Surreptitious: an E7 re-designed and BUILT by oldeskewltoy and friends

[oldeskewltoy]

motivation #1

Once upon a time... "the people" (not sure which "people" that was... ) said

Originally Posted by "the people"

there is no power in a 16V 4AGE... you're not cool if you don't run a 20V"

and so everyone from there on built 20V.............

NOT



motivation #2 Being 54... I've owned both older, and newer automobiles...

Older cars: I like to feel the car, the steering, the brakes, feel and especially hear the engine. I like to hear the traffic, I like to hear if the guy in the little crapbox next to me in traffic maintains it or not(brake squeal), I like to hear, to some extent... everything happening around me.

I don't especially like 30+ year old electrics.... I'm old enough to have experienced a generator in my car instead of an alternator... I also don't want drum brakes, or 30+ year old bushings and mounts...

Newer cars: I like the engineering... 3 years ago Cosworth, in all their engineering marvel could BARELY get 200hp from a n/a 2.0 Subaru flat 4, now the FRS/BRZ starts @ 200hp (plus or minus) The same holds true for other parts of the drivetrain

I don't especially like "enviro-capsules" cars(newer)... too quiet from what is happening outside that you can't (IN MY HUMBLE OPINION) use your sense of hearing nearly as effectively.


motivation #3... I have a friend with a certain Whiteout FRS... anyway, he should have his car broken in by springs, and I should be finished posting this thread sometime during the spring.... with any luck I'm HOPING to run a moderately objective side by side comparison of Surreptitious, and his Whiteout FRS








Sooooooooooo......... Let me tell you the story of Surreptitious....

a "lowly" E7 Corolla sport coupe.... 7th generation Toyota Corolla - http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...thgengroup.jpg




Powered by one of those... 16V 4AGEs that uses mostly stock parts.....



..... and yet now plants about 30%-45% more power then a typical 16V... while MAINTAINING over 30mpg on the highway


That uses a 6 speed ALMOST IDENTICAL to the transmission in the FRS/BRZ... (take a look at the center section of my transmission, compare it to the center section of the FRS/BRZ...)






Oh... and concerning braking... I've got that pretty well covered too... with 4 wheel disc brakes from the AE86 GT-S




More to come....

[oldeskewltoy]

This car build actually began as an engine build... back in 2008.

I was determined that a 16V 4AGE could plant similar power as a 20V, given similar circumstances (compression, cam duration and lift, and engine management), while maintaining local emissions compliance.

I began my build with a few essential bits of information.... 1) the smallport 4AGE head was superior to a largeport head, 2) a 7 rib block was much stouter then a 3 rib block, 3) The "feel" of the earlier engine(3 rib equipped) was snappier.


1) "Smallport", "largeport"... 2 different port configurations for the 4AGE 4 cylinder... the top 2 views show largeport, the bottom view is a smallport. The smallport head provided similar peak lift flow (volume), while improving on port velocity.



2) 3 rib block is upside down. The red marks in the 7 rib block show all the either added, or increased strengthening done to better carry a high rpm rotational assembly




So... If the block is stronger, and the head is better on the newer engines... why did everyone report that the earlier engines felt snappier???

It all has to do with MASS

The earlier 3 rib engines used different cranks and rods... MUCH lighter crank(a kilo ) and MUCH lighter rods (nearly 3 ounces lighter per rod )
Oh... some of you might be asking yourself... "Why did Toyota add a kilo to the crank, and 3 ounces to each rod?".... the answer is because Toyota introduced the 4AGZE and they overbuilt the bottom end to cope with any issues the supercharged engine(4AGZE) might develop.


Are the wheels turning yet in your mind??? What would happen if I mixed the 2 engines?? Use the superior designed head and block, along with the lightest OEM internals.


