Nitro Alltrac's '92 185

Well I've had the car and been a member for over two years now and I finally decided that I needed to start my project thread. I'm hoping this will this will help me get direction on the project. I've got a lot of things I want to do with the car. Time and money are my main advesaries.


I bought the car off of Ebay from a guy in New Hampshire for my son. He had had a 93 ST for a while and had always wanted an All Trac. We went up to NH and trailered the car back down here to WV. This is Ji's old car. I found his old for sale thread before it was purged. The guy that bought it from Ji put it back mostly to stock. He removed the standalone, the coilovers, the FMIC, the RC bumper and hood. He also did a hell of a lot of the basic maintenance work like replacing the wheel bearings, the tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. He also installed a Blitz Nur Spec exhaust on it. The car also had the Whiteline rear swaybar.

Anyway, my son drove it for about 7 months but decided that he didn't want to do the maintenance to keep the car in good shape. So long story short, he went back in his ST, which cosmetically looks a lot better, and I got the All Trac.

I've spent the last year fixing several items that my son and my old repair shop managed to booger up. My boy some how ran the front of the car over sidewalk at his apartment far enough to hit the stock downpipe. He hit it hard enough that he popped the exhaust manifold seal loose. This was in January, it was freakin cold and I don't have a garage. So I took it to my trusty repair shop who had done good work for me in the past. I didn't realize that the management had changed. The repaired the manifold leak, bitched about how hard a job it was and charged me $400. A month or so later, the brake light switch went bad and I took it to them to fix that. Some how that turned into a week long job. The managed to lose most of the lower dash bolts and wired the brake light switch directly to the battery with small gauge wire. At this time the car was still my son's but I drove it to work the day we got it back. On the way home, I had to stop at a stop light and while sitting there, the car started filling with smoke. This was when I found out they had wired the brake lights direct to the battery. Back to the shop again and the spent another 3 days installing a heavier gauge wire and a fuse (there is a broken wire in the harness that I haven't dug into yet to fix. I haven't gotten to the point of taking the dash out.) This was the last time I took the car, or any car, to them. To top this part of the ordeal off, this past spring I had to replace the brake light switch again. It wasn't that terribly hard. It wasn't as easy as doing it on a 88 Celica, but it wasn't impossible.

So in February of last year, I took possession of the All Trac. One morning on the way to work, leaving a stop light, the thing started making a horrible noise and didn't seem to be making any boost. Once again, long story short, the repair shop hadn't gotten the manifold nuts tight and they had come loose. :x One had come completely out and two others were extremely loose. I retapped a couple of the bolt holes and put everything back together. This seemed to be fine for a while, but the damage had been done. This past March, I finally pulled the manifold and turbo and put heilcoils into the head. this finally fixed the problem.

While messing with all of the rerepairs, I was able to start making a few modifications to the car. I bought the RC front bumper and reinforcement from Toyota. I love the way that this bumper looks on the car. As an added bonus, I found out the pieces of mesh that were in the car when we bought it were actually the factory grille work for the RC bumper! You get lucky every once in a while.

I bought a 205 torsen from etantshi (a great guy to deal with I might add) and got that installed last August. If you haven't done this for your car, DO IT! I could feel some difference the first day driving to work. The car seems to dig into corners better than before. I have also installed the Speed Source shifter cable bushings, the ones at the transmission and a couple of months ago I put in a TWM short throw shifter, another excellent addition to the car that I would highly recommend.

As far a repairs go, I picked up a power mirror switch from Darth Ripley that fixed my mirror problem. I picked up the rear trunk carpet from Bigcurvlur and I recently got the driver's side kick panel from Terracar that I have to install.I still need to go through the interior light wiring and try to figure out why my dome lights don't work with the doors. They work from the switches and when I open the rear hatch, but they won't come on with the door. When we got the car, we took out what seemed to be a couple of hundred feet of audio wire and there were some interesting splices. I have a feeling that has something to do with the problem. This past spring, while doing the exhaust manifold, I also replaced the radiator, both hoses and the HFH. As some of you probably remember, I had an electrical problem during this same time that ended up being a shorted starter. During the trouble shooting, I replaced the ECU with a JDM model. I also installed an Aussie DP that I got from Brett as well while the car was down.

