ST 150 & AT 151 Corona

[2 Old 2 Rusty]

Bro do u really think u'd be able to test drive my car for me? Coz who better to know if everything about the conversion is done rite better than u??? I would really appreciate it!

Bout the moddin part, don't forget the single macha here also attemptin the same feat!/QUOTE]

When I said "Ah Bengs", I included you, bro ! LOL.

K, I'll take it for a spin when it's ready & see if he missed out on anything but that'll cost you, Shan....Muahahahaha..

Yeah, we're the Corona 'Macha's and 'Ah Beng's.. (no Ah Lians eh?)
The Proton Saga case, that's really amazing but what we're doing to our Corona's, it's not really out of this world I guess.. We're just putting in the "performance" element missing from our beloved Corona's, which was already a very high end car in its era with it's superior comfort and reliability! The Japanese will be shaking their heads in disbelieve when they see our modded Corona's, but that's because they don't need to mod their Corona's there; they have the real Levin's and Trueno's, right? Besides, not everybody can afford a Supra or a Skyline ma..

About the "world class national car" issue, I guess using and "rojak"ing the Japanese technology (even for things it's not meant for, like the Saga case) is one thing, learning from people's technology to create something completely new of your own is another..

So, Bro Shan, you feeling excited already? Sorry I haven't called you out yet, I've still gotta settle the "sagat" issue, change my tires at least, and change my exhaust if possible.. Or else you'd be so disappointed with everything from my car that I myself would be embarrassed to call you out again!/QUOTE]

Trust me, the Japanese had already seen it coz I used to work in a Japanese company & my Japanese colleagues are amazed by the stuff we do with our..or should I say their cars & bikes (kapchai mod) over here !

On our national car issue, we're just re-badging them, so what have learnt after all these years & billions of RM spent ? Not much. I guess coz we're replacing the Waja with a Lancer again. Came full circle, back to square 1 after all these years. To me, it's really sad

I mean, look at the Koreans. They started off something like we did but look at their cars now. Look at the new Sonata & Forte. I think they look gorgeous, almost on par with the Japanese & we're still re-badging the Lancer.

 

[corona_ice]

wah bro!!! nothing a pack of samporna can settle rite!!
well what ever it is it sure as well be better than getting stuck no where waitin for sumone to come get me!

bout the national car... it's always 3 steps forward 6 steps back... to much of politics involved... but on the other hand knowing proton, they will buy the chassis than use it for another 20 years or so to get back the investment... u can bet on that....

rr: aiya... apalah... i am not a show judge la to look and critique ur car!... but anyways, it's always better to get everything done first than only drive it about... iron out all issues with ur mechanic also b4 paying him in full...

 

[ragerunner]

Bro, or should I say, Sifu Shan now that your 3S is ready , even if you're not a show judge, I'm still embarrassed, or in hokkien, paiseh to show you my car in this state mar.. :embarassed:

'Bout the Proton.. It's really ironic that the Waja was Malaysia's first locally designed car, and features Proton's very own Campro engine, yet now it's being replaced by a re-badged Lancer; the old Sonata, on the other hand, bore more than obvious similarities to the Accord rear lamps (2004 Accord I think), yet is now being replaced by a really good looking new model:hmmmm::hmmmm2:

 

[corona_ice]

rr: i'm not a sifu yet la... But if u want to call me assistant ok la... Anyways how's the troubleshootin going on? What left on ur list?

 

[corona_ice]

rage, u settled the name transfer ady? According to jpj n puspakom pj, u convert engine, than send to puspakom, get inspected, than go to jpj endorse..

 

[ragerunner]

Hehe.. Not yet sifu.. But once your monster 3S is out, you're promoted!
Troubleshooting.. I guess (and I hope) yesterday was the last of it. My spring and ride height journey (so far):
1. Started with stock Corona, front and back, of course
2. Converted to AE1X1 front and back during engine swap, along with AE1X1 stock springs.
-Problem: Rear right tire fouling fender
3. Put in Espelir sport springs along with rubber spring spacer at the base to heighten it, foreman go pandai pandai knock the inside of the fender to make sure there will not be any fouling.
-Problem: Rear is now lower than front
4. Put in Espelir sport springs that came with Superstrut absorbers from halfcut in front.
-With Espelir sport springs front and back, the car handling was good!
-Small Problem: Ride became a bit bumpier, the front especially was rather too hard; although I think I would have gotten used to that in time. Surprisingly, ride wasn't really uncomfortable.
-BIG problem: front went from 4 fingers gap to no fingers! No "sagat" problem when cornering, only some scratching on the front right tire when going through uneven road surfaces at higher speed. Looking at the car from the side, the car was really too low; to me it didn't look really nice. Car bottom touched the bigger road humps too.
-BIGGER problem: Dad wasn't happy at all! He hasn't really said or complained much throughout all these mods but he was really vocal this time. Particularly upset about the foreman knocking the fender at the back (apparently that will trap mud and introduce rust) and the lowered front.
5. Was planning to put rubber base spring spacer at the front as well but upon seeing the spacer, realised that the front will be heightened 1