aceforever's panda build log

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Tue Nov 22, 2016 7:17 pm

Hey club4ag!

It's been a while since I posted up anything. If you haven't seen my previous thread it's on the Tech: AE86 subforum: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=14755

For those who don't have the time to go through all of that. With the help from fellow club4ag members (especially jondee86), I got an AE86 that didn't run for 7 years, set up the after market ECU, did normal wear and tear items and got it running.

Image

I'm starting this up mainly because I miss chatting with you all on the forum. I'm thinking about putting what I've done on the car since July in the upcoming posts.

Super excited to share the mods and hear from y'all :)

JDM20VAE101
Club4AG Expert
Posts: 388
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:13 pm

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby JDM20VAE101 » Wed Nov 23, 2016 7:55 am

looking Great man!

Any plans with it?
Ivan's 4AGE BT 20V 6Spd LSD Build Thread
Just Scroll Down & Enjoy!
http://www.club4ag.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4529
Thanks For Looking! :D

User avatar
jondee86
Moderator
Posts: 2907
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:21 pm
Location: Wellington, New Zealand

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby jondee86 » Wed Nov 23, 2016 9:13 pm

Hey there Ace... long time no post ;) About time you showed us what you have
done to the car since it left the paint shop. Hopefully, you had a lot of fun driving
it during the summer.

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
depends on the unreasonable man.

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Thu Nov 24, 2016 11:44 pm

JDM20VAE101 wrote:looking Great man!
Any plans with it?


Thanks :D Just going to keep it running and making little modifications here and there now.

jondee86 wrote:Hey there Ace... long time no post ;) About time you showed us what you have
done to the car since it left the paint shop. Hopefully, you had a lot of fun driving
it during the summer.


Hahaha I know. It's been a while, missed talking to you! I also stopped posting because I felt a bit guilty, posting build thread type stuff in the Tech subforum. Now I can post whatever I like :D

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Thu Nov 24, 2016 11:54 pm

Emblem

I wanted to move the Kouki Trueno emblem to the Zenki bumper instead of on the grill so it looks more like the original JDM design.

Here's the back of the Kouki emblem. It's made for the kouki bumper with two horizontal bars. I needed to take some material off of it to make it fit the zenki bumper.
Image

Here's me trying to line up the emblem on the bumper.
Image

It pains me to do this, but it has to be done!
Image

After some lots of minor modifications.
Image

Backing plate and sheet metal screw.
Image

Finally in!
Image

After cleaning up the mess I made.
Image

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Fri Nov 25, 2016 12:00 am

Refurbishing USDM grill

The USDM grill has a tab in the cross hatch pattern to hold the Toyota emblem. I took that off, cleaned it up and sprayed everything with a few layers of matte paint.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Fri Nov 25, 2016 12:06 am

Rear Taillights

I noticed my tailllights had spider cracks on them. Either because I stored them improperly or because I didn't notice it when I first got them second hand. Bought some new old stock parts from Ireland and swapped them in.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Fri Nov 25, 2016 12:09 am

Lexus door strikers

One of my friends told me about how the early 2000s Lexus' had the same bolt pattern for door strikers. I decided to try it out and man, they look so much better!

Image

Image

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Fri Nov 25, 2016 12:13 am

Diff fluid change

My diff sounded very loud at certain times. I used Motul 300V with some Redline LSD additive. It sounds much happier now. (Don't worry I put jack stands on shortly after this picture)

Image

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Fri Nov 25, 2016 12:19 am

Instagram Intermission

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Fri Nov 25, 2016 12:33 am

2016 Portland Trip for Halloween

What started as a small group ended up being over 12 AE86s cruising around the Portland area

Beginning of the trip. Nice seeing another AE86 in the rear view mirror.
Image

Half way to Portland, joined up with a few folks here.
Image

Got a little lost but saw this pretty colored AE86.
Image

Finally found the main group. Saw a few interesting cars, some with Beams, 20V swaps. Some stock 4AGEs and 4AC.
Image

We drove to the industrial area near the docks.
Image

The locals took us to some twisty mountain roads which were a lot of fun.
Image

Ended at this gravely place for another photoshoot.
Image

The road back were less twisty.
Image

Ended with a dinner at Burgerville.
Image

Then the 3 hour trip back home.
Image

JDM20VAE101
Club4AG Expert
Posts: 388
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:13 pm

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby JDM20VAE101 » Sat Nov 26, 2016 12:25 pm

looks like a very nice time with the group!

Nice pics too!
Ivan's 4AGE BT 20V 6Spd LSD Build Thread
Just Scroll Down & Enjoy!
http://www.club4ag.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4529
Thanks For Looking! :D

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:23 pm

JDM20VAE101 wrote:looks like a very nice time with the group!

