Trex

So quite a lot has happened since I last posted. I've finished the wiring in the engine bay. The engine and car are still on separate looms so the engine setup can be put into something else or the car can have a B20 put back in very easily. I've also started on the interior wiring where all of the cars wiring is now tucked out of the way ready for the corollas looms to be put in. But i'll probably test start the engine before that. After doing all the front end wiring i chucked a battery in and i couldn't get anything to work.. No lights, no power, nothing... After thinking of the worst things possible i moved the ground and everything lit up! I was about ready to burn the thing to the ground. The oil system is finished. I tried to make a neat package that is hidden and not a total mess. The setup is very modular and free flowing. The cooler is placed just behind the air intake on the bottom lip, so it is also functional and it will put a little more weight over the front end. I'm a bit worried about the weight, if all the numbers on the internet are true ill be way too light in the front, and there isn't much that can be taken from the rear, the boot can be skinned and things like brackets etc can come off but there isn't much else. I came up with a 40/60 split taking into account all the weights i've found online for the 142.. I really need to corner weight the car to see exactly what it is. Made a new belt and pulley system. I got a 6 rib pulley for the tensioner arm. Most people will use an idler off to the left, but i've got a steering box there. Plenum is now finished. I used a 4g63 plenum and cut and modified it to fit on the 2zz flange and throttle body. I chose this plenum and it matches up with the 2zz fairly well, has bellmouths for each runner, the shape, and it's not absolutely massive like others. Everything follows another line so it looks like it's meant to be there. The only other thing to do is to fill it with oil. Do the fuel lines. Plug everything in and start it. I'm a bit anxious about it because I've done so much wiring on the engine and haven't even plugged it in to make sure it all works.

Engine mounts are done, just need to be trimmed and painted. And started on the wire tuck. Not finished yet, but it's coming together slowly.

Things have been moving along, just slowly

Cut the sump and Luke laffan welded it up for me. Moved the pickup to the centre of the pan and have the whole oiling system and parts sorted. Luke is building a 142 rally car, some of you may have seen it on the Facebook pages. it is going to be incredible!

Get a sniffer test on it. Could be head gasket

go to a mechanic and get the system pressure tested. and chuck a sniffer on the rad. is it losing coolant, or just overheating? have you cleaned or got a new sensor for the gauge?

a bit excessive? 1ml of oil per 1mile of driving....

That much oil burning is not normal. You're at the point of throwing it away. Stop modding it. Check intercooler for oil. Do a compression test. Check the whole engine for leaks.

Agree with every post above. Theres a reason YJ aren't a trader on here anymore.

I think you'll be surprised. Clutches, brakes and transmissions are still perishable items. I get what you're saying though. There are still plenty of things that break down and need fixing, whether thats from user error,, manufacturing fault, or fatigue. Mechanics won't be going anywhere. Maybe places that specialize in engines will see a decline in work, but not in our lifetime.

Bette make it 3

And nitrous.

Good luck. https://infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/imports/vins.aspx

There was a small idea of putting on the 164 front end which would give us enough room for the 6 lol

Alright, so I haven't driven the 140 since november last year because the bushes have started to degrade to the point of where it's unsafe, most notably a balljoint almost separated. So i have a full bush kit and balljoints sitting in the parts pile. I have a full spare front end suspension setup which will be sandblasted and powdercoated and all new perishables will be replaced. The rear end will get the same treatment. This will all be done once the 2zz swap is complete. We were driving to get coffee and Tim and Steve were talking about picking up a car with a 2zz in it and how cool it was, and i said jokingly that we should put it into the 142, and the idea was born. We got the car back and took it for a few test runs, I was blown away at how the vvtli pushed you back into your seat, this little engine is a weapon! from 6.2k to 8.2 is just takes off! Then i started imagining this engine in a car that weighs 50kg lighter. The 2zz and getrag combo (140kg) weigh around 60kg lighter than the b20 with m40 (200kg). There should be roughly 100kg removed from the front once complete (a few other things are getting removed) The next step was to start making an interior loom and getting rid of everything that isn't needed for the 142. This took about 2 full days of playing with spaghetti, i was pretty delirious just staring at the hundreds of wires, im sure Tim remembers me constantly trying to cut the obd port out. The loom is complete! I was looking around for a rwd adapter belhousing to use a supra 5 or 6 speed, but at $800 for the adapter alone i wasn't too interested as there are still many parts that would need to be bought for it to work. As a man who loved a bargain i started searching around for an alternative, when i came across a 2zz rwd conversion into a fwd celica on some random russian website (what could go wrong following this right?) He used a getrag 250g that bolted up into 2 points, and using some fab work made 3 others. The standard 2zz flywheel and pressure plate are used and the bmw clutch disc sandwiched between the two. Steve found me a bmw that exactly matched the criteria and i bought it. This bmw was used in the bathurst sprint last year and came 20th? I think. So the bmw clutch disc was a 228mm disc and would never work, so online i went and bought a 215mm disc and Tim and i cut and clearanced the starter motor and got the clutch aligned and box bolted on with 1 bolt. Turned the motor over and wallah! all gears turn, were onto a winner so far! The next step is to make up some adapter and strengthening plates to get the box completely bolted on and to test the clutch and whether the throw out bearing can be used or need to be made longer or shorter. I'm currently modifying the pedal box for the bmw clutch master and the bmw brake master for a boosterless system. As my rebuilt brake master has just started leaking and will be thrown out. I'm also getting a plate made up to flip the intake manifold so it can then be facing forward, instead of at the firewall. Most people cut and weld this, but i think an adaptor plate will work better and will help others to make this conversion a little easier.

