Rotary Levin

[dr.occa]

July 14, 2009

Some parts collected

[dr.occa]

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August 26, 2009

Early Xmas present from Aaron (aka Rue):



welded them on and treated the welds (still didn't get them quite right. need to learn to weld better.)

Mounted the headlights and Modiride levin fiberglass fenders:













and then proceeded to convert the trueno hood to it's counter part:





Please excuse the work. Was already resolved to bondo coming to the rescue.

The pass side headlight cover warped due to my impatience as i welded it in place. Lesson learned and took my time and properly spot welded the driver side in place by going from one spot to another spot to allow for some cooling between welds.

[dr.occa]

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December 13, 2010

Tried my hand at some stitch welding














Street ported 12A & 5speed I traded a brand new, unused MS unit for.

[dr.occa]

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December 14, 2010

As most of you know, I'm on a high "carb" diet so without further adieu, here's the fuel and air management for the Levin:



Strangely enough, the engine and trans I picked up from a guy who bought the 86 hatch they were sitting in from the same kid I picked up the 48 IDA and Japanese short ram intake mani from.

[dr.occa]

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February 3, 2011[/i]

Rattle canned the engine bay and slipped in the plant & train.

[dr.occa]

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May 4, 2011

Getting there...:/

[dr.occa]

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September 16, 2011
Just finished up the DLIDFIS ignition setup. A big thanks to Rotary Car Club and especially Master Chief from Tulsa Turbo for the wiring and explanation of how it operates.


GM HEI Modules



2 Accel Coils 1 for each leading plug. 1 to the distributor for the 2 trailing plugs.



The hook ups to the magnetic leads in the distributor. I finished up the alternator wiring into the SR5 harness as well as evidenced in this pic.

[dr.occa]

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September 24, 2011

How the trans sits down under:

Hockey puck pieces drilled.


Today, I drilled out the original fuel return hard line on the tank cap and welded in a 3/8 stainless 90 degree. Pardon the welds.



Running a Carter 4070 under my custom port-a-potty toilet lid:


3/8 return line routing.

[dr.occa]

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November 24, 2011

Progress:

BC Racing rear springs


AJPS adjustable rear spring perches

(replaced perches with BC perches since the BC springs were too large in diameter for the AJPS units)

Fuel pump and fan relay & switches



Fans and shroud mounted, wired up and running


Updated furnace shot


SR5 driveshaft (lengthened by an inch) slips perfectly into the RX7 transfer case

The I.D. and spline count of the split yoke are identical - 20:2 spline count.
I later had the front half of the shaft remade with an RX7 yoke and new u-joints. The 86 yoke's O.D. was too narrow so the oil seal on the transfer case's output wasn't sealing up against it. Oil slinging everywhere with the lovely smell of trans fluid burning on the exhaust.

Complete SR5 factory rear end. I installed a mini-spool into the rear end.


Some shots of when I was installing the mini-spool:


Here I've got the diff already out of the carrier and the ring gear and side gears & pin removed.


Here's the differential with the mini spool snuggly entombed in it ready to do what it was born to do: THRILL!!!


We'll have to see how the stock SR5 axles hold up to the "throttling" they're about to get .

[dr.occa]

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January 17, 2012

Ok, well the updates are a bit mundane.

New clutch slave, soft line, shortened and re-flared hard line, bled and working...boring I know.


Trying to chase down an electrical gremlin so the gauge bezel is off. Headlights aren't coming on...boring I know.


Filled up the diff and trans with double the yum:


Re-flared (bubble flare this time) the stock SR5 rear hard lines into a pair of 90 10mm to 1/8" npt adapters...boring I know:


Yes, that is a stock SR5 rear end and axles with rotors and wilwood calipers. No, I didn't weld anything...hmmm, not so boring maybe:

It's also already provisioned for another pair of wilwoods for the front of the rear rotors for a separate hydraulic handbrake. Curious yet maybe ...


Went ahead and fitted my trunk latches. Boring yes but I like:



Toodles!

XOX
Jo-nuts

[dr.occa]

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January 19, 2012

Picked up a pair of Camaro AGX adjustables.

They showed up on the front porch yesterday, I slapped them on in 15 minutes after getting home and voila!



