Pictures of decently Modified cars [Vol. 2]

[Meridius]

Speedhunters said:

In the pursuit of perfection, Black Betty’s first stint off the road was spent being stripped back to a bare shell, as Rob painstakingly removed all sound deadening and signs of rust, before the entire underside was given the Waxoyl treatment. Every single ancillary component and bracket was removed, shot-blasted and powder-coated black. The suspension was overhauled using TRD front coilover casings with SW20 MR2 KYB AGX adjustable inserts, 7kg Eibach springs and Cusco adjustable top mounts at the front and T3 coilovers with 5kg Eibach springs at the rear. Further control and adjustment is provided by T3 rose-jointed adjustable lower control arms and tension rods, TRD front anti-roll bar, and Battle Version RCAs at the front, with Battle Version traction brackets, a Dog Fight Pro adjustable panhard rod, poly-bushed 4 links and no ARB at the rear.

As impressive as Betty is to admire from both the outside and driver’s seat, it’s not until you lift the bonnet that you can grasp a full appreciation of just how far Rob has pursued this build. Long gone is the factory ‘blue-top’ 16-valve twin cam 4A-GE, now replaced with a fully-built, race-specification ‘black-top’ 20-valve 4A-GE, as found in the later Japan-only AE111 chassis.

Rob has eked every single drop of power out of the 20-valve engine, whilst remaining true to the AE86’s naturally aspirated routes. Hidden away inside the block you’ll find a Tomei crank and crank caps, Eagle forged H-section conrods, and Toda high compression pistons. The head was reworked and ported by highly regarded 4A-GE engine builder Richard Macer of RM Sport, and features oversized inlet and exhaust valves, Toda valve springs, Richard Macer camshafts, a Toda headgasket, Toda vernier pulleys and a Toda Kevlar cambelt. Rob also removed the hydraulic cambelt tensioner made his own adjustable item.

Betty gets her bark from the bank of Jenvey tapered throttle bodies mated to an RM Sport inlet manifold, while the hot stuff is rapidly expelled via a Martelius R1 manifold coated with Zircotec white ceramic coating, Martelius mid section and homemade rear exhaust with stainless Merlin Motorsport silencer. An OMEX 500 ECU keeps everything singing sweetly.

Drive is provided by a Ford Type 9 gearbox with Tran-X dog engagement and straight-cut close ratio internals. The 4.77 final drive gives the little Corolla that could short enough legs to dominate Rob’s class when sprinting and hill climbing.

The result is a proper race-built, naturally aspirated 4A-GE that screams. The numbers alone are impressive – 217bhp on tap with 150lb/ft torque from a 1.6-litre engine. That equates to 136bhp per litre, which considering there’s no forced induction in sight, is pretty damn awesome. Betty weighs in at just 821kg too, offering a modest 264bhp per tonne power-to-weight ratio.

[aka_kerrly]

^^ AH Black Betty.

I've known Rob since secondary school and it's great to see his work/car get some recognition. I know for certain that he never set out to build a car to get magazine features, it is built for purpose and gets used properly!

The only negative is the article barely scrapes the surface in terms of how much work Rob has done. That car is pure oldschool built in a shed over 14 years and the quality blows many "specialists" into the weeds.

[anonymous-user]

fking love the old AE86's, one day.. one day.

[RBH58]

irocfan said:

That was the Giocattolo. Built in Queensland Australia in the mid-80s with an HSV fettled Holden V8 where the back seats used to be. They intended to make it as a production vehicle but went broke after they build 15 of them. 13 are still in existence. One was destroyed in a very spectacular crash at Eastern Creek Raceway just outside of Sydney. Awesome concept. Those vents were all functional.

[Du1point8]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Deposit-taken-BMW-2002-E...

So close... Different colour and cleaned up and this would be awesome.

If I was in the UK I would have had this bought and some TLC spent on it.

[Rich_W]

Not exactly modified since they are just wraps. But I love the look of these "distressed" 991 GT3RS




https://www.autogespot.com/porsche-991-gt3-rs/2016...

