Chiefs mk1.5

[chief44]

Hi all. Well, I've had the car for over a year now and have done a fair bit of work to it, so it's about time I knocked up one of these here project threads. Enjoy!

I bought the car from a chap in Birmingham who was selling two white mk1s. I was looking for something cheap and requiring work, so I chose the one with a failing head gasket for £300. Completely standard with obligatory touches of rust on the rear arches

Here it is at home for the first time.



Then I quickly got to work on HG. It hadn't failed terribly, just starting to lose water. This was the first time I'd removed an engine, let alone taken alot of it apart so it was a huge learning curve for me. It was a very enjoyable job.




















I fitted a full head gasket kit, timing belt kit and three piece clutch kit.

Also decided to give the standard wheels a bit of a refurb. Not a great job, I admit, but looked pretty good from a distance!

Before....


After....


I gave the cam covers a bit of a spruce-up too. Turned out pretty good I think.



So then came the first start. A horrible screech and plenty of smoke later, and here we are. The alternator had seized. Champion. Banged another in, job done.



Got myself a nice aftermarket steering wheel on ebay too. A nice simple momo I think.



Then decided to drop it a bit using some -40mm springs. It's not a permanent fitting, some decent suspension will be happening in the near future.

Before....



After....

[Jiff Lemon]

So when's the lump coming back out and which revision tubby is going in?

[Paul Woods]

I think it will be converted to turbo in about 3 minutes time Jiff lol

[chief44]

Yes sir! Just awaiting the thread to be approved. Here comes the rest....

[chief44]

Here we are then. Lots of work done and the car's running perfectly. It was a real joy to drive. So, time to change the engine I reckon!
I did ALOT of research on the subject and decided the use a 3sgte. I had the same engine in my old celica st185. (a cracking car running 18psi and around 300bhp)
It seemed to be the perfect choice for my mk1.

My old celica...







So out comes the engine again.







I was on a bit of a deadline here as the work is happening in my old mans garage. I was due to head off to america for 6weeks with work so I was determined to get the engine in, with the driveshafts on so that the car could be rolled in and out of the garage easily.

Next job, engine mounts. The old ones were swiftly cut/drilled out.





I used the templates from the twobrutal site. Then I contacted genius mr paul woods. He provided me with a jig for me to get the mounts in just the right place. And it worked perfectly. Soon we had the mounts tacked and the engine dummy fitted.



Gave the new engine a bit of a tidy up. Also fitted a new timing belt and water pump.

Once again, a bit of cam cover care.



I got some brand new st185 outer cv joints from the ever helpful TCB. These we eventually fitted to the mk2 shafts. Getting the original joints of the shafts requires some serious hammering. About 30minutes of me and my dad knocking the hell out of them later, tada...

[chief44]

Here's the new lump hanging, not quite in position...



Then off to work for almost two months. Eventually got back to the old girl and a big pile of ebay goodies.



So with the hard part done and the engine hanging on it's own mounts, it's time build the engine back up. Once again, work looms ready to take me away from the project so I was working 15hour days all week to get it running before I go.




Here's the alternator on the st185 bracket with our own fabricated tension mounty bit.





Next up, wiring. Again Paul Woods has been a HUGE help with this part of the build. I used his guide (again to be found on the twobrutal site) which is such a helpful piece of work. Thanks to this guide and afew phone calls I got the wiring completed in afew days. It's not pretty, alot of the wire lengths are different lengths, but it all works, so pfffft!

The old loom...



ECU mounted in the boot, all plugged up.



Another bit of fabbing here. I bracket to take the weight of the air flow meter.



The new boost gauge...



Now then, all that's left is mounting the expansion tank, fitting all the water hoses, and generally putting things back together.
And here it is, all ready to fire.

My intercooler pipes still hadn't arrived, so I just whacked the intercooler inbetween the turbo and throttle body.

[chief44]

So, the time finally came. Time to connect the battery up (which is in the front by the way). All good, no sparks or smoke anywhere. Lovely. Time to turn the key.
Fuel pump could be heard (forgot to mention we fitted a walbro pump. Horrible job, but done in afew hours). And it went perfectly. Fired up first time and idled spot on.
There was a bit of lumpyness in the lower revs. When you boot it the engine stutters a bit until it get to around 3k, then it's fine. So next on the list is a full service including plugs, leads, dizzy, blah blah blah. Hopefully that'll sort it.

Last job of the day was to weld up the gearlinkages. Welding inside a car isn't something I want to do again...



So at the end of the day I actually reversed the car back into the garage. Felt pretty nice!

[chief44]

So that's all for now. I'm off with work again for afew weeks so won't be updating for a while.
List of things to get it roadworthy are...

- strengthening the rear wall
- making a battery holder
- sorting the intercooler piping
- sorting the heat shield near the turbo
- full service

Then it'll be new brakes/wheels and suspension.
THEN it'll be arch repairs.

Champion. I cannot wait to give it a go!

[Charged]

Brilliant mate, good work and a good write up. Try and get it ready for JAE and bring it along.

Ollie

[chief44]

Cheers Ollie. Thanks again for sorting me with that exhaust. It was a straight fit and it's perfect for getting the car around for now, and not as loud as I thought it might be.
Yup, hopefully it'll be ready and I'll be around enough to get to some shows this year.