News
Find out what's been going on...
09/14/04
Just wanted to say a quick, "Congratulations!!!" to everyone in the San Francisco Region SCCA Solo 2
who went out to Nationals, had fun, and took trophies home. Click
here to check out the SCCA Solo 2 Nationals coverage.
06/29/04
After weeks of stressing out about our new place, we finally got everything taken care of and have
the keys in our hands... Finally! We only brought one truck-full of stuff this one day, so the place
is still pretty empty.
05/31/04
Congrats to Alan for getting the Blue Bomber into the latest issues of both Grassroots Motorsports
and Sport Compact Car! The write-up in SCC was brief, but the mere fact that a Toyota, much less a
Corolla sedan, infiltrated the Hondacuras is a welcome surprise. Go on, dog!..
02/29/04
There are three new pics in the Pics at Work page.
02/07/04
Holy crap it's been a while since I've updated this site! Sorry, guys! I've been busy with wedding
plans and a house that we just bought. Anyway, I added some more autox pics of the Bomber. Check
'em out in the AE92 S/C Sedan section.
12/22/03
I added two pages-worth of pictures from the San Francisco
International Auto Show.
11/19/03
This'll be quick since it's one in the morning and I should be sleeping! I just added some videos in the
AE92 S/C Sedan section. Look for 'em on the Dyno and Autox pages.
10/12/03
Did another autox event today. Aside from driving with my head up my nether region, I think the car's
doing fairly well. We're still handicapped by the lack of an LSD, but all in all, she's doing great. Now,
if only the "nuts" behind the steering wheel could actually put it together... =) I'll be putting up some
in-car videos of me and Alan soon. Also, look for the dyno run video.
Just wanted to wish my best friend, Floyd, a Happy Birthday. Yeah, how's it feel to be as old as me,
you bastard?! Hahaha...
10/10/03
I've got some great news. As of now, I'm engaged to my girl, JoAnn. I'm sure she's been getting ready to
just smack me upside the head with a deadblow hammer, but she's been as patient with me as always. We're
hoping to set the wedding date sometime in September of 2004. So, here come the bad news... We'll have
loads of expenses in the coming year (we're also trying to find a decent house), so I decided that I'd
put the GT-S's autocross preparation on hold until I can better afford it. My buddy, Alan, has been very
kind and is letting me co-drive the supercharged sedan for the Slush Series so we can continue its
development.
10/06/03
We just did another SFR Solo 2 Slush Round this past weekend. We swapped my GT-S's rear suspension (Koni Sport
strut inserts and Ground Control hardware) into Alan's S/C sedan. We ended up chucking the old 225# springs
in back for uprated 300-pounders. The car's balance shifted to a more neutral-to-loose state which took a
bit of getting used to, again. Check out the pics that JoAnn
and I took during the event. Next on the mods list for the Bomber? A rebuilt Levin E58 tranny with a TRD
LSD. Look for more info in the coming weeks.
9/23/03
Alan and I finally dragged our butts out to a Solo 2 event with the Blue Bomber this past weekend. We used
my 13" race tires/wheels since his 15" Hoosiers were shot to hell. I've gotta admit that after the autox
event, I've realized how much of the excitement and friendly competition I've been missing for almost a year.
The event reinvigorated me and Alan so that we plan on developing the car at a much faster rate. The car itself
was great during the 6 runs (the SFR usually only does 3 runs per driver because of the number of attendees we
have; otherwise, we'd be there till it was 8 pm). Our biggest problem was getting all of the power to the
ground... There was so much wheelspin that it was actually kinda scary! But, the best thing during the event
was hearing the commentator get excited over the car. Yeah, she looks like a Toyota econobox 4-door sedan that
you'd give to your grandmother, but a supercharged car that could hold her own in the competitive Street Mod
class?! Hahaha...
We somehow managed to get decent times in Street Mod considering how under-developed the car is compared
to everyone else's.
Check out the results...
7/29/03
I added a dyno session in the AE92 S/C Sedan
section. Alan recently took the Blue Bomber out to Dyno
Spot Racing to do some tuning on the Greddy E-Manage. The results were absolutely awe-inspiring and pleasantly
surprised both him and me!
