The Strip

This afternoon Silvia and i went to have a look at the Echo in Waynes driveway, as thats where it was towed by Gerrin at Anytime Towing.

The more i see how this little car is built, the more im excited, and the fact its a free car all the better. Free by definition once the engine sells, anything there after is all profit.

Yes im very aware its not the Skyline, and im commonly guilty of biting off more than i can chew, but this is a definite #2, its not going to share the load with the Skyline, its just that this came up ... right time, right place, and you just need to make it happen.

Toyota Echo ... next LM !

Isnt it funny how things just happen ?. Not the ones you plan around and 'click' it all falls into place, but the ones you dont see coming.

 

Rewind, back to aprox April 2012, sitting in the terrace garden at Cafe Amaretto in Osborne Park with my friend Andrew, the conversation came up to build a small race car, but one thats motorcycle engine powered, turbocharged, and gutted, stripped and every part made with the intent "Is this as light as it could be ?", on a already light car.

Sequential 6sp gearbox, mid mounted, RWD on full aftermarket electronics, traction control, launch control.

The Toyota Echo has a NZ series motor, what in itself isnt heavy, but in relative terms comparing a motor, clutch and gearbox, to say a motorcycle motor, clutch and gearbox, the difference on its own will be significant. Then the mounting pattern, and drive line we intend to use, ive got it all laid out in my head.

To my surprise, Andrew smiled, nodded and said "That would be a great project, lets do it". And so the direction was set. We sat at the cafe, for a good hour and half later watching the intersection behind us (Main and Royal st) to see if we could spot a 2dr Echo, and a 4dr to settle the argument of what one to use. I like the look of the 4dr, plus you can open a door to work on the engine!. Andrew likes the 2dr, and in all honesty, thats the lighter one with less door, handles, etc etc, so it is better.

Since then, ive been involved in my Skyline LM project, and Andrew in his NCR / Ducati's, and not much consideration was given to the Echo project. Couple the fact that Andrew has moved to Melb for 2-3 years, it just seemed to be shelved a little, but when you least expect it, it will surface, and it has.

Sunday afternoon coming back from a stuning session i noticed a crashed Echo in someones factory unit driveway, i pulled in to get a closer look, as did Wayne. We had a grin, and a chuckle, and made a point to inquire about it mid week. Its crashed, but nothing that cant be fixed when its being built and setup, so i asked Wayne to see if he can sort it out.

They wanted $500, Wayne offered $350, some common ground was found and $400 later we now own a Toyota Echo.  

 

He also with some of his contacts, found a place to store it, so its made it a very simple acquisition for now, as i need to focus on the Skyline LM project for now.

And since he is involved with my Skyline, i get a feeling he will love to be a part of this one too as its going to be VERY far out of the norm, something he likes no doubt. Plus its Toyota .. well, part there of.

But clearly the funniest part in all this is the above picture with the keys. I get a MMS message from Wayne with that picture, and one word ... "Tada". I burst out laughing, i like your humor mate.

Damn those wheels are heavy

My friend Peter from Drift-Angle in Slovakia asked me about the 100x100 tube construction, "Isnt it overkill ?". 

Well, no, the 2mm wall makes it rather light, the wheels however .... are a different matter.

 


Throwing around a length of 100x100 at 1400mm long isnt difficult, then you add wheels ... wow. Was shocked how heavy it all became.

Progress tho, and its pretty well done, just needs a couple more decals. However, it rolls, and rolls too easy. Is that a bad thing ?

 

Well, in this case, it can be. I have a feeling the car will run away ... i will have to add brakes to the rear castors, but ill also probably want to setup some stopper legs that go under the beams.

I sat on it, and moved about, and im not kidding when i say it moves easier than my wheelchair. Oops.

Making a start on it

Made a start today on the racecar dolly, looks great so far. 

I had picked up some steel from Marz at DiLena metals in Osborne Park the other day. He was kind enough to let me have the steel needed for the dolly, a kind donation, ill be sure to add him to the sponsor list, as this isnt the first time he has given me a considerable volume of steel for a project.

The mainframe is a "I" shape, 1600 long, 1415mm wide, and it grips the body at the join along the underside of the rocker panel.

