Update!

Well, have been on holidays, and since I got back, I havent gotten around to posting my progress. In short, the car is in the reassembly process. The engine block is done, only waiting for one of the valve shims (the clearance between one of the intake valve shims and the intake cam lobe is out of spec).. the factory specification requires 0.15-0.25mm of clearance... this one is 0.05mm... getting the clearance of the shims right is a bit of a pain in the arse... but if you are planning on changing your valves and springs, expect that you will need to buy new shims. Unfortunately, there is no better way of finding out what depth shims you'll need until you start the reassembly process.

Ok, so on with the picture show! :-)

First, the head was disassembled... See the springs and retainers in the head? Well, over that assembley sits a shiney upside down metallic cup, called a shim. Note that the shims are ALL different thicknesses, so if you are planning on using the same springs and valves, then remember where each shim go!!

Picture of the springs and retainers.... MWR sent me the wrong ones! However, the mistake was quickly rectified.. a happy customer once again. This delayed the process by around a week.



So in the mean time, I started working on the manual conversion. I had gotten all my manual bits and bobs (except the big long clutch flexible hose.. long long long story! I eventually got one custom made and it costed me $57 dollars! Should have done that in the first place, instead of waiting almost 3 months to get one.) Anyway, the shifter cable brackets fit perfectly, except my SMT tranny is missing two holes for bolts.

Also, I had to block up the hole at the back where the SMT assembley used to screw onto.
So a plate (made of aluminium) was made, and I drilled some holes my self and grinded away for a while on it...
I got a plate made up which bolts onto to existing holes on the transmission, then drilled two additional holes to that the bracket has somewhere to secure onto.
End result of the custom fabricated aluminium plate to block out the hole at the front of the transmission. Used some sealant to ensure that it is completely sealed and I wont get transmission fluids leaking!


The next job was to drill an oval hole in the firewall... man, was this a b!tch of a job! Took me a whole day to get the holes there. I ended up using the side of a large drill bit to 'chip' away at the firewall, after I made the initial pilot holes. Those drill bits which are hollow on the inside, but has teeth on the outside just dont work! The teeths just keep getting rounded off!
Ahh... a preview of whats to come! My manual shifter! The electrical plugs are for the SMT shifter, but obviously I dont have one now, so will just leave those hanging there!
The block bored by 0.5mm, rehoned, and new pistons are in place! Looks great! Nice and shiney. :-)
Side view of the short block and the bottom end assembled.
Dont so what I did and overtorque the stud that holds the oil pickup in place. Its only 9lbs! I ended up snapping one, and having to get a new one.

Now, onto upgrading the fuel pump to a higher rated one. Wasnt too bad a task... just need to be careful as it is a bit fiddley.
Separate the top and bottom end of the fuel pump assembley. The fuel pump sits in the bottom half of the assembley and connected directly to that L shaped 'pouch'.. thats a filter to keep all the crap out of your injectors.
The fuel pump assembley can be found directly behind the driver (left hand drive!) seat.
Side view of the block with the top end assembled as well. I will need to disassemble the camshaft again early next week when my new shim comes in. Oh, and the oil pump (the thing that the crank shaft goes through, is also a higher flow TOGA one.

So, the project has stalled a little in the last month due to me waiting for the clutch line to come from Japan. Just a hint for anybody else doing this... dont bother ordering the clutch line from Toyota! I initially ordered it from the US (this was back in December last year, just before xmas!)... Toyota parts in the US finally contacted me in Feb saying that they were shipping all my parts out, but because the clutch line was so long, it would have changed the shipping cost significantly. So, I told them not to worry about sending the clutch line through, instead, I ordered the clutch line locally from our local Toyota dealership. The clutch line was ordered around the 14th March. They said it was going to be 4 weeks before it arrived here. Well, 8 weeks later, I got a call from Toyota, telling me that it was going to be another 4 more weeks because something went wrong at their warehouse and they stuffed up the order... So, I gave up at that point, told them to refund my deposit, and went to ABS breaks and clutch (in Osborne Park), who made up the line I needed in... oh.. 2 hours, and $57 AUD!

As a dear friend of mine told me, the solution is sometimes a lot closer to you than you think! Live and learn! :-)

Ok, will get back to my more regular updates. Keep your eye out for a video of the engine running! :-)

Signing out!