Help! I need a bigger driveway! (An adoption story and maybe build thread)

that poor thing.

it was lucky to find you and your big heart.

don't neglect the spyder - 

good luck with project

Makes me miss my old aw11

To be honest the paint looks great in pics and from afar... But get up close to it and you see it was amateur. Can't complain because I couldn't do better myself... And at least the body is protected. I didn't buy it for the paint job thou...

It's a Mk1.5! Full Gen5 3SGTE swap! A2W intercooled, Sweet 16 turbo, ACT HDSS clutch and lightweight flywheel, poly bushings throughout suspension, coilovers, the works!

Now for the bad news.... Cracked case on the E153, by the diff. Won't hold oil for long. About 5° free play in the steering wheel, no cluster lights, some other minor things.

Props to the seller... He poured his heart and soul (and tons of $$$) into this thing. He just got a lemon for a gearbox and life is making other demands of him now. Compared to what's already been done I have very little to do and will have a monster of a car when it's "finished."

If anyone happens to have a friend in Toyota parts dept (especially on west coast) please get us in touch! New E153s are scarce and I need to lock one in before they're gone. 

@rdawg absolutely not gonna neglect. Having a second toy will give me the ability to have one torn to pieces while still having one to drive... My inability to take apart a functioning car I'm having fun with to do serious mods is why my Spyder is still NA despite having a blower in a box in my living room for years. 

Thats really cool. I wonder how it would drive with a 2ZZ swap. 

@dev since the aw11 weighs a couple hundred pounds more than the zzw30, I think a 2zz might come in a little underwhelming. Still faster than a Celica GTS, but slower than the 2zz Spyder. 

This gen 3sgte made 260bhp stock, with airflow mods, 255whp. ATS racing, who modifies the stock CT15 into what they call "CT16" compared the two back to back, only swapping the turbo: 

They are in north texas, so no idea if this test is on 91 or 93, but 93 is plentiful here so I don't expect any less from mine. They made 350+whp on e85...

http://www.atsracing.net/Parts/Details/TUR-SWEET16

I've only driven it in city streets at lower speeds, and at 10psi. It was already scary. 

To say the least I don't believe I'll be lacking power once I've got a reliable gearbox in it. Then the task will be to learn how to handle the thing...

Thats good to know. How does it feel driving it compared to the Spyder.

Does it feel like an older 80s car where its kind of loose and oddly flat.  Some of the vintage cars I have driven have been a let down but charming in their own way. 

Posted by: @dev

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Thats good to know. How does it feel driving it compared to the Spyder.

Does it feel like an older 80s car where its kind of loose and oddly flat.  Some of the vintage cars I have driven have been a let down but charming in their own way. 

 

I haven't had enough seat time to make a serious comparison. I'm trying not to drive it much with the injured gearbox, there's a quafe LSD in there that I'd like to not destroy.

The suspension is all done but I'm sure I'll still want to alter ride height a bit, dial in damper rates, get the dead spot out of the steering, etc. With all the poly the ride feels really solid, less chassis flex than my Spyder with lots of extra bracing. There are no additional braces on the AW11, just some upgraded components, stock components and poly everywhere. I'd be very curious to know how it feels in comparison to a Spyder with a hardtop. 

The most immediately obvious difference is the lack of power steering. Haven't felt that for a decade at least... The past couple weeks I've been occasionally power cycling the Spyder while driving so I can kill the PS and try to train myself to drive without. Work in progress. 

The AW11 has no driver aids... No PS, No ABS... Safety? Uh... It has seat belts! And now it has a momo steering wheel hub that is designed to bend if it gets hit hard enough, that's like an airbag right? 

Since the windows are manual I assumed everything was... And surprised myself to find the power mirror buttons last night 😂

Posted by: @marsrock7

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Posted by: @dev

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Thats good to know. How does it feel driving it compared to the Spyder.

Does it feel like an older 80s car where its kind of loose and oddly flat.  Some of the vintage cars I have driven have been a let down but charming in their own way. 