I cut up the main peices, they are of 100x100x2mm construction. This is a great size as its chunky, strong but not too heavy. Will look factory with some satin black paint and white stickers.



I then cut up the legs. They seem rather stumpy, but im not used to running a 200mm wheel, and thats whats throwing me off, as the dollies in the past ive built are with 100mm nylon wheels, and they can be very annoying as they can easily get stuck on a rivet end, or a small washer.




The legs are of 100x50x2mm, and the U shape pads are a 50x50x3mm tube that ive parallel cut so they can house a 9mm conveyor belt rubber insert so the car doesnt slide about. The sidewalls protrude about 2mm past the top of the rubber so the car cant slide off either.

I welded these onto the end beams, and that was that this evening. Tomorrow ill weld the spine to the end beams to complete the I shape, weld on the wheels, paint, glue in the pads, decals and we ready to roll .. so to speak.

Trust

An interesting thing happened to me today, something that isnt a common occurrence.

I finally made a effort to get some wheels for the dolly today, and went to Blyth Industries in Osborne Park.

I had a guy whom i later found out to be as Eddie, spend about 40 mins going thru options on wheels, nylon, urethane, cost and so on to get me a deal.

In the end he did a great price on some urethane skinned 200x40mm units, these are so incredible, will be like rollerblading across a polished porcelain floor. A pair are with brakes, pair without, and full ball bearing axles, grease nippled top plates .... ok, perhaps, im a little too excited with this. They are however just, wheels.

What was much more impressive is when it came time to pay, the $300 something bill was a issue. Not because of the price, but the fact i had left my wallet at home, and had at that point just realised.

This however wasnt a problem, Eddie casually boxed up the wheels and said "Take them, bring me back the cash tomorrow, day after ... i trust you, and if you do rip me off, that would be a shame but i wont go broke".

Blown away.

I dont often see this in todays day and age, but i have to admit that its a brilliant thing to hear, that there is still good people and trust, something you dont hear very often.

I loaded up and went on my way, but i felt as though good people need to be mentioned, so thanks Eddie, appreciate it.

Dolly

Its time to build a new chassis dolly. 

 

And what better way to get started than ordering some wheels in. Ive found some urethane coated wheels that will do a perfect job for the application, at 200mm in diameter, they will easily roll over the driveway, and into the workshop and wont lock up on a misplaced M6 washer thats 1.6mm thick like a nylon wheel will.

At 500kg load capacity each, im sure it will handle a fully loaded car with a couple crew in and around the engine bay.

But will i regret it ?. Ive used rubber castors in the past on jet ski trolleys, that flat spot when sitting stationary and cause considerable heartache to move there after, will these do the same ?. Will UV light make them dry out and crack ?. Time will tell i guess.

TB48

How does one move 3800kg of Nissan patrol forward very fast ?. About 900hp of TB48 thats how.

Went to have a look at a TB48 today, in a patrol with a turbo the size of a basketball. Impressed on how well it went, how hard it pulled on how little boost ... wow.  

But it still is a big motor ... heavy. Lot of engineering to do, its not something you want to just drop in and make it work.

Im not sure on what the weight bias will be like, but i can always push it back and make that function.

I had a laugh when the front left started to lift on acceleration tho, turning 35" mud tyres.

18 + 26 = 48 ... right ?

So the original thought for the skyline was running the massively under-rated and least likes Nissan CA18DET. 

This had a inspiring effect, it would alienate me while really annoying the hell out of the Skyline community, and get cheers from the ill-represented CA powered Silvia / 180SX community.

Its like dating the hottest girl in school. Some would love you for it, and some would hate your guts.

Its a great motor, sadly its not shown in its correct fashion at most times, because if its mis-treatment because its a one day "swap for a SR / RB when it finally blows up". Sure they have faults, and like any motor they can be ironed out.

 

LM-3218

V-mounted cooling with more to go back !

The original plan was to have it as a dual purpose car, for circuit, and for drift. Saying that, i dont have the money to race circuit, and ill be modifying it in a way that it wont be for circuit use in any class it would have a chance of winning, so dropping the whole circuit part. That will perhaps one day be a whole new chapter, starting with the line of ... "Toyota Echo (Yaris) .... ".