As for the future, I want to get the interior into shape, specifically the front seats. The rest of the interior isn't in too bad of condition, but as you can see from the pictures below, I have the typical All Trac driver's seat. I have been thinking about putting 205 or aftermarket seats in, but I like the stock seats. I am waiting until a couple of the guys here finish installing the Ebay seat covers to how those are. I'm kind of leaning that way.

I guess my goal for the car is something in the 300 hp range. I don't have to have the fastest car, but I like something with some power. I want to build a good touring car with great handling and power. I'm not looking to build an auto crosser, more of a canyon carver, but not to the nth degree.

I plan on upgrading the turbo, possibly to a 20B. I still have to investigate this more. I also want to upgrade to a WTA intercooler. I know that I could go to a FMIC, but I don't like all the piping in the engine compartment and I think that I can make my goal with the WTA.

I also am thinking about going to a set of coilovers. It doesn't seem like there is a lot of available suspension upgrades, strut wise, for our cars. I saw how GT4RCDude's car did at the Dragon with the Tein's and it looked impressive. If anybody has any suggestions on the suspension, let me know. I don't have a problem with a hard ride. (I've got the Hotchkis suspension on my truck and it is VERY firm). I don't want race car stiff, but something that will make the car handle better.

Well, that is enough for now. I'll do my best to keep this updated as I go along. Here are some pictures of my ugly beast. Without having to add it, I also have to get the car painted.



At the lake below the Dragon








In action on the Tail of the Dragon! HOOT!

Mod List:
Whiteline rear sway bar, TWM short shifter, Hawk street front brake pads, TRD rear brake pads, Blitz exhaust, Aussie downpipe, 205 torsen rear diff,K&N Cone Air Filter, Voodoo MBC, Speedsource shifter bushings

If your only shooting for 300hp at the crank, I would maybe look into just upgrading to a more efficient top mount. You may save money in the long run. You may not need to get a 20b either. Just rebuild your ct26.

If you know a welder and do some hunting, you might be able to get a tmic made for a fair price.

My CT26 is in good shape. I knew that it had been replaced after the engine had been replace (I forgot to mention that the it had a JDM engine with about 70,000 miles). When I had the turbo off, I checked and I don't have any shaft play. Everything seemed to be pretty good. Would a TMIC like one of the ARC's work as well for 300hp as going to WTA?

I have the same problem with my dome light and doors.... I think it might be the little door switch thingy on the actual doors, they might be stuck. as for suspension, I would wait to see how the megan coilovers come out to be... ksports are crap and teins are too much $$$. your project plans are pretty much the same as mine..

It will work well. Not "AS WELL" but it would be sufficient. A stock TMIC with a fan and possible water injection will get you to 300hp, but its pushing it.

A TMIC from ARC or bayareaat might be a good solution for you. Much more affordable

Is your turbo JDM or USDM ct26? If you have a ceramic blade JDM version, it will maybe get you to 310-315hp.

I would read this guide to getting to 300hp for the best cost.
http://www.mrcontrols.com/primers/power.htm

Smog, I have been meaning to check those. That was my thought as well. I'm going to take the meter and check for power at the switch next week while I'm off. I'll let you know what I find. I'm looking at several different coilovers right now. I'll have to check into those as well.

Josh, when I had the turbo off, the turbine wheel looked like it was steel. It didn't really appear to be ceramic. I know from Ji's postings that he had changed the turbo because he had blown the turbine wheel, I'm assuming after he swapped engines.

I think my next mod is going to be installing the mbc that I picked up earlier. I'll probably do that next week as well. I'm currently topping out a 9 psi. I think I am going to go up to 12 psi to begin with and see how that does. I am also going to have to put the fcd together as I think think the 90 JDM ECU will cut the fuel at a lower boost level than the 92 USDM unit. I have thought about putting the original ECU back in but I don't want to repin the plugs again right now. Maybe later. I can tell a lot difference with the JDM unit except that the car cranks longer before starting when it has sat for a few days.

Well, she looks like she needs some TLC, but you seem to be headed in the right direction with all the maintenance work you are doing.

I'm sure you already know this, but if you are planning on dragon runs, make sure to completely go over your cooling system and replace/upgrade as necessary. A TRD thermostat and rad cap may be a good idea.

I think if you are going to stay with the stock turbo, you might be able to get away with a BayArea TMIC upgrade. This will definitely work for blasting around town, but it may struggle on Dragon runs with the boost turned up. You might want to get an EGT gauge or wideband O2 so you can keep an eye on it during longer runs.