[PurpleAki]

LeighW said:

Nice, built by Mobsteel, they do some cool stuff.

Never heard of them but wow!!

[irocfan]

Rich_W said:

Not exactly modified since they are just wraps. But I love the look of these "distressed" 991 GT3RS




https://www.autogespot.com/porsche-991-gt3-rs/2016...

love the Jägermeister one - TBH for some reason I really like the Jägermeister racing scheme anyway

[Randy Winkman]

A I understanding things correctly? Wraps to make it look like you use your car to get places in all weathers, rather than just cruise half a mile to a bar?

[Rich_W]

Randy Winkman said:

A I understanding things correctly? Wraps to make it look like you use your car to get places in all weathers, rather than just cruise half a mile to a bar?

Retro racing liveries of course.

TBF to Porsche you can buy Martini stripes for your 991 from them.



But I prefer to ape a LM24 car at the end of the race, covered in the crap they've accumulated.



I also think the F1GTR from 1995 looks better like this



than polished and clean



I believe some manufacturers just lacquer over the top of the crap when their car has won the race. To preserve the history.


Whilst the wraps are a bit fake. Id rather see an exotic car looking "used" than spotless.

[kambites]

I thought his point was that it's a bit bizzare to have fake dirt on the car; why not just let it get dirty?

[ajprice]

But with that wrap how can you tell if it's fake dirty or really dirty?

[Rich_W]

Its a bit more than fake dirt. The "paint" is cracking. The stickers are faded. It "looks" years old. Not just dirty.


It's a looks thing, I have no doubt. And I like it, but then I also like Rust/oil-ed look on some cars.



And I know how polarising that is

(ETA

Real dirt traps moisture on a car which increases the real risk of rust or paint defects. It's not advisable to leave your car dirty for months )

Edited by Rich_W on Sunday 19th February 18:27

[Randy Winkman]

It's a bit like fake stone cladding then? Or like something for the terrible number plate thread?

[DoubleD]

Rich_W said:

Its a bit more than fake dirt. The "paint" is cracking. The stickers are faded. It "looks" years old. Not just dirty.


It's a looks thing, I have no doubt. And I like it, but then I also like Rust/oil-ed look on some cars.



And I know how polarising that is

(ETA

Real dirt traps moisture on a car which increases the real risk of rust or paint defects. It's not advisable to leave your car dirty for months )

Edited by Rich_W on Sunday 19th February 18:27

To me that looks hideous and its definitely in the wrong thread.

[Don1]

DoubleD said:

To me that looks hideous and its definitely in the wrong thread.

Could not agree more.

I have to say I normally really dislike Porkers.... But I'm loving those wraps.

[Big Raff]

DoubleD said:

Rich_W said:

It's a looks thing, I have no doubt. And I like it, but then I also like Rust/oil-ed look on some cars.



And I know how polarising that is

To me that looks hideous and its definitely in the wrong thread.

This car in particular doesnt look much like that any more - it is more Can Am/Nascar these days - with an impressive build history. Perhaps more highly modified than decently...(I like it fwiw)

Build Thread

edited for spelling...

Edited by Big Raff on Monday 20th February 12:29

[JohnoVR6]

Not sure if this has been posted before, but it popped up on my FB feed late Friday and has had me pricing up Z-Cars kits all weekend;

[Risotto]

Big Raff said:

DoubleD said:

Rich_W said:

It's a looks thing, I have no doubt. And I like it, but then I also like Rust/oil-ed look on some cars.



And I know how polarising that is

To me that looks hideous and its definitely in the wrong thread.

This is car in particular doesnt look much like that any more - it is more Can Am/Nascar these days - with an impressive build history. Perhapd more highly modified than decently...(I like it fwiw)

Build Thread

Indeed, say what you like about Rusty but you can't deny the work that's been involved in resurrecting it, although in all honesty it's now not so much modified as scratch-built.

Edited by Risotto on Monday 20th February 11:34

[Meridius]

That Rusty cars been twisting knickers for years. Whatever you think of the outside, undeniable that the engine looks amazing