And this is where things took a turn.

Genuine Volvo 144 headlight covers... not really. But really. https://i.imgur.com/Sdms2uZh.jpg[/img]

So I bought some brand new b21 pistons with rings and main bearings. Looks like I will be rebuilding a b20 after all. Also got a seat, bolted up to standard sliding rails. This thing makes the car look tiny.

so I’ve been driving the 140 around quite a lot lately and decided to drive it to Goulburn to support a mate on a track day he was attending. The morning of I was looking in the boot at all the rubbish and random stuff and thought ‘I don’t need any of this’. I mean really, who needs supplies and tools when attempting to take a car you found on a swamp farm on a big trip on the freeway while ringing its guts out... We made it about 50k’s out of Goulburn before the temp started to climb. 30k’s out and there was dirty coolant all over the windshield. So pulled over and let it cool down and as I started it up there was some serious rattling ‘oh no we’ve cooked it’ I thought. But luckily tim found it was just the alternator had come loose and that was causing the fan to slip at high revs. Limped it to a rest stop 10k’s away and found some water bottles in the bin, so we were doing a relay trying to fill the radiator with a tap that barely trickled out water... Made it to bunnings and picked up some spanners and fixed it in the parking lot. And then finally made it to Wakefield. Didn’t skip a beat on the way home which is good. And I did a radiator flush again. The amount of shit that came out was unbelievable, seeing as I did a flush not long ago, I guess some blockages had finally let go. All in all it was a pretty fun trip. Got some laughs at Wakefield which is good haha

Thanks to everyone who voted for my 142 for best vintage was a big shock, Danello has to shove me in the back and say “that’s you!” Thanks to Tim Jack Steve Dan Paul and others for all their help

So a bit of a small rundown on the 142. Looked to have sat for possibly 23 years until we came across it about 8 months ago, and took it home 4 months later. It had a substantial hit to the passenger side wheel which had bent the lower control arm into a taco, among the other damage sustained, possibly during the Dutton rally of 1995. We had the engine running off a jerry can and car moving and driving a week after getting it home, we knew we were onto a winner. The whole fuel system has been removed, cleaned and new lines ran to make sure it was safe and i wouldnt have any problems later down the track. The compression was exactly the same on all 4, i forget what it was, 100psi? who knows. We wired in a new alternator and ran a few vac lines and coolant lines etc. Just making sure the engine was tight and wouldnt cause any troubles later on. From here it was a matter of getting new parts and making my own. The brakes now consist of all brand new lines from cvi performance, home made vented 240 rotors with 4 piston calipers and 850 rear calipers. Rebuilt the master cylinder and took everything apart to be cleaned and re ran. The brakes now work like a charm The wheels are home made and were originally cougar 17x8 which sat a little to far in for my liking, so the centers were cut out and flipped and re welded better than original, only needing 10g weights to be balanced. The flares were from my mate steve who didnt want to cut his perfect 260z guards. I didnt have a problem getting the angle grinder out and giving it a crack on the 142 though. The interior is my favorite part of the car. The interior was trashed and almost beyond repair. I didnt want to buy anything or chase people and or parts so i did the next best thing. Fix anything that wasn't good enough, and by that i mean, just spray everything black and get some mexican seat covers to set the tone of the build. The whole heater system has been removed and anything that wasn't needed, so the dash now only consists of a hazard switch, the rest has been sprayed matt black and a fascia made to clean it up a little. The dash pad has been completely filled and re molded to make it as flat as possible and is now flocked, it really shines in the sun without adding any glare to anything. I got an old 2000's Trix 4 point cage from an old volvo enthusiast. and a bunch of other random stuff has been done. The suspension needed a bit of work and im not finished with it yet as all that has been done is koni adjustables front and rear, and 8kg king springs up front. Most of the bushes are in OK condition but could really benefit from some poly's. The car drives great with its current setup, its very comfortable without swaying around everywhere. The front and rear shocks have great rebound so the car has give to articulate through the corners, but doesn't just spring back and see you off in the other direction. There is sooo much more that has been done, its been a huge slog the last few months to get it to where it is today, lots of late nights and long weekends. Some of my neighbors have been watching with a keen eye to see what i was going to do with this car. And today it was on a bit of a show of its own as i was taking it around the block and having chats to a few people about it. This car is far from perfect, which has been a great thing for me. Coming from the Stagea where everything was immaculate and perfectly done. It has been a nice change just being able to cut and make things without the drama of making things 2 to 3 times, i did still get carried away with a few things though.. Everything that has been done has been done in my carport. During winter... I shudder just thinking back on it haha And i guess thats where i am up to with the 142.

Let there be light!