CrewDawg15

I love these cars! If I remember correctly, you could get these with a 289, which was plenty of power...a 427 is just insane! I'm definatly tuned in for more Jimmy

Thanks guys! I just got back from the hospital after knee surgery. That means I get a week off work, and more time to fabricate ... Thanks for looking, and more to come... Jimmy

I'm looking forward to seeing these too Also...I was just curious to know if you tried to fit one of the 22RE's in the HiLux? I never had a kit on hand to test fit, and wandered if there were any clearance issues. Good luck, and I'm tuned in for more ! Jimmy

Good to see this one back on the bench Tonio. As a previous owner of one, I have a soft spot for these cars...now, I regret selling my '87 ZX before moving back to Japan.

Thanks guys! Bradly, I went back to Texas for Mishap Investigation Course. I'm now qualified to be a crash investigator. I still get to run the jets...all 50,000 lbs of thrust ...but I do not get to work on them as much...MSgt's (E-7) get other duties. Last weekend was a disaster for the SR...I just couldn't get anything right. So I put it away and let the week pass by. I got a three day weekend, so after recharging my batteries, I started at it again. I re-attacked the head, and valve cover after reworking the front profile of the engine block. Here's how it all turned out: Just about every detail is there from the CAS boss to the timing chain tensioner to the cutouts on the vlave cover flanges. There is one more detail that I cannot figure out is the valve that's behind the timing chain tensioner...it looks like it has something to do with the cooling system, but I cannot locate it in the FSM...it really driving me crazy that I cannot see what it looks like so I can model it. I like the proportions a lot better than my old head and valve cover. There are a lot more details to add, but I got a little burnt out from the head and valve cover...off for the intake and exhaust before finishing the rest of the details up. Thanks for looking! Jimmy

Thanks guys! Bradly, I went back to Texas Mishap Investigation Course. I'm now qualified to be a crash investigator. I still get to run the jets...all 50,000 lbs of thrust ...but I do not get to work on them as much...MSgt's (E-7) get other duties. Last weekend was a disaster for the SR...I just couldn't get anything right. So I put it away and let the week pass by. I got a three day weekend, so after recharging my batteries, I started at it again. I re-attacked the head, and valve cover after reworking the front profile of the engine block. Here's how it all turned out: Just about every detail is there from the CAS boss to the timing chain tensioner to the cutouts on the vlave cover flanges. There is one more detail that I cannot figure out is the valve that's behind the timing chain tensioner...it looks like it has something to do with the cooling system, but I cannot locate it in the FSM...it really driving me crazy that I cannot see what it looks like so I can model it. I like the proportions a lot better than my old head and valve cover. There are a lot more details to add, but I got a little burnt out from the head and valve cover...off for the intake and exhaust before finishing the rest of the details up. Thanks for looking! Jimmy

It's been a while since I've got back to this one. Last year was a busy one: 1. Moving back to Japan 2. Going back to the states for technical training 3. Spending half of spring and all of my summer in Alaska ...needless for me to say I have had some fun , but I have not really had time to build. As I said in the 3T-G thread, I'm going to take a break, and knock out some comission work...mainly this little beast. It's been almost a year since I told my friend that I would build his car, so I need to get back cracking on it. The more I looked at my block timing cover, head and valve cover, the more I didn't like what I saw. So, I decided to start all over from scratch. I fabbed up a new block, timing cover and an all new upper oil pan. Here's a comparison of the two blocks: ...and a couple of shots with my old head, and valve cover...for reference sake...I'll be fabbing up new ones of those as well: I like the way my new SR has turned out so much better than the old one...I feel that the proportions are more closer to the real deal than my old setup was. and to close this post out...a in-car shot of it sitting in it's new home: As always...still a lot more to do to this one before I start casting it. Thanks for looking, Jimmy

You bet I will. This one is one of about 6 versions of Toyota's trusty ol' T block engines I have planned...more to come. Thanks for looking. Jimmy

Thanks guys! Erik...this engine was available in early 1980s Celica's, and Carina's. It was available all over he word...except the US. These motors wer inthe sport versions of those cars. Toyota made them available so they had enough cars in production for motorsport homologation. 3T-GTE powered Celica's dominated the European ralley circuits in the early 1980's. The US has always got the short end of the stick when it came to the hot rod imports. Nowdays, enthusiasts import these engines from abroad to make their cars in to versions that were never availble to them.

