KE70 4A-GE 16V turbo

[kjb]

Hey guys! I'm finally getting around to posting this thread, telling the story of my Corolla and, well, me This is probably going to be a somewhat long post but I'll try to spice it up with pictures as much as possible.
Some of the photos are of horrible quality, sorry about that.

Ok so I got this car from a friend for free back in 2007ish when I was building another 4A-GE KE70 for myself. He was going to crush it but instead gave it away. So after a few hours of rust repairs and a visit to the inspection center I had myself another Corolla that just passed the yearly inspection

And thats how it was for a few years, bone stock KE70 DX, bumpers removed and a few battle scars here and there.
It looked somewhat rought but that didn't bother me at all. I gave it a nickname, Rusina (raisin) because of the brown color and bumps and dings everywhere.
I used it mainly as a winter beater until the fall of 2009 when it became my daily driver as I put the other KE70 onto stands for body work.




Then in 2010 when it became obvious that the rust repairs would take more time than I intended, I decided to take the engine, gearbox & rear axle out of the other KE70 into Rusina. Also installed ITB's at the same time.
The body was looking so rough that cops hassled me constantly, so in the spring of 2011 I managed to find relatively rust free & straight front fenders and hood for molding purposes. So I made some parts out of fiberglass and painted the car gray-blueish. I mixed the color myself using three different colors: black, true blue and brilliant white. I guess Blu-Tack was the subconscious inspiration for the color





Fresh paint!

I did the whole paint-episode in one weekend without sleeping so there aren't really any photos of that...
In the end I ran out of time getting all the fiberglass parts fitted so only the front fenders got installed.

In the spring of 2011 I bought new camshafts and made a new exhaust manifold & exhaust. Also bought some Yokohama A048's and made some suspension upgrades (no photos of those unfortunately ).







Then, after a summer filled with trackdays, hundreds of laps in total and no mechanical problems whatsoever, I decided it was time for a little more power as the M5's were getting away on the straights...

So I did the thing that, thinking back, I probably shouldn't have. I put the car on stands and started building the turbo-stuff. Exhaust manifold, exhaust, intake manifold, body modifications for intercooler & oil cooler and stuff like that.


Oil cooler with thermostat:







Soon after embarking on the turbo-mission, I moved into a different garage and paused the build for a few months while I got my tools and stuff organized.

Before long it was summer already and doing stuff other than building the car seemed more important...and being broke all the time despite working stupidly long hours daily didn't really inspire to do anything to my own car(s). And so the summer went, winter came and went and it was summer again and the car had not really progressed at all for a year.
Well, I had not forgotten about it completely. I'd been slowly gathering parts for the engine & fuel system during the winter.

8.9:1 GZE-pistons, ACL Race bearings, TODA 1.0mm MLS headgasket, TODA valvesprings and stuff for the fuel system.
I already had a complete silvertop sitting in the corner doing nothing so I took the shortblock, gave it a hone and slapped the GZE-pistons in. Yeah I'm a fan of the 16V head, not so much of the 20V. To me the 16V just feels more elegant. Simple and beautiful






So in the summer of 2012 I assembled the engine, fabricated the fuel system and made new engine- & front chassis wiring harnesses. Well, basically the whole electrical system minus the rear lights.

Dialing in the camshafts again:



Forming the fuel surge tank by hand out of straight 2mm aluminium sheet:



Take one stock (well, only once repaired) 4A-oil cooler:


Cut out a piece to your liking:


Wash it thoroughly and weld some AN-bungs and you've got yourself a fuel cooler (which in this photo is getting ready for it's pressure test):


Installed and plumbed above the rear axle:


About 12 meters of 3/8" aluminium pipe was used for the fuel lines in total.
Dual pumps, filters & lines to the front.


Tray for the 19Ah motorcycle VRLA battery:


Engine wiring harness in the making:


The electrical center with the battery is located behind the passenger seat:



It looked like I'd get to drive it in the fall of 2012. But then things slowed down again.

Spring of 2013 I had new wheels and tires figured out, my "big brake kit" (276x22mm mini cooper disc & wilwood dynapro 4 piston calipers) was coming up nicely and I was certain I'd get to drive it that summer.
But nope. The brake brackets that were supposed to be machined ASAP were pushed way back due to lack of money.
The W57 in my then daily driver CelicaSupra crapped out and I had to loot the W55 out of the Corolla. A few months later a friend of mine got a deal for two J161's with a crappy adapter plate so I bought one from him and into the Corolla it went.

