*coilover countdown!

Some more parts for my long dreamt of coilover conversion!

This weeks arrival was a set of new MCNsport rear AE86 coilovers. These are very very tasty units, 24-way damping adjustment, fully height adjustable, polyurethane bushings, and nice moderate 5kg/mm rate springs, all in a package that fits into the original damper mounting space. Can't wait to get these in! Also pictured are a set of new 6kg/mm front springs by AVO/MCN. These springs, along with a new pair of AVO/MCN adjustable short stroke inserts I picked up will be finding a new home in a nice set of japanese coilovers that we will be refurbishing. I nearly have everything gathered for the swap now. Just some RCA's are outstanding, and maybe a new RS*R lateral rod down the line when the money machine allows..

*starting to look like an 86.......

redlines on
j-blood fiberglass bumper on (painted satin black with rattle cans ftw) and
j-blood bumper spats added aswell....

Bye Bye Axle Stands!!

After a mad busy month which saw me neglect my poor car my half shafts now have these shiny Blueprint bearings fittted and are going back in this week!! Along with my set of APP brake lines which were kindly donated by Dave! (Thanks again!).

I also had to pick up a set of spark plug leads to cure the misfire, lead no.2 lost the will to go on!





So it will be bye bye axle stands this week, and hello TLC! Whispers about Japfest in August have given me the kick I needed!

Sarah x

random snap

Sarah's Levin awaiting two half shafts with new bearings fitted, updates soon.........

get'er done

I got some of the heavy work done on my Trueno last weekend. The engine is sitting nicely on TRD engine mounts and the stock gearbag is also attached.

I also got the rad, fan and clutch master cylinder fitted
and lay down the loom for the standalone Omex ecu. I kept all the wire's tidy and located the waisted spark coil inside the car

lots of shiny aluminium on show

* interior updates..

I still can't drive for another few weeks, but today I got around to installing my Schroth Racing Profi-III harness. This is a very high quality German made harness that has nice big 3" shoulder & lap belts, regressive release rotary buckle, and snap mounts for easy install/removal. It also came with a 5Th point belt but I won't be using this for now.

Installation was easy using eye bolts that went through the factory seat belt mounts, so not only am I sure these are strong mounting places, I still have full use of the standard seat belt day to day.....



..as well as the 3 belts behind me. My Hachi is known to carry 4/5 people regularly! All I have to do is pop out the rear bench and disconnect the harnesses, and the Trueno people carrier is ready to serve again lol.



The seat that this nice piece of kit will be securing me to is an early Sabelt Titan, a light weight fixed fibreglass seat, mounted on an AE86 specific Bride sliding side mount rail. This seat was one of the first things I installed shortly after I got the car, and I also used it in my old car, so for me it really is comfortable. The high sides really provide nice support in the corners, no more knee in the centre console! The only slight annoyance with the high sides is that entry/exit is a bit more awkward, but the extra support compared to a standard GT-grade seat is well worth it.




To make it a bit easier to hop in and out I also installed a Works Bell Rapfix II quick release boss for my flat Nardi 350mm Torino wheel (not pictured). Another main reason for the QR boss was the extra security lock for a even more security. This boss also moved the steering wheel 100mm closer to me which is more like the cars original offset steering wheel, so the driving position was instantly much much better.




Other items that enhance my otherwise basic GT-grade cabin are:

-Moonface Titan aluminium shifter
-C's Short Shifter with T3 shifter bushing kit
-T3 handbrake button
-Alpine cd headunit with mp3 input
-El Cheapo rubber front and Mercedes rear mats :)

There are still a few more items on my list, like a Nardi 350x80, but my office space is nearly finished, and its a nice place to be..

Ready to go.........

Hope'n to get some work done on the track car this weekend.

I got a standard t50 from jdm jap parts and Ive been working on tidying up my 16v all week.

I've the plug leads hidden away and a new plug lead cover fitted with shiny hex head bolts, I'm hoping to keep the neath and tidy look going threw out the engine bay and keep wire's etc to a minimum.




All shined up with lots of new bolts and washers and ready for some TRD engine mounting fun this weekend!!!

* another shell up Trueno build!?!

Well, it's not quite as good as Kev's creamy slider shell but still!
I broke my foot a week ago which means no driving, biking,working on either machine, or pretty much anything else cool for the next 6-8weeks of the "summer"! Fail.

But, as ever, the interwebnets will keep me going. In this case, its thanks to ebay for finding me this AOSHIMA Kouki Trueno 3 door hatch in tasty black over graphite! (A 2-door coupé would have been way cooler of course lol but hey!) I have this on the shelf a while now but I guess the time has come to put it together.



Its a pretty decent model kit, spring suspension, and the choice of GTV or GT Apex interior, and can even be badged as a Black Limited on the outside if I want (the closest I'll ever get to owning one!). The only thing letting it down is the lack of a 4age to put under its mega lightweight plastic hood, that and the XR4 wheels ,but I'm being picky now haha..



If I can find some the right paints for it on ebay it might just come together right, and kill some more time until I can throw these damn crutches in a skip!!!