 

I haven't had enough seat time to make a serious comparison. I'm trying not to drive it much with the injured gearbox, there's a quafe LSD in there that I'd like to not destroy.

The suspension is all done but I'm sure I'll still want to alter ride height a bit, dial in damper rates, get the dead spot out of the steering, etc. With all the poly the ride feels really solid, less chassis flex than my Spyder with lots of extra bracing. There are no additional braces on the AW11, just some upgraded components, stock components and poly everywhere. I'd be very curious to know how it feels in comparison to a Spyder with a hardtop. 

The most immediately obvious difference is the lack of power steering. Haven't felt that for a decade at least... The past couple weeks I've been occasionally power cycling the Spyder while driving so I can kill the PS and try to train myself to drive without. Work in progress. 

The AW11 has no driver aids... No PS, No ABS... Safety? Uh... It has seat belts! And now it has a momo steering wheel hub that is designed to bend if it gets hit hard enough, that's like an airbag right? 

Since the windows are manual I assumed everything was... And surprised myself to find the power mirror buttons last night 😂

 

 I have had some people comment after driving my car without the PS  and looping the lines that it was not that bad which surprised them. When I drive another Spyder with the PS It is a disappointment because the entire car feels loose and disconnected.  With out PS by looping the lines  the car feels more European.  Disabling the PS by power cycling as you have done feels like murder and not very fun. 

 Manual racks from older cars are nice but they tend to have a longer ratio for better mechanical advantage that takes more turns to lock. 0ne of the best PS cars I have driven is a BMW that had active stabilizers and the rack had some sort of gear switching to tighten it up but the Spyders rack without the PS is still better. 

@dev Very interesting that looping the lines does make a difference. I am very used to the feel of the Spyder's PS. Between dead and active PS so far I prefer the active, the lightness suits the car better. My opinion may change if I ever decide to try looping the lines.

The dead PS in the Spyder and no PS in the AW11 feels similar currently... But the AW11 has 2.5 turn quick rack and smaller steering wheel. Spyder is 2.5 turn also but OEM wheel. Considering going back to an OEMish wheel size for the AW11 for some more leverage. 

Posted by: @marsrock7

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@dev Very interesting that looping the lines does make a difference. I am very used to the feel of the Spyder's PS. Between dead and active PS so far I prefer the active, the lightness suits the car better. My opinion may change if I ever decide to try looping the lines.

The dead PS in the Spyder and no PS in the AW11 feels similar currently... But the AW11 has 2.5 turn quick rack and smaller steering wheel. Spyder is 2.5 turn also but OEM wheel. Considering going back to an OEMish wheel size for the AW11 for some more leverage. 

I found that the Spyder with the disabled PS felt not only hard it also felt a bit inconsistent which could be due to exerting a lot of force to turn. With looping the lines it felt just right and better than mechanical racks that I have driven. I think keeping the fluid in the rack adds damping so the car feels very stable especially when you go over bumps.  When driving in a straight line the car feels rock solid.  I did not know the AW11 has the quick rack, that is a good thing.  I hate having too many turns to lock because it feels like the car has play in it. 

@dev The quick rack was installed by previous owner. I know the AE86 rack fits and is a common mod, the one I have is made by Quaife thou... No idea if it differs from the stock AE86 rack.

I really want to try a looped PS Spyder now. Will have to look up what it entails. If it's super simple and reversible I may give it a try for a while. 

Posted by: @marsrock7

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@dev The quick rack was installed by previous owner. I know the AE86 rack fits and is a common mod, the one I have is made by Quaife thou... No idea if it differs from the stock AE86 rack.

I really want to try a looped PS Spyder now. Will have to look up what it entails. If it's super simple and reversible I may give it a try for a while. 

To make it reversible you would need new lines. You have to cut the rubber and use a plastic barb fitting to join both ends. You also need to take out a little fluid so there is compressible air that moves in the line. Some add a three way fitting with a breather filter but it’s not necessary. I like the closed system so no moisture can enter.  

Congratulations Marsrock7!  that looks like a really good find.  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you to find the parts you need.  I am on the Left Coast, but have no connections for Mr. T.