Thanks Latta! :tu:

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January 26, 2012

Fabbed up a heat shield to keep the heat away from the intake, carb and any fuel lines.
I didn't have enough of a single piece of aluminum to make the seamless shield per my design so I riveted another piece to complete it.

[dr.occa]

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January 30, 2012

I picked up an S13 throttle/accelerator cable on a single trip to the yard this weekend. It was considerably shorter than the Tercel cable I was originally running but longer and more closer to an ideal length than the original SR5 cable. I ended up having to fab up a new cable stay out my dwindling scrap aluminum. With all the aluminum dust I'm sponging up I'm well on my way to the Alzheimer Carnival. Here's the outcome of one of many misadventures to ultimate memory loss island:


Another piece I borrowed from the S13 chassis is the slightly larger bore BMC with built-in proportioner:


and



Yet another non-native puzzle piece is the thermostat water neck pulled from an 87 Ford Ranger. The one that originally came with this 12A was longer and had a coolant cap on it. If you look in the background my radiator already has a cap. I wanted one less point of pressure leak hence my "solution". Also the length and the angle at which the outlet was facing created more of a severe turn in the upper coolant hose. I was able to greatly reduce the radius and length of the hose with the new thermostat neck. I just had to bore out the mounting points equally to get them to line up. Really easy fix. Ok, too much yap: here.



I ran a new batch of coolant through her along with a bottle of alum-a-seal since I had some "suffocation" issues with the last attempt. Idled the car for about 30 minutes at 7pm. Though the car was just idling, the heat shield for the intake area is working fabulously so far. Idle is at 1400-1600. I'm sure my neighbors were thinking daggers though. What do you think: am I a turd neighbor?

A funny note: as I was recording me blipping the throttle the last "shove" took out one of my outdoor garage lights. Not only were my ears assaulted, my eyes had a little magic show too.

Exhaust wise: still just the Racing beat header and that's it.

Video of working AE92 tach coming if Youtube would just start the uploading process today.

[dr.occa]

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February 20, 2012

So here it is using the SR5 cluster but with the 9K tach from an AE82 FX16 that Aaron Rue was so kind to find for me a couple years back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcpRaOLc ... ature=plcp


Here it is in the drive way not fumigating my house:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW1pHlRt ... re=related

I dig the old school Cusco strut bar (thanks Rick!)

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February 26th, 2012

McKenney sent me an under dash harness and headlight harness so I can try and fix my no working headlights problem.

Well, after I've already pulled the harnesses, cut this and cut that...I found the reason why my headlights weren't coming on: I'll visit that later. Here they are working now with the harnesses from McK. Big thank yous and gratitude to McKenney.



Yay.

I had mentioned earlier that I figured out why my headlights weren't coming on but AFTER I had already pulled and cut my existing harness? Well, let me show you what I found:


This is the wire that was just hanging there loose near the positive batt. terminal.


Here's where it belonged that I could not see and never paid enough attention to the factory fusible link connector to have noticed.
The part I'm holding is the +12v battery post side of the fusible link. The 2 flat blades are battery post side for both the 2 "bookend" side fusible links.

Anyway, this was a continuous +12v source for the positive side of the headlight (among other gadgets) harness. The lights turned on when the circuit ground was completed by the light switch(s).

[dr.occa]

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March 16, 2012
Not much of an update but one none-the-less:

Rebuilt the 48 IDA and it's looking better.

Picked up a McDaniel Control 1.5" 1/8"npt 0-15psi gauge.


Even though it isn't glycerin filled, I figured this would be better than a cheap-o Chinese one.

I've got a 2" McDaniel all steal gauge with glass face 0-10psi but it's too bulky to keep attached to the lines. It sticks out way too much with the snubber and 1/8" adapter.

Also, plan on testing it out on the "track" at Round 1 this Saturday at GGP.

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April 3, 2012Added these 2" spacers to the carbie setup:


So it bumped the carb up and should stand to improve the low end response a little bit.

Here's what it looks like:




Also, removed the oil metering system and blocked it off:


I'll be running pre-mix now.

