San Francisco "twincam" & a Hasselgren engine

[Billy]

I bought this car back in August 2009





It was ok. The wheels were bent, was completely stock & generally boring.
So I began to stip it












I bought the metal front end from Panda Garage. To say a metal front end is hard to come by in the US ( I'm from Ireland ) is an understatement. Eventually I had to settle for what essentially looked like I had been dug out of the ground. But that was nothing a huge amount of labor couldn't fix.
I got the headlights, brackets, grill and front & back bumpers / brackets and all serice items from Carrie. Thanks Carrie !! This whole thing would have been a pain in the ass without you !







After I had it roughly fitted up I shipped it off to the bodyshop for a fresh coat of Bentley black.



While at the body shop the following bits & pieces arrived:

Janspeed from Seamie Ireland



Sounds exactly like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD1LiBkADy8

Bumper indicators from Herb at Cabe & side lights from Darren in Ireland



Got a phone call saying major progress had been made:















Superlites arrived. Diablo front wheels for size comparison



More progress, ready for paint













Tires arrived shortly thereafter







This happened while fitting the tires













Now fully painted & assembled













Back at my shop



I fitted the wheels



Then this EBay manifold arrived. It actually fit ! After I used a dremmel on one of the bolt holes.... I expected that though.



Gave the car a complete service. All belts, hoses, fluids etc... Also installed the EBay valve covers. Perfect quality & for $90.00 shipped I couldn't say no.
Installed the aluminum radiator aswell. Didn't even come close to fitting ( in terms of width ). Modifications needed..









Used a series of polishing methods. Then it looked like this















Exhaust installed





Changed dash lights to LED





Stood back & decided she looked like a 4X4, so:

Before



After, but still not low enough



I had a Lotus gear knob, OMP steering wheel, carbon shifter surround & Murcielago radio all in a box since August when I bought so all were installed





Zenki Levin lip didn't fit the kouki bumper so back to cutting etc...



And here it is today & lowered a bit more again:

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Finally got the tail lights I wanted. A clean set of zenkis.
Also, removed all of the tint.










Fast forward a little bit & I installed my side skirts, UK stickers etc….

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Had Hasselgren build me a really nice 20v. 200bhp, 130lbs. 9,000rpm. The problem was that I spent too much time around their 16v Atlantics & decided I had to have one. Sold the 20v, saved & bought an engine from them.























Crank pick up with custom wheel. Small enough to hide all wiring. Not finally spaced yet but you get the idea.



Now this is what you call a dizzy block off.

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Polished my throttles & installed a Wilwood brake kit in the front. The kit was far from “bolt on”
Before & During:











After:








Also installed a set of front Wilwoods & rear "upgraded" pads & rotors

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Finally got the 16v to my shop












This is the entire engine harness !



Before I brought it to my shop here she is on the dyno. 231bh on pump fuel, map number 1. 249bhp on 110 fuel, map number 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Q44W6uEpA

I also sent out the chassis harness to be adapted after seeing the back of the Cosworth dash. It's not something I wanted to deal with... This is why I sold the oem style cluster.

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Got a nice surprise, the chassis arrived back from being adapted for the Omega dash & wheel speed sensor. When it was 1st made it was a generic chassis harness. Since I was sending it back to be modified I decided I would have it tailoured for the actual car so all of the lenghts are now correct. The ECU will live in the glove box & that was used as a reference for the lenghts of the rest of the harness.
I knew I was dealing with a competition level shop but really was sure of that when the emailed me the PDF pin-outs of every connector as well as the layout diagram for installation reference.
The pics are just print screens & in the PDFs you can zoom in to see each individual pin in the connectors....



















The carbon face plate has gotten scratched etc during all of the measuring, drilling etc... so I colour sanded it & it's off to the body shop today for a nice coat of clear. Then more colour sanding before finding it's new home in the car.



Back from the body shop. They applied 3 thick coats of clear to give it a constant wet look







I received my Mazda pilot bearing machined to fit the TRD crank as well as these exceptionally cool old school ARP flywheel bolts made for TRD USA back during the Atlantic series. Thankfully all these years they were kept oiled & never rusted.

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Engine bay sanded and washed, ready for paint next week.
Put one mount on the engine only to find the intake side mount doesn't fit with the oil pump. Out came the angle grinder, plugged in the mill and went to work. Put the amount on a bit of a diet and it's in. Pics once painted.
Put in the adapter plate for the gearbox. Will do a test fit of the box over the weekend and maybe make the gearbox mount next week. Always hated that battery tray. Glad to have it hone...
Every day she gets a little closer !










