Power: 14	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.

03-16-2012, 02:52 PM	#15
dr.occa Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Mar 2011 iTrader: (2) Posts: 73 Rep Power: 14	Rebuilt the 48 IDA and it's looking better. Picked up a McDaniel Control 1.5" 1/8"npt 0-15psi gauge. 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.