smudge

Sorry to keep you waiting! I've been in a bad place since new year for work and personal reasons, so I haven't even seen the car myself for a couple of weeks. Luckily, Chris from Phoenix Engine Management who did all the custom loom has been an absolute saint! Still working on the Motec map remotely in his spare time without me even asking. I can't think him enough for his efforts and I probably would have lost all interest if it wasn't for him. I'm due to catch up with Simon at Carson Performance and Chris tomorrow, hopefully to get some more progress as it's been a tricky start to 2019 with various mapping issues. Still a way to go yet, but we're making steps in the right direction. Dyno time probably won't be for a while due to funds as the cost of my mapping guy and a dyno for the day will be a fair whack. But the initial fire up video shouldn't be too far away now. Whilst Chris has been dealing with all the mapping issues, it's given us time to sort out a fuel leak, a water leak and get a new supercharger gasket from Ford USA. All the little niggly bits that you forget about and just take up way more time and effort than you'd expect.

No engine progress just yet, still sorting a few ECU/base map issues. Should all be sorted for Monday, hopefully. In the meantime, Michelin Pilot Super Sports mounted to the 2Forge ZF1 wheels and fitted along with the Todoroki 30mm wider front wings too. Fitment looks spot on, just a tad of fettling to be done where the wings meet the sills.

It's taken Carson Performance just 4 days to completely change the engines over and get the new one ready to fire! Their work and determination has been astounding. Never afraid to overcome and issue and put in the extra effort to get things done right. Today I helped put the finishing touches to the water pipes, reinstall the supercharger and wiring loom. All ready for us to load the base map into the Motec and push the start button. Unfortunately after hours of trying, we got stuck with the ECU software. Turns out the map was written for 2017 firmware and mine has 2016 firmware on it such a tiny mistake has halted us at the final hurdle Obviously not getting my Christmas miracle, but here's hoping some good news still to come for 2019.

UCK

This shit just doesn't stop Removing one of the starter motors, and something snaps. Nevermind, we've got the other one we can use. Go to remove that, and snaps in exactly the same sodding place! Must be a weak spot in the design but REALLY?! So another unnecessary and unwanted bill for a new starter motor

So after meeting me at close to midnight to drop the new V8 off, Simon and the team @ Carson Performance already have it stripped down and almost ready to go back into the 86! I cannot thank him enough for all his efforts and advice over the last 9 months. Nothing is ever too much despite the constant battle of issues we seem to have faced!

Wouldn't piss on the wanker if he was on fire

I was only in Birmingham on Monday, and I work in Wimbledon! Shame it wasn't a few days later, could've collected them for you.

Just doesn't ever seem to end! Cheers, hopefully no more surprises

So the LS400 that I viewed on Monday night was sweet. Gave the guy a deposit and arranged for a friend to collect it on Wednesday with his trailer. He then phones me on Tuesday to say he can collect it that day. So I phone the guy selling the car and he tells me it's already gone...clearly a deposit and an agreed deal means fuck all to the prick So back to square 1. The only other pre 94 car that isn't STUPID money is all the way up in Lincoln, about 3.5hours each way from Surrey. Luckily, I've managed to source an engine that I've seen working previously that's already out of a car and only about 90mins from me. So I'm picking it up tonight and dropping it off at Carson Performance for them to crack on with the change over. Saves me a bit of money not buying a whole car, saves Carson a day or so of labour getting it out of the car and also saves me a load of hassle having to split the LS400 to make my money back. Fingers crossed this is finally, the beginning of the end.....maybe?

There isn't a larger tensioner from what we can find. We could always stick a large diameter idler pulley on, but my thinking is that we shouldn't have to make compromises for something which shouldn't be an issue. I'm losing the plot with this engine, just issue after issue. At least if I source a replacement that I've seen running and working, it's peace of mind despite the extra effort. My thoughts exactly. I need to remove any trace of the original engine as it's caused us nothing but problems. A replacement will be fairly straight forward and leaves us confident that it works and runs. Nope. Was supplied as is, told it came from a working car by the previous garage but as you've probably guessed by now, I don't believe a word they've told me... Going to view a complete LS400 tonight with what looks to be a good engine. Can make some money back splitting the rest of the car down too.

Water pump doesn't change anything, so it appears we have a fucked engine. Only thing we can possibly think of is that the heads have been skimmed WAY too much, causing the cams to sit down too low and therefore make the belt slack. 2 options: 1. Source some replacement heads and pray that the block hasn't also been skimmed to death 2. Source a completely new engine/donor car to transplant into the 86. I'm thinking option 2 is the best, albeit the more expensive and time consuming, as at least then we'll know the engine is in decent shape rather than guessing what state it's in. Really beginning to lose all motivation for this. Just 1 thing after another.

