Beast Build Diary

[aztecbandit1]

Should be good fun though mate and worth all the work your doing :)

[jason_l]

Should be good fun though mate and worth all the work your doing :)

Hope so, haven't actually driven one yet Im dying to get this on the road, or even use it on a track. I hope i haven't wrecked the handling of it with the starlet engine in it! :shutit:

Jason :P

[dandydons]

Great project . Will be keeping an eye out for the updates. Good luck with it all. I have a fairly heavily modified starlet which is a bit of a handful so god knows what this beast will be like !

[jason_l]

*** Update ***

Going to be a busy weekend so as i have a few minutes free i wanted to update a few things now while i can.

Got the buggy moved this morning to its new home for the next 1-2 months while i work on a few parts till its off to have the engine fitted.

It was hit or miss if the rain would hold out this morning but it did so i shot out and got the buggy to my work's workshop while i had the chance. I now have loads of tools at my disposal that i didn't have before and are so usefull :)

Can work on it when i want now as i have keys to the building and they are open daily anyway. so evenings, weekends, lunch breaks etc

Here is a few of it in the workshop, you can see how much room i have.........

Got the pedal box welded up first, not the best weld i know but its my first ever bit of welding....this has improved dramatically!

I have been toying with the idea of removing the Battery tray and moving it somewhere else but thought it made more sense keeping it at the front. I cut the front off and grinded it back and rewelded the front piece back on. I have a strap that will be used to hold it down in place. I would use a smaller Battery but weight at the front is a good thing :) Radiator will be mounted just in front of this, when i get a radiator anyway.

I then fitted the pedals to the box and have drilled the holes for the mastercylinders, im currently in the process of rebuilding the brake cylinder with new internals. This was then roughly placed and tacked in place and will be fully welded in place tomorrow.

Will update again later this weekend. :)

Jason :P

[jason_l]

*** Small Update ***

Well yesterday i went back to the workshop and managed to get a little more done as it wasn't too busy.

Firstly started with getting the pedalbox fully welded in, was a bit tricky but got it done in the end. A little messy but its in the correct position and will get cleaned up later when it goes up to toyotaGT next month. :)

As im keeping the Battery right at the front of the car i can now fit the kill switch, this has been put in the passenger footwell.

and then finally to meet the IVA regs i have had to fit some spacers to the frame to space the mirrors out so they can actually be of any use. Just welded them up and drilled the holes, they will be sprayed up Tomorrow if i get the chance.

I have put a hole in the rollcage padding and slid it over the end mounting point. This covers up the end so will help out at IVA stage as its covering the so called 'sharpe edges'.

Frame is starting to look a bit messy with all these bare metal, primer parts but when the car is all done and i don't need to do any more welding etc then it will be sand blasted and resprayed.

I also had some great news from ToyotaGT, they had a few hours spare last week so they have already removed the engine form the starlet and are starting to look it over! I have been told that on first impressions its in great condition and they will soon be doing a compression test and inspecting it further. I think they are as excited as me about getting this on the road! :)

As always i will keep you all updated when i can.

Jason :P

[sparkystav]

Excellent mate, so this will be fully road legal?

immense!

[jason_l]

Excellent mate, so this will be fully road legal?

immense!

Yes, thats the whole reason i bought this kit! I really don't see any point in keeping it 'off road' as i will need a trailer, something to tow it with etc. And makes it more fun if you can just get in it and drive about on the road :) Haven't double checked insurance yet but with the mini 1275gt engine in it was only £100 per year (restricted to 3000 miles), so hopefully won't be much more with the starlet GT engine in it.

Jason :P

[sparkystav]

Excellent, perfect for the daily commute

[chrisis200]

Going to be so much fun in the summer time for you, but so strange to see it come flying past lol..

[jason_l]

Going to be so much fun in the summer time for you, but so strange to see it come flying past lol..

Going to be a bit weird, have always wanted a car thats completely different and this is pretty strange I want it done soooooo much now

*** another small update ***

Well went back to the workshop today and managed to do a few small things. Had to actually do some work today so didn't have time to do too much. I also didn't know where my boss was going to let me keep the buggy so didn't want to completely strip it down only to be told to move it out of the workshop. Luckily my boss has said i can keep it in the workshop and it has been moved out of the way. Now i can start fully breaking down the front end and painting the hubs/arms/etc.

Did get the Battery strap fitted to the car so now this ain't going anywhere :)

Then started work on the front discs and hub parts. Cleaned the the rust off the discs, they are brand new but becasue the car has been sat in the wet for a bit they looked bad. Painted the parts i could black.

Then got the adjustable tie rods off the car, sprayed black and then back on the car. I added some bits of clear shrink wrap that will be shrunk over the lock nut when the camber/steering is all finally set up.

These will be coming off again when i do the camber arms and the rest of the hub parts now i know that the car is out of the way i can remove all these parts.