* new 4age brain!

I've had this little beauty for a while now, an Apexi Power FC ECU, with Hand Commander. It came at a price I just could not refuse when I was buying the car so I snapped it up for the future project. This replaces the factory ECU and will allow full fuel and ignition mapping which is a must for any serious engine tuning. Apexi never made the Power FC for the AE86 specifically, but they did make them for the transversely mounted 4ag's that live in FWD AE92 Corollas. Luckily, aftermarket companies such as AP Engineering in this case reworked the Power FC for the AE86 and thanks to their neat wiring harness this unit is completely plug and play. No messy wiring,and factory connectors, sensors, and mounting positions are all the same. Speaking of sensors, the Power FC uses the factory MAP sensor, which doesn't suit an ITB application so well but does suit my full ARC intake setup (more on that later!) or even turbo setups perfectly.


The hand commander is a neat little unit that allows you to keep an eye on most engine parameters as well as make a few changes in car such as idle speed and rev limit. (2500rpm is funny to hear!) I have read that it is possible to adjust the maps with it, however full mapping is best done with the correct software via laptop on a rolling road, and I already have my two 52mm gauges telling me everything else I need to know, so this commander will not be on display on the dash.




The one thing that I will have to change to accommodate the new ECU is the injectors however, as the big port 16v uses low resistance 3-4 Ohm injectors, but the small port (ala AE92) 16v uses higher resistance injectors (10-12Ohm approx I think). I found this out when I plugged in the PFC for a test run, the car started, idled and ran fine, but on my first journey up towards the redline the 10amp injector fuse blew. Better the fuse melting than the PFC! Either way, I soon sourced the correct high resistance small port injectors from ebay, and when the new HKS head that Kev is kindly working on is installed, we will put in the new injectors, ECU, and over to Westward Eng. for a remap session on the dyno. Can't wait :)

Random lazy Tuesday snaps

My poor Levin is crying out for some attention , I haven't driven it in two weeks , I'm waiting/saving for a few parts for it........... decided I'd clean it up a bit and play with some offset just for shits and to make me feel a bit better about it

new WAtanabe's

I decided on Watanabes for my trueno, I'm gona run my old 9j's on the back and my new 8's on the front (cheer's Tadhg look after them mk11's ha )

A pic of them now before getting the 6 of em sandblasted......

nom nom nom wheel whore...........

* I love rattle cans

If there is one thing we like at GH, its satin black paint in a rattle can. Its just the best. So one sunny evening later...



Its like one of those small satisfying jobs that makes such a difference, like a fresh set of number plates, or a BLACK tax/insurance/nct disc holder..


Zenki splitter is next for satining, no primer, no stone chips! :D

* electric fan install

I finished my electric fan install over the weekend. The old viscous fan was sticking on, which made the engine run cool - which caused a high idle - which would have failed the NCT last month as an emissions test would have been impossible. So for the past few weeks I have been driving around with no fan at all. Not a major problem as I rarely see traffic but there was still some uncomfortable moments sitting in a hot car in the hot sun, with the heater on full watching that digital temp gauge climbing..! Also, the engine felt a good bit more responsive with out that fan constantly dragging on it. So an ugly viscous was not going back in.



I picked up a nice SPAL 280mm curved blade low profile suction fan. The curved blades make this fan very quiet in operation, a nice touch for my road car. I found a very good universal fan mount kit on ebay, they are like circular cable ties in effect and just pass through the rad fins, it mounts in seconds and is rock solid. The OEM cowling was also removed for a neater engine bay. There was actually space for a bigger version or even two of these fans but this light unit is more than enough, it can easily drop 10C off the running temp in about 3 minutes so I don't expect it to be on a lot.


I have taken advantage of the built in fan controller in the sPa temp gauge, but to do this I had to wire in a new relay with protective diode as the gauge can only run 100mA max on its external channel. I also have a 3-way toggle switch set up so the fan can come on automatically when the gauge sees the temperature I have preset, stay off, or I can manually turn it on to keep it extra cool. My carbon centre panel is starting to look almost professional now!



Everything went in very neatly, and all the wires are hidden in the OEM harness, the relay is mounted in an almost factory position with the fuses behind the battery, and the control wire runs under the wing and in through the bulkhead.

Now, no more tea from my 4age hopefully!

* new whale skins!

I've been waiting for these :)
A nice fresh set of Yokohama rubber. Performance S-drive in 185/55/14 for the front, and a slightly cheaper and more hopefully durable C-drive in 185/60/14 for the back (Anything will be better than the evil Runway Enduro's). I would have gotten /60 profile all around only I couldn't get a very good tyre in that size, so S-drive in 55 it was.

S-drive got some good reviews online so far, so I can't wait to give them a try. They will be replacing Toyo CF1 which was a very good normal tyre, but thanks to bad tracking and lots and lots of motorway, they have no shoulders left haha. Fitting these will also give me a chance to fit those new RAYS valves I got for the TE's a while back. The mini wheel refurb is nearly complete.


fatment & tracking this weekend hopefully.