Hilux 4x4 Forum

Hey guys!

Been a long time... Let me fill you guys in on what I've been up to the last while

Lets start at the beginning. Back in 2009 I found a little Corsa with no engine for a real bargain. Bought it to fix up for a little daily runabout

The day I got it:

Built it an engine. Me being me it obviously wouldn't be stock. Used a 1600 sub, 1300 head, 270 deg cam, bigger throttle body, injectors from a 2l8v Gsi, lightened 1300 flywheel, 1300 gearbox, Dicktator management. Made a healthy 70kw on the wheels with over 120nm. Really nippy little 1600

Next I changed the wheels and fitted a set of Eibach springs



Also changed the calipers to those from a Superboss, with a set of ATE disks

Looks good. But why 1300 head on 1600 block, don't a 1300 head have smaller valves?

Drove it like that for quite some time, and regularly took part in sprint events. Did really well too, won my class a couple of times

Kept on driving it like this until about February this year, when it broke a cambelt. Decided that I needed another car anyway, so I bought a Figo in the meantime. Left the Corsa standing for a while, kinda delaying the repair for no real reason other than that I didn't feel like doing it. I then decided on doing what I had been dreaming of doing since I was a 6 year old boy - I'm gonna go racing. I've been threatening to do it for the last 8 years, but every year I put it off...

Seeing as I had to pick up a spanner, might as well go all-out!

pietpetoors wrote:Looks good. But why 1300 head on 1600 block, don't a 1300 head have smaller valves?

Valves are ecactly the same size - did it to up the compression

Oh, that's interesting.

Must be an adrenalin rush to have all that power in such a small car.

Very nice.

Started stripping the car









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Painted the engine bay before setting about the suspension





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Got the suspension bits


Poly'd shock mounts. Don't know if it will be a gain in terms of handling, but at least I know they won't fall apart anytime soon




Poly bushes for the LCA's




More poly! Give me moar poly!!!




Rear springs - new vs Eibach




Front springs - new vs Eibach




ARB - new vs old




Fresh coat of paint on the shock mounts, with some fresh lock nuts

Now you will probably wonder why put standard shocks in a race car... Well that's because the Superhatch regulations state that it must be so. All about keeping things affordable

Meanwhile I got another set of calipers. Got from a 2l Astra. Reason being that racing compound pads for Superboss calipers cost R3700, for an Astra it's R2000






Fitted the front calipers with the old disks - only want to fit the new disks (Powerbrake) and pads (Cobalt) when I'm going to the track. Fella who sold them to me gave me very specific bedding-in instructions which I intend to follow to the letter



Got the rear axle back with the anti-roll bar. Keen to see what this does to the rear end in terms of handling





Seeing as I had it, I thought I might as well fit it. Also did the new springs and shocks







Put new seals in the rear brakes after some use of black paint



Addes some new wheelbearings, put the old drums and shoes back (still good) and put a wheel back on the car - felt like a small victory haha



Put some new tie-rod ends on the steering rack, put that back in the car, and put the front wheels on.

We have touchdown!!!!





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Worst job on the car? Getting it from this:



To this:





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Off to TNT for the rollcage



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Back from TNT






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So this is how things stand after this weekend











Still have a lot of work to do, but thankfully I already have most of the parts.

Bought seats, harness, steering wheel, guages, ignition panel, pistons, gaskets, head bolts, new lifters, oil filter relocation kit, oil cooler, extra set of rims, one set of semi-slicks, oil catch can... The list goes on. Want to give it its shakedown on 5 October when the VW club hosts a trackday at Kyalami.

Really excited!

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pietpetoors wrote:Oh, that's interesting.

Must be an adrenalin rush to have all that power in such a small car.

Very nice.

Yeah this one is fun, but the previous one was in a completely different league - 2l16v turbo making 186kw on the wheels on daily boost levels... This one is much slower lol

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looks very nice. whish I could do that one day. so what colour is it going to be ? also what motor are you running in it this time ?

jou werk lyk NETJIES !

Very nice work.

Froll wrote: Very nice work.

Roger I can just see you ITCHING to get involved with that project ...

rigardt wrote:looks very nice. whish I could do that one day. so what colour is it going to be ? also what motor are you running in it this time ?

Thanks Rigardt!

