KE70 SR Coupe
2003
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2003 updates.. latest update at top
14.11.03
3TGTE conversion now underway yay hurray! pulled the corona diff out tues nite
11.11.03 , unplugged/unbolted the 2tgeu and w55 (thanx Tup for the hand) wedn nite, pulled
2tgeu out thurs nite so yup thunderbirds are go! my big diff is definitely a hilux
8" after a comparison. (had originally thought it was an F series) so that'll
be going in once the mounts are converted to te71 and bigger 260mm disk brake conversion
completed. 4.3 LSD here we come =) then will need the rt116 corona driveshaft
shortened. Played around with the 2tg and a ct20 turbo too. wouldn't
take much to fit one up =).. the 3tgte manifold bolts up perfect to 2tgeu, the te71
l/h engine mount is the same size as the 3tgte's, but is missing the two bolt holes for
the turbo support bracket. but just use the 3tgt mount anyways. use a 3tgt
thermostat manifold and oil feed line with 3tgte oil filter adapter and oil lines to the
oil cooler. hook up new exhaust to the turbo dump pipe, then probly the hardest
part.... make a new turbo oil drain back to the sump... unless you have a late model 2tgeu
which has the bosses to drill out for a 3tgte oil return line. then hook up a front
mount intercooler to the 2tgeu intake plenum and viola! 2tgeu turbo =D
14.10.03
Broke my first axle =( got bored waiting at the lights, road wet... 1st gear burnout
for a while... BANG... hmmm didn't sound normal? spun around to go check it out at nearest
servo, hmmm no traction, single spinner. bugger!. Replaced whole
diff (Big thanx to Tim)! with TT142? corona T series drum brake diff since i have no
spare disk brake type T series axles =( the corona diff links are mounted
slightly wider apart but otherwise bolts in including te71 sway bar. Used MS112
Crown Panhard rod as it was the right length- need to grind the bush down narrower on the
chassis end to get it to fit and it has a 2mm larger bolt hole. It's about 40mm
longer than te71 panhard (i think). Spring mounts are smaller too so used some ae82
fxgt std rear springs which taper down on the bottom... the bottom part of spring is flat
so needs a small section cut out of it to locate neatly on the diff. Am using the
2" shortened rear shocks which are still nicely captive. Used ke70 hand brake
cables which are a bit too short. This diff is a tiny bit wider so axle lengths are
different. the brake bias is disrupted now that it's drum =( it's axle
tramping again too maybe since im using the old rubber diff link bushes? Definately
require the 'big diff' with LSD before 3tgte conversion. A couple of drift pics were
put in issue 83 of NZPC mag of me at D1NZ round 4 at Manfield =) woo-ha!
20.09.03
3TGTE conversion waiting on my brother to get his AE86 on the road and get my starlet
back. bloody hell hurry up man!! Best improvement made since last update is
the AE86 power-steer steering arms. at 115mm C-to-C compared to the rt132's 140mm
they turn quicker and more lock (slightly harder to turn). these reduce camber back
to 0 degrees from -0.5 but is still better than the te71's +1 degree. also swapped
in an '87 ke70 wagon rack-n-pinion as mine was a bit worn. this seems to have a
little more travel than the std SR rack and just enough to get 185.60.14 tyres scraping
the inner guards.. could be to do with the wheel offset tho or shorter steering arms
(can't be sure). but the difference is incredible! hardly ever spun in D1NZ r4
at Manfeild (05.09.03) as I could actually counter-steer harder and catch a spin a lot
better! i've decided to modify some AE70 p/s arms to fit the larger ta63 10"
vented disk struts as I'm not sure that the ma45 solid 10" disks will dissipate
enough heat? (prep for 3tgte). the cooling efficiency of the 3tgt oil cooler
could actually be due to the 3tgte thermostat I'm using? I'd imagine it'd open up
earlier? Added rear swaybar pivot 'D' shaped nolathanes. Repco didn't stock
the AE86 items so I made do with generic 14mm size, part #???? which are too wide by 1mm,
these can either be squeezed in there or grind the U-clamp to suit. Installed
different progressive rate Kings springs in the rear which I discovered in the shed (came
from front of ke35!) which dropped the ass a couple of inch's! had to shorten
the rear shocks 2" because they're in no way captive. part # for Kings is
KDFL-01 wouldn't want to go any lower than these as they're already too close to the
std bump-stops and hit on the odd occasion.. My interior is completely gutted so
hitting bump stops would be worse with full interior + passengers. Since I'm using
shortened std shocks (weak) I should be able to improve the bump with stiffer
shocks. Bought a set of ke70 twin head-lights which (hopefully fit) will make the
car unique and at the drags one of the high-beams can be taken out for a cool air
intake path. Also found a TE71 'Levin' rear badge from Harry Landkroon.
