Inv4drZm's Build Thread

[Inv4drZm]

Ohhh nooo that is not a good story lol .. i am going to put a locker in my 4th gen here soon, then start wheeling it on some good trails.. I’d really like to SAS the front, even with a Dana 44 and run 37s. But I’d like to test the capability of the IFS before I do all that work.

Maybe locker, FJ transfer case and LT rear will be the only other mods before making the dip into SAS.

Which year and model truck did your Dana 60 rear come from?

As far as I know its all brand-new custom fabricated from scratch. You can have them customize the overall width so they can cut the axle shaft and axle tube lengths to fit your requirements.

IFS can be built as strong as a basic solid front axle setup (for most purposes), and have even more ground clearance, you'll just be missing out on specific articulation benefits a solid axle gives, IMO.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Been over 3 months since my last update on this thread, haven't worked on my 4Runner at all. Marlin is finally selling his LT kit but I haven't pulled the trigger.

Anyway, going to look at a 1977 Toyota Celica liftback project car. Motor is seized, but I already have plans to swap the motor. These things are crazy rare, only maybe 10 for sale in the entire country at any given time, not to mention not all are the hatchback with the updated front end. I've been looking for one of these for a couple years and one finally popped up for sale 2hrs away.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

2JZ would be cool

 

[Inv4drZm]

2JZ would be cool

3SGE Beams (200hp) or 1UZ (260hp) are the most popular swaps for this car.

1JZ or 2JZ (300hp) have also probably been done. All Toyota motors.

I'm looking hard at an LFX swap though.... Hear me out.

Its a modern V6 from the new Camaros, so they're common and dirt cheap. Lightweight, 320 hp engine that usually goes in a 4000lb car, will work well in a Celica which is max 2500lbs. They are a fairly common engine swap for Mazdas (Miata/RX8s) so a custom wiring harness is easy to come by.

It gets worse, I'm thinking about an auto trans, so the updated 6 speed auto paired with the LFX should be great, fast-shifting, and will accept any tune for a Camaro. That, and paddle shifters with full manual control of the gears should be easy to implement.

The goal is to have it as reliable as possible, and easy to drive, not looking to do serious drag racing, drifting, or auto-x with it. My reasoning for the auto trans.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

The dirt cheap and tunability part sounds like a winner. GM parts have always been available by the boat loads too. 1UZ rumble would be cool, but more expensive and of course the tuning issues.
Here's a really odd swap:
1972 Chevrolet El Camino with 2JZ Engine Swap Makes 800 HP

 

[tv4184]

I love those first gen celicas. Just don’t have enough patience to build one. I like how they look like mini muscle cars from that era. Good luck with your build man.

 

[Inv4drZm]

I love those first gen celicas. Just don’t have enough patience to build one. I like how they look like mini muscle cars from that era. Good luck with your build man.

Thanks!

After seeing it its actually really nice even though the paint is gone, rear window and front bumper is missing, interior is pretty trashed, and the motors junk. :becky:

Some real small rust spots is all it has. The rain water collecting in the trunk has only started surface rust, there's a deep pool of it so it hasn't rusted through yet.

Planning to do my own paint and body work, everything myself. We'll see how that goes. Will probably start a new thread I'll post a link in here.

 

[Inv4drZm]

After looking for years I finally found my Celica. 1977 Liftback Celica GT, they only made the liftback for two years in the US and its commonly referred to as the Japanese Mustang.

Bought and trailered her home today and promptly started working on her. We didn't even get it unloaded in our driveway before the neighborhood kids congregated around it to ask questions, seeing if it was a Mustang. I don't think they were as interested when we said it was a Toyota. Even two of the neighbors I've never talked to came over immediately to ask about it.



First order of business, get the hood open as the latch wouldn't release it's grip. I disassembled most of the grill to remove the hinges, then I was able to snake a long section of rebar to nudge the latch near the windshield.





Looks like someone was trying to free up the engine by putting gas or diesel directly into the cylinder through the spark plug holes.



Got one seat tore out:



Not bad as far as rust goes:



That stupid bulky U.S. rear bumper has to go, as soon as I figure out how to remove it. Also the owner gave me those retro Celica wheels that are O.E. on the 2nd gen Celicas. Super cool design.



Gross carpet removed:







Retro dragon logo:







Rear seat looks okay from the topside but seeing underneath makes me want to trash it. Might keep it so someone can reference it to make a new one.



All the gross stuff is removed (mostly):



Next order of business, remove the rear bumper to make room for mounting a JDM 'smiley' bumper, and try to remove the sound deadening material from the entire floor. Its probably best to get it down to sheet metal so I can patch and paint any rust, weld in a roll cage easier if needed, and I can add deadening material afterward. Also, remove the motor and trans, and take a picture of it next to a 2020 Supra... My brother and I still live together, sickest driveway ever? We need to line them all up for a picture.

