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Honestly I dont know yet. Itll be one of the last things I worry about. I do have to cover them according to the rules. Aluminum to cover them wouldnt be the cheapest solution unless its really thin. I'm pretty sure the stock panels will fit even with the roll cage but would probably look out of place.

how thick is the gusset material?
it may be the pics, but it looks really thin?

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16 gauge which is actually thicker than required. I think 18 gauge is the minimum.

They used to allow just thick flat piece of steel 1/8"+ in the center. But FIA changed requirements to the taco shell type even with thinner metal. Apparently the have some crash testing knowledge that it is better.

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ahh cool, definetly thicker than i was thinking then.
lovin the progress man, keep it up!

Any reason why the main hoop is pretty far back? I have always wondered on how they completely weld around the tubing that attaches to the front strut tower going through the firewall.

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Well i'm 6'2'' my codriver is 6'2''. With a helmet and tube across the roof that's the angle/distance the seat needed to be.


First thing you do before you build a cage is mount your seats and build around. The back of the seat is probably an inch or so away from the plane of the main hoop.


The tubes that attach the front strut tower are only welded about 4/5th of the way around. They are optional tubes so they are not required to be welded the entire way around. Every other tube on the car is welded 100% around, A lot of the welds were a bitch to finish due to tight areas and not being able to see. I was welding with a mirror; everything is in reverse a big pain in the ass.

Ugh.... still waiting on the transmission. Progress is pretty much at a standstill. I was supposed to have it months ago.

are you still doing the 5sfe and awd combo? i cant wait to see this thing when its done, and as far as the roof going back on goes i have a friend locally who is doing the same thing with the cage, as far as cutting the roof off goes. But you may want to look into some kind of composite for the roof replacement, i know he is doing some kind of kevlar carbon fiber weave mix, check our RacingComposites.com

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Yeah, but I've been waiting for the transmission for months now. If I dont have it within another week i'll be strongly considering running 2wd this summer. I need a solid month of testing before I race, especially more so if i'm doing the AWD swap now.

I hate being under the gun as far as getting stuff done. Last year I was in the same boat because I had a trip planned to get the rx7 tuned, ran into some problems and was working till 2-3am every night after work trying to get it ready. I dont want that again. So if I dont have it soon the stock tranny is going back in, atleast till the end of sept.


The roof is not allowed to be anything other than steel. I've already filled the sunroof in with 16 gauge. Thanks for the thought though.

This post has been edited by czwalga: Feb 10, 2011 - 10:19 AM

Hmm well good news. R&L carriers called me the tranny is being delivered tomorrow. Seems everytime I start getting really frustrated I get the call like an hour later. Happend twice.


So yeah, I'll probably get the engine in this weekend, then start building the mounts sometime next week.

Nice! I love how you literally ATTACK your projects. Super ballsy, I love every second of it. From the pics of your FD getting the fenders cut and wide body getting added to the fact it has a ****ing LS2 Turbo with a viper rear! And now the SICK caged Celi that is all out, roof cut, gussets and all, with the custom AWD tranny on the way, my hats off to you sir. If only everyone had as much determination during their builds as you. Can't wait to see how all of your projects end up!

Just make sure you grind the hell out of the back of the block or the transfercase won't clear the 5sfe block. Should of just picked up a 3rd gen 3sge engine since you have to go NA. You wouldn't be running into fitment issues and that engine puts out a little more power than the 5s.

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But is also way more expensive and way less available, the motor and the parts.

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Thanks for the heads up. Just curious how do you know this?


I have to say one thing i'm good with is an angle grinder It's my solution to every problem.

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Haha thanks, we'll i'm an engineer (electrical so not sure how that translates to cars lol), but i love building and ripping stuff apart. I've just kinda learned as I go and do a lot of reading, no one in my family was ever into cars. Although my dad does come over and give me an extra hand when I need it.


As far as the Rx7, i should be replacing the valve springs and exhaust housing on the turbo then getting it re-tuned in april. Shooting for 800rwhp, just because thats what it should have made last year if I didnt run into issues. I'll keep ya updated on that as well.

This post has been edited by czwalga: Feb 10, 2011 - 2:13 PM

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I know this because I built a 5sgte for my last car. 5s block with a 3sge head turbo. Couldn't clear the T-case so I had to grind the hell out of the ribs on the back of the block. Thought there would be an issue but didnt run into any issues.


BTW the 3rd gen 3sge is CHEAP!!!! the most I saw one for 1000..

