aceforever's panda build log

aceforever
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Wed Mar 15, 2017 9:15 pm

aukword1 wrote:Looks good man...one day i will attempt to do the power window/door mod myself. That is whats great about these cars...always something you can do to improve them.


Thanks so much! let me know if you need any help later on :)

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Wed Jun 21, 2017 9:10 pm

Finally found some time to get back into updating this log.

A local car enthusiast was also a photographer and helped me take some pictures of the car. Hope y'all enjoy :) Click on the photo for high resolution.

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby strmrdr23 » Thu Jun 22, 2017 10:14 am

looking good, dood!

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby Jayrdee » Thu Jun 22, 2017 10:48 am

B E A U T I F U L
[I have no idea what I'm doing]
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instagram: @dacobjurbin

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jondee86
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby jondee86 » Thu Jun 22, 2017 7:11 pm

How does an ugly ducking turn into a graceful swan?

With a lot of hard work and perseverence... congratulations and well done Ace :)

Cheers... jondee86
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Sun Aug 13, 2017 9:36 pm

Thanks Jondee :)

Here's some pictures from Portland 86 Day! Sorry about the lack of updates, work has been super busy and I hardly get time to work on the car again.

Road trip, from Seattle -> Portland
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St. John's Bridge pre-pre-meet
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Local Touge roads
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Lloyd Center cinema pre-meet
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Red Door meet
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-zenki-
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby -zenki- » Sun Aug 20, 2017 9:26 am

Saved all the pictures from the photoshoot. That's goals right there, so clean.
FLAWLESS VICTORY
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aceforever
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Mon Oct 23, 2017 11:55 pm

-zenki- wrote:Saved all the pictures from the photoshoot. That's goals right there, so clean.


Thanks man! Sorry for the long hiatus, all. Been out of the game for a bit. I'm still alive and need to fix a (sometimes) knotchy shifting transmission. Plan is to take it to a professional to get it rebuilt.

My photographer friend and I got bored one night and drove around town. Here are some of the shots he took.
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scalpel
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby scalpel » Fri Jan 19, 2018 2:37 pm

I saved all your pics to use as my background. Still one of my fav build.

aceforever
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:07 pm

scalpel wrote:I saved all your pics to use as my background. Still one of my fav build.

Thanks scalpel! (sorry for the hideous) Hope to make it even better!

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:12 pm

A new chapter begins!

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RuizXIII
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby RuizXIII » Thu Aug 29, 2019 2:23 pm

Oh! Excitement builds
irony.cc

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jondee86
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby jondee86 » Thu Aug 29, 2019 2:58 pm

I found you a DIY that will help the swap go smoothly.... :D :D

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Cheers... jondee86
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Thu Aug 29, 2019 8:03 pm

jondee86 wrote:I found you a DIY that will help the swap go smoothly.... :D :D

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Cheers... jondee86

Haha how did you know it's a LS?

RuizXIII wrote:Oh! Excitement builds

Yesssss super exciting!

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Fri Aug 30, 2019 1:24 am

Funnily enough, I'm looking through the vacuum hoses on this stock engine and it's quite intense. Luckily jondee86 already has good resources in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=21153 Thanks man!

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby jondee86 » Fri Aug 30, 2019 3:28 pm

aceforever wrote:Haha how did you know it's a LS?

LS engines are getting stuffed into everything these days, so I just thought
hell yeah, can't be any more complicated than a 20V swap.... ;)

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But you would soon get tired of this every time you drove on the street....

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Cheers... jondee86
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Fri Aug 30, 2019 6:35 pm

oof, that does look awesome, especially with the ITBs :D

I'm going with the 20v blacktop, I hear various numbers for how much bhp these make, anywhere from 150 to 180. Toyota claims 160PS, but I think I haven't seen any stock ones with more than 150 on the forums.

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby jondee86 » Fri Aug 30, 2019 8:39 pm

I have not owned a 20V so I can only go on what I have read and observed. All evidence
points to the fact that the engine was optimized by Toyota to pull a decent hp figure by
giving it a high redline. Thus large diameter throttles for a 1600, six speed box, VVT,
lightweight rods, tubular exhaust manifold, lightweight flywheel and a few other tweaks

What this means is that it is not so easy to extract more power out of the BT, but quite
easy to make less power with the wrong modifications. I would strongly recommend that
if your engine comes with the factory airbox/plenum and ECU, you try and install a cold
air intake with filter and make the install as close to stock as possible.