=) Found a jdm TT142 3tgte powered corona has a very similar cold air box to
the jdm te71. it is also fatter and has a wider air filter. the
backplate doesn't fit the te71 AFM but the TE71 backplate fits the 3tgte airbox cover and
filter! fat factory filter for free =) Made rails to fit the passenger
Racepro bucket.. these were made from 50mm angle iron which were drilled to sit onto the
factory rails (once the std seat is cut off) .. but they sit a wee bit too high =(
the seat would have to sit below the factory rails to be perfect. The 2tgeu is
slowly losing power, compression is at 165psi on all four. worried about an engine
vibration above 3500rpms. It's valve bouncing at about 6000rpm so she's a gonner
=( bring on the 3TGTE! =D
11.07.03
Drift handling is pretty predictable now so suspension setup is close to finished.
need vented front disk, quicker steering and a bit more neg camber tho. bought a
complete(ish) 3tgte 1800cc DOHC 8spark turbo engine for the ke70.. with factory w55 and
complete(ish) loom/ecu. then the following weekend picked up another near complete
3tgte =) some parts available for sell. installed the w55 (ex ta63) which has the
shifter at the centre of housing (factory forward position). managed to make
everything fit. see tech info for more detail on the conversion (yet to do).
after installing the box, found third gear was knackered. so next nite ripped it out
again and installed another w55 with factory rear shifter position ex mk11 corona
wagon. swapped 3t bell-housing over to do this. used 3tgte reduction gear
starter motor, modified ta63 x-member, ce71 driveshaft (later changed to rt116 corona
shaft with larger uni's), 3tgte flywheel & clutch, te71 clutch slave cylinder
(identical to w55 slave), te71 speedo cable, adapter plug for reverse light switch... and
that's about it. Made and installed a Jaycar air/fuel meter kit.. this fitted
neatly between the steering column console and switch panel above it -discrete and
practical =)
06.06.03
installed oil cooler setup from 3tgte. using 3tgt water temp/thermostat housing, oil
filter samwich plate, steel cooler/water lines across front of 3tgte and a 1972 ms65 crown
4row oil cooler with hoses. (didn't have the 3tgte cooler at the time). a
little hassle with steel oil lines around dizzy area as they need to be bent around dizzy
base and 3tgt water line hooked up to 2tgeu water lines on throttle body. much
tidier setup compared to the 2tgeu's rubber water hoses around front of cam cover.
also the 3tgte fan is required to clear the water hoses on 3tgt thermostat area. if
i were to run a turbo on the 2tgeu intake then i'd bypass the water from the throttle body
as it warms it up. Retained 2tgeu thermostat housing (3tgte housing faces left
instead of forward). much improved cooling capacity, -even a bit too cold!
(may be because i used the 3tgt's thermostat)? std te71 radiator is corroded away
=( axle tramping is all gone... weird!
