Making Some Baby Hemi's

[CrewDawg15]

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?

[CrewDawg15]

...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

[LAone]

glad to see you post them up on here. they look great, im deffinitly looking forward to these.

[whale392]

Jimmy, did I ever tell you that your work amazes me?

[Ben]

That is some really awesome work!!!!!!!!!!!! You made a 22RE also, right? I would really like to find a 20R so I can build my first pickup that I owned.

[Foxer]

That's some beautiful engine work!

[Mad Slammer]

Are you planning on selling these...?

BTW, excellent work...

[CrewDawg15]

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

[SuperStockAndy]

It's amazing how people can start with only materials and then make something like that.

[Mad Slammer]

Thanks Bro, keep us posted...

[CrewDawg15]

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

[Dr. Cranky]

Very cool engines. I am trying to visualize what scale they are . . . but they look small.

[Kit Basher]

These are great! Will you be making a stock 2T-C (single carb w/ air cleaner) with a 5 speed manual? I'm thinking about building a model of the '74 Corolla SR5 that I owned. The only kit is a curbside, so one of your engines would be awesome.

[CrewDawg15]

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

[Ben]

That dog looks awfully guilty! LOL That is some super cool work on that engine!!!!!! I want to get one just to super detail it and use it as a stand alone model!!!!!

[Kit Basher]

Thanks, Jimmy. Let us know when you're ready to start casting again, I'll be watching.

[Erik Smith]

These are great looking engines and they definitely fill a gap. Love seeing all the scratch building involved.

[CrewDawg15]

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):

[RodneyBad]

WOW!!!

Fantastic looking Engines and Amazing Skills..

[surfjunke]

Absolutely amazing work, Jimmy! Some very fine scratch building.

I hope you do plan to sell a few. I would like to put 1 in a couple of street rod projects.

[CrewDawg15]

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

[Ben]

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

Wow, very nice!!!!!!!!!!

[Erik Smith]

Very cool. I looked at all those plug wires and was thinking there appeared to be too many! I've never seen one of those engines before - what were the GT-Es used in?

[CrewDawg15]

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.

[Erik Smith]

Thanks for the info - I went Google-ing and found some really nice 3T-GTE info. I have owned a number of Toyotas and worked on old 20 and 22Rs - still, never knew about these.