Mount finished: I have bought another one so I can take the measurements & make a much cleaner one to be the end product. The new one will be all done on the mill & the bottom right mount hole will be a bit thicker. Approx. 4mm







Taka's solution:



Remove the brake booster & bought this. Always hated the look of that booster !



Now that I knew that the 1st modified mount worked I set to work doing a 2nd one only with a mind to keep this one as the mount that will stay with the engine. I marked it out, milled the forward most hole properly and made the reliefs with as little material removal as possible. Ended up with just about 2mm of clearance in some places. Also made sure to have all rounded edges to try to prevent cracking.














And paint. If I have time tomorrow night I'm going to put it in so I can start planning oil hoses and fuel hoses as well as gearbox mount...



Finished the mount last night with a final coat of paint and installed in the block today. What a pain in the hole !
After I installed it I sat back and said, fuck it. It's going in. And in it went !!

















Finally decided on a clocked position for the oil tank & had the base welded to it.
All of my oil circuit connectors showed up. now just waiting for the hose.....
Also picked up a set of sticker slicks for when I install my 13x8 & 13x10 wheels. Will look into cutting thread into them when I'm ready to install them. Already have the thread cutter...


[img src="http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad112/Billy_Andrea/IMG_20130729_112015_071_zps86c460a4.jpg" style="MAX-WIDTH:100%;"]

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[img src="http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad112/Billy_Andrea/IMG_20130727_154512_086_zpsf3176577.jpg" style="MAX-WIDTH:100%;"]

Finally decided how and where the oil lines are going. Modified the rear seat to allow the lines to pass underneath it and still look stock. The goal is for it not be obvious how the dry sump system is laid out once the interior is back in and the trunk privacy cover is back on.
Put my 1st AN fitting together today as well. Wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Once I started on the 2nd one it was easy.







Thanks guys. Finished the oil supply line tonight. Tomorrow night is the return.
Drilled, installed nut-serts and p-clipped where needed. Next I'll install insulation tubes on all contact edges.
Also installed a bulkhead connector which is now a straight shot to the back of the pump.
Finally, loosely installed the seats and carpet to make sure everything fits as expected. It does !! Dry sump ? That must be someone else you're thinking of.....


[img src="http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad112/Billy_Andrea/IMG_20130808_200557_002_zps1be3b7eb.jpg" style="max-width:100%;"]

[img src="http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad112/Billy_Andrea/IMG_20130808_200543_184_zps6c6d735e.jpg" style="max-width:100%;"]

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[img src="http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad112/Billy_Andrea/IMG_20130808_201035_432_zpsf84a19bc.jpg" style="max-width:100%;"]

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Nothing really to report. Just some small ( exciting to me ) details that make for boring reading. Sent my oil inlet tube ( vacuum from oil tank ) to Hasselgren to have a 12an bung welded on. Previously had a Wiggins fitting but I'm using all an fittings. Can they weld or what ?! A small, thin wall tube to a large thick fitting.... Would love to be able to do this !





I also finished my throttle cable linkage and cable mount. I didn't want to use the typical Atlantic bell crank and push / pull assembly as it's really big and busy looking. I made a bracket to fit to the under side of the throttles and used the bolt holes for the injectors I'm not using. The additional hole seen it for the ambient air temperature sensor. Wanted to hide as much as possible.







While I was waiting for my wife to pick me up I tackled a job I've been putting off for weeks. The completely non-glamorous job of changing over the intermediate shaft for the manual steering conversion. Was a bit of a pain in the ass but got 'er done none the less. Not finished with it but will be today.




A problem I have with changing the suspension is simply "what's better?". I don't mean that suggesting that Megans are great or anything, rather what is actually better and how much better. If Reiger or Koni or Bilstein etc.. made an in the box set up I'd be all over it. What air don't want is to go with another brand like Greedy etc.. because it's a known brand with assumed performance or quality.
I could go down the custom route but then I'm mixing good springs and good shocks but still not knowing the outcome. Just because you have good springs in one hand and shocks in another doesn't necessarily mean that putting them together will yield positive results.
I'm just apprehensive about committing to something where I can't be sure of the result.

Finally I can say I'm finished with the supply and return lines. No more messing with 12an hose. Next is the outlet from the pump to the filter and then to the block.


