I had the exact same problem with my OEM gasket. It only had a small tear so I used it along with a very small amount of permatex.

It has never leaked since so I guess it's fine.

Oh wow this is going to be an interesting and unique build, and I'm guessing one that will be done right.
Looking forward to seeing more...

The time when these cars were cheap to work on is long gone.
But yea if you can fabricate one then do that.

The Injen short ram intake is a popular choice I think. It is pricey though at about $190.

Wow, very thorough build. I would say do as much rust proofing as you can while you have the chance. You will thank yourself later.

Here is a bit better shot of it all reassembled. http://i.imgur.com/on7gW3I.jpg I have a question for anyone who has experience with long trips with their AE86. Do I need to worry about sustained RPMs around 3500-4000? For example highway cruising at 65mph. I am about to make a 550 mile trip with th...

Fuel pump does not prime, but you can force it to run and make sure fuel is getting to the rail. You say the AFM is not hooked up? You do mean the black box with the flap inside to measure air flow correct? That must be plugged in or the car will do exactly as you are describing. Start then die righ...

Another quick update. I've been pretty productive with the car since I am moving and I need to get the car driveable. Putting everything back together, bushings are all in and greased. http://i.imgur.com/UTSHGUM.jpg I cleaned up and painted the front calipers and brackets so they match the other shi...

Here are more manuals: http://www.aeu86.org/technical/ae86-manuals/

The fuel pump does not prime on the AE86.

The thick wire indeed goes to the positive battery terminal. The starter grounds through the block if I remember correctly.

I can take a look where that solenoid wire goes too.

That bit of wiring harness you have pictured there is for the HVAC. Do you want to put A/C back in your car? If not I will buy that from you. :P As for the electric mirrors, the kouki and zenki connectors are different, but the wiring is the same, so you can splice in connectors and get it to work. ...

First picture is the connector for electric mirrors. The door sensor is actually near the latch for the door itself. Second picture with the big connector is for a cruise control computer if you had one. Third picture is the clutch switch. Some others by the passenger side are for HVAC stuff. I can ...

Wow that is a sad sight to see. What kind of insurance did you have for it? I agree with Deuce Cam about refusing lowball offers if it wasn't your fault (rear-ending is nearly always the other drivers fault). One issue is apparently most insurance companies don't honor any "agreed value" s...

Loving your build cleanup restoration. great job so far. Did you measure your rear axles? From what I understand the zenki axle is 24 millimeters diameter, and the kouki axle is 25 millimeters diameter. I am currently in the never ending search for a complete rear end right now and would love to kn...

I have the moog and import direct part numbers from oreillys if you have one by you, they should be able to order them. Really? It's worth a try, so let me know the numbers. Thanks! The issue I'm running into is all most AE86 folks care about is coilover kits, so there is no market for stock suspen...

Nice job so far! That color you picked for the engine block is great. I'll probably use a similar color when I get around to rebuilding/refreshing my engine.

Keep up the good work.

Finally another update on the front suspension parts: Got some of my parts back from sandblasting. http://i.imgur.com/BWq2tiJ.jpg Again I'm using POR-15 for coating. My rear axle that I also coated with POR-15 still looks like the day I painted it, so hopefully it stays that way. :) http://i.imgur.c...

Deuce Cam, thanks for the link. I have been browsing them when I can.

dcnazario, I Replied to your PM.

Bump... I will accept used parts as well if they are in usable condition.

Still looking for this.

Right, I also ordered a new fuel sender from Japan and it plugged right in with no issues. I'm not so sure there is a difference...

Sent you an email.

You can still get them from Japan on Ebay it looks like. What is the difference between zenki and kouki fuel senders? I think the tanks are identical, is the harness different?

I went to Toyota to order these (I was able to order new rear insulators), and they told me they don't sell them anymore...

Does anyone have a way to get these? Thanks.

If there is that much rust on the rockers, there is definitely more rust underneath the bumper cover. I would bet money on it. http://i.imgur.com/NJ4BHiq.jpg All that has to be completely cut out and have new metal welded in. Being able to weld and being able to do metal bodywork is pretty different...

Thanks for the compliments. :) The axle confusion was mainly about the tapering that people claimed was the difference between zenki and kouki axles. I measured the axles and they match up with zenki LSD axle measurements. As for the LSD, actually it's a Cusco 1.5way LSD. The previous owner told me ...

Nice work cleaning up all those parts!

Not sure I'd want to look under that one judging by the rust on the rear fenders... poor car needs some TLC.

Wow that's a clean engine rebuild. Very similar to what I want to do when I go through a rebuild.

How much work did you outsource to shops? Just block/head work?