Aukword1's Beams Swapped AE86

[aukword1]

Okay well finally decided to start a build thread even though I've already done so much building already. A little background on the car first.

The car was purchased from my brother-in-law back in 2011 and was basically just a rusted rolling chasis that sat in the Santa Cruz mountains constantly getting rained on. I towed it back to Southern California to begin a lot of restoration. After several weeks with a wire wheel, filler and paint I restored the interior to a nice matte black finish.

Now I was ready to address the elephant in the room. I had no bumpers, no fenders, no headlights, no interior and no engine!. I bought all of these parts over the course of a few months and installed them. I went with a 4agze engine and converted it to a regular 4age and put on an HKS supercharger that I got from Japan. S/C seized on the dyno so I decided to go turbo. The car was turbo ever since and I painted the exterior and lined the interior with T3's custom panels. Then recently I overhauled the old **** suspension and put in mostly T3 suspension parts and arms. Upgraded the front brakes to wilwoods and running about 1" spacers all around. Car sits nice and drives well.

Here are some old pics I could dig up of the car.























Here is how it currently sits.



Now begins the new build.



Car is on its way to my family's house to get the infamous 3sge Beams swap. I decided to start this thread because there isn't much info about doing a beams swap on an AE86. There is some info and a lot of parts but nothing really covers the whole process. Current parts list purchased so far is:

3sge Beams w/ J160 Trans and OEM ECU- around $1300
Xcessive Manufacturing one piece driveshaft - $385
JSP Fab Beams Mount Kit - $585
JSP Fab Shifter Relocator Kit - $365
SQ Engineering Slimline rear housing - about $150 from Battle Garage
SQ Engineering Slimline alternator brack - about $150 from Battle Garage
Koyorad Beams Swap Radiator - $270

More to come soon!

[CloudStrife]

a Beam's swap eh?

MAY THE LORD BE WITH YOU AND YOUR CHECKING ACCT.

No but really, what's the allure of that motor? What do they come out of?

[aukword1]

They come out of Toyota Altezza RS200's, we never got them in the states though. The allure is having a modern engine and gearbox and having a better torque curve. The HP and Torque curve are supposedly pretty similar to the F20c motors but get to keep it in the Toyota family.

[CloudStrife]

Huh, no ****. I had no idea JDM altezzas got those. If it's similar to the F20c then it sounds awesome, but my **** man, you are at $3,200 already lol.

[aukword1]

I know , It definitely isn't the cheapest swap. Hopefully I can sell my current drivetrain and ECU to cover some of the costs though.

[jinx]

what happened with the turbo setup ? Even the mildest of 4AGTEs should leave a BEAMs in the dust

[CloudStrife]

I agree, but he needs more positive

Here you go bro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiEzZWhHTEM

I guess a good thing is 3SGE parts are pretty easy to come buy minus BEAMs specific stuff...

[aukword1]

The turbo setup is fine and honestly it was a lot of fun to drive. I really just wanted to try something new. I think it will be a fun learning experience and if I don't like it, I have two 4AG motors sitting in my garage still lol.

[Jayrdee]

Subscribed. This will be so sick.

[aukword1]

Small update of what I did over the past weekend.


Pulled the old engine out. I think I will paint the engine bay back to white after cleaning it up this coming weekend.


Here is the old engine on the stand.


An awkwardly taken photo of the side of the old engine. Yes I know the Kanji is upside down. I blame my wife for that.


Tial ABV


Here is the Beams engines waiting to be installed.


A lonely T50 hanging out by an old 4age

I'm still waiting on the mount kit from JSP fab so I don't know if I will be able to do much this weekend besides cleaning up the engine bay, pulling wiring harnesses, and prepping for paint. I don't want to paint it until after I hammer the firewall and transmission tunnel so i need to figure out clearances first. Will update soon though!

[aukword1]

Small update. Pulled everything out of the engine bay and put a fresh coast of paint on it.



John informed me today that he would be shipping the motor mounts and shifter kit. Hopefully get them by Saturday so it gives me something to do this weekend lol.

[CloudStrife]

Where are you again bro? I'd learn so much if I helped! aha

[aukword1]

Orange County, California. I am still learning myself sometimes but I could I always use an extra hand lol

[aukword1]

Got the mount kit from jspfab today.

This is how the engine will sit from now on. I know I didn't have to cut the core support but I did and it made it a lot easier to get in and out.


Here are the 1" subframe spacers installed that came with the kit. Pretty easy to get in. Just unbolt them along with the camber plates and jack up the frame.


One thing they don't tell you about this swap is that they use the original AE86 motor mounts. Saved me some money there. The JSP motor mounts are well made and easy to install. Highly recommend John's work!


Tomorrow I will bolt up the tranny mount and the driveshaft. Probably going to have to beat the transmission tunnel. One other thing I'd like to add, if you have a manual rack installed prior to the swap, you are going to have to pull the intermediate shaft out about half an inch for it to fit with the subframe being dropped an inch. I have yet to do this so I will probably tackle that after the transmission is bolted up.

[aukword1]

Last update for a couple weeks.