Thanks guys!!!! It's been a while since I've got a chance to work on the G-TE, so I dug it out this weekend. I'm to the point where I can start casting my parts. I made up a set of prototype molds. I use these prototype molds to decide where I make my mold lines for the parts I cast up. Overall, I'm happy with the molds, but I have to re-do the turbo mold as the parting line is in a place on the compressor where it take away a few of the details once they are sanded away. Here's a few shots of the first test casting of the engine: Sorry for the dark pictures...but it seems like I use all of my daylight fabricating. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out . I do have to tweek up my master a bit as I was using double sided tape to hold the parts together during the fabrication stage. The fit was a bit off on the casted parts as a result of the loose fitment during fabrication. Plastic rod was a bit of a pain to get the cuvature of the turbo piping, so I used solder instead. Also, you might have noticed...8 Spark plug wires!!! This engine had two spark plugs for each cylinder. I'm used to making 4 cylinder distributors, so the extra four were a bit of a stretch for me. That's it for this one...stay tuned for the next engine in the series... Jimmy

Yeah Ben, he eats everything that's not bolted down. He'll creep up next to me, snatch whatever he's after and then bolt for the door...a dead giveaway he's up to trouble I have the same idea. The other day I was cruizing my local 100 Yen shop and stumbled across these cases : As you can see, the top one is stepped...great for displaying engines, and you cannot beat the price...100 Yen, or $1.30! the lower case is a bit more steep at 300 Yen (315 yen after taxes) a piece Thanks guys for the input. This one is pretty much wrapped up...just a few more minor details to make. My next updates won't probably be until next weekend as I'm a day ahead of the States, and it's Sunday afternoon here in Japan. If your keeping count, here's the breakdown of the kit parts so far (14):

Thanks Cranky! I make my engines at 1/24 scale. That way they can be installed in the many curbside Japanese kits. I developed a taste for Japanese cars the last time I was stationed in Japan. When I changed duty stations and ended up in England, I realized that there was a market for model import car parts...not everyone thinks of Detroit when they think of cars. The model after market is flooded with small and big blocks from the big three, but I can only think of a hand full of non British or Italian car kits with engines. My goal is to close the gap a bit ...and now that I'm back in Japan, getting actual references is a lot easier. Basher...I'll probably end up remastering my T-C kit while I'm at it. Also, that's why I make my engines the way I do...each main component separate. It is easier to fab up an extra head or intake than it is to mod a long block casting there are a couple of extra intake manifolds I want to make for the T-C, so a single carb US Spec intake could be in the works as well as a backdated 22RE to 20R Spec as previously mentioned. Thanks or looking. Jimmy

The "T" in 3T-GTE stands for TURBO!!!! Since I'm going all out on this one, a generic turbo wouldn't do. This turbo has to be an OEM CT20...so that's what I made. I went all out and fabbed up a three piece turbo assembly; compressor, turbine, and down pipe as well as a stock...ish :-P cast manifold: How she looks all mounted up: That's almost it for this one. Just a few more details to add and a couple of small components to fab up. Thanks for looking! Jimmy

Thanks guys! Ben...Yeah, that's my 22RE. I do have plans to back date it to an early 22R/20R engine, but not too sure of when I'll get back to it. At any given time, I have about 8 engines in work. I start one, and then lose intrest. I'll stick it in a storage container for a later time. It just happen to be that yesterday I pulled the bin out and started to plan another in-progress motor. Roberto...I do sell copies of my engines but right now my molds are shot. I realized that my original masters could use a little more work (hindsight's always 20/20 ) Once I finish fabricating these engines, I'll be pulling new molds. But until then, I will not be casting any more engines. I got the timing chain cover about 95% complete...just a couple of minute details to add. For some reason, my original timing cover master got lost, so I have been using a cast resin copy for mock up purposes....I think that Taro, my boston terrier ate it . As with the rest of the build, I saw this as an opportunity to improve on my original master. This time, I got the correct shape of the cover, and was also able to replicate a more realistic water pump with rib detail. I'm reusing my original fan belt assembly, alternator, and oil pan masters. Also, this engine originally had a W55 5 speed transmission which looks very simular to my original W58 5 speed tranny master...so I'll be including this one too. Here's a couple more shots of the progress so far: Here's a shot of all of the parts so far. This is how I cast all of my engines...each component separately: That's about it for this weekend. Next, I'll be moving on to the turbo, and will be starting to wrap this engine up. Thanks for looking. Jimmy