I'm painting it white for two reasons: easy fo fix, and it's cheap

Motor wise, I'm just going to run a 1600 8v Corsa engine with minor modifications. In the Superhatch series, the classes work on power/weight ratio. Now with me planning on running in class C, and me guessing the total weight on about 1000kg including me, I only need around 65kw. I also want to keep the small block motor, because with the big block I really didn't like the way it handled

ChrisF wrote:jou werk lyk NETJIES !

Dankie, Chris

Ek probeer hom so netjies bou as ek kan, maar ek onthou myself dat dit nie n skou kar is nie, maar n resieskar. Hy sal net mooi lyk op die dag wat hy klaar is, en van daar af gaan hy n steil afdraende loop

Funksie bo vorm op die een, maar hy moet darem nog ordentlik lyk

Froll wrote: Very nice work.

Thanks!

Party ouens is darem geseend om so lekker met hulle hande te kan werk.
As ek so geseend was het daar lankal 'n Lexus V8 in my Hilux gebrul!

Been busy with lots of wiring and dash assembly. Coming along slowly

Two of the big things are:

Battery relocated



Centre console remodelled



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Also stripped the sub assembly yesterday and dropped it all off at the engineering works. Noticed the one piston had a busted ring gland. It seems it was a badly casted piston though, as the marks on the broken section looked odd... This will explain the nasty little missfire I had when going over 6000rpm. Other than that there were no indications that there was anything wrong with the motor

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Andre, it's looking great
Guess the hilux has taken a back row seat for now

Must let us know when the first track day arrives.

Yeah the last while the only tlc the Hilux gets is its service every 5000km. That's the beauty of a Hilux though - give it the attention it needs amd it just carries on faithfully

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Worked a bit on the car tonight...

This afternoon I picked up a used steering column from a scrappy. Rhe previous owner of my Corsa managed to stuff the original one up properly when he installed an aftermarket steering wheel... Chop...

Anyways, installed the new one once I got home - feels much better now. Then continued with the dash assembly. It is pretty much done, except for the wiring of the centre console which I'll tackle once the engine is in. Wanted to install the new steering wheel too, but decided I'll rather leave that to do at the same time as the seats - don't want to get it dirty or damaged.

I may get the block and pistons back from the engineering shop tomorrow. Will then start with assembling the motor. Still undecided on which head I am going to use - my sensible side tells me to stick to the 1600 head as I know it won't ping so easily and be completely reliable, but the kid in me is screaming to fit the 1300 head again. Incredible how that motor revved up... And the torque it delivered was just mindblowing for a 1600 8v. I dunno, maybe I should just call Ross and hear what he thinks.

Some pics





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Baie netjiese werk.

I like the carpet you went with

Thunder02 wrote:I like the carpet you went with

Ja black carpeting is just sooo boring - this is way better

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janvg wrote:Baie netjiese werk.

Dankie, Man 8-)

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Got a bit done tonight. Fitted the brake master cylinder, but it was not such a great success... As I put the one line back, I managed to cross-thread the fitting at the tip... Not happy with myself for it. Will set about trying to fix it tomorrow morning before I go to graft. Also fitted the wiper mechanism, the relay box (suppose I could've just cut it all out seeing as there are no relays in it, but re-fitting it is actually less effort).

Going to be a while before I can actually work on it again - got folks visiting tomorrow, and they may find it rude if I work on the car at that time lol. Laaitie's birthday Thursday, stocktake on the weekend... Maaaybe I can work on it on Sunday again. If that's the case I really want to try get the engine built, bolted to the gearbox and get it in the car - if that happens and with a bit of luck I can maybe start it up next week

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Got the brake line sorted this morning

I actually had bad dreams about it last night

So for the first time in what feels like ages I was home on the weekend. Well, at least on on the Sunday.

Decided to build the engine today. Started off with the sub- assembly. All went well there. Basically fitted the new 40thou 1600 pistons, still running the normal 1600 crank and rods. New waterpump, new oil pump, new bearings, all new gaskets and whatnot



Tackled the head next. Took the 1300 head for the task. It is in really good shape still, just needed a good clean.