Nice pics too!

Thanks Ivan! I've been going through your build thread. So much work and attention to detail. I'm at the point where you're repainting the car. I'll comment there when I'm done :D

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:39 pm

DIY HID Projector retrofit

The performance of fake projector headlights that came with the car is appalling. I switched over to some sealed beam Halogens w/ smooth reflector and Fresnel lens and they were much better. But after driving in the dark a few more times, I thought I'd upgrade to 90s technology (HID w/ projectors).

I tried contacting a few retrofitters before attempting my own but, they were flaky.
Looked at schematics of the housing and the projector and bulb and things are barely within the popup assembly. I decided to risk it and attempt to fix issues if things crop up.

Got the ACME Super H1 from theretrofitsource w/ Pilot Housings from amazon.
Image

Firstly, I had to crack open the housing.
Image

The projectors had adapters for H4 bulb hole, but I couldn't use it because of space limitations.
Image
Image

Testing the system. I bought a 10A 12V power supply and hooked up all the electronics outside of the car for test.
Image

To get the projector to fit into the housing, I slowly cut away at the reflector until I arrived at this size.
Image

Here it is with the shroud.
Image

Comparison of fake projectors vs real projectors. Notice that the lamp on the bottom left corner is actually dimmer on the HID picture meaning the HIDs actually output so much light that the camera's auto exposure kicked in.
Image
Image

Barely fits.
Image

Image

Final product:
Image
Image

JDM20VAE101
Club4AG Expert
Posts: 388
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:13 pm

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby JDM20VAE101 » Sun Nov 27, 2016 6:59 pm

aceforever wrote:
JDM20VAE101 wrote:looks like a very nice time with the group!

Nice pics too!

Thanks Ivan! I've been going through your build thread. So much work and attention to detail. I'm at the point where you're repainting the car. I'll comment there when I'm done :D


Thanks for take the time to do it man...

A lot of work done man... But it's all worth...

Awesome retrofit with those headlights! I like it!
Great job mate!
Ivan's 4AGE BT 20V 6Spd LSD Build Thread
Just Scroll Down & Enjoy!
http://www.club4ag.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4529
Thanks For Looking! :D

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:32 am

JDM20VAE101 wrote:Awesome retrofit with those headlights! I like it!
Great job mate!

Thanks! More mods coming up!

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:34 am

Steering wheel bolts

After the paint shop had my car I noticed a few things rusted up due to the moisture. Got some bolts from the local ace hardware since they had quite a selection of stainless steel fasteners. They turned out great!

Image
Image

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:43 am

Seat rails

I had the T3 seat brackets and they work great for the most part. But I wished for something that has sliders so I got some second hand Planted seat brackets. Took a while getting them on since I was working alone but after it was much better after it all said and done.

Image

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:48 am

Gas Pedal

Since my clutch and brake pedal were already the new style. I replaced the AE86 plastic/hard rubber pedal with the IS300 gas pedal. Hopefully it'd help me with my heel toeing. We'll see. Putting it on was quite the chore. You have to punch out the pin on both old and new pedal assembly. Then slide off the AE86 pedal off the pedal lever bar, do the same with the IS one. Then slowly push the IS pedal onto the AE86 lever bar. The IS pedal bar is smaller so it requires some force. Finally line up the holes for the pin and hammer it back in place.

Image

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:56 am

Trueno Decals

Got these a long time ago (even before the paint) from eBay. I applied it on a few days prior to a local Halloween get together. Turned out pretty well.

Image
Image
Image
Image

shagymc
Club4AG Expert
Posts: 353
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2013 9:43 pm

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby shagymc » Mon Nov 28, 2016 6:23 pm

Liking the clean mods, I remember the IS pedal giving me a bunch of crap too but it was well worth the headaches when it was all said and done! I haven't posted much since mine has been in the shop to get paint but following what you've been doing is keeping the motivation up! Keep the updates coming!

JDM20VAE101
Club4AG Expert
Posts: 388
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:13 pm

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby JDM20VAE101 » Tue Nov 29, 2016 8:57 am

Nice details man!

I like that SW too!

How much goes around that Pedals I like it for my build...
Ivan's 4AGE BT 20V 6Spd LSD Build Thread
Just Scroll Down & Enjoy!
http://www.club4ag.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4529
Thanks For Looking! :D

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:37 pm

shagymc wrote:Liking the clean mods, I remember the IS pedal giving me a bunch of crap too but it was well worth the headaches when it was all said and done! I haven't posted much since mine has been in the shop to get paint but following what you've been doing is keeping the motivation up! Keep the updates coming!