There's a new addition to my collection of toys. I just picked up a '99 Yamaha YZF600R sportbike for a great
price. Great... Another thing to spend money on!.. =(
7/15/03
I just got back from nearly 2 weeks of vacation in beautiful Hawai'i. We stayed in Kauai for the first week,
then Oahu for the remainder. What's cool is that I saw a bunch of AE86s and a few clean AE92s on the islands.
Anyway, I've decided to take the plunge and get the coilovers and camber/caster plates done ASAP. That way,
I can start the car's shake-down period sooner and work out the bugs. It just sucks that the price is gonna
hurt me for a little bit. =(
6/7/03
I put almost 300 miles on the new transaxle this past week. The tranny loosened up a little bit and shifts
and feels nice! And the Quaife is just too much fun! I accidentally lit up the front wheels when pulling
out of a parking lot the other day. I looked behind me and saw two nice stripes on the ground. =) I need to
adjust my driving style for the LSD. When I still auto'xed with the stock, open diff, I'd gently get on the
gas at corner exit cuz I'd just get inside wheelspin if I did anything aggressive. Being on sticky race
tires made the wheelspin even worse. Now, I have to learn to get on the gas a lot sooner and take advantage
of the LSD and the added grip on acceleration.
The biggest things on my To-Do list are:
Roll cage installation, including harness crossbar and rear diagonal brace fabrication
Replace the suspension bushings with Whiteline units
Advance Design coilovers & camber/caster plates
6/1/03
I spent this past evening working on the C52 transaxle rebuild write-up.
Check it out if you're interested in rebuilding the C52 tranny. If you're not, hell... Check it out for the cool pics,
anyway! I also added some pics to the Starter Relocation page.
5/26/03
Alan and I spent half the day working on my car. We installed a 4A-F(E) rear end plate (allows starter relocation
to the cooler intake side and covers the now-unused exhaust side starter boss), a new 4A-F(E)/4A-GZE starter,
Fidanza flywheel, ACT HD clutch assy, and the rebuilt tranny. Oddly enough, it took longer to assemble everything
compared to taking it apart. Anyway, after we filled the car with tranny fluid, coolant, and brake fluid in the clutch
line, we ran into a problem... The stupid starter was doing its usual no-start "click" crap. And this was when the
engine was totally cold and the starter was brand new! WTF?!
It was getting late, so we decided to call it quits and I drove Alan back home since he had an early day on Tuesday.
When I got home, I tore into the underdash area to see if any of the wiring was acting up. I checked a bunch of different
stuff like the ignition switch, clutch start safety switch, clutch start relay, wiring, connectors, grounds, etc.
Everything looked okay and in spec. Just for kicks, I decided to try cranking her over without the injectors firing.
She cranked over right away! Even better, the motor spun noticeably faster with the Fidanza flywheel. So now, I think
there's something up with the starter circuit. Grrrrr...
I need to bleed the cooling system and clutch line once I figure out the starter circuit problem. After that, I
just need to put on some miles on the tranny, break in the clutch nice and easy, drain the tranny fluid and replace
it with Redline, and I should be good to go for now.
Wish me luck with the starter issue... =|
5/24/03
After sporadic periods of working on the tranny, I finally sealed up the tranny case this afternoon! I estimate
no more than 24 hours of actual labor, including disassembly, measuring, cleaning, and assembly. It really
helps to have the proper tools for the job. I also received the rear end plate yesterday, so that's a big load
off my shoulders. I do need to drop by a junk yard and pick up the bolts to fasten the starter to the bellhousing,
though. If everything goes well, Alan and I should have the new tranny swapped into my car by Monday afternoon. =)
Look for a write-up sometime soon...
5/18/03
The tranny is pretty much finished. All I need is a differential bearing outer race shim that's 2.25 mm thick.
Then, it's time to seal the case, and install it into my car. The rebuild wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it
would be. Course, I spent a load o' money on the SSTs and other tools (20-ton hydraulic press, Snap-On torque
meter, etc.), but it made the job so much easier on me.
Since I'll be pulling the tranny off, I decided to convert to the 1.4 KW starter that the 4A-F(E) and 4A-GZE
motors use. That way, the starter will be on the much cooler intake side of the bellhousing. That necessitated
getting the rear end plate (engine plate) for the 4A-F(E). I shouldn't have the dreaded starter heat soak problems
anymore. Woohoo!