So now its a drifter only, lets go crazy, what suits my methods of fabrication where i can let my imagination do its thing, rather than a rulebook to divert me.

 

Problem #1 : Eventual peak power & reliability

I had planned with the CA18DET to run a build 500hp, and a car that weighs 1200kg or less. Both were achievable. Pulling the line RB20DE 6cyl out was a great start to dropping weight, but the CA18 at 500hp would need a freshen up once a season, providing nothing fails sooner, and its limited to that, for good.

Sure there are 700hp CA's around, but 6 seconds once a year on a dyno pull for a car show doesnt count as a race car in my book.

So 500 is a roof for that motor on the euro 4-port head in terms of actually using it ... then there is the next problem, torque.

 

Solution to problem #1 : Now problem #2 !

Thats a easy fix, RB26DETT (single T). tried, tested, incredibly fast. Thats a problem on its own tho ... RB26, really ?. Its been done a million times, AND they are expensive to buy, and rather weak standard, especially for motorsport use. So you need to pour considerable cash into it still. Thats something i know is the truth with any motor for punishable motorsport like drifting, your on something if you buy used motors from Japan and drop them in to expect big hp and reliability.

But its so bland ....

"2JZ-GTE ???". Never. I love Toyota engines, 3S, 1JZ, 2JZ, 3UZ etc ... but i dont like cross dressing. Not when one is a Nissan and the other is a Toyota, as both have incredible powerplants. So what else ?. VH45 ?. Cant put turbos onto and have a functional engine bay. Then the phone call.

 

Solution to problem #1 & #2 : Lets go off-roading instead !

Nissan's 4.8L Patrol engine

During a call to a friend and il Presidente, Glenn Campbell, the idea of running a Nissan TB48DE came up in conversation, the 4.8L Nissan Patrol straight 6.

NOW THATS not bland !. And would be a LOT of fun. It ticks all the boxes ... easy 700ps, can be made to rev, has incredible displacement, has even more incredible torque, and is known for reliability. What else do we need ?.

The initial outlay is big dollars, and then what gearbox to go behind ?. Then there is a expensive engine build, but once done, its like bringing a Gatling gun to a gun fight.

The LM-3248 is born

When ive done builds in the past, named cars or performed cool engine swaps, i have always taken a fusion of the chassis, and the engine to make a model name. The ISR LM-3218 is a ISR 'L'imited 'M'odel '32' (R32 Skyline chassis) '18' (CA'18'DET). Thus hence now the new, '48' rename.

Its sad in a way, i really wanted to lower the CA down, push it right back into the firewall, and i know the car would be INCREDIBLE. However, i need more a car for the drift setup, than circuit.Now to put the chassis onto a portable dolly, and were in business.

For your TB48 viewing pleasure ...

My journey back

Thank you.

Your here to see post number one, hopefully with many many more, including posts from other countries and continents to fill this page for some exciting reading, or even a interesting look back in time.

I have a illness, a disease you may say, to be better, or ultimately, be the best in something. I can be on my way to the car and see someone who is with me making effort to get there sooner, its on, im racing.

Its in the blood.

Sadly there is no cure, cliche as it may sound, all you can do is supress your desire for another day, by ending todays in a victory of some sort.That maybe a race-part your building, and it works as you had hoped or desired, or able to pull off a win on the weekend.

I have a long road ahead of me, i am dipping my feet so to speak into the world of competitve and later international drifting.

I always had ambitions to be a race car driver after my accident, however being in Perth Australia, isolation and limited opportunities in race tracks, and racing classes means your going to go broke, or get bored ... inevitably most dont see it thru. I had the opportunity to once race in Europe, and the window closed right infront of me, but life must go on as others will open one day.

Now its up to me to build a car for myself, and not others, for me to be perhaps one day great at something again. I wont be a endurance racer for a LMP1 team at LeMans. I doubt ill get a GT drive, so its up to me to do what i also love, and thats drifting. 

So now the time has come to build a specific drift car for my needs, to work with my dissabilities, and see if we can "make" it one more time to a podium.

I hope you follow, and enjoy this journey.

Ivan Safranek