If the TMIC isn't sufficient, then at least it will be easy to sell after you source a WTA.

For suspension, I would look at some Koni yellows with some decent aftermarket springs or Ground Control coilover sleeves. They will give the best performance for the cheapest price.

I had the Tein SS and I wasn't impressed. These really were more street oriented. Even on the hardest setting I found them to be a little spongy. I'd try to drive someone's car that has these installed and see what you think before deciding on them. I wish Tein still made the HA coilovers for our cars. They have a much greater range of adjustment from street-car soft to teeth-rattling hard.

And oh yeah, paint that car!!!

:lol: Good luck with it.

J.

I don't think you will need the thermostat so much. The MR2s with oem thermostats seem to do fine up there.

I would however upgrade the brakeline, fluid and pads. This should help out a lot on these long mountain runs.

Same problem here with the inerior lights. I've swapped door sensors to no avail. Dunno. Maybe the 'new' door sensors were bad. Mike, did that TB coupler you got from me work?

My driver door sensor works when it feels like it.

Good job on the build. Wish I could have joined you at the Dragon.
Oh and I went through the door switches sticking- had them replaced.
In fact part # from toyota- 84231-30110.

etantshi":29dqpxyb said:

Same problem here with the inerior lights. I've swapped door sensors to no avail. Dunno. Maybe the 'new' door sensors were bad. Mike, did that TB coupler you got from me work?

Click to expand...

Hey Andre, it worked like a charm. That combined with the intake hoses that I got from you fixed several little issues and gave me an additional pound of boost. Thanks!

Thanks for the input Lumbercis. I replaced the radiator and all of the hoses before we went down to the Dragon. I'm glad I did as the old radiator was a lot more fin bare than I thought. Most of the fins behind the fan were completely gone. The car ran great up on the Dragon with no heating issues at all, other than hot brakes, but that is understandable given the nature of the Dragon.

On the Konis, do they make the rear struts for our cars or do you need to convert the existing ones over to accept cartridges? I've read several things that seemed to indicate that there aren't many strut choices for the rear.

I have to say that this car runs good. I have been really happy with it so far. I have put a little over 23,000 mile on it in two year and drive it almost every day. It is a blast.

Keep the input coming! It is much appreciated!

You will have to modify the rears. There used to be a detailed thread on it. Its worth it in the long run since the inserts will be cheap and easy to replace afterwards.

There are not many rear strut options for us. You may be able to soruce some rear after market struts from the 205 but they may not match up with what ever front struts you choose.

Cool. That is what I thought. I have read a couple of the how to's on converting to inserts. The fronts for our cars are available though, correct?

^If you don't want to do the strut conversions yourself I think you can buy them from 935 motorsports.

The TEINs or other coilovers certainly have the advantage of being simpler and less hassle. Try them out if you get the chance. You may find them perfect for you. The main advantage of the Konis is the much larger range of adjustability.

J.

you're doing a good job of bringing her back to a more presentable state alerady .. paint & body will make her look brand spankin new.

lumbercris is right about coilovers being less hassle to deal with vs. the koni's.
stiffness/harsh ride is all a matter of opinion i have found ... what may be stiff to one person may be ok to another.

I'm really leaning toward the coilovers. I would need to replace the stock springs with Koni's anyway. And as long as there is suspension travel, I don't have a problem with a stiff ride. Like I mentioned earlier, I have the Hotchkis suspension on my truck with the Bilstien shocks and it is VERY stiff. Handles GREAT, for a truck, though. I'm in the process of researching the coilovers now.

Thanks for all of the great input! Please keep it coming!

I am running a set of Tein SS in my Trac and have to say that I love them. For the street I find them a LITTLE on the harsh side, but nothing unbearable and it's great for aggressive street cornering/driving. I haven't used it on any kind of a racing course as of yet so I can't comment on them in that regard, but I can see them performing quite well, although there are definately better choices out there for track use. Overall I think if you use it for a daily driver and still want to go to the track for some fun on the weekends or whatnot then the Tein SS would be a good choice. It's not the best for the street, or the best for the track but it's a decent compromise. Just my opinion though.

Thanks for the info on the Tiens. I don't really have any track options close to me here, so most of my driving is on twisty mountian and back roads. Something good and firm but not too stiff, race car stiff, will be what I'm looking for. These could be an option.