Surreptitious.....

[kennedy8383]

Look very good..

[oldeskewltoy]

Thanks for the kind words.......



She's got 5400 miles on the clock so far...... 189514 @ time of purchase, now with 194913




She is fully road worthy, although I've not had a chance yet to swap in the GT-S diff housing and disc brakes. Finalizing the rear diff is waiting for the J160 transmission with LEEN adapter .... once that is installed I'll finish the rear diff install.


In the mean time, I've decided what I'll be doing with the interior...... I've been going back and forth with the interior for almost a year now, part of me likes the OEM look, especially since I have the OEM rear privacy cover




And part of me wants something else...

The part that wants something else has won and to do that I'll need a little bit of custom work performed on the floor pan over the rear springs




note the red arrow is pointing to a taped over hole, the blue arrow is pointing to the hole itself, with the tape removed. The plan is to weld in a pair of nuts to these places, and along with the holes pointed @ by the purple arrows (nuts are already in here) I will build my self a wooden bed that goes from the back of the car, all the way to just behind the front seats. The area that was the rear seats will now be an enclosed, lockable storage area - either side openable independently of the other side. The holes in the cross member (black arrows) that the rear seat had slipped into will now be used as a place for the small locks to grab and latch onto



Here is the initial template for the rear beds main structure. The front 2 enclosures will each have a piano hinge attached to the front edge, while the back, over the spare tire, will have a single much longer piano hinge so that easy access of the spare tire is not compromised.




Initials plans for the rear bed, or platform include some form of tie downs so that they will securely hold whatever I decide to carry. Ideas on this are either brass pull up rings, or possible mounting roof rack rails to the bed itself with their accompanying slideable/lockable tiedowns




Oh... and almost slipping my mind... note the refinished rear interior panels now that they have been reconditioned

[Ivan141]

The rear interior bits look nice, but it seems like a very bad idea to make a storage flatbed in there with the panels in place. They'll take a beating whenever you decide to haul something big in there. Which would be a pity of those nice parts.

[Eric]

those panels are stock panels, so they are beaten up all their live and designed to survive beating up.

[oldeskewltoy]

Ivan141 Wrote:The rear interior bits look nice, but it seems like a very bad idea to make a storage flatbed in there with the panels in place. They'll take a beating whenever you decide to haul something big in there. Which would be a pity of those nice parts.

oldeskewltoy Wrote:Initials plans for the rear bed, or platform include some form of tie downs so that they will securely hold whatever I decide to carry. Ideas on this are either brass pull up rings, or possible mounting roof rack rails to the bed itself with their accompanying slideable/lockable tiedowns

Something like this... (preliminary for now) likely using just 2, or maybe 3 rails

[oldeskewltoy]

Hmmmmmm, been doing some research for XNC since his rear diff is whining, and he was looking for a replacement. My car, AE71 coupe, had 2 rear diff ratio options(per toyodiy) - 3.72, and a 3.58. I ASSUMED that she has the 3.72... but I ASSUMED WRONG.



http://www.celica-gts.com/resources/diff...codes.html


The final drive gear in my car is listed as a S374(bottom row in photo above). Go to the above link, and the S374 breaksdown to a 6.38" 4 pinion diff, but NOT a 3.72 final drive, but a 3.58 final drive :eek: :eek:

I then remember the 1983 EPA standards for the AE71 coupe was 35mpg highway, I never understood why??? http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/pdfs/1983_feg.pdf
AND.... 5th gear has truly been an O/D for me, where the only time I ever need to use it is on the highway

It now makes perfect sense why... I'm running around with a 3.58 final drive :eek::eek:

This keeps getting more and more odd... Originally I thought it had a 3.9, then I thought it to be a 3.7, now I find out it really is a 3.58... and I wonder just how fast a 1/4 she could run(15.77 as she currently sits w the 3.5 *IF* the gearing in her was more acceleration oriented... like a 3.9, 4.1, or 4.30

We shall see... The LEEN adapter is on its way, and I hope to get a 3.9 "T"(6.7") gear set before too long. I'll try to get this all assembled and ready for spring 2012 drag race season and do a few more runs to see how well she can do with gearing better matched to the engines character

oldeskewltoy Wrote:The LEEN adapter is on its way

And I best prepare......