The rest of this month will be me cleaning and painting up parts and rebuilding them back on the car as i am trying to stick to a tight budget and not spend anything else on the car this month.

Jason :)

[jason_l]

*** Little Update ***

Been working on the car before work as i have been pretty busy this week.

Got the dual brake master cylinder rebuilt with new seals and internals and even gave it a coat of black hammerite to keep it from rusting.

Got one of the front brake calipers overhauled with new seals throughout and brand new stainless steel calipers, now just have to do the other one :(

here is what it looked like before..........

and here is what it looks like after......... :)

Needs a bit of the paint retouching up but mainly there. Now just have to start the other one.

I know its not much of a update but peoples posative comments usually keep me motivated :)

I will be at the workshop on Sunday as Girlfriend is going to a Ace Cafe bike meet so have some free time :) Hopefully update again then with more done!

Jason

[jason_l]

*** More pictures :) ***

Was back at the workshop today to get some more things on the go, bit of a pain as its a 20 mile drive each way but at least i have lots of room to work on the buggy and loads of tools.

Got both the front hubs removed and managed to get one stripped down, painted with several coats of hammerite and all back together. Got the brake caliper back on as well so looks all good now.

Have added several pieces of heatshrink to the adjustable arms so that when the camber/tracking is all done it can be shrunk around the nuts to help prevent them rusting and keep it all in place a bit better.

Before i started.......

and after being reasembled.....

Will be getting the brake pads and clips in tomorrow when everything is all dried. :)

Jason :)

[chrisis200]

I do enojoy this thread as I always say lol.. but looks like it's really coming along nicely, the before & after pics show this. Looks alot more tidy with a lick of paint, you enjoying yourself Jason while doing this?

Also learning the new welding skills ;)

[jason_l]

I do enojoy this thread as I always say lol.. but looks like it's really coming along nicely, the before & after pics show this. Looks alot more tidy with a lick of paint, you enjoying yourself Jason while doing this?

Also learning the new welding skills ;)

Thanks Chris :D

I am enjoying building this but like most things it has its good days and its bad days. I don't know much stuff mechanically but have learnt LOADS building this, Im enjoying it most of the time and i keep regular updates even if i haven't done much as it keeps me motivated when people leave comments :)

Now and then i get quite bored with it, but thats just because at the moment im cleaning rust off alot of things and painting them which takes SOOOOO long :( Its almost at a point where it will be going to ToyotaGT for the engine to be put into it (4-5 weeks time) so i won't be able to work on it for a while.

Plan is for them to get engine in and running and most of the wiring done, then it will be coming back to me so i can get seats in, new wheels and start IVA work. Before its road legal im going to go for a few track days to see what it handles like, then will be going back to TGT to be mostly finished off and then back to me to check everything over for IVA. Its a long old road but im slowly getting there.

I believe TGT will be bringing it to JAE as well, means i can bring my lexus along as well then :D

Im going up to TGT on saturday to see what they have done with my starlet and start taking a few bits off it that i have sold :P I will update again soon with lots more pictures as usual.

Jason :P

[jason_l]

*** Little update ****

Well today i thought it was time to turn a little bit of my attention towards the GT, about time i actually looked over it i guess. All i have done with this car is pick it up drop it off with ToyotaGT and take a few pictures.

Well when i got there the car looked like this............

Im sure there is meant to be something here but couldn't work out what it should be?????

Mess................

Decided to have the car lowered..........here is the outcome

They took the engine out over 2 weeks ago! They said they had a little look at it and on first impressions it seemed to be in a pretty good state. Its currently sat in the workshop waiting a good clean down next week before the real fun begins.

He said it took about 2 and a half hours to get the thing out of the car as the smashed front was in the way.

While i was there we both had a good look over the engine and it all looks good, there is a small crack in the manifold but this will be sorted later. There is a real small bit of play on the turbo but nothing im worried about. He did a leakage test on each cylinder and they all came out with around a 33% leak. This involved connecting a gauge up to a compressor and checking each cylinder in turn. any thing up to a 40% leak is acceptable and within the green part of the gauge so all is fine for the moment. When the car is running this will equate to about a 0.005% leak so will be fine.

Going to get the engine in the car pretty much as it is and not worry about changing clutch etc at the moment as there is alot of work ahead of us getting the thing in the car.

As always i will keep people updated when i can.

Thoughts???

Jason :P

[chrisis200]

The sun was out in Nottingham on Friday an a boy was driving around on a quad bike I thought silly and he clearly couldn't keep up. Now the buggy is going to be a rocket & think it will actually look great as well, I cant wait to hear the sound of the turbo its going to be so loud I imagine lol..

[jason_l]

*** Rims and Rubber ***

Well as i have been working on the front end recently i decided to buy the wheels for the front so i can start looking at making the arch mounts. The existing ones i have are buggered so i need to get some new ones made.