Got the Transmission bolted in. Really, the only hammering of the transmission tunnel I had to do was by the shifter. On the spot between the hand brake and the shifter, I had to hammer it up for the shifter to clear the tunnel. After that it was smooth sailing.



Driveshaft bolted up, pretty basic stuff, nothing special. Courtesy of Xccessivemanufacturing.


Another pic of the driveshaft bolted in. The exhaust will probably be the last thing I do.


Here is a picture of the shifter relocation kit by JSPfab.


Another pic of the shifter. You can see where I had to bash it between the shifter and hand brake.


Last thing I did today was pull the intermediate shaft out about an inch and then re-attached the steering column. Nothing special there.

Next update will be in two weeks. I wont be able to work on it next weekend due to having to help my sister move. The plans for that update will include, adding a steel braided clutch line to bolt into the J160 slave cylinder, re-attaching the core support along with the koyorad radiator, and possibly making a template and welding up the headers to wrap around the steering column. After that begins the fun part, wiring.

[aukword1]

Small half weekend update.

Here is my temporary attempt at headers.



I re-attached the core support.



Also, I painted the bottom windshield cover and those vents that attach under it by the windshield wipers. I added the SS braided clutch line and linked it to the j160 slave to see if that works. I have yet to add fluids though. It looks like the original slave cylinder will fit but I want to see which combination will work. Tomorrow I will finish the temporary headers and put most of the body panels back on, then tow it back home for the remainder of the work. Also, I will wrap the headers and paint the core support again since it got scratched. Will update tomorrow with more pics!

[aukword1]

Alright, So I finished painting some parts.



Also, I finished the headers and got them hooked up to the exhaust. By far this was the most difficult part of the whole swap so far. Parts for the header costed about $200 just for the bent steel needed and a 4-1 collector. I hope I never have to do something like this again, it was extremely difficult without a template and just a mig welder. It was basically just all guess work lol. This is just a temporary fix until I can get some legit headers and some nice exhaust work done to the car but it should work for the time being.


I re-painted the core support along with some other spots in the engine bay that were missed. Now I just have to put on the headlights, fenders, bumper and hood then I can bring it home to install the radiator and add all the fluids etc...Then all that is left is the wiring!

[shagymc]

build looks as if it is going good man. I have all the JSP goodies for my BEAMS swap with some added bits from SQ Engineering. I am super interested in the driveshaft and motor mount combo that got the xcessive driveshaft to work. The JSP mount has two options correct? I will definitely be going your route with the spacer if the only issue I'll have is the tunnel by the shifter. I'm assuming too that with the subframe spacers you didn't need to modify the oil pan? If not what kind of clearance are you getting between the ground and bottom of the pan? Keep up the good work! With mine in limbo at he paint shop right now, I'll get enjoyment out of yours coming together. Also, request larger pictures!

[aukword1]

The JSP mount kit does come with two options, one in a forward mounting position and one that mounts the engine towards the rear more. I went with the rear mounting position. In the rear mounting position with the sunframe spacers you do not need to modify the oil pan or the sway bar at all. Currently my oil pan sits pretty low but not too low. My exhaust is lower than the oil pan currently and barely had any issues with that. If you click on the pictures it will make them larger!

[aukword1]

Alright, time for a new update! I've been sick for the last week so I haven't really felt like working on the car but made quite a bit of progress the last couple days...


Hooked up the fuel lines to the rail.


I cut the stock lines with an angle grinder to get the hoses off and the fittings loose. Then used some fuel lines from autozone and some hose clamps to finish the job.


JSPfab thermostat housing with new thermostat installed and ready to go.


I came across an interesting issue that took a few weeks to sort out. Basically, the J160 tranny that came with the engine had a short throw shift kit pre-installed when I got it. This led to the beams shifter relocation kit not working correctly with the shifter. It was too short. I purchased an OEM shifter from some chinese fab company and it worked perfectly. The black one is the one that came with the transmission initially. Notice the length difference. Anyhow, that got sorted out and is now working as it should.


Here is it installed and functional.


Radiator and fan shroud installed. I had to cut the core support to get the radiator to fit better and hopefully give me enough clearance to get an air filter off the TB. Also had to re-position the radiatior brackets and drill some new holes.


Another pic of the radiator.

I will add some more pics tomorrow to show a bit more. Also, I added all the essential oils, 5w-20 syn for engine and redline MT-90 for the trans. Getting close to the initial start up! Still need to source some hoses for the radiator and add coolant, but after that it should be just wiring and throttle cable.

[aukword1]

Small update, got some formed hoses to fit with the koyorad beams swap radiator. Part numbers included in case anyone else is doing the same combo.


This one fits perfectly with JSPfab's thermostat housing and the koyorad radiator. No cutting necessary.


This one I purchased for the top hose but had to cut it.

Dayco item # in case anyone wants to do the same.






I cut both ends of the top one due to one cut being a bit shorter than I wanted. Basically the hose is exactly the same on both sides so you have two chances to get it right. Both cuts would've worked but I used the second one because it was a few millimeters longer.

After that, added coolant to make sure the lower hose wasn't leaking. Intake I will do tomorrow and also the throttle cable. Stay tuned!