05.05.03
fitted ma45 Celica/supra mk1 struts with 10" solid disk along with rt132(?) steering
arms and shortened hard ass springs. with the new struts the alignment was set at
0.5 deg neg camber, 3.5 deg castor and 1 deg toe out. hard braking will lock the
front up pretty easily. but luck has it, while roaming my favourite wrecker BJ's I
discover the ma45 has a std T292 6.7" disk brake rear end!! phwoar! similar to the
current ke70 setup!!! so I bought the bias valve so I have factory spec brakes, mint!
just need to buy a two bolt horizontal mount 15/16" brake master cylinder from
a *A6# celica/carina and I'm sorted. rear suspension is back to progressive 'Kings
springs' and heavy duty shocks. with the new nolothane bushes fitted to the diff
links. not much noticeable difference there but then I fitted them progressively,
not all at the same time. bought some racepro buckets and harnesses for the track.
HUGE gain in car control!!! no more do I need to dig my right shoulder into
the back rest and left foot hard against the foot rest so I stay in my seat. with no
more need to prop myself up I can turn all my attention to steering and pedal control!
I can now clutch kick, shift lock, gear change and steer in the right direction...
big difference, can't go without it! with handling nearly sorted and braking a
whole heap better too I have the extra confidence to go faster, drift harder and slow down
when needed. Pukekohe raceway was the start of my feint drift trialing which will
take some time getting the hang of. Pukekohe is not so forgiving as Manfield so a
botched drift can end up into a wall 8( also found I need more lock.
currently the corona rt132(?) steering arms which are longer than std ke70 ones, make my
front wheels turn less than factory which is crap if you want to pull phat full sideways
drifts! means I'm more likely to spin as I reach the limit of steering lock.
the corona arms are only slightly longer than te71 items but about 13mm longer than the
ke70 SR arms. ae86 & ke70 p/s arms are another 10mm shorter than ke70 at 115mm
so they're the best ones to use for quicker steering and full lock-to-lock. te71
lower arms and steering arms have steering 'limit adjusters' on them so full lock can be
set without the wheels rubbing the inner guard. rack-n-pinion steering on the other
hand doesn't have these and are governed by the rack itself. finding either shorter
steering arms or larger rack would solve this. the horrific axle tramping seems to
have diminished with the mods just performed. not sure what actually fixed the
problem or if it is only temporarily gone. did the first decent burnout in the ke70
ever at the start of my D1NZ comp effort. =D new laws just passed require all cars
to have exhaust systems no louder than when they left the factory.... I'm in the shit
24.04.03
had another go down the strip at the last summer nitespeed drags with yet another setup
(195.65.14 on 14x6 mags with extra stiff springs and shocks) had a little improvement over
previous with a 17.0 on the first run but still tramping. -larger diameter tyres
have a positive affect on reducing tramp. on the third run I managed to snap the
shortened gearstick, miss fourth, over-rev the 2tgeu and spun a bearing... so spent the
weekend swapping in the spare... bugger! found I can buy lurethane barstock
(nolothane equivalent) from Paykels Engineering, so am turning up some upper diff link
bushes =) just thinking on the w55 conversion, a ke70 AUTO driveshaft
should(?) be the same as the ce71 shaft but 10mm longer. Replaced the te71 rubber
intake pipe... couldn't find a std one so used a celica TA61 2tgeu pipe which is longer
between the bend and throttle body, it doesn't fit too well but since my airbox is mounted
loosely it fit. Re-routed the aircon idle-up stepper motor vacuum lines. they
now run under the intake plenum instead of over the top... just looks tidier =)
19.02.03
attended toyspeed Taupo drift/grip day which I have to say is the best track day I've had
yet! with only 12 cars entered and most retiring by lunch time, meant heaps of
time on the track killing tyres =) managed to improve under-steer with different
drift techniques. afterwards I replaced lower rear link bushes with nolothanes...