Now a small

There is SOME confusion about what an original TVIS 4AGE actually is... and the original power output. In reality ONLY Singapore, and some none emissions areas in Europe actually got TVIS 4AGE engines... the rest of the world all got TVIS 4AGEC engines. The "C" = catalyst equipped, which meant 9.4 to 1 compression ratio. Singapore, and those non emissions sections of Europe, got no cats, and got 10 to 1 pistons.

(TVIS = Toyota Variable Intake System - a set of butterflies in the intake tract to add or subtract air - a method of increasing the intake air velocity)

(all numbers measured @ the crank)
4AGEC engines 112hp to 115hp depending on application(transverse, or longitudinal), and management (AFM or MAP based)
4AGE engine 125hp

now over.....

Why that little tid bit of 4AGE info??? Because along with lighter weight, the earlier rods have smaller big and small ends then their heavier siblings. This requires finding an appropriate piston... one that raises compression with no downside about its crown (almost all aftermarket "on the shelf" 4AGE pistons are total garbage... they are designed for big valves, and as such usually have too steeply raked a crown)

Sooooo.... along with the newer head and block, and the older crank and rods... I had to find myself a set of TVIS 4AGE pistons....





More to come..........

[oldeskewltoy]

Originally Posted by oldeskewltoy

motivation #3... I have a friend with a certain Whiteout FRS... anyway, he should have his car broken in by springs, and I should be finished posting this thread sometime during the spring.... with any luck I'm HOPING to run a moderately objective side by side comparison of Surreptitious, and his Whiteout FRS

[ziptiedae86]

Good stuff, I always bookmarked your posts on club4ag because you always had great info to share, looking forward to this build

[oldeskewltoy]

Originally Posted by ziptiedae86

you always had great info to share...

information = power....



Now... where was I???? Oh... crank and rods..... before I go too far, I'll be using "smaller", or "little" these terms refer to the crankshaft rod journals. The earlier crankshaft has 40mm rod journals, while the later, or newer crankshaft used 42mm rod journals.

Below are the 2 crankshafts offered by Toyota for the 4AG. The top one is the lighter one(available from 1983 to mid 1987). Note in the bottom one(yellow lines) the larger counter weight on #2 and #4 mains, this is where much of that extra kilo is.....



To quickly answer your questions...... yes the bottom crank is stronger.... but "stronger" is relative, the top (smaller) crank once properly finished is more than adequate enough for rpms levels upto 8500. The larger crank is capable of rpm levels around 9500.



An interesting little factoid... the famous TRD crank... capable of rpm levels exceeding 14,000 rpm.... is another kilo HEAVIER then even the heavy OEM crank!!! And they can break too






I said, "once properly finished"..... like this one. The crank below has been balanced and hardened, it also has had all the journals micro-polished.



Now to the rods...

4AG rods... there were 4 kinds from Toyota... only the one on the far left fits the smaller (40mm rod journal) crank...




That rod has a mass of about 459 grams, the rod just to the right weighs about 526 grams... there is 67 grams less mass in the "little" rod. That is per rod

When the rods get the same treatment that the crank got.... they end up a bit under 455 grams... and stronger.


Now... add in a wrist pin that is another 23 grams lighter still... (non OEM)...



and you now have a recipe for very light 4AGE engine internals both rotation-ally... AND more importantly from a reciprocating POV. The easier it is to start, stop, and start again (rod and piston in motion) the quicker the throttle, and the easier all the parts survive.


So... that is the bottom end.... not a lot special down here... and only one special, or extra part... a light weight wrist pin.....

Next post I'll look at the head.......



More to come........

[oldeskewltoy]

Before I go on to the head... I have to introduce you to one of my friends....


Meet Arnie Loyning - founder and owner of http://loyningsengineservice.com/



Loynings Engine Service has built some of the most powerful engines, for some of the fastest cars. Loynings has built engines that have won 27 National SCCA championships. A few (engine types) you might be familiar with: they have built 4AG Atlantics that exceed 270hp, and they have built a destroked (3.5 liter) 1GR that exceeds 420hp - NOT boosted

All the machine work on my 4AGE was performed by Loynings

[TheseColorsDontRun]

Well done, sir. Looking forward to what's ahead.