[dr.occa]

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May 4, 2012

Installed the NST steering rack adapter/spacer last Friday on my off day (4/27/2012)


Here's a side by side comparison of the steering angle difference.


Passenger Side Before


Passenger Side After


Driver Side Before


Driver Side After

(*note: this is a power steering rack w/o the lines and pump, etc...)

[dr.occa]

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May 18, 2012

OMP adapter kit installed. Yay!


Lines to the intake manifold via 90 degree 1/8" barb to 1/8" npt fittings.


The clear lines are a 4mm ID/6mm OD, crack-resistant Teflon hose. The hose is a very snug fit on the 12A OMP nipples and 1/8 barbs fittings. They'll hold up well against the pre-mix solution. The pre-mix reservoir bracket is next on the list and then a longer linkage to hook the OMP up to the throttle lever of the IDA.

[dr.occa]

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August 15, 2012

Got the replacement 12A (stock port) in, hooked up, fueled and ignited. Took her for a spin around the neighborhood at 9PM last night. I know my entire subdivision is making plans to get the HOA and local law enforcement to get it taken away now. It's LOUD!

Escaped from the neighborhood "watch" and made a bee-line for the gas & sip down the feeder, then U-d around once then twice to head back into the subdivision. Looking forward to jetting around town in it for the next trust-worthy test.



Could stand to step down a couple of inches in the rear and an inch in front.



There's a Fabricated Motorsports drift event up at GGP this coming weekend...hmmmmm....

[dr.occa]

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August 15, 2012



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August 19, 2012

Here it is when I first arrived at LaPorte to meet up with Corey:


Wet sanded some spots and cleaned it up then brought it into the bay:


...and taped her up:




My phone was dead and Corey's was at the cusp of blackout but was able to snap a few of the car done. Here's one:


Corey grabbed some quick footage of me while we were driving back from LaPorte last night after we roller painted the Levin. The most relaxed time I've ever had painting a car and with extremely little clean up.

http://www.facebook.com/v/10151014682603733

Some fire "works"

http://www.facebook.com/v/10151014677728733


Corey, thanks for providing the facilities, the paint, the expertise (well, you have more experience than I did to begin with) and valuable time man. YOU DUH MAN!

[dr.occa]

Late update:

At CCM15 October 13, 2012with Thaison, Branden, Brad and friends:



Go here for the full article by my friends at Natsukashii Garage.

Car at the last Lonestar Drift Event of 2012 back on November 11.

[miswuevos]

Wow am impressed ..how long did it took you? and what were the final costs?

[dr.occa]

I was in no big hurry to put the car together as it's a backup 86. From the dates of each post you can see that it started in '09 and was up and running by '11. If I had to do it all again and with a deadline to make, it shouldn't take longer than a couple of months to finish it from a similar starting point. Cost wise I'd hazard a guess of $1500-$1700 given that the shell was practically free.

[Deuce Cam]

Nice!

What fenders are those and how well do they fit?

[dr.occa]

They were made by Modiride (now defunct?). Fitment is pretty good. I didn't have to do any modification to either...I did put some styrofoam on the inside to push the mid sections out a little to give them the oem curve.

[Dr_Sandwich]

nice build up!

[Zenki85]

So that's just a regular power steering with a nst spacer? You just hooked it on? So honestly switching up to manual rack isn't really necessary?

[dr.occa]

So that's just a regular power steering with a nst spacer? You just hooked it on? So honestly switching up to manual rack isn't really necessary?

It's said that a manual rack + spacer + power steering knuckles will net you more angle than a ps rack + spacer + ps knuckles. I run the manual rack+battle version v.2 steering spacer+power steering knuckles on my hatch and if memory serves, I actually have slightly more steering angle in it over my coupe.

[psycho ae86]

What is the setup for your rear brakes and where did you get the brake adaptor?

[dr.occa]

What is the setup for your rear brakes and where did you get the brake adaptor?

An SR5 rear end sans drum brakes, circle track caliper brackets & bearing caps, Wilwood Dynalites & rotors from a Galant. No e-brake capabilities yet but that can be easily solved with a spot parking caliper from Wilwood.

[Mr.Fujiwara]

this is a cool build!!!

[marley4us]

I love your car!!!!!!!!!!!