Do you plan on making your own subframe to mount the rear cradle?? I think I might go the unconventional way and support the rear cradle with a bunch of square tubing. Since I too plan on building a roll cage for the Celi.

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Yeah the blocks are pretty strong. I could buy a low mileage 3sgte for around $1000 haha. No point in doing an engine swap to go from N/A to N/A. Unless its a LSx based engine!! Haha, but I dont think I have enough time to do that right now and I dont think they'd let me put a 6.0 liter+ in and still let me race.


The back two mounts ill just make some mounts and weld them directly to the frame rails. The front 2 mounts i'm mounting directly to the roll cage. Where the front two mounts go all that is there is weak sheet metal. There would have to be some big ass frame and lots of weight being added. (Look at jmeyers, if thats made out of .25" probably weighs 50lbs)

That's funny how u brought up mounting the two fronts to the cage. I had that same idea but was afraid that wouldn't fly.

Well finally got the transmission!


Anyone know if theres a good place to buy the clutch fork and throwout bearing? Or if the All-Trac tranny's will work. The fork and bearing is too small off the stock tranny.

that's awesome that you got it!!! Can't wait to see this thing finished, absolutely amazing build so far man!

http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_J_1994_TOYO...BLMVZ_3101.html

Found a great site for part numbers. Has all the ST205 parts.



Found the shift fork and did a serach on a toyota parts site. It's the same as the alltrac, which makes it much easier to deal with. Anways, since i'm short a few parts... i'm bolting the transmission to the engine and putting it in the car, without a clutch or wiring just so I can work on the awd stuff for now. Once that's done and I have all the parts ill pull it out.


FYI the clutch that I bought from a 4runner works with the stock flywheel and e154f. So no need to spend extra money on a 'hybrid' clutch.

This post has been edited by czwalga: Feb 11, 2011 - 4:57 PM

Transmission is in, no flywheel/clutch or anything just in to get the AWD stuff done. Had to grind the block a far amount to get it to bolt together.





Dad came over to work this weekend. He was sizing the fire suits and helmet. National Lumber may sponsor us for the new england forest rally. Oh, that's my dog Turbo.

Told ya. wasnt kidding about the trans fitment. Post pics of how you are going to tie the cage into the 2 front mounts of the rear cradle.

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Yeah, I wasn't doubting you I was just curious cause as far as I was aware no one has fitted the 5sfe with the e154f.


Those will be the last pics, everything else comes first. Have to make the 3 driveshaft mounts first, then rear subframe mounts then front where the cage will be tied in.

Bad news.... I got the wrong driveshaft.

Damn that blows! I can't wait to see the finished product it'll be amazing!! I like your determination

How was it wrong?

The front portion of the driveshaft does not fit into the housing. It's too wide.


I've looked at pics of a GT4 driveshaft, it has two carrier bearings; this one has 3.

I believe the back half of the driveshaft I got is correct, but the front smaller piece is wrong. Hopefully it wont be more than week till I get it. All progress is stopped until I have it. Can't do anything with the rear end without doing the driveshaft mounts first.

Welp, I consider myself pretty much getting screwed on the AWD parts. I was told 'everything you need to convert to awd', this was in november. End of january I got the rear subframe, no transmission. Last week I finally get the transmission. It has none of the essentials, clutch fork, the shifter assembly/shift arm, also no rear calipers. Then I find out the draftshaft is wrong. I offered to pay shipping to have the 'right one' shipped out wednesday to have it this weekend. Never got it. Anyway I found one in japan at a decent price, minus the shipping charges; should have it tuesday.

Took a look at the subframe, , rear control arm is bent. It's been a frustrating experience and none of it actually has to do with fabricating or anything along those lines. I also paid an extra $150 for front axles (which wasn't part of the original deal, so I have no problems paying the extra money), but those came with the threads smashed to hell and impossible to use. Whoever decided to take the axles out just pounded it with a sledge and f'd them all up.


I've sourced all the parts I need and should have them this week, but it cost me probably an extra $700 for parts I was told I would have. Hell its not necessarily about the money, it's just having quality parts that I was told I would have in a reasonable time frame. I'm just hopeful the transmission still has functioning gears.





Anyways........... I redid the passenger seat brackets it was sitting way too high. I had to cut the giant bubble out of the floor to get the seat to sit where I needed it to.











This post has been edited by czwalga: Feb 20, 2011 - 3:24 PM

Looks amazing man, Its pretty impressive what EE's can do with a welder and a little imagination lol.