I think this head was used in a turbo application, so there was quite a bit of carbon build-up in the ports

First attacked it with a wire brush while the valves were still in there



Stripped the valves out



Left the valves to soak in diesel for a bit - makes it much easier to get the carbon off. Anyways, cleaned them up all nice, re-seated the valves, put the new stem-seals in and assembled the head again. Fitted the new thermostat and proceeded with assembling the engine

I sortof forgot about pictures at this stage, but this is where I ended up for the day







I'm just miffed with the fact that there was no cam-box seal in the Elring head set. Don't know if it was supposed to be in there or not - really odd that the cam seal is in there but not this one

So still to do on the engine:
Buy that sodding seal and get it in there
Buy the little rubber elbow that connects the rear breather pipe to the cambox
Get some other tappet cover bolts - I hate those torx bolts
Get normal bolts to replace the cap screws on the vernier pulley - they catch on the cambelt cover


Then I can bolt it to the gearbox, and get that in the car.

Was good progress today, but I am so frustrated at this stage with having to be at work every weekend... Piece of advice - if you are ever offered a position at an Italian company, run...

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Awesome stuff.

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Thanks, Grant

Nothing major done tonight - put the fuel rail in place, put the cap on the cambox with the new seal that I had to go buy today. Also put a new rubber pipe on the rear breather. With some luck I might get home early enough tomorrow night to bolt the gearbox to the motor and set about getting it into the engine bay

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Looking very awesome.

Managed to squeeze 2 hours in on it tonight... Nothing major accomplished





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hang in there.

it looks GOOD.

Nice job.WoW.........

And I love the carpeting!!!!

Plenty progress, the finishing always takes longer, all the detail work.
Looking Great

Thanks Manne!

So tonight I only got home at about 20h15... Decided to put on the overalls and get busy. Amazing how it feels like you're not really getting much done, but when you stand back and look at it all you realise you actually did quite a bit

Started off by fitting the rear gearbox mount, then fitted the branch. Fiddled about with some bits if plumbing and some of the wiring. Must say I am really happy with the battery being out of the engine bay - much more space to work with.

Tomorrow I need to get some sleeving for the wiring, as the old ones are starting to look a bit shoddy. Will then continue with plumbing and wiring tomorrow night, and with a drop of luck crank that sucker up on Saturday



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See you fitted a Cowley exhaust (branch) .... wonder how they compare to Viper or Brospeed?

Getting there and looking good!

Ja I went with the Cowley as it was the only 4-into-1 branch I could find. Viper only had the 4-2-1

This one has worked quite a charm though

A while ago I bought two seats for the car from Autostyle. I decided last week to ditch the idea of actually racing with that seat, and bought me an FIA approved seat from ATS. Tonight I put the aluminium mounts I bought with it on there, and put it in the car for a bit of a look-see....



This seat won't be going in the car as yet - will put the cheapies in for now. Will fit the Cobra seat once I have the time to do it properly

Will carry on in the morning

Oh ja- fitted the starter and alternator too

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Looking very awesome so far.

Busy day today

Started off by replacing the cv boots on the driveshafts. New grease, new boots, nice and clean, then put 'em in place. Tightened the cv's and done. Then I set about fitting the seats. Bit of a mission... End of the day they are in, but I'm not happy with the position of the driver's seat - it isn't properly in line with the steering wheel. Sits about 4 inches too far to the right. Will sort that out quickly tomorrow morning before the shops open.

Need to buy some cables to sort the wiring now that the battery has been moved.

So tomorrow after fixing the seat position I'll be concentrating my efforts on getting that motor to start



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Can't wait to see the end result. Looks great.

So today I did that driver's seat. Eventually got it directly in line wth the steering wheel... Took up a lot of time, but it's done. Did the harnesses, then got busy in the engine bay again. Put the radiator in, did the last of the piping. Threw water in the cooling system, oil in the motor. No drips - normally a good thing haha

Still fighting my way through the wiring. With the starter panel, cut-off switch and relocated battery things obviously got complicated a touch. Managed to source some nice cabling for the job. Will have to do it at night this week.

On the engine itself I still need to fit the crank pulley, alternator belt, air filter.

Some pics:







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It's looking good, Andre. You need to load a Youtube video when you start the car for the first time :)


-F_D

Thanks, Eric

Speaking of which - I must get one of them action cams from you sometime...
.
.