Ahh cool you have it too? :D awesome, we're part of the cool club now :D

JDM20VAE101 wrote:Nice details man!
I like that SW too!
How much goes around that Pedals I like it for my build...

You can get the pedal for around $35 on eBay :)

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:58 pm

Power Windows - Part 1

I saw these power window regulator from someone locally. They seemed pretty rare so I picked them up.
What I didn't realize is the switches are also hard to find.

Image

Ended up getting these 80s Celica GTS master / passenger switches. The Celica GTS master doesn't have auto down/up, but it does have a door lock switch. This also got me thinking about how to integrate
power locks.
Image

Tested it with my multimeter and some of the contacts weren't working. Took it all apart to spray with electrical contact cleaner.
Image

They have these connectors which I couldn't find the other side for to build my own harness, they'll have to be replaced. (more on this later)
Image
Image

Here's the test. I hooked up my regulated power supply to a two relays controlled by the two switches (up and down) of the passenger switch. I read about how the contacts in the switches don't connect well over time and cause enough resistance to prevent the motor from getting the full voltage.
Image

My design using four SPDT (5 pin) BOSCH-style relays.
Image

Another issue was the plastic was really brittle. It was cracked already prior to the seller shipping it.
Image

Put some JB Putty (fast set type)
Image
Image

Sanding it down
Image
Image

Paint
Image
Image
Image

Connectors - got a bunch!
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Soldering for relays:
Image
Image

Used shrink wrap to get it looking all neat and tidy.
Image

Reassembled the switches
Image

Coming up - power doors!

JDM20VAE101
Club4AG Expert
Posts: 388
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:13 pm

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby JDM20VAE101 » Thu Dec 01, 2016 6:59 am

I'll keep an eye for it!

Damm man great restoration on those switches!
Ivan's 4AGE BT 20V 6Spd LSD Build Thread
Just Scroll Down & Enjoy!
http://www.club4ag.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4529
Thanks For Looking! :D

shagymc
Club4AG Expert
Posts: 353
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2013 9:43 pm

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby shagymc » Thu Dec 01, 2016 4:54 pm

Where did you get the harnesses at and by what company? They look like top notch connectors and I need to do something like this for my door harness. Also, were they expensive?

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Thu Dec 01, 2016 6:39 pm

JDM20VAE101 wrote:I'll keep an eye for it!
Damm man great restoration on those switches!

Man, thanks for the support! I'm glad you enjoy my amateur attempts haha :D

shagymc wrote:Where did you get the harnesses at and by what company? They look like top notch connectors and I need to do something like this for my door harness. Also, were they expensive?

What do you mean harness? I haven't worked on a harness yet. Do you mean the relay connectors? They were off Amazon.
As for the connectors, they were from aliexpress (china). I searched up Denso connectors.
The tools I bought from Amazon (had to do a lot of research before arriving at these)

shagymc
Club4AG Expert
Posts: 353
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2013 9:43 pm

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby shagymc » Thu Dec 01, 2016 8:40 pm

By harness I mean connector, we called them harnesses in the car audio field. Either way I need to check them out. What specific tools did you need? I have crimpers and strippers, can't imagine needing much more than that. Great work!

JDM20VAE101
Club4AG Expert
Posts: 388
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:13 pm

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby JDM20VAE101 » Thu Dec 01, 2016 9:10 pm

Amateur but looks like a professional!
Ivan's 4AGE BT 20V 6Spd LSD Build Thread
Just Scroll Down & Enjoy!
http://www.club4ag.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4529
Thanks For Looking! :D

aceforever
Club4AG Pro
Posts: 637
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: aceforever's panda build log

Postby aceforever » Thu Dec 01, 2016 10:51 pm

shagymc wrote:By harness I mean connector, we called them harnesses in the car audio field. Either way I need to check them out. What specific tools did you need? I have crimpers and strippers, can't imagine needing much more than that. Great work!


Oh! I see what you're saying. I think harnesses actually include wires too. Like a completed wire, terminal, and connector is a harness.

http://www.sewsus.com/product_harness.html wrote:A wiring harness is an organized set of wires, terminals and connectors that run throughout the entire vehicle and relay information and electric power, thereby playing a critical role in “connecting” a variety of components.


Having crimpers that roll the side of the pin into the wire is pretty important for this type of pin. The usual ones for butt connectors don't work as well, but definitely still usable.

And I'm super appreciative of the encouragement! Thanks!

JDM20VAE101 wrote:Amateur but looks like a professional!

You're too kind :)