[aukword1]

Forgot to add these pictures previously...


So this is how I modified the fuel rail. I have the return line hooked up to the front of the fuel rail with a fuel pressure regulator between the rail and the hard line.


I plugged the top hole where the oem fuel pressure regulator sat with a plug that came off the side of the rail. The beams fuel rail has two plugs on each end. Remove them both and use one to plug the top. I had to purchase a banjo bolt from ebay, the size is M12 x 1.25mm in case anyone wants to know for future reference.


Haven't mounted the regulator yet so it is just hanging around for now.


Bleached and cleaned overflow resevoir.

I also reattached the engine chasis wiring harness for the fuse box, headlights, etc...

[aukword1]

Alright I know it's been a while but i've been busy. Here is a small update of what I've been up to.


I hooked up the intake along with the MAF sensor. The intake is an APEXI one I bought from nengun performance. The things were backordered by 3 months and they sent me two. So if anyone following this swap needs one, feel free to PM me. The Apexi intake is made specifically for the SXE10 or Altezza RS200. The filter itself has a long thin cone inside of it to direct the airflow into a narrow almost rectangular casted tube(I will take pictures if anyone is interested in seeing what I mean). These engines are really picky about how the air travels through the MAF sensor and this intake is designed with that in mind.


Got my wiring harness back finally! I originally was planning on going through Mark Panic at Panic Wiring but they are so backed up right now that I was on a waiting list since August and still haven't contacted me back to send in the core harness. So I went with Tweak'd Performance. Their customer service is awesome and the harness is completely new minus the windshield wiper motor connector and a couple other things. They made it custom for me and added in support for the mishimoto fan relay kit and fan temp sensor. I've plugged most of it in so far but still need to do a few things. I had to run a battery cable to the starter from the battery and replace the original alternator connector from the 86's chasis to the one that originally came with the beams motor. It's basically the same as the 20v blacktop alternator wiring and plug. Now I have to ground the motor and should be able to start it up. I have yet to do anything about an O2 sensor but that shouldn't affect the initial startup. After I ground the engine to the chasis this weekend, I will put up a video of the initial startup and hopefully my fuel pressure isn't too far off of 62 psi. Wish me luck!

[notnilc20]

Excellent progress so far. I have a question. Would those engine mounts work with a 3sgte engine? Someday I wanna go turbo but I'm debating whether to go 4agte or 3sgte....and I wanna keep the AC but I never see any good info about these builds. Thanks and keep it up.

[aukword1]

I don't think the older S gen motors will work with the mounts. The blocks are a bit different. I know they share a few parts between them but you can just get this instead https://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-Toyota-Alt ... mq&vxp=mtr . From what I hear, putting a 3sgte is a pain in the ass and you'd probably be better off doing a sr20 swap or the last gen beams with a turbo.

[CloudStrife]

Hey man, when you post images from postimage.io, if you use the link for "hotlink for forums", the image will host on your thread much larger. Also, if you delete the URL line from the address, you'll get rid of those little black lines .

[aukword1]

Thanks I will try that next time and eventually change out the pics on this thread with better links. So small update, the engine cranks and starts but then immediately dies. Still trying to troubleshoot it but it seems to be most likely a fuel issue. I will try some more things later this week to see if I can get it idling.

[CloudStrife]

Nice man, you're doing some killer progress. Can't wait to hear her idle!

Wish I would have known about that intake before I got rid of my SXE10 )

[aukword1]

ah you had one of these engines before. You should've kept it! Anyhow, I found out that the problem is the o2 sensor so I have to go pull one from the junkyard tomorrow. Should be idling soon, can't wait!

[aukword1]

So it's been a while since I updated. Basically I decided to go the ITB route and spent way too much money doing so. Bought SQ engineering ITB adapter plate for the 20v AE111 ITB's, SQ engineering 100mm velocity stacks, a generic chinese made vacuum block, a Link G4+ ECU with expansion loom, pipercross air filter and the SQ engineering pipercross adapter plate.

So the car would start then stall immediately and it was throwing an O2 sensor code, I replaced the O2 and then it was giving me some other codes. Didn't know what they meant but if they are anything like the 3SGTE codes then I had a bad crank sensor, bad EMS, MAF or ignition coil (leaning towards MAF sensor). So I decided to get the upgraded EMS to help me diagnose or eliminate any of those issues. I eventually wanted to go this route anyways so those fault codes just made it come sooner. Anyhow, Here are some pics of the progress so far.







So you will notice that I only had 3 velocity stacks installed. The fourth one, closest to the rear, will have an IAT sensor installed that should come later this week. I will drill a hole in the pipercross adapter plate to run the line and put a rubber grommet in there to not fray any wires.

If you are running a link G4+ ecu you will want to run all four ITB vacuum lines under the SQ engineering plate to a vacuum block and the to the MAP sensor built into the link ECU exclusively. You don't want any additional vacuum lines connected to disturb the MAP sensor. I will run the brake booster vacuum to the fifth vacuum line on the ITB adapter plate and then run both PCV valves to a catch can that will be vented but not allowed back into the intake system.