Great tuorial....I've been using this method for years. Instead of using smaller diameter rod for the lead fairings, I use wire insulation. That way I do not have to worry about drilling out those small holes Jimmy

...continued... I progressed on the mods to one of my head blanks, and added details that were specific to the 3T-GTE head like ribbing detail to the undersides of the cam fairings, siameesed intake ports, and a distributor boss to the intake side of the head (the normal T-G engine's distributor comes out of the block.) I then proceded to fabb up an intake manifold. Finding good references for this particular intake is like finding a needle in a haystack. It has become a popular transplant engine, but it was originally non-intercooled. To take advantage of modern technology, owners replace the inward facing, mid intake throttle body plenum with a custom front inlet plenum to make intercooling piping easier to route. However, I want to make a stock engine, and the custom route was not an option...at least not for me. I did manage to find a few obscure pics of the intake, and fabbed up one based off of these pics: I did have tomake a couple of compromises on the original design as I found it a bit hard to get the right curve of the intake runners. Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. Now...on to more fabrication... Thanks for looking. Jimmy

A few months ago, Thomas LB808 Labanon bought a couple of Toyota 22RE engine kits from me. He was happy with the purchase, and asked what other engines I cast. I have a few completed scratchbuilt engines in my collection, and names them off. He wanted one of my Toyota 2T-C engines, but unfortunately, my molds were old and tired. He told me to hit him back up when I had some new molds made, and was ready to start casting. Fast forward a few months, and I have my resin, and silicone, but after looking at my master, I saw a few details that I could improve on. So instead of immersing the parts in silicone, I decided to rework a few things. Then, after a few more days, I decided to finish what I started, and fab up the complete (...well, almost complete) Toyota "T" series engine line-up. This time, I would work backwards and start off with Toyota's final street incarnation...the 3T-GTE turbo engine. This engine powered the early 1980's Toyota Celica's to victory on the European ralley circuit, and was also the base for Toyota's TRD 4T-GTE engine that powered all of Toyota's group/formula cars in the early 1980's before being replaced by the 503E engine. Here's a recap of the fab process of the 2/3T-C engine: I started it all off by mastering three head blanks...one for each major version the the twin cam engines: Next, I fabbed up two different valve cover blanks to represent what I need to make all of the engine versions: Toyota used the same basic block for all of these engines, so I'll be using my original block master as the base, and making subtle changes to the cast copies for my new masters...why re-invent the wheel, f I have something that already works?

I wrote this one about six years ago. Its a how to for a really simple looking one, but can be modified to look even more realistic. Eventually, I'll post an upgraded tut...when I can find the time that is... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=34485&hl=crewdawg&fromsearch=1 Jimmy

I agree...those lettering, and rib details really pop out. Jimmy

I'm glad the engine made it to you If you look at the transmissions, the main differnce is the length of the bellhousing. Most 22R-E powered cars and trucks utilized a W55 manual transmission with the starter located on the opposite side. The person who commissioned me to build this engine sent me detailed pictures and measurements of the hybrid W58 transmission he wanted me to replicate...a tranny that he had in his shed. That is why the bellhousing is a bit shorter and has more rib detail than the 6 cylinder bellhousing of the kit's engine. Most of the aluminum cased W series transmission gearboxes, bellhousing and tailhousings are interchangeable between each other. Enough of the technical talk...lets see some more progress on this dragon build

Too bad on the finish. I too have a heavy hand when it comes to polishing out my finishes. That's why I avoid metallics, and stick with solid colors. That way I can lay down 5-6 color coats..plenty of "insurance" against burn thru. When I do metallic finishes, I usually lay down 3 color coats followed by 3-4 clear coats. When its all dry, I tape off all of the edges and polish. When I'm done with the main parts, I CAREFULLY pull the tape off of the edges, and lightly polish those out. Jimmy

Looks like this ones off to a great start. Nice conversions. I've been on a casting spree filling orders, so nothing done to my Stang yet. Not too sure how wild I'll go, but it'll definately have a unique drivetrain...I cannot build an engineless curbside

My notifications work fine. I think a lot of people are having problems. I know I have PM'd some people quite a few days ago and have not got a response, or the PM's read. I'd like for them to be read, but I hate starting a thread asking someone to check their in box. Jimmy

Cool CPB! I just got back to Japan from my forced summer 4 month summer "vacation" in Alaska If you don't mind, I'd like to join in. It'll give me an excuse to build my Tamiya Mustang that I've had sitting on my shelf for the last 15 years Jimmy