At the race last weekend, someone posted about a Lemons AW11 for sale, with a picture or two. It's a car I actually recognized from running recent prior Lemons races. They wanted $2500 OBO, and it included a complete parts car. But guess what it needed...yup, an engine. They said the parts car has a complete engine just in need of a fuel pump, but I don't know how true that is or isn't, so rather hesitant.....
I'd probably do best in group C.
I'm good at taking things apart but not so much at putting together so A? Also don't want to make a full commitment as I'll be bringing a questionable car. So A with me giving as much as I can.
Organization stuff has been started on pg1 in my first post.
SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:<snip> I'd love to put another much more common engine in the car, but my understanding is that takes far too much work. I like the plug and play idea for now. <snip>
I'm going to go off on a little tangent here, but since you brought it up...
For the time being I'd go with the bird in the hand (MrJoshua's 4AGE), but if you stick with the car long-term then consider the fact that you only have to sort a swap once. However, a current problem with common swaps on these chassis is they're no longer plentiful and cheap like they used to be. You could argue that the Toyota 2GR Honda K20/24 are still easily sourced, but doing those swaps aren't exactly cheap. I ended up opting for the Toyota 2ARFE. It's the 2.5L 4-banger they put in Scion TCs and Camry's about 10 years ago so they're plenty of them out there for $600-800 bucks. It's an inexpensive way to 200ish hp and significantly more torque than anything that isn't turbo or has an extra 2 cylinders. Doug Copeland of Wiregap.com can do the wiring here in Atlanta, but the challenge would be fabbing mounts. I have a swap sitting in my garage waiting to go in my AW11 so I could provide pics and measurements for said mounts. Other details: the S54 trans and axles from the second gen NA MR2 bolt up to the motor and the AW11 hubs respectively, but a longer shift cable and DBW pedal is needed. I believe both parts are available OTS.
Just something to chew on for the future.
I can bring an engine hoist, but I guess I prefer not to plan for that since my plans (mostly which car am I bringing) are still up in the air.
As we get closer I can confirm a bit better.
I think Anthony said he could bring a hoist.
From this photo ot looks like the trailing arms are stock.
Not so much for the challenge but more for wheel to wheel you should beef them up. They bend really easy. A tap from another car or an off or even aggressive curb hopping is all it takes
Stampie said:I think Anthony said he could bring a hoist.
Yes I can strap the engine hoist and load leveler down to my trailer with an MR2 on it since they are so tiny. That is still my plan unless someone says no to it. I will also bring some tools, but I'm not bring anything valuable. I could bring a torque wrench if I'm asked... should we set up some kind of roll call for this and list of who is bring what items? My wife made our reservations last month and I'm going to add the time off to the work calendar next week. My new job never bothers me on off days, so it's easy enough. My car will not be as ready as I'd like but it will be there and I'm competing with only fun as a goal.
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:Stampie said:I think Anthony said he could bring a hoist.
Yes I can strap the engine hoist and load leveler down to my trailer with an MR2 on it since they are so tiny. That is still my plan unless someone says no to it. I will also bring some tools, but I'm not bring anything valuable. I could bring a torque wrench if I'm asked... should we set up some kind of roll call for this and list of who is bring what items? My wife made our reservations last month and I'm going to add the time off to the work calendar next week. My new job never bothers me on off days, so it's easy enough. My car will not be as ready as I'd like but it will be there and I'm competing with only fun as a goal.
We're both running an AW11, we should make a "team" with a cheesy name....
GameboyRMH said:I don't know if it's a problem with AW11s, but AE92s (which have the same powertrain) have floppy and fragile engine mounts that would do well to be replaced with solid material.
I got mine modified with solid rubber pucks in place of the original material. Vibrates quite a bit near idle, but they'd be on the luxurious side for a dedicated race car.
The front engine mount is the one that transmits everything into the cabin. I found that going solid on the sides and rear and putting a new OEM front one doesn't really make any more noise than stock and tightens everything up nicely.