Decided to get some slicks on the car for the moment for a few reasons, going to be doing some track days before the car is road legal and these are so much cheaper than the road tyres i will be using. Picked up 2 part worn michelin racing slicks from eBay for £40 delivered (bargain!!!!!!!). Toyo R888's are roughly £60 each but no point in buying them yet if the car is going to be sat about doing nothing!

Then friday the 2 front wheels turned up :) Would have got a full set but im not 100% sure if i will be using the mini hubs on the front. The wheels i got are the Superlight deep dish 13x7 inch with -7 offset £140 for 2 wheels delivered :) also got a set of chrome wheel nuts from the bay.

Have been trying to get my mate to fit the tyres but he has been too busy so haven't had a chance yet :( But hopefully get them done soon and on the car.

Saturday i managed to get over to TGT and look at the engine, looks mint and im going up there next weekend to rip a few bits off the car and get them sand blasted/powdercoated/painted/polished etc.

What you guys think of the wheels???

Jason :)

[jason_l]

*** Small Update ***

Dropped the wheels and tyres off with a mate last night and then he dropped them off fitted this morning at 6:30am, legend! So on my lunch break i got them fitted, what a difference!!!!!!!

Before..........

one done.........

and both on.........

Completely changes the look of the car now, looks so mean! Just a shame i have to put arch's over them :(

Jason :)

[sparkystav]

Looks smart mate

[chrisis200]

quite pimp, it looked a play toy before.. now as you say a proper machine, I know the giant engine will clearly make it look serious anyway ;)

[jason_l]

*** Update ***

Got up to ToyotaGT yesterday and spent the day stripping bits off the engine to clean up and paint/powdercoat etc while i have some time. Got the rocker cover, inlet manifold and fuel rail, along with some other bits and bobs.

The buggy is going up to have the engine fitted in two weeks time (can't wait, its finally hapening ) so i have till then to get the bits done and when i drop the buggy off i will refit them to the engine then.

I also have one caliper to finish off and the rear adjustable toe arms to make for the back of the car and look at front arch mounts if i get time before it goes up to TGT.

Anyway today i started work on the fuel rail.

Yesterday i gave it a quick sand blast to clean the majority of the muck off and it ended up something like this........

Completely broke it down to pieces and powdercoated some of the parts in candy red, as thats one of the few colours we have at work.....

Powdercoated some of the brackets i have as well as one of the turbo pipes in the same colour..........

I think the colour on the fuel rail parts will be fine but i don't know about the other parts, i have ordered some hi chrome and gun metal powders so i will probably redo the brackets and turbo pipe and then do the rocker cover and inlet with the gun metal powder.

Started polishing the fuel rail but because of its shape its extremely fiddly so may just powdercoat it with the chrome :)

Jason :)

[sparkystav]

Looks great mate. comin along now

Stav

[jason_l]

*** Update ***

Other day i managed to get the fully adjustable rear arms on the car with. Look loads better and now mean i have a greater amount of adjustment available, plus they are rose jointed so loads better than the original ones.

Well the buggy is now with ToyotaGT awaiiting fitment of the 4EFTE

While i was there i got the engine rebuilt, didn't bother cleaning up too many bits as paint/powdercoat will enevitablly get chipped etc when the engine is being fitted/moved etc.

Anyway here are a few more pictures..................

picking up the car

Turning up at ToyotaGT

Rebuilt engine with candy red bits

The GT isn't scrapped yet so now the buggy is parked up next to it, soon there will only be 1 car here

Not really much i can do while the buggy is at ToyotaGT so im going to spend the next month or 2 reading through the IVA manual and working on a bit here and there. Will be up at ToyotaGT every other saturday seeing whats going on and helping out!

I have left them with a digital camera so hopefully they may take a few pictures as they get the engine in the car, as always i will keep you all updated

Jason :P

[Yeldarb]

Busy boys at TGT. Could do with a little more tread on the tyres for the MOT

[jason_l]

Well i dropped the 'Demon' off with TGT on saturday and this morning they called me back with some news.

The starlet engine doesn't fit in the mini subframe by a long way! Subframe needs to be another 6 inch's wider.

I have given them the go ahead to widen the rear of the buggy by 6 inch's and becasue of the extra width im lengthening the thing by 12 inch's or so. This should mean that the handling should be better also and help with space to mount the petrol tank. Also this means while i am changing this i will be changing the suspension over to coilovers, rather than the rubbish mini rubber doughnut suspensoin.

I phoned them back at 11:30 this morning to see what they needed in terms of extra steel. Much to my surprise they told me that they have already cut the rear off the buggy and they are now waiting on the me to order the steel.

I know they work pretty quick at TGT but this is crazy, they have only had the car a few days, and this is the first day back from the weekend. The car wasn't even officially booked in so i didn't think they would be doing any work until they have a chance to make some time.

If they continue at this rate the car will be on the road by the end of the week

Jason :P