Gave the 70 another blat down the 1/4 mile with no improvement over the previous best
16.9. it is faster but 60' times show slower launches (it tramped worse than
before) 2.5sec Vs previous 2.2sec 60'. rear tyres were changed from 185.65.14
enduro's to 195.60.14 G-Grids (1mm tread =)) for this run. timeslips show I should
be running 16.5sec or better with traction probs solved. Trip to wrecker found a
CE71 5spd diesel wagon, W51 gearbox!!! bought the 1 pce driveshaft and gearbox
mount! the g-box mount bolts into the same holes as the ke70 (t50 position but with
a third hole farter rearwards using the auto crossmember's bolt hole) and fits a
w55/W57! . the CE71 1pce driveshaft is the same length as a te71 single piece
and has the correct yolk to fit a w55 and te71 6.7" diff =) -but alas... have
since found that the 2TG is sitting a little further rearwards than the diesel so when a
W55 is bolted behind the 2TG the box sits too far back for the CE71 g-box X-member to be
used. (it could be slotted something cronic tho). a ta63 W55 g-box crossmember
was easier to fit (slotted) than the CE71 item so that's what i used. The W55 is
slightly longer than a T50 too so the CE71 driveshaft is too long by about 10-15mm which
leaves about 5mm travel before it contacts the g-box. If the 2T engine was move
forwards to suit the gearbox mount and driveshaft then all would be good. A KE70
driveshaft is 10mm longer than te71 shaft due to shorter diff head (U series
6"). Found that most brown coloured dash pads are in much better condition than
the black ones.... meaning it would be easier to get hold of a brown one and die it black
rather than search endlessly for a blacky. -liftback, hardtop and coupe models have
the same dash pad. 4door sedan and wagon are different.
Work completed: 16.01.03
clutch was slipping. so bought a new (custom to suit t50) clutch friction plate and
9" ta63 Celica pressure plate 30% up-rated to suit 3tgte flywheel. swapped in
3tgte flywheel and new clutch with new spigot and release bearings. changed to a
better te71 T50 20spl gearbox (last one wouldn't upshift to 3rd). weighed
2tgeu and 3tgte (aftrmrkt) flywheels in at 9kg and 4.35kg! respectively. (yes that is
correct, not a typo). replaced te71 steering arm for a corona rt132(?) item which
bolts in and has more neg camber. after a wheel alignment camber showed 0degree's
(factory +1deg) and castor 2.5 deg. need another 10mm or so added to the lower arm
to give preferable 1 degree neg camber (or adjustable camber plate at the strut top) Had
my first ke70 track testing at the first D1NZ drift day (Taupo 18th Jan) with no clutch
slipping at all, nice and strong! Before replacing the clutch I had a few runs down
Meremere dragstrip which netted a best of 16.9sec with plenty of clutch slip and axle
tramping =( (same 60' time as my kp62 1300 single spinner starlet which got 18.6sec)
Work completed: 12.01.03
swapped hilux LSD rear for std te71 'T' series 6.7" diff due to unsatisfactory brakes
and width hassles. compression tested engine at 200psi on all four. Took it
into get a tune-up with emissions scope up the exhaust etc. hoping it would sort out
my rough idle, it did solve the surging at part throttle but hasn't fixed the lumpy
idle. they've adjusted the air-flow meter spring tension and idle emissions
screw. tested voltages all over the place, tested for air leaks blah blah, couldn't
find anything wrong?! I've hooked up the A/C electricals so I can push the air/con
button for an in dash idle-up if necessary =) see the link above (below the pics)
for a write-up on the 2tgeu conversion.