I decided NOT to purchased the LEEN shifter relocation parts, for I do not plan on moving the J160 shifter

The shifter hole in the AE86 and the AE71 use a T50 shifter, which uses a shifter that is bent toward the rear



meanwhile the J160 shifter is far more vertical



To allow for this discrepancy, I've decided to use the J160 shifter in the closer(more forward) of its 2 positions, this moves the shifter back 5" from where the stock T50 would poke through the floor

This will place the J160 shifter(the part the driver grabs) in a slightly more rearward position compared to where the T50 shifter is now... maybe an 1" to 2" more rearward, but that is far better for my chosen driving style.

For those who like visual help... The center of the T50 shifter in the view below is @ 13", the placement would be 5" back or right @ the gap between the raised section for the shifter and the laterial/leading edge of seat mounting reinforcement



In the photo above, with the handbrake up, it is tough to see, so try to use your imagination to visualize the handbrake arc.... but the lowered handbrake will get very close to the shifter if the shifter is 5" toward the rear.

So, to better fit the new shifter location, I decided to shorten the handbrake. XNC was @ a local junkyard and he picked up a E7 handbrake assembly for me... thank you Johnny. I then proceeded to shorten the assembly by almost 2"



I'll finish this by drilling the rivet center and use a screw to secure the rivet.

[oldeskewltoy]

Wow... been kinda negligent about keeping this up to date....


lets see..... Where to begin.....

the person I bought the car from was able to find me a very special emblem for it.....



Not many E7s advertise... DOHC



I've been driving Surreptitious for nearly 2 years now.... Yes, I'm shocked too. Well with her 2 year anniversary, she has to go back to emissions for her bi-annual inspection.... and she fails miserably!!!!





I set her up for a check on her tune. I contact a local company called PSI to do the tune




Here is a pull on their dyno






all that does help, but installing a new cat actually gets her clean once again....







More recently I had had my first stranding.... One of the few pieces of old wiring I used when I had the car re-wired... failed! I got stuck on one of the local bridges (VERY scary event).



To make a long story short... my orignal plans on using the newer style of TPS (with rounded corners on the plug) had been to utilize a large source of spare TPSs(used on Lexus LS400), well, in reality, the TPS was fine, but the local Pick N Pull junkyard allowed me to update the TPS plug, and wires to much newer, far less brittle bits.


And finally, to properly compliment the J160, I've ordered a Richmond Racing 3.90 "T" code (6.7") rear differential. The combination of a 3.90 and the J160.... remember I'm still running a 3.58 and a T50, will do wonders for acceleration.

[oldeskewltoy]

You'll have to use your imagination some... the other horizontal piece still needs finishing, and re-assembly. The dashboard is now fully covered in Brazillion Cherry. A few swipes with tung oil and the new dash blends nicely with the Nardi

[BOOMEX]

I love your car And love more your engine

Great job

[oldeskewltoy]

BOOMEX Wrote:I love your car And love more your engine

Great job

thank you for the very kind words....

oldeskewltoy Wrote:

You'll have to use your imagination some... the other horizontal piece still needs finishing, and re-assembly. The dashboard is now fully covered in Brazillion Cherry. A few swipes with tung oil and the new dash blends nicely with the Nardi

That isn't some sticky backed simulation, or vinyl..... that is real Brazilian (correctly spelled this time) cherry veneer... 2mm thick!



David.... remember David??? my body guy? Well besides body work and custom work, he also builds guitars... from rare and unusual woods. Many of his guitars sell for as much as $5000!

Well, I asked David last year if he could help me get the dash panels of Surreptitious to be covered in a complimentary wood to go along with the Nardi wheel.




It took him some time... He called me and told me that my Dremel equipment would do a better job then his larger equipment, and so I went and picked up the pieces that were disassembled, and with the wood needing to be sized correctly (the openings, and adjustment gaps)



note far right is the roughed out hole for the glove box release mechanism... In the final view of this post you can better see the work I did for proper shape and size... along with fully re-assembling the vents




All the right side needs now is a bit of tung oil so it'll match the panel that lays in front of the driver.....