For engine R&R, I drop the engine to the ground on a plastic tote lid, then bolt a chain to the rear tow hooks and put my flip flops between the chain and rear bumper and send the chassis skyward. You can easily slide the engine out the side on the tote lid and it won't even crack the paint on the rear bumper. I've pulled an AW11 engine and transmission in <2hr by myself with only hand tools. You can unbolt the front an rear engine mount brackets from the chassis, if they don't look rusty. Then you won't have to work around them when dropping the engine.
For endurance racing, I always put stair tread grip tape on the driver floorboard. It makes driver ingress, egress a lot easier and decreases injury risk...especially if it's raining.
Brake bias in these cars is kinda wonky. They really like to lock the FR wheel first. Not sure how best to approach it, but something to be aware of.
I would also lose those silicone cooling hoses. Those thing love to get cut, abraided, or blow off. Especially with worm drive clamps. I like the stock corbin clamps, if you run across a parts car.
You guys rock!
Edit: Swapping the radiators and fuel pumps on these cars is a blood letting. I wouldn't want to do it trackside. I also fabbed an in-line water box with a temp sender and an Chicago-style air fitting. I use a Pressurized bug sprayer with a corresponding quick-connect and ball valve to pressure bleed the cooling system. Connect it to the pressurized water bottle (>12psi or whatever the rad cap bypass is,) throw the valve, when water comes out the overflow then it's full and bled. Cooling system can be tricky to bleed and this comes in really handy if you're losing a little water anywhere at a race.
Edit2: I like to run these cars with a little bit of negative rake, unless you have roll center adjusters. Firmer in the front and more compliant in the rear. Zero toe up front, 1/16" toe-in in the rear, whatever negative camber you can get, or about -2'.
In reply to Tyler H :
Fabulous info, thanks!!! Well, I can be the guy to slide the engine on the tote or help raise the car, LOL. My understanding of the 4AGE in endurance racing is that keeping them cool is the biggest challenge.
SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:In reply to Tyler H :
Fabulous info, thanks!!! Well, I can be the guy to slide the engine on the tote or help raise the car, LOL. My understanding of the 4AGE in endurance racing is that keeping them cool is the biggest challenge.
There is a water-oil cooler on the passenger side of the rear firewall. If you think the oil system is contaminated, don't forget to pull that thing and clean it out real good. It's also a great way to burn the car down if the oil hoses are in bad shape.
You might consider a remote plate and fin style oil cooler in the rear side duct area instead of the OEM one if oil temps are an issue. I run an oil cooler and big Fram HP1 remote filter on all of our endurance cars to get more oil in the system. The stock cooling system on these cars is pretty good IF the radiator is in good shape and the system is bled. The stock radiator is old school all-metal variety. I usually pull it and take it down to my local old school radiator shop to have it boiled out, pressure tested, and painted. I think they charge me like $65 for the service. They straighten out all the fins and braze any cracks they find. It's hard to find new ones and if you do, they're like $300.
In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :
I already registered my cheesy name.
Bump. Anybody else want a specific duty or have stuff you want to bring?
In reply to Tyler H :
I threw mine away 7+ years ago when I first bought my AW11 and I never should have, despite buying and replacing it for a new one. It was probably perfectly fine and just needed cleaning, but there's many ways to learn I suppose.
Sorry, I've been running non-stop between work and racing. Past two weekends were Lemons. I'm still working on gathering all spares I have and inventorying them. That way I know what I need to buy.
Besides the car, parts and my wallet for food/drink/last minute parts, what else should I bring? Sorry for the dumb question, but I'm a newb
Still needed:
Jack and stands
General shared tools
Torque wrench
EZ up
Maybe an extension cord and lighting too?
Will be contributing to the general shared tools (basic stuff + impact set + big torque wrench) once I'm driving down but that's not 100% a sure thing yet...
I can bring:
Jack & stands (do we need more than 4?)
Torque wrench
Dewalt 20v impact & lights.
Shared tools ( just need them back)
*1/4, 3/8, & 1/2" sets of metric sockets and extensions
*metric open/box wrenches
*metric ratcheting wrenches
*hose line clamps
*nut driver assortment
and whatever else Chris wants to grab from my shop.
anything else on the tool wish list?
In reply to hobiercr :
Maybe a spill pan for coolant? Although it's a lemons car so it should already just be water.
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
Sure. I've got multiples. Can bring ones for water and oil.
Do we need a table?
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