jason_l

Think it was Looney???

Nice metalic grey ISF reg LEX 15F at the bottom of the M271 , northbound, just coming round the corner about 5:30pm on Friday evening. I was stuck in the traffic going southbound but instantly saw your car, was the reg i saw first

Jason :P

I debadged mine a while ago now, still has a clue to what it is though I like it without the badges than with, i guess its like Marmite! :shutit:

Jason :P

*** 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 :)

Holy ***** Chris!

Just looked at this post and i can't believe its your engine bay! You had one of the nicest engine bays i had seen, not just lexus! Im really sorry to see this mate and i hope it gets fixed for you without too much hassle or cost mate!

Jason :(

*** 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 :)

*** 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 :)

*** 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

Looking forward to seeing (and hearing) yours , but not as much as seeing mine!!

Just got back from seeing the beast in the flesh! Looks amazing i must say, the engine looks like it came in the car and the work they have done is amazing. If i had the cash i would be doing the same conversion but i don't.

I didn't take any pictures as i think Yeldarb should be the one to show you all the final outcome and tell everyone just how good it is.

Jason :P

Congratulations Mate! all done and dusted............almost!

Now that this is done they can get on with my car

I will be the first to see it then as im going up there tomorrow

Jason :P

hope this goes through

If Graham cannot get these made then i CAN, but im letting Graham make them as he was approached first! Either way these will get made so don't worry!

Jason :P

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

Ok, i have emailed Graham the CAD file of the A/C piece just now

keep up the good work Patrik, I love this car!

Have you thought about maybe swapping the front grill for a carbon fibre one so that the carbon continues from the bonnet and around the grill? if that makes sense?

Like Yemgi's car.

Jason :P

*** 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 :)

*** 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

I can only say what everyone else has said Mate!

Glad you are ok and i really do hope that your family member gets well soon!

Jason :P

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 :)

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

*** 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

*** 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

I have just got in and have been drawn to this post because i too have been wandering where Wozza has been?

When i originally joined this forum 5/6 years ago it was great, i thought the mods did a great job and everyone, for the most part, got along ok. I was on here daily and thought that this forum was far better than any other because of the way it was run.

Now i can't really comment on whats going on here as i don't know the full story and nor do i give a dam as to whats going on with Wozza. As far as i saw he was one of the better moderators and never did i think that he was doing anything wrong. The work he has done to make LOC a great place has been second to none and i feel that its a great shame to have lost him as a mod and more importantly i now feel that we may have lost him for good because of this.

Recently i feel that the website has gone a bit downhill with all this secret PM's, rumours, bollox etc i have been thinking long and hard if im going to attend JAE this year because i just can't stand this crap and this is sort of making me feel that i just won't bother this year and save myself the hassle.

Just my 2 pence worth, this is not aimed at anyone specifically!

Jason

Count me in, i haven't done the poll but any date is fine with me! :D

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

The disc brakes were originally designed for the 1275 gt model and cooper S and basicly the same system was used on the MG metro turbo for a while IIRC, which i had on a few of my mini's, they do work well but glaze over pretty quick and fade under high speed braking, So might be wise to source a set of drilled disc's :)

Nice work matey and look forward to seeing the finished animal :)

Thats correct chris :) These are the same ones that are fitted to the early cooper models, planning on running fast road pads and drilled discs but got to be so carefull. The brakes on this lock up so quickly so can't go over the top and have to get the brake bias just right.

This car is a complete mish mash of parts as nothing is straight forward as a conversion like this has never been done before in one of these!

It has Fiat radiator and other parts, Mini subframe and hubs, Toyota engine, gearbox and ECU, landrover master cylinder, and an array of other makes of cars

Getting there though!

so are you using brakes designed for a 1000cc mini

Yes, because the kit is mini based im using mini hubs so mini brakes. The car is so light that the brakes will be more than enough!