Its been a while but update on project 'CJN'

Jamezzy,how you doing. Your car is a cool looking beast,it don't need too much shine :cool

I haven't got many mechanical type updates at the moment,she's running really well so i'm inclined to think if it ain't broke don't fix it.I'm sure that statement will inevitably bite me right in the arse as it's a gen4 I'ts part of what keeps us coming back I spose.
Though I do need to get round to replacing the oil cooler,mine has a weep at one side TBH so ill be looking to put my spare on.

I seem to post up tarty pictures all the time ,but as they seem to go down pretty well ill stick another couple up.Im looking to get my white 5 spoke Nakajima alloys refurbed again but my job is looking very shaky and I may be redundant in the next few weeks so any outlay car wise is on hold unfortunately.Typical of the economy everywhere I spose. Anyway,i had a local car meet the other day and it was actually sunny :hehe Something you Californian types will go "yeah so what" but this is England boys you got to make the most of it LOL.Met a guy with a really good condition 165,got a bit of tape over a hole in the front indicator but other than that its pretty mint!

Pics

 

Well things are moving on a bit now...ive sourced a 1998 SS3 JDM Celica from a CCUK member whos breaking it due to expenses and the superstrut needing replacing...its worth more in bits like a lot of these cars unfortunately.
So,ive relieved him of the important bits of the shell,he's sold the doors,rear suspension and other bits,and unfortunately the LSD gearbox...but it does still come with a very nice clean 85000 mile BEAMS engine nestling in it,which will eventually be sitting in CJN.Happy days!

 

Definitely Jon,will be a great upgrade :hehe

 

Been down to the workshop to lend a hand with the heavier side of things.first off,REV1 3sge out...(pics taken on phone,sorry for quality)



Far easier lifting the car rather than the engine and box!







Now ive always had a bit of an issue with a bit of water coming in,me Sidewayz and Doug always knew there was an issue in one corner,mainly due to the fact I know the car had a whack many years back.So stripping the whole engine bay gave us the opportunity to see what the situation was.Brake booster and PAS out..and heres the problem





Well theres always the good the bad AND the ugly!

The seam had opened up and of course the rust had got in there,hence the leak.Bek,who's doing this work,had a good look at the welding situation and also the structural issue.Luckily according to the Toyota body manual,the tolerances are well within limits,the strut tower is slightly out for obvious reasons as the seam has moved apart,which also means the lower ball joint is a couple of mm out as well.But its fixable,theres plenty of good metal and the rusty bit looks worse than it really is,so itll be closed back in,strengthened and welded form both sides.The front of the car itself is all square,its just over time that seam has opened itself probably due to stress from a previous hit.Of course this means that the interior strip will be far more comprehensive due to the welding from the inside.So all will come out,already started removing the soundproofing from the drivers footwell.the floorpan itself is okay.So going to put us behind again,but at least I know know the problem,and itll be done properly and safely.

Already stripped out the aircon,dont need it,never had it gassed up anyway so just dead weight.I'd already ordered the short belt kit for the BEAMS in anticipation of not running the aircon pump.So a bit of weight gone too...plus,without the aircon radiator there its freed up a lot of cooling due to better airflow from the front end.:hurrayI'll be putting a smaller reg plate on the front of the car to expose the 'gaps' in the front bumper assembly then probably mesh them from behind to stop debris getting through.



Brake booster not required as we need to use the slimmer one from the SS3 donor car anyway.Oil cooler had some damage on one side so binned that too,and will be fitting a replacement

 

Interesting stuff guys,thanks for all that ! Hopefully all will go back on track again once the rust has been sorted (how many times does a gen4 owner have to say that statement LOL)

 

Motor is still out of the car so will check that out too

 

One of the guys on CCUK says he has one but haven't received it yet,if you could email it to me mate that would be a great help,thanks !:thumbsup: pm sent

 

Big thanks to Adam for the wiring diagrams,great to be part of a worldwide community :cool Cheers mate.

Progress is ongoing,front end parts all aligned as they should be ,well within Toyota's recommended tolerances.Got to as close as .02mm out on the strut which is as good as you can expect.Never had any issues before TBH,car always tracked true ,no tyre scrub ,nothing; but at least now we have it done .

Couple pics

Prepping for welding



Engine is almost there now.Quick shot from the top







Blocks been painted in black VHT,the silver bits are all silver again,ill pop some pics up after ive been back to the workshop next Sunday

 

Progress report on the BEAMS swap...my buddy Bek who's doing the swap has been putting in some serious hours;mainly with welding,(d'oh) and sussing the wiring changes.But he's not one to give up easily and he's systematically worked out between the looms whats needed and where..so the story so far

Was no good doing things by half,so basically just stripped the whole car out





Best way to weld safely and easily,and also to just get the car really solid and do it once and do it right

Needed the fuel tank out to remove the 162 pump and modify the BEAMS fuel pump slightly ...so a great opportunity to check the tank.It was luckily in excellent order,so wire brushed it back,rust treated the whole thing with a Kurust coat,then painted up.Also under the car where the fuel tank sits was good,so again given the treatment,and Waxoyled the floorpan there.In fact,I went through and rewaxoyled most of the car anyway.The outside of the car has always been good,it rusted from the inside due to the firewall rot hiding behind the brake booster as you all saw.



don't know if the 162 fuel pump is man enough for the 200bhp engine,but why be lazy and find out later its no good.BEAMS one is smaller,but it powered the BEAMS engine properly before so that's what were using.The joy of having the donor car outside to take the necessary bits off as you go



Wiring :Gen4 dash loom and gen6




Ill be honest here,all credit to Bek whos taken the job on because I have not the first clue where to start with the wiring,can do basic mechanical stuff and ill have a go at anything with the right tools and info,but man how guys work out what powers what and all that jazz fries my brain.Havent got the knowledge or the patience to unravel yards of car wiring.plus going from a UK st162 to the JDM BEAMS stuff makes it even trickier,even with the right info.This is why I have a Bek. LOL

Mechanically,all is well



Moving on well



Interior being worked on,this is as of last week



Hope this link works.Very poor quality phone footage of initial test firing to see if she lived.



and she does

Sound quality is again poor but you get the idea (this wasn't recorded with a smartphone LOL)



Sounds well,i like 'em loud.

So we're rocking,fitting a slimline 9" fan as a secondary now the aircon is all out the way so in traffic,the main fan and the slimline will kick in,allied to the lower opening thermostat will keep her happy when im getting her hot and bothered..
She needs a test run or two still,taking it sensibly to make sure all is well but hopefully on Sunday ill bring her back home from the lock up
Next job will be to do the suspension properly,currently got Spax springs but stock inserts etc so be saving the pennies for maybe some coilovers.