Lauren 2259 Report post Posted January 17, 2014 This is the last part of my rebuild of my AE86. Back in August 2012 I melted a piston on the way back from Germany. This was the second time this had happened and it turned out I had a faulty injector. So, I decided to get a good friend who is a bit OCD at this stuff and a professional engineer who designs presses for car manufacturers to rebuild it for me. My friend, Tom is perhaps a bit over qualified and he does like to take his time, but really he was the perfect man for the job. Here are some pics of the rebuild: Here you see the mismatch between the valve pocket and the seat. Inlet port blended to pocket: A bit of elbow grease required: Head in the sink! All cleaned and ready to go: On the right is the modified inlet ports on Cylinder1. Cylinder 2 is yet to be done: Engineers blue used to check valve seat: Exhaust ports done: Deburring water gallery edges: Head faced: Surface finish of fully cleaned valve: Flatness of head face checked with perfectly flat bar: Part re-assembled head: Looking good! Shim clearances: HKS 264/256 cams: You can see the HKS stamp and duration if you look carefully: Checking clearances: A bit like the Krypton factor. All of the shims laid out. Just need to work out where to put them all! All done: So today, I thought I had better make a start on putting it back together. I've already got an inlet manifold gasket on order from Toyota. Will pick that up tomorrow and also order some injector seals as the ones on it look worn. Today, I decided to make a start and try and work out where everything goes. After eighteen months it's a bit of a challenge finding all the right bolts which are thankfully bagged but not all marked up. Also had some fun working out how the ancillary brackets and block strengtheners go on. I got there eventually. There is obviously a lot to do, but given the engine is built, it's really a matter of putting everything else back together so the engine and gearbox can go back in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted January 17, 2014 The engine as left by Mr Tom. He completed this last February. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Tom has labelled some stuff, so I don't forget! Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Some of the bits laid out on the table. Just got to figure out where everything goes. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr The car in situ where it has sat since August 2012! Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Here I've put on the block strengthening bracket, engine bracket and alternator bracket on the inlet side. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr On the exhaust side, there is the strenthening brace, engine mount and AC and power steering bracket which is huge. There are other brackets that bolt to this! Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr A trip down memory lane seeing these stickers of events of years gone by: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Engine fan on and pulley. It's a bit cleaner than when it came off! Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rob275 1817 Report post Posted January 17, 2014 Blimey Lauren, you aren't short on pictures. It all looks very nice, but i don't know what half of it is. It's like a 3D impossipuzzle to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted January 17, 2014 That was a summary of the pictures! There must be 200 of the engine rebuild! Oh and for those that haven't seen it, here's the car when it was on the road: These were taken at RRG Salford Quays at the GT86 launch in July 2012: They even sent a special guard from Toyota Japan to look after it. He did go over and have a good look at it! New and old: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keethos 842 Report post Posted January 17, 2014 Awesome stuff Lauren, I like your's and Tom's style laying parts out like that! Wish I had the time, money, space and tools to tinker and build things like engines, kit cars and stuff! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonzodog 0 Report post Posted January 17, 2014 Great write up and pics Lauren. Awesome stuff Lauren, I like your's and Tom's style laying parts out like that! Wish I had the time, money, space and tools to tinker and build things like engines, kit cars and stuff! Completely agree Keith. Not quite the same I know, but I miss part of my youth when I spent time ripping Mini's apart and rebuilding them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pitman 188 Report post Posted January 17, 2014 What a beautiful AE86 Lauren . I am truly jealous. You are one very lucky Lady! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Special K 442 Report post Posted January 18, 2014 I really liked Tom's attention to detail, Lauren... and his 'parts layout' is a salutory lesson on how to do it..... he may be overqualified but he demonstrates a real empathy with your lump of old cast iron... It reminds me of the hours and hours my Dad spent working on the Del-Boy Reliant engine for my first 750F car.. lapping in valves was a labour of love... 58bhp out of a n/a 650cc lump seemed magical back then, the F3 Holbay 1 litre 'screamers' were only producing 110bhp.... happy days... Spec K Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rab 60 Report post Posted January 18, 2014 Lauren - Amazing pics and that attention to detail is something else!! Car looks pristine! Look forward to seeing it sometime! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 Had a quick hour and a half at it today. Got the engine ready for mating to the gearbox next weekend. Torqueing the Inlet manifold: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr New injector seals on: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Injectors in until I realised it would likely be easier to push them onto the fuel rail first. What a fiddly job on your own. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Dizzy in: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr I might look at getting a new O ring. Couldn't find one amongst my new parts bag. Also can't find one of the bolts for the distributor so will order another from Toyota. Might be ordering a few lost bolts at this rate! Alternator on. Was interesting that I found that when I bolted up the lower brace for the inlet manifold it didn't seem to fit right. If I did the bolt up to the block it would have been under tension. Turns out the AE86 has a different brace which is shorter and bolts off one of the lower block strengthening brackets. Not that interesting, save for putting the fan/alternator/water pump belt on, it's pretty much ready for bolting the gearbox up. Next weekend this can go on: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Then hopefully we'll get it all back in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazing Crow 10 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 Love the photos, it's great to see the engine has as much care and detail put into it as it deserves Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pitman 188 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 Lauren, surely you are not going to put the engine back in with that dirty Inlet manifold plenum? . I am pretty sure you AE86 will not appreciate that! