Firehawk's N2 racecar project

[firehawk]

Ok, big change in plans.

I was at Alastaro Circuit last weekend, watching the historic roadsport races (photos here) and my life was fundamentally changed by the awesome old racing cars people were running there.

This, and having problems with the law currently restricting me from building the car the way I'd want to has pushed me towards dropping the idea of making my AE86 a road-legal trackday car and instead turning it into a full-blown historic racecar. My plan now is to turn the car into a complete replica of the TRD N2 race car, both externally and internally (as much as possible with the parts still available).

So, this means that first of all, I'm going to be adding a rollcage into the car as well as some major reinforcement to the bodyshell. Using the N2 flares also means that I'd need to cut the rear arches off altogether and just fill the gap between the inner and outer panels - easy fix. Also, Tuoppi at RMF has some "new old" Tokico shocks from the 80s which certainly fit the image. I'm a bit uncertain whether to go for equal-length four-link rear suspension right away or stick with the stock mounting points for now and add the "mounting boxes" later..

Engine-wise, I'm going to ditch the EFI system and go for carbs - I'm buying a TRD intake manifold w/ linkages and a pair of Mikuni PHH 44 carbs (yeah I know, TRD used Dellortos) from Jamal Brathwaite in Barbados. A big part of historic racing is reproducing the feeling of old racing and nothing does it better than roaring carbs. I'm still a bit unsure how to handle the ignition - whether to use a fixed 30deg advance or hack something that uses the stock dizzy, coil and ignitor and electronically sets the advance as a function of the engine rotation speed.

My progess with the car has been rather slow lately but I think now that I have a clear goal, things should start moving a bit faster again.

[cannabolic]

that's a transformation

wish I saw that race.

nice there firehawk
this is going to be very interesting

[mr monster]

Quote:I'm buying a TRD intake manifold w/ linkages and a pair of Mikuni PHH 44 carbs (yeah I know, TRD used Dellortos) from Jamal Brathwaite in Barbados

small world aint it lol

[firehawk]

mr monster Wrote:small world aint it lol

Ahhaha, so it is! Hello, there!

[Widar]

Wow! This sure is an interesting turn!
Looking forward to following you project!
One day i gotta go over to Finland and watch it in action!

Keep up the good work, my friend!

Best Regards,
Widar

[SuperHessu]

Check out that other 3-door project on Fintoys-forum, he has modified some other Toyota distributors to get a normally adjustable timing... Oh yes, and once you cut off the rear arches, put them to a safe keeping, I'll take them off your hands at side of our businesses and put on my GT, I bet they aren't even nearly as rusty as mine...

[firehawk]

Widar, I'll up the ante a bit - how about taking it for a spin at Alastaro at, for example, a FinToys trackday?

Superhessu, yeah - S.K. already recommended to me a guy who adapts 4K/5K distributors for use on the 4A-GE. I'll probably see first if there's a way to run a simple electronic system with stock components and then go for a K-series dizzy if my plan doesn't work out. Regarding the rear arches, I'm afraid that on the left one the outer metal has completely rusted (and been partially cut) away and the right one had been completely removed and mostly remade of body filler and some strips of metal. I do have one AE82 rear arch I bought from Motonet and while it's not exactly the same, it could be adapted to the AE86 as well.

I had a busy weekend working at the garage and finished most of the reinforcement and rust repairs. It only needs a few finishing touches to have it ready for the first spray of primer. I've added new photos to the project gallery, starting from page 3;

http://www.r5r.net/photo/v/projects/ae86...?g2_page=3

In addition to the seam welding, I made some integral reinforcements from rectangular tubing, somewhat replicating the Ueo Style saikyo and bomber bars. Photos below. The front bar should also double as a handy location for mounting an oil cooler.

Oh yeah, the spare tyre well is gone as well. I tried to figure out a good way of mounting a ~20l fuel cell to the car and finally decided to build a light "cradle" between rear frame rails and place the tank on top of it. The top surface of the tank should come flush with floor of the boot so an aluminium sheet with a hole for the filler cap can be riveted on to form the new floor. I'll put this subproject in hold for the moment until I can buy the actual fuel cell - right now I need to save up some cash to get the N2 kit.

My brother and I also assembled the engine back together with all new gaskets, bearings and piston rings. The block has been decked 0.1mm and 0.4mm milled off the head. This gives me, with the TRD 0.8mm head gasket, a static CR of 11.0:1. A few photos here but I'll add some more when my brother sends me the photos from his camera.

[banpei]

You could also just mount the fuelcell inside the spare wheel hole, just like TE71Corolla did with the TE71. I made a picture of it, but unfortunately I'm at work, so no access to those pics.

[firehawk]

The fuel cell I was planning on using is pretty tall, so it wouldn't have vertically fit into the spare wheel well and would've needed an additional protective box around it to isolate it from the cockpit (as required by the roadsport class rules). Also, placing the cell as far down as possible helps to keep the car's center of gravity lower. I could've just cut the floor of the spare wheel well but removing the entire floor panel has the additional bonus of making it easier to work on the frame rails. I did manage to make the cut rather cleanly so it'll be easy to weld the panel back if needed.

Visited Ronin Motors today to see myself the stash of "old new" parts Tuoppi had got his hands on. I went originally looking for just a pair of rear shocks for my AE86 but came home with a bit more. I did find a suitable pair of shocks - they're Tokico Prodra-G-Heavy gas shocks for GC110/KGC110 Skyline but easily adaptable to AE86 by drilling the lower rubber bushings to 16mm. They're 485mm long when extended to full length and valved for fairly heavy springs so they should work perfectly on an AE86 with the TRD race springs.

Found a Setrab oil filter sandwich adapter which circulates all oil through the cooler instead of just the "overflow" like the standard 4A-GE adapter does. It also has a bung for a temp/pressure sender or oil feed to a turbocharger. Also grabbed an assortment of valve adjustment shims because I never seem to have the thicknesses I'd need.

The best spontaneous find, however, was a Takama Checkman Racing steering wheel. It's 350mm in diameter, soft black leather with nice red stiching, three-spoke aluminium center and fits on Momo hubs (or ones with the same bolt pattern). It's also incredibly lightweight. And at just 45eur, it's an absolute steal! He had like a few dozens of these so if you guys want one, drop him an email (tuoppi(at)rmf.fi). He's a bit busy so if you're not getting a reply, PM me and I'll call him on the phone.

I added some more detailed photos of the parts to my parts gallery. Now, as soon as I can lose this damn flu I can get back to working at the garage..

[Widar]

firehawk Wrote:Widar, I'll up the ante a bit - how about taking it for a spin at Alastaro at, for example, a FinToys trackday?

You rock! I'd love it!