That way the engine should start and run like factory and give you a baseline for future
modifications. The interweb has a ton of information on this conversion and also a ton
of tales from people who have struggled to get the engine to run correctly. Chose your
modifications carefully and always be prepared to revert to factory if you hit problems.

Nothing worse than a car you can't drive because you modified it to a standstill !!!

Cheers... jondee86
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Fri Aug 30, 2019 10:02 pm

Haha to be expected. And not what I'd like to hear having just taken the plunge. But it's alright :D

I'm considering more aggressive cams, like the toda 272 9.2 and the kelford around similar + aftermarket ecu and harness, and upgraded springs if needed.

I'd be happy making ~150whp

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby jondee86 » Sat Aug 31, 2019 12:21 am

If you are not planning to run the factory ECU, then starting with the factory
setup is no longer relevant. What you have outlined sounds like a reasonable
starting point.

Depending on your intended use, you can either decide to keep the VVT or change
to adjustable cam pulleys. AFAIK the compression ratio is around 11:1 so you will
need to use the highest octane pump gas you can locate. Then, track down the
best tuner you can find in your area, and discuss your choice of ECU (and cams)
with him.

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A quality tune and dyno time to optimize cam and ignition timing for MBT will be
the key to you reaching your performance goals. Your tuner needs to be familiar
and confident when working with your chosen ECU. I think 150whp is achievable
with carefull attention to detail and the right combination of bolt-on components.

Cheers... jondee86
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Sat Aug 31, 2019 1:51 am

Point taken, will be setting up appointments for tuners :)

Are there any concerns of running 9.2mm lift mechanically on stock 20v BT parts?

Also noticed a chip on the crankshaft pulley. Is this of concern? looks like it's on the outside part of the pulley past the rubber part.
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby jondee86 » Sat Aug 31, 2019 3:20 am

Can't help on the question of lift... but if you asked Kelford Cams I'm sure they
could tell you if their cams will work without modifying the head. They will also
want to sell you some springs :)

The chip is no problem. Just smooth the chipped part with a file or Dremmel
so that there are no sharp edges to catch on the belt.

Cheers... jondee86
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Sat Aug 31, 2019 6:33 pm

Performed a compression test and a leak down test today!

If you ever need a way to compression test without the harness here's a way. Use your battery ground cable as the positive cable of the starter. Then connect up a wire to the signal terminal on the starter. Connect thick positive cable to a positive of the jumper cable. Connect negative of jumper cable to the engine. Connect the other end of the jumper cable's positive and negative to a battery. To activate the starter, connect signal wire to positive of the jumper cable.
Click for video

Compression:
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Leak down:
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Spark plugs:
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Sat Aug 31, 2019 6:37 pm

jondee86 wrote:Can't help on the question of lift... but if you asked Kelford Cams I'm sure they
could tell you if their cams will work without modifying the head. They will also
want to sell you some springs :)

The chip is no problem. Just smooth the chipped part with a file or Dremmel
so that there are no sharp edges to catch on the belt.

Cheers... jondee86


Thanks for the tip! And gotcha will file it down when I get to polishing things up.

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby jondee86 » Sat Aug 31, 2019 6:43 pm

I'd give those plugs a decent burial !!! Compressions look great :)

Cheers... jondee86
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Sat Sep 14, 2019 12:07 am

Engine disassembly

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Header, AC compressor, power steering and brackets coming off
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The engine had a pan full of dark JDM engine oil, and some coolant still. Drained all that.

Oil pan was a bit scuffed up but seems structurally good. I'm going to paint this so it won't rust.
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Getting the oil pan off was such a chore. I didn't know that the baffle is sandwiched between the pan and the block as well. So annoying!
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Sump was just sludge, no golden sheen. Bearings are probably just fine. Not gonna disassemble the bottom end anymore.
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Doesn't look too bad at all!
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Did run into an issue while getting the pan off. A bolt head snapped off and I was really frustrated. Later on I noticed this is actually on the oil pump which I'm going to replace anyways! Lucky!
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Sat Sep 14, 2019 12:15 am

jondee86 wrote:I'd give those plugs a decent burial !!! Compressions look great :)


Thanks :D

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Wed Nov 20, 2019 1:21 am

Valve cover refinishing
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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Wed Nov 20, 2019 1:24 am

Fuel pump replacement

Original:
Denso 9500147 (~80lph)

New:
Denso 9500154 (~195lph)

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Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Wed Nov 20, 2019 1:28 am

Engine seal refresh

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