Work completed: 25.12.02
hee hee :) couple months later... have finally swapped the running gear from the te71 into ke70. basically stripped the whole ke70 and replaced it all with te71 gear. done within two weeks after work etc. the few original ke parts are the steering column and rack'n'pinion, modified ke70 engine crossmember and some dash parts, oh and everything externally like lights/indicators etc are still ke70 parts. wrote a few pages on the various differences so I'll eventually write up a conversion guide. yet to sort out a few problems but should have everything sorted for the upcoming toyspeed grass-khana and drift meets in the new year. the ke70 is now driveable again but not running at its optimum yet but its showing potential for a successful drifter =)
Work completed: 27.10.02
after a few trips to the garage I finally got a wof. have swapped in hilux diff coz they failed the locker.. is now running but need some work done on the setup of calipers coz its not right, and mounts are a little wider than the ke70/te71, so the links aren't parallel but still works fine with a preload on the link bushes. will have to run 6" wide rims or less on the rear due to the increased track width. the locating ring to centre rims onto the hilux diff are larger so I can't run factory corolla rims so that's one more thing ill need to modify =( but bonus is the 2 piece driveshaft from the te71 has a 20spline yolk (20spline t50) so it slotted into the k50 5spd. also shock mounts are bigger on the hilux(?) diff so the shock rubbers don't fit (easily). bought some sa60 Celica hockey stick style guard mounted mirrors (for factory sleeper look). swapped in te71 seats. prefer the ke70 ones as they're more adjustable. the te71 rear seats are a bitch to get out because you need to pry the bottom front of the seat up whereas the ke70 has a little clip that pushes in. so I found I can swap that same ke70 clip arrangement into the te71 rear seats =)
Repairs completed: 18.09.02
replaced about 5 light bulbs in gauge cluster, heater controls and in tail-light. found a ke70 dx sedan 1pce driveshaft which fits perfect. new gearbox oil. plenty of panel beating and rust work including either welding in patches or filling with bog. nasty. bought a te71 Levin wreck for the parts. it has a hilux 'G' series 8" LSD diff(?) with te71 disk brake conversion, nolothane bushes, king springs, 2tgeu, t50 in running order, still driveable. so I'll just bolt all the bits from this car into the ke70.
Repairs completed: 24.07.02
needed an extension wire for the k50 reverse light switch as it was once auto. found one on a w55 box out of a corona mark2 wagon.
fitted some side mirrors taken from my te71. these are cheap aftermarket items.
bought a te71 f/r guard. as mine is dented as u can see in the picture. will replace it one day.
bought a l/h guard indicator light and side strip because it was missing.
Repairs completed: 07.07.02
Gearbox crossmember -I found that I had a kp61 starlet crossmember bolted to a starlet k50 g-box in the garage. this bolted into the ke70! the ke70 k50 has a different g-box mount requiring me to redrill the mounting bolt holes wider and further forward for the rubber, also slotting the large centre hole to suit.
Driveshaft -haven't found the correct shaft yet. ke25 shaft will fit with mods. although it looks to be about 30mm short,only two bolts on the diff end line up, the other two need slotting something like 4mm (but better to completely redrill the 4 holes in between the factory holes. remember this ke70 diff is a 'U' series 6", same as the ke25 but different ratio -3.9:1. rwd starlet shaft would bolt in if only it was longer. may try ke30/ke35 shaft if I have no luck finding a ke70 item. the ke25 shaft is bolted up at the moment so I can drive it around my property.
Carbs -swapped the single 4k carb and intake manifold for my ke25 3kb twin carbs/twin manifold. some difficulties were experienced but solved. main one was the ke70 throttle cable has a larger knob thingee on the end of it. had to add a brake booster vacuum hose fitting on #4 intake runner. all required parts can be interchanged from the 4k manifold.
Exhaust -bought a 2" (3x coby's) exhaust from a te71 coupe (which I knew would bolt in) for $50. this is hangin in there including the 2tgeu secondaries. have swapped the 4-into-1 4k exhaust manifold for a 4-2-1 type. am welding the 'K' twin secondary exhaust flange onto the 2tgeu secondaries to get them to match the manifold
Radiator -original item has the oil cooler fittings on the bottom (was an auto). also the overflow tube is broken off and the water piping had been rerouted after the previous owner bolted the starlet thermostat housing in which faces the left with is the opposite way, (this was done to get the thermo switch for an electric fan- tho a facelift kp61 faces to the right ). I had a twincore radiator in the garage which was one of the parts received when I bought a 2tgeu out of a TE71 sprinter. which had the correct in/out piping both on the left hand side =D