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 I might clean it a bit! I did notice that when I posted the pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pitman 188 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 I hope so! The rest of the car and engine are so pristine you can't not go the extra mile! If necessary, get a spare one and send it to me, and I will get it to a standard befitting you AE86 for you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 Well progress seems to be slow. I seem to feel ill everytime I work on the car, it's just a bit too cold in the workshop at the moment. We got the engine off the stand with the help of the engine crane. I put the clutch and pressure plate on, but then remembered, arrghh, MR2 crank, spigot bearing! I'm glad I remembered as I wouldn't want to go through that again. Here it is with the spigot bearing which the gearbox input shaft locates into: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr It does make it harder to get the gearbox on though. Mark drills out the stripped thread on the bell housing: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Then he taps it: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Then helicoil in: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Engine and gearbox reunited complete with new clutch. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr There are four bolts missing. Mark wasn't happy using whatever bolts were around so will have to order the right bolts from Toyota. Next step is getting the engine and box in, not looking forward to that! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted March 23, 2014 A bit more progress. Mark insisted that I buy new bolts for the bellhousing to gearbox and block strengtheners. So off he went to Toyota: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr £25 for 8 bolts! I'm glad we changed them though, the old ones were in terrible condition: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Mark makes the first cut to the wiring loom in preparation for the new injector clips (we've changed to later injectors from an AW11): Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Meanwhile Si and I get the engine and box ready for lifting so we can get to those other bolts: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Starter on and some shiny bolts too: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Mark's soldering setup. I know crimping would be better but we don't have the gear. They will be well soldered, knowing Mark: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Mark, hard at work: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr New injector plugs spliced into the old loom: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Next the engine and box goes back in! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Special K 442 Report post Posted March 23, 2014 Excellent! Real attention to detail.... I like that, Lauren.. Spec K Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted March 23, 2014 Okay, we have the engine and box back in the car! It's been 20 odd months since it last sat in there! Waiting for the rain to stop so we can open the shutter doors and get the engine and box in position: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Shutter going up and time for the AE86 to meet the GT86. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr With three of us and me being underneath guiding the gearbox down, we had it all on the mounts within 15 minutes. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Mocal sandwich plate for the oil cooler on and new Toyota filter added: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Si gets busy with all the awkward bits: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr This pic doesn't show much, but it signifies the prop being back on the gearbox, so all is connected underneath: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Exhaust manifold needs some more wrapping yet: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Si still fiddling: Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr A bi of a problem here. The inlet seems to have got broken somewhow where it's been stored out of the car. Not sure what to do, will see if Toyota still have new ones and price up, I think. Not sure I can do much with that. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr Still, a decent amount of progress has been made today. Untitled by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr We need a few bits. Apart from the radiator, I need engine oil, gearbox oil and a few odds and sods. But, will hopefully have it running in a few weeks. 1 Keethos reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rob275 1817 Report post Posted March 23, 2014 This all seems to be coming along very nicely! Will we maybe see it out and about this year? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted March 23, 2014 Time Lapse video of proceedings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_WFnab2kh0&list=UUdokYg51aL3FGA4-k4jCAoQ&feature=share Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
forge197 12 Report post Posted March 23, 2014 I like this thread, it's tinkering at a whole new level lovely attention to detail. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted March 31, 2014 Got a bit more done today. Filled the gear box oil which is the easiest job in the world on an AE86 as you just pour it through the hole where the gearlever sits. Then bolted up the gearstick and the surround: Now with gearstick and centre console back in place. Interior now complete if absolutely filthy from being in the workshop for the last 20 months: Connected the battery and voila: Although in this pick I'd forgot to push the alarm button so no ignition light. When I did, though it did turn over, just. This is not bad for a battery that's been sitting for so long! Everything is on except for the exhaust manifold which needs wrapping. I have some new studs coming from Toyota too. In this pic I had just put the oil in; Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
speedy 32 Report post Posted March 31, 2014 So looking forward to seeing this back on the road again Think of the heritage that weekend when that engine came out Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted March 31, 2014 LOL! It was a sign! Just for good karma and all that, I will make sure my GT is watching when I go to start it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rob275 1817 Report post Posted March 31, 2014 Is there a reason it's just been sitting there for 20 months until you finally got around to re-building it? It's certainly coming to shape. When are you going to complete? This weekend? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