You'd think so. But there are different part numbers throughout the generations of the UZ engine series. So hopefully we've got a later UZ water pump somehow and there's some tiny difference between them. We can see visual differences so it's a positive sign. Fingers crossed for tomorrow morning. I'm just sick of waiting for things to be done tbh. Plus there are at least 2 other 1UZ swaps into an 86/BRZ happening now and I'll be damned if mine isn't the 1st to be complete after 3 years of aggravation!

Yet another frustrating day in the life of the GTV86 🤦‍♂️ We found late last night that the timing belt wasn't tight enough for some reason. There was so much slack that you could spin the water pump by hand with the belt in place. So we assumed there must be an issue with the timing belt kit and I was on the road at 7.30am to pick a new one up from Birmingham (the only place I could find one in stock available to pick up on a Saturday). Turns out, the idler and tensioner pulley were fine and the belt is correct. So just 10miles outside Birmingham I turned round to come home again 🙄 After much deliberation, we believe that the water pump itself isn't quite right. When comparing ours to Google images and other 1UZ owners, it just doesn't match. So once again, I'll be on the road early hours of tomorrow morning to fetch a brand new OEM replacement all the way up in Ipswich 😴 I pray that this solves our issue otherwise I'm completely stumped and just about ready to set this sodding thing on fire. On a lighter note, I installed the rear 5x114.3 hubs today so the 86 is now fully Jap fitment! 🎉 and I had a seat in the car for the first time in about 2.5 years so we could bleed the clutch. Felt very odd sitting inside my own car. Let's hope Monday morning we have some good news concerning the timing belt mystery...🤞

Wouldn't hold your breath just yet... We've stumbled on yet another issue which is testing our patience, again I may be on the road at 5am at this rate to pick up a part to give us some hope for tomorrow.

1st chance I've had to do some work of my own on the car today! Finally got round to installing the new 5x114.3 hubs, complete with new ARP studs for extra strength and length. Fairly simply procedure taking about 2 hours in total, didn't manage to do the rears yet as I had to leave the garage just after lunch. Had a quick test fit of the new 2Forge ZF1 wheels, should be a nice fitment with the new front wings. In the meantime, Simon and the Carson Performance team are putting the finishing touches to the engine, fuel system all complete, oil and water lines/pipes all sorted, belt run 95% done. So many fiddly little jobs that all take a lot of time up. Saturday should be an interesting day...

I didn't do the conversion specifically for this wheel. I did it for a wider choice of wheel in the future. Partshopmax do the front hub conversion, whereas the rears simply bolt on from an 08+ Impreza WRX STI. I would've gone with my usual 18x9.5 but 2Forge only do 8, 9 and 10J. So I've got 18x9 ET32 on the rear and ET2 on the front to accommodate my new Todoroki wings. Then once I've sorted the rear end out I'll get another pair in a wider width and offset.

Progress continues on the V8, just the few final pieces of the puzzle until we can load the base map into the Motec ECU. Things like making a custom bracket for an idler pulley where the hydraulic power steering used to be, reinstalling the 1UZ air conditioning pump, checking the belt run etc. Hopefully the next few days will finally get us there. In the meantime, a few more goodies turned up today. 2Forge ZF1 wheels courtesy of @Tarmac. Lovely forged units so nice and light, but at an affordable price compared to most forged wheels! AEM water/meth injection kit courtesy of @Mark@Abbey M/S. Went for the upgraded 5gallon tank as I think my charger will eat through the meth, especially on track. Also had my rear 5x114.3 hubs arrive so I can change all 4 over the weekend.

I had issues with BCS as well @will300. I think they're taking on more work than they can handle...

Now SOLD

Rota Pro-R alloy wheels in Hyper Black. PCD - 5x100 Diameter - 18" Width - 9.5J Offset - ET38 Centre bore 73.1mm All wheels are in excellent condition, straight with no buckles or repairs. 1 wheel has a couple of tiny marks on the rim which I've added pictures of, but only noticeable close up. Perfect fitment for a BRZ/GT86. Only selling as I have plans for the car which means these wheels won't fit. £750 collected from Surrey/Hampshire but can ship UK wide for a small additional cost. No tyres included, just wheels. Can supply tyres at extra cost it it's easier for the buyer.

I know of at least 3 that are currently being done. I also know of 2 that got started and never finished... My main aim is to make sure this is still the 1st one on the road.

You have no idea! Why would I do that when there's a perfectly good spot in the engine bay for it? Not to mention creating extra work by relocating it Try this one should give a pretty good idea of what mine will be like

Fuel system installed, lines run, pressure regulator mounted and connected into the fuel rails. The new FPR has to be mounted near the battery so we bought a slightly smaller unit. Unfortunately didn't realise the terminals were opposite to the OEM setup so another slight delay until next week. Just a few tiny bits left now like checking all the pulleys, belts, wiring loom to be connected again and mount all the oil pressure, oil temp and intake air temp sensors. Base map is being created this weekend. Should be able to start testing everything soon!

My guess is it's a LOT of hassle for very little gain, albeit a personal choice.