[oldeskewltoy]

so... lets move on to the head....

As stated I decided to use a smallport 4AGE cylinder head... but with a few modifications....




The first thing done on this head was to de-shroud the combustion chamber. De-shrouding is the process where you remove all the factory machining marks, and casting flaws from the chambers.

This was performed by me....

Chambers #1 and #2... top is before, bottom is after....


Chambers #3 and #4 before and after....



all four chambers finished




The rest of the headwork was performed by Loynings.... a multi-angle valve job was performed, along with a full radius back cut on the stock Toyota valves.


intake bowl/seat -




exhaust bowl/seat -




intake port -




exhaust port -





The head was also machined to reduce chamber volume from 37cc (volume after de-shrouding) down to 33cc




The machining of the head, in conjunction with the 10 to 1 piston raises compression to a moderate 10.75 to 1.


Although no where near the cost of a typical Atlantic engine ($10k to $15k), my engine does carry a Loynings serial number just like the Atlantics do





As the machine work was being finished @ Loynings I was looking for a very unique way of showing off my unique jewel of an engine... I decided on a set of custom laser engraved cam covers...




More to come........

[oldeskewltoy]

With the head machine work finished, assembly of the valvetrain followed. The only non stock part in the valve train is a set of TRD valve springs.





I went with the TRD because I was going to be running a cam with more lift then the stock springs could cope with. Also a much higher ramp rate was going to be used. Stock 4AG springs tend to bind at or very close to 8mm of valve lift. My new cams were going to have a lift of 8.38mm and much higher ramp rates, so new springs were going to be needed.

Just to keep track there are now 2 types of parts in my engine that are not stock... valve springs, and wrist pins.


A brief note here... the smallport 4AGE only was available in fwd configuration. This meant the manifold would be facing the wrong direction if left un modified. A simple "surgurical" procedure was done to cut the plenum chamber from the runners, flip it around and then welded back together.



This modification provided me with a few benefits besides the pleum opening facing the correct way, the flip also flipped all the manifold openings, and access points to the outside, instead of the inside. This allowed for easy access when it came to setting up the engine later on






The head and block come together using a stock head gasket, and all new oil and water pumps





As I alluded too above, the new valve springs were purchased because I purchased new camshafts. Web Camshafts 577 grind.



The 577 is similar to most other companies "264" type camshafts when measuring the effective duration(@ .050" lift), but because they were designed with an accelerated ramp, their total duration is actually smaller then most other companies "256" type camshafts.





More to come... Installing the new cams, and cam timing is next on the agenda.....

[oldeskewltoy]

Originally Posted by oldeskewltoy

Installing the new cams, and cam timing is next on the agenda.....

Below are the new* Web 577s, along with a small collection of valve clearance adjustment shims, cam lube, caliper, feeler gauge, dental pick and SS Works* Adjustable timing pulleys.

* - you can tell they are new because the lobes are not shiney... the lobes are coated with a friction modifier to help in camshaft break-in



small



Although those SS Works pulleys look sexy, they could not be used.... they were not manufactured to properly fit the cams I decided to use... Their pin drive hole was a VERY POOR fit.... as much as 4 degress of "slop"





I ended up using T3 timing pulleys... which also had 2 errors... but both I could compensate for...



error 1, pin drive hole was too small (I opened hole up for a perfect no slop fit),



error 2 is they placed one of their drive holes in the wrong place requiring special instructions for their use



now over..... we resume regular programming





Below are the necessary tools required to find an engines TRUE, and ACCURATE TDC (Top Dead Center)




A 360 degree timing wheel (with 1/2 degree markings), a piston stop, a timing pointer. timing pointer is visible pointing @184 1/2 degrees



Once the timing wheel is fixed to the front of the crankshaft, the piston stop is threaded down #1 spark plug hole. The engine is rotated first one direction... till it stops because it contacts the piston stop, using a pencil mark the timing wheel. Then rotated the opposite direction until it stops, again mark the wheel. Count the number of hash marks between the 2 pencil marks and divide by 2...