[img src="http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad112/Billy_Andrea/IMG_20130821_204908_119_zps2c6efa1e.jpg" style="max-width:100%;"]

[img src="http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad112/Billy_Andrea/IMG_20130821_204433_965_zpsaa1c03af.jpg" style="max-width:100%;"]

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Getting a billet separator for these later

[img src="http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad112/Billy_Andrea/IMG_20130821_204417_659_zpsd194eb1e.jpg" style="max-width:100%;"]

All of my parts to finish the oil and fuel circuits are now trickling in. Bought this oil filter adapter from a Nascar team selling up their stuff. Came with a giant Wix racing filter. Approx. 4 times the size of the OEM Toyota one. Apparently less restrictive and better filtration. At least that's what they say in their site....
The adapter appears to be a billet CNC piece and has an npt sensor port as well.







While I had them off I sent the carbon trumpets and back plate out for a fresh coat(s) of clear. Also, color sanded and polished the coil cover.









This also arrived. Aeromotive FPR. This weekend will be spent figuring out where everything is best suited in terms of location / serviceability

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Huge thanks for Joe Leen & Dan representing Leen in the US. Top fellas to deal with !!!
This is the most excited I have been since I picked up the engine....

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Another step closer. Went together more easily than anything else I have done with the car. The quality is unreal !

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Trial fitted the clutch and flywheel to ensure everything fits. It does.. everything is hand tight. Will take it off, torque the flywheel and put it all back. Engine in for the last time next week.

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Put back in for the final time, hopefully !
Everything wired except for fuel, alternator and starter.
Next job, gearbox, mount and drive shaft.





Engine harness to chassis harness connector




Air temp sensor placed between trumpets



Inline t-stat in upper rad hose






Oil pressure sensor in and wired





Brake master painted to look fancier than it is. T3 booster delete in red to add some colour



A look up her skirt







Can't wait for the noise to be coming out of here

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Not much happening. These just arrive from Camillus Bradley ( UK rally parts ). Sparco steering wheel, WRC hub and carbon floor tray. Super quality on all parts but think the hub is the coolest part by far !!
Just put in the clutch release bearing. had to buy a new bering hub because I'm an idiot & threw it out. Before the end of the week the gearbox will be in & the drive shaft will be measured / send out for shortening ( I got a Supra fron driveshaft half ).

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Well, she's a 6 speed !!
Next, exhaust system....

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Just got the car back from the exhaust shop. I decided against making it myself as the 1st couple of cuts I made weren't to my liking. it cost a bit more but I think I made the right decision. There's no way i would have been able to make it like this or weld as nicely.















I also picked these babies up. 15x8.5 front, 15x10 rear. Going to put some 235/50 R888s in the back & 205s in the front. Probably with CBY arches & go very low.

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Finally got around to installing one of the carbon door panels. For a direct fit they certainly took a lot of trimming, nutserts and aligning...
Added the T3 door handles which aren't even close to fitting the oem holes. A dye grinder and black sharpie later who can even tell...







Also got these countersunk Allen bolts for the seat frame with matching washers.

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I can finally close the chapter on the boot !! Done, fittings tight & wheel well painted.







Here’s the start of the engine bay wiring…. The battery junctions to a bulkhead connector then splits to the starter / alternator as well as going here to power the cooling fans etc.. Will of course be cleaning up the look of the oem wiring that's staying before the end..
More to come.

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Stayed late after work today and wired the starter, alternator, chassis harness ground and fused it with a midi fuse holder.
Used a heat sleeve with some heat shrink to keep it in place. Though it best to over protect rather than under protect given the proximity of the battery live cable to the header collector.

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Glad I sold the Work Meisters and was lucky enough to find these babies use ( barely ) for very cheap..! They're about as clean as used wheels get.
I think they'll go well on her and it'll be nice to be able to change back and forth.
15x8, et0.

[Ivan141]

Awesome build.. must have cost a mint..

[driftmaniacae86]

what a buiod man its looks amazing well done

[banpei]

Awesome build!
I visited Hasselgren in March when I was in the bay area for work and I very impressed by their workshop and the quality of their builds!

[robokill]

first off, there are not enough emotion icons build in this forum board to describe my smile while reading this.

Second big thumb up for going irish style in the US (don't think they have ever seen that there)

Love the compo wheels for a race Corolla. (drooling over the engine and tranny picture)

Keep it up and hopefully a flyby movie ?

[Hopi]

Nice work man!! Keep going...

[Billy]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments.
Alcantara dash installed. It's in danger of actually starting to look like a car again !
Also got a few carbon bits. Radiator brackets and firewall trim. More carbon to come.....

[Ivan141]

Your wiring is in dire need of some TLC.

[Billy]

I know. That was the 1st & last time I will ever drop the car off to an audio shop to have a radio installed....!
It'll take me the best part of a day just to redo it..

[Billy]

Woo fuckin' Hoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNYZWoCKz0k