"Never Forgotten" My long term N2 AE86 build

[InitialB]

So this crazy idea all started when I bought my corolla in 2011. I was a Junior in high school with nothing better to do than sketch up ideas and think of how awesome it would be to build an N2-spec car in the US. The car had some front end damage but nothing too bad.

As you can see, the front had been pushed in and therefore the bumper was a bit droopy


So we did some fine adjustment.


Now that everything sits in its proper position I can begin what will be the longest build of my life (probably).

Here is a quick idea of what it could look like without any color or livery:


In the works right now is building a 20v for this lovely machine. I shall kiss my wallet goodbye.

[SidekickChuck]

Nice aspirations and dreams to keep the drive to complete going!
Are you planning on building an N2 spec motor as well?

[InitialB]

Yes an N2 spec motor will be built for it.

[Zissou]

There are much worse goals to have than a N2 replica, go for it.

[InitialB]

So I colored the INSPIRATIONAL car (all caps because clearly it is a photoshop and not mine) and added some logos that I'm clearly not cool enough to be sponsored by but who's gonna stop me? The sponsor police?

[InitialB]

Haven't posted in a while, but here's the update of the day:

Key's Racing wheel is on and lookin' mighty fine.

[InitialB]

Progress is slowly continuing. Today I began removing the interior sound deadening and insulation.



I made a pretty gross pile of interior in the spare wheel area...



I'll hopefully have this done by tomorrow and I can begin sanding and then paint!

[milchmann]

Do yourself a huge favor. Save up and have it media blasted and etch primed. You will never get all of that rust I spy in the trunk out otherwise.

[TORPARTS]

great start....!

[InitialB]

A few weeks ago, while hunched over the R32, my brother and I started talking about what ridiculous cage should be put into the AE86... Well after some long thinking and research, this is what came out. Now there are some bars that aren't shown on this (might as well be MS PAINT) blueprint, but I will make a 3D model to post on here so you guys can see the whole thing.



ALSO I haven't taken any pictures yet of the interior, but it looks great. I'll try to post some up on Monday.

[InitialB]

Work has consumed my life recently so I haven't had time to update, but here's what's going on with the car.

I purchased TRD Shocks
Front: 48511-AE031
Rear: 48531-AE831



And with that I special ordered some parts from SP-TEC which haven't arrived yet. 45mm RCAs, full tap front shock casings, and camber plates.







I also ordered a Tomei TRAX 2 way differential! Will post pics of that when I have the time.

[InitialB]

The TOMEI diff has arrived!

[InitialB]

So my parts have finally arrived. 6k TRD springs as well as the SP-TEC casings, RCAs, and camber plates. Time for assembly!

[InitialB]

Boy I haven't updated on here in a while... Let me fill you in on what's going on.

For starters I repaired a once hopelessly fractured dash. The cracks on it were easily 2-3 inches wide.



Followed up by my long awaited interior paint job.



And then tragedy struck! I blew the 4AC (probably a blessing in disguise) and therefore everything had to come out of the car!



After that it was a matter of finding an engine and I stumbled upon this bad boy which I had to have... Obviously.
Behold the power plant to my 86! A blacktop 20v!



I'm going to try to keep this build log alive at least a little so expect more soon!

[ryun84]

Nice find! And great progress!

[RuizXIII]

Very good. This will be cool. I like that hammer work.
Is Teddy your brother?

[85levin]

nice build. interesting front strut sleeves, seems like they are built to adjust the length of the strut body. who makes those?

[InitialB]

@RuizXIII yes Teddy is indeed my brother.

@85levin They're custom made by SP-TEC in Tokyo.

[RuizXIII]

Right on. That's neat! Both of you y'all have excellent style =)
Teddy's R32 Sedan is so good (his S13 also).

I'll be looking forward to your machine build up

[InitialB]

Well progress is being made! Suspension is installed! I'm going to play around with the front height once the engine is in but this is how she sits for now.

Installing the new rear end with the TRD suspension stuff.


The assembled front suspension


Back on the ground


I also took a Sunday measuring and cutting the trunk for the new JAZ fuel cell!


Now I have to wait for my SS Works Watt's link to come in and I have to have a pan welded for the fuel cell. Oh boy...

[InitialB]

I'm pretty behind on updates so here we go.

For starters I received my Watt's linkage and OS Giken clutch



... And proceeded to install it.



So now the rear end sits straight, but I will have to fab something to hold the link bracket at the top where my spare wheel compartment once was.

I also ordered a SS Works water line kit and installed that.





While I was at it I also had a metal plate made for engine bay decoration and racing purposes



Now I just have to wait for the trumpets, ECU, and wiring to come in!

[RuizXIII]

That Watts linkage is good stuff.
Nice parts collection!

[InitialB]

ECU and wiring have come in, so now I get to have fun doing the SR5 to 20v harness.... anybody here done it?

[InitialB]

As my flow of money has halted with my recent change of jobs (haven't received my first paycheck yet), I've just been sitting around playing with other things. So for starters, I chopped up my dashboard...

It was such a beauty.. so I took a grinder to it.
BEFORE:


AFTER THE FIRST LAYER OF FIBERGLASS:


Then, I proceeded to layer some more fiberglass on the inside...



.... Added some bondo to smooth things out...





Did a quick test fit before the minor touch ups and resin



Applied resin ft. UCC and Marlboro



Primered it and smoothed out some wrinkles with fine grit sandpaper. Then did a last test fit!



A couple passes of paint and clear coat AND VOILA!

A single-seater dashboard for the N286



Now with the Party Brigade/Asa Akira seal of approval





I also painted my valve cover. It's FA gold now and I'm going to apply some gold CHROME vinyl later in the week... not sure what "livery" I'll do though.



UNTIL NEXT TIME!

[drisk23]

Damn man, looking good. Seems to be making good progress.
I'm kind of basing my aw11 build off of n2 specs. But in turn the "8-6 killer," with a 20v 7ag. Haha, really just corvettes.

[gaijin_rokurunner]

Looks good so far..u got a long way to go and $$$ to spend on that engine if you want it to really be a N2 spec setup...what that ss works watts link cost you? I looked into that about 3 years ago and they were expensive wondering if their price came down. Good luck with your build looks like it's coming along nicely.

[InitialB]

Looks good so far..u got a long way to go and $$$ to spend on that engine if you want it to really be a N2 spec setup...what that ss works watts link cost you? I looked into that about 3 years ago and they were expensive wondering if their price came down. Good luck with your build looks like it's coming along nicely.

I think I paid like $1,100 for it shipped from Niigata, Japan.

[Luima16]

So my parts have finally arrived. 6k TRD springs as well as the SP-TEC casings, RCAs, and camber plates. Time for assembly!

Could you tell me what the cost of these parts especially the shells SP-TEC

[InitialB]

It should be listed on SP-TECs website...

http://sp-tec.com/shop/

If you can't read Japanese, Google translate is your friend.

[JyuRoku]

Loving this build! Was the Watts linkage kit a bolt-in thing or was welding required?