THAT is TDC.


Once TDC is known.... we can begin cam timing. The new camshafts are installed, and the tools measuring valve opening are installed



A dial indicator on a lockable adjustable mount along with a wire are the tools required.



The wire is shaped to reach around the camshaft lobe and measure the valves movement directly from the shim/bucket assembly. Note you can see the friction coating gradually being wiped away.


With all the tools in place timing is set to the specifications listed in the Timing card I posted above.....



Something I like to do with my posts is to add little quizzes as I go along.... so...


Based on the timing card... at what degree does the intake valve FULLY close (assumption equal ramp rates)???


More to come......

[oldeskewltoy]

Originally Posted by oldeskewltoy

Based on the timing card... at what degree does the intake valve FULLY close (assumption equal ramp rates)???


More to come......

assuming equal ramp rates... intake valve fully closes @ 58 degrees ABDC.
The math... 226 closes @ 45 degrees. 226 from 252 leaves 26, divide by 2 (equal ramp rates) gives us 13... 13 degrees added to 45... = 58 ABDC





The finished engine awaiting installation...




The final engine specifications: 1606cc: 81.5mm bore, 77mm stroke. Comp Ratio 10.75 to 1. All engine internals are stock with the exception of the wrist pins, valve springs and camshafts.

[oldeskewltoy]

A bit of back tracking is needed here... at the time I began the engine build I was driving my nearly flawless 1987 Corolla GT-S coupe (also with a few mods... but thats another build story )







This car had a modest 112whp (about 130hp @ the crank), and although running numerous mods, it was in essence still mostly stock, running on stock engine management.

I had just finished building a 4AGE that was going to need more then stock 4AGE engine management. I had to decide to either seriously modify my very clean AE86... or sell her to help finance the new car....

I sold her in 2009

Prior to selling her, I did manage to find the chassis for the new engine.... a pretty rare 1983 Corolla Sport Coupe....




sans engine...





Here are a few more pics of her prior to work....













I began to strip her... and when I got to this point\/.... all the bells and whistles in my head began to go off....



I began to see what I wanted... I positioned in a set of vintage Hella Dynamic Energy DE2000 driving lamps* ... and an oil cooler

* - http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...llaDElamps.jpg




Neat... clean... all it needs is a little something....


More to come......

[oldeskewltoy]

As with many other car builders, inspiration comes from odd places.... I had decided on the AE71 Corolla for a few reasons....
1) it is the predecessor to the AE86 so most of the AE86 aftermarket could be utilized
2) There are not many (more now... less back in 2009) thoughtfully modified 7th generation Corollas out there
3) I wanted to turn a "wallflower into a head turner" and by utilizing the AE71 I could use my knowledge base (Toyota) to its best.

Originally Posted by oldeskewltoy

Neat... clean... all it needs is a little something....


More to come......

that something came to me as I was trolling the internet.... and found this... A European drift car... clean, and although a smaller bumper... it is still




BUT... what I spy is a little bit of period correct performance body work....... a FOHA spoiler

FOHA is an Austrian company that was renowned in its day for making tasteful, and useful aero aids.

I begin a search... and a Corolla enthusiast from the Philippines tells me he can make me a copy of the FOHA.... I commission the work... the product arrives about 5 weeks later....






More to come...... (including another friend)

[Turbowned]

I like where this is goin', giggity giggity! Starting work on my AW11 again this Thursday; thanks for the motivation!

Yes, I too sissied out and went to a blacktop 20v lol. But it was simple, reliable and cost-effective, and the power gains over a bluetop 4AG, well, you can't go wrong with an extra 50hp and 25lb/ft for ~$2k.