This is just a teaser I'm still planning on making a new thread, linked below.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Link:

1977 Celica Liftback Build

 

[Inv4drZm]

For future references, I weighed my Tundra. 4120 lbs without me in it, 1/4 tank of gas, spare tire, 2wd.

More than I was thinking it would, curb weight is listed at 3935 for the low end for these trucks, but that must be with the 4 liter.

 

[Hi-desertT4R]

You have one badass T4R and I’m interested in following along with the Celica build. My older brother had a ‘78 Celica that got totaled out thanks to a drunk driver turning left in front of him. I’ve always loved the 70’s era Celicas.

 

[Inv4drZm]

The past couple weeks I've had the urge to build a set of headers for the Tundra. I'm thinking a set of 180 degree headers, which if your not familiar, on a typical V8, 180 degree headers cross over two primaries from each side to merge at the opposite side collector so the exhaust pulses are even spaced for each collector. The firing order of a V8 is weird in that part of the firing sequence comes from the same side of the engine twice in a row. By doing this crossover, the exhaust is a little more efficient at scavenging, but more importantly to me it just sounds cooler. I would need to find the dimensions of the flanges (measure OEM manifolds from the 4Runner), and design them to block off the air injection ports, and potentially lift the motor quite a bit out to test fit everything.... or tack as much as I can together on the bench with rough measurements and use some trial and error.

The exhaust on my 4Runner without cats and only 'glasspacks' sounds so nasty, raspy above half throttle, and smells pretty unsafe :naughty:. I would like my Tundra to be quieter so I might be adding back in some cats and longer glasspacks or a more conventional muffler. Anything will sound more refined than the muffler delete its rocking currently.


The collectors would have to be below the transmission pan for the 180 degree setup. Fairly long primary lengths but maybe I can decrease the tubing diameter 1.5" vs normal 1.625" to speed up the exhaust a little.



Something like this:

Or the easy way lol. These are fairly inexpensive compared to the 4Runner's headers:

 

[Ed_C]

Apparently a single 8-1 collector "sequenced" by timing order yields the same scavenging effect and flatplane-ish sound. I haven't seen any videos of a UZ-series with a sequential 8-1 but this guy has a TE37 Corolla with 180 degree headers, hard to hear the engine itself over the supercharger though https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWwbRs_qQmM&feature=youtu.be

I wonder though, with either header design each AF sensor will be reading off both cylinder banks instead of their designated banks, how much will it impact fueling?

 

[Inv4drZm]

Apparently a single 8-1 collector "sequenced" by timing order yields the same scavenging effect and flatplane-ish sound. I haven't seen any videos of a UZ-series with a sequential 8-1 but this guy has a TE37 Corolla with 180 degree headers, hard to hear the engine itself over the supercharger though https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWwbRs_qQmM&feature=youtu.be

I wonder though, with either header design each AF sensor will be reading off both cylinder banks instead of their designated banks, how much will it impact fueling?

An 8-1 wouldn't work well for my application I don't think, too tall.

I'm not sure how the O2 system works exactly, if it would effect things or not. I don't know if the engine compensates either bank individually if a cylinder isn't running optimally; I would bet as long as I have all the cylinders flowing over a sensor it should probably be fine. But I should do more research.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Thinking about letting the 4Runner go while the car market is hot... and maybe the little Tundra as well.

A 2022 V6 turbo Tundra would be fun and easily replace both vehicles in terms of reliability, hauling capability, fuel mileage, comfort, etc.

Not sure if I'm doing much offroading in the future is another reason.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Damn! You gettin married or something?

 

[Inv4drZm]

Damn! You gettin married or something?

Nah, having 2 project trucks and my Celica is a bit much I think.

If I could replace two of them with a nice Tundra it kinda makes sense.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Nah, having 2 project trucks and my Celica is a bit much I think.

If I could replace two of them with a nice Tundra it kinda makes sense.

Yea understandable. I forgot about the Celica. That is a cool project that needs to get finished. I would love to have the Tundra, but I spent a bunch of coin on mods that still sit in boxes.

 

[y=mx+b]

Thinking about letting the 4Runner go while the car market is hot... and maybe the little Tundra as well.

A 2022 V6 turbo Tundra would be fun and easily replace both vehicles in terms of reliability, hauling capability, fuel mileage, comfort, etc.

Not sure if I'm doing much offroading in the future is another reason.

Dang I've been living under a rock, is it really that hot?

Man I thought you loved offroading, bummer it might come to an end. This would be the end of an era

 

[Broke_Runner]

Dang I've been living under a rock, is it really that hot?

Man I thought you loved offroading, bummer it might come to an end. This would be the end of an era

Yea man it’s why mine is on the chopping block among other reasons lol