Yokohama Advan A048 175/60/R13 versus Kumho Ecsta V70A 235/45/R13:


Kumho's mounted on 13x9 -20 Compomotive CX-R's:


Fitment with stock wheel arches was uncool:


So I made some overfenders (back in 2011 actually):




J161 (Aisin AZ6) mount:



I ditched the original instrument cluster and made a new one:




Then life got in the way again, and things at the speedshop/garage I was working at looked miserable and I decided it was time to look for a new job. One where I would get paid on time and in full.
Yeah that didn't work out. Wasted nearly a year getting nowhere fast and working silly hours for shit pay yet again. Tells something about my IQ huh? Then in the fall of 2014 I decided to finally put my own company together.

So, having built, modified and repaired cars and engines of many kinds for a living and a hobby for a long time it seemed like the way to go and after a very rough start I'm slowly getting to do the stuff I want. Not getting bossed around.
Here I am, trying to finally get the Corolla back on the road (and track) this summer while designing and fabricating stuff for all the Toyota & 4A-GE fans out there (well, others too)

Ok, back to the Corolla.

The brake-episode has finally come to an end:




276x22mm is a somewhat tight fit inside a 13" wheel


Here's how she sits at the moment. Yes, it's a bit rough around the edges, missing some exterior bits like the vacuum formed bumper ends, rear bumper, front lip & splitter and some other bits.

Oh and yes, the front bumper is also made from carbonfibre & fibreglass. The rear one is still in the making but will be ready soon(ish).

Engine bay photos by a friend, thanks Jiska!






Whee! Lots of huge photos. And I omitted many, many build photos also. If there is something you guys/gals would like to see or hear more of, let me know and I'll have a look through the archive and/or try to explain it in more detail.


The spec as it stands:
- AE101 4A-GE 20V block, crankshaft & connecting rods, balanced rotating assembly
- 8.9:1 4A-GZE pistons
- TODA 1.0mm MLS headgasket
- bigport head with minor bowl & chamber cleanup
- stock valves
- TODA valve springs
- Catcams 7105137 (IN 260° & 9mm, EX 252° & 8.5mm)
- BMW K1200S ITB's (42mm)
- KKK K27 turbo
- engine is managed by FreeEMS Jaguar v0.4a
- custom everything including intake manifold, exhaust manifold, exhaust, turbo support, driveshaft... and so on.
- 4A-GZE flywheel & clutch with a 226mm Hilux disc (this acts as a fuse)
- Volvo 200-series radiator & overflow tank
- FWD water lines modified (pretty much the only thing remaining from the OEM setup is the thermostat housing
- T-series rear axle (AE86) with a shimmed LSD
- Aisin AZ6 6-speed from an IS200
- Front brakes: Mini Cooper 276x22mm discs, Wilwood Dynapro calipers
- Rear brakes: stock AE86 (for now)
- hydraulic handbrake

Back when I started the build I set the goal to 200hp/liter which really should not be of any issue on a properly done 16V. I guess we'll see if I've built mine properly

So, whats missing?
The compressed TODO goes something like this:
- full AKK-approved cage (AKK == the national motorsports association over here, will start on this next week I hope)
- 6-point harnesses
- bigger injectors
- driveshaft yoke replacement
- shifter: cutting of floor panel and/or fabricating a new linkage for the shifter
- volvo 1030 rear axle swap (at a later stage)
- flat undertray (at a later stage)
- polycarbonate rear windows


So, there it is

[pack]

Oh man.... DOPE!

Really cool and awesome build.....

[mad.matt]

This has been awesome man, really like it
Look forward to see how it's going to grow going forward!

[banpei]

Whoa! Such a nice story/progress on a car that was supposed to be crushed.

[corolla4agze]

How did you like the j160 gearbox? nice gear ratios on it and not need yyber high rear c/w ratio..

[oldeskewltoy]

nice to see another E7 being well built

[ditn]

mad skills there,wish i could do all that :o

[KoJl6ACA]

Is the ignition coil from VAG? looks pretty the same as on my brother's golf mk4

With regardt to build - awsome!!!

[corolla4agze]

cheap nice choise that vag coil..

[kjb]

Thanks for the kind words everyone

corolla4agze: I haven't driven the car with the J-gearbox yet, but going by experiences driving other cars with the same transmission I can say that it's a decent choice for the price they seem to be going for.
Ratios probably aren't exactly spot-on with the 4.1 final drive but we'll see how it goes for now.
I will at some point swap out the T-series axle for a volvo 200-series 1030 with a 3.9 final drive

KoJl6ACA: Yes the same coilpack is used in many VAG-vehicles Affordable and powerful. Part number 032 905 106B.
However the engine wiring harness has been built with the possible COP-conversion (or CNP) in mind later down the road if the VAG-coil runs out of oomph.


Made the last of the brake hoses last night. These are for the rear, located on the axle.




Up next will be mounting the hydraulic handbrake, a few brake pipes and then bleeding the brakes