The next items on my To-Do List are replacing the suspension bushings with Whiteline units this weekend. Then,
it's welding-in the roll cage and getting the coilovers made... A short but expensive list. Doh!
5/11/03
I think I'm making decent progress on the tranny. So far, the case is cracked apart, the input shaft is
completely disassembled, the thrust clearances and radial play measured, and gears cleaned. I also replaced
the input and output shaft front bearings and some various seals. Unfortunately, when I was pressing the 3rd
gear cluster off the input shaft, one of the teeth on 3rd gear got chipped due to the uneven pressure on the
bearing puller. It's not that big of a defect, but I don't wanna take chances. So, I ordered a new 3rd gear.
I'm hoping it'll come in ASAP so I can finish assembling the input shaft assy. If everything goes my way, the
tranny should be built by the end of this week. Anyway, I'll post up pics and do a write-up when I can.
5/4/03
Okay, so I finally got off my lazy butt and decided to start tearing into a spare tranny. I have all of the
parts that I need. Problem is, I'm stuck with the disassembly--the pullers that I have either don't fit behind
5th gears, or I just can't put enough torque onto 'em cuz they have a weak T-handle. The pressed-on 5th gears
are the only things keeping me from cracking the tranny case apart and getting to the shafts for complete
disassembly. Grrrr... On a lighter note, here are some pics that I took on Saturday.
Measuring the 5th gear thrust
See that dinky gap underneath the gears?
The decal added another 2 tons of pressure. I swear!
4/22/03
Ooh... It's been a while... =) My SSTs for the C52 transaxle rebuild are supposed to be coming in by the end
of this week. I have all of the non-adjustable parts that I need for the tranny (synchros, bearings, seals, LSD),
so all I need to do is disassemble my surplus tranny and measure out the clearances. I'm aiming to work on
the project on the weeknights, then swap out the tranny and replace the front wheel bearings over the weekend.
I'll take a bunch of pics and document it so you guys won't miss anything.
2/15/03
I was looking for something to do today, so I decided to test-fit the Safety 21 7-point cage that I
had laying in the garage. After semi-stripping the interior, I managed to get the cage in the car and put
it together. Check out the pics. Although the cage won't be
properly and permamently installed for at least another month or so, I wanted to see what it looked like.
2/10/03
Did you hear that?.. No? That would be my bank account screaming from all of the recent purchases this month! Hahaha... So far, I've
bought a Quaife LSD, lightweight Fidanza flywheel, a new ACT clutch assy, new tranny internals (synchros, bearings, seals, shims, etc.)
for my tranny rebuild project. I'll be tearing into a surplus tranny and rebuilding it to withstand the rigors of autox'ing while
installing the lovely Quaife LSD. Look for a writeup when I'm done.
I've added some pics to the site so check 'em out; Alan and the Blue Bomber at autox
events and JoAnn's work's Holiday Party.
1/22/03
A friend up in Canada somehow procured two Quaife LSDs; one for himself and one for me! As some of you know, I've been looking for
a Quaife unit for a few months now. So, it looks like it's time for me to get the tools ready, buy some new synchros and bearings,
then rebuild my tranny to include the Quaife. I'll keep you guys updated. Once I get to the rebuild, I'll definitely document it
and do a writeup since I haven't seen one floating around the internet.
Wish me and Alan luck for this Sunday's upcoming autox event. We still need to iron out a few things on the Blue Bomber, but I'm
confident that she'll make a showing on Sunday, insane torque, excessive wheelspin and all...
1/18/03
Alan just got his intercooler piping completed today! A big, "Thanks!!!" go to Phong at Honda Pro in
Fremont for doing a great job on the piping even though we all knew that it'd be a big pain in the ass to do.
1/16/03
I hope everyone had a cool New Year's! I apologize for not updating my site with new material in a while. Work's been keeping me
busy lately and I barely have enough time to work on my car (or anyone else's, for that matter!). For those of you who aren't just
interested in Corolla-related stuff, I just added a few pages of my trip to Vegas this
past week. Alan's had a lot of work done to the Blue Bomber recently, so look for pics sometime soon. Till next time...
Click on any link in the Index Frame to go back
fsp14@ae92gts.com