Got home tonight and got into my overalls. Laaitie joins me in the garage

Me: You felt what the driver's seat feels like yet?
Him: Nope
Me: Give it a try
Him: Wow! Feels great!
Me: Comfy?
Him: Yup!
Me: Good! Now pump the brakes

So - brakes are bled lol

Completely flushed the system with Dot 5.1. The pedal is nice and firm, but it has a bit more travel than what I'd prefer. Think it's just the rears that need some adjustment. Will only adjust them after I have actually driven the car.

Then also put the crank pulley on, fitted the alternator belt and tensioned it. Next was the air filter housing, then started with making the wiring look tidy.

Chuffed with all we got done tonight

Some pics:




My purdy new BMC filter (with K&N oil haha)




As you can see on that last pic, the wiring is still going to keep me busy for a bit...


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Looking good.

What a day of highs and lows this was

Started off bright and early by heading to the garage with a jerry can to get some petrol. Wife reckons I'm being heluva optimistic haha

Get home and get to work. Connect fuel lines, put the front wheels back on the car. I notice they are very toe-in, so just adjust it to what looks straight-ish, slightly toe-out. Carry on with the wiring, and after a while I am ready to connect to the battery. First connect the positive, and cautiously tap the negative terminal to the battery. No sparks, flames or smoke - good :D. Connect the terminal and get ready to swing the motor.

I first turn the ignition on to check for smoke, sparks and flames - no problems. I hear the fuel pump running to prime the fuel line - good. Switch off and on a couple more times to make sure there is fuel in the rail, and I hear the pump taking strain - got the fuel lines on the wrong way... Idjit... Set about switching the lines, and as I remove the one line I get what feels like about 4 gallons worth of 95 octane shot straight in my eyes. Thankfully my wife heard me groaning and realised there was trouble, and quick as a flash she was there to guide me to a tap so I could rinse my eyes out. 5 minutes later I'm back in the garage.

Get ready to crank the motor... Kinda holding my breath before activating the starter.... Engine goes Whum... Then nothing... Battery's flat

Charge the battery while fitting the headlights and sorting that wiring, check the battery with a multimeter and decide it's go-time. After 2 seconds of cranking it bursts to life! Great success! I allow it to idle for a while, check that there are no fluids dripping - all's well. I do however hear a slight noise that doesn't sound quite right, but I'm thinking it'll go away once the motor's settled

Decide I'm going to take it around the block. Hop in, select reverse, I go forwards... No biggie - quick fix that I'll sort later. Push the car out the garage, and proceed out the gate. I'm rather concerned with how dead the car feels, as I have to give it quite a bit of revs and ride the clutch to get up the incline through the gate. Once I'm in the street, I realise I was in third gear all the time. I go from concerned to impressed :D

Take it around the block using only 3rd & 4th gear. Everything feels good, boatload of torque in this motor. Go back home to sort the gearlever out.

Re-align the gearlever, and now I have all the gears. Arse is itching so we go for another drive. The motor is VERY responsive. Pull away normal in 1st and give it a bit of gas, it breaks traction from about 2500rpm and flies through the rev range. We go across the main road to the sports stadium, as it's quiet and there are some nice tight bends. Really happy with what I feel so far - the arse is fairly loose, but not stupidly. There is still a bit of understeer when you push too hard, but I shouldn't really judge as the wheel alignment is way out

So I get back home and listen to it idle - that noise is still there. Open the oil cap - sump compression... Obviously some blow-by on one or more cylinders. And now the radiator sprung a leak too...

Do a compression test, starting on no 1 - get this:



Now normally when you get this reading on a standard Corsa, that is good. I however immediately knew this is where the problem is. Why? Because this is what I expect and get on the others:



Skuins bedingesd about this right now

Anyways, here's what it looks like now





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You snapped a compression ring. Did the block have a ridge?

The alternator and starter are biaaatches to fit on those cars!

Mud Dog wrote:You snapped a compression ring. Did the block have a ridge?

That's what I'm thinking too...

Block didn't have a ridge. Will just have to strip the motor and fix it :/

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that sucks big time but it happens for a reason (at least that's what I always told myself)
i had the same happen to me plenty times when building my fast street golfs. pulling gearboxes and motors for the 2nd or even 3rd time.
that is some nice compression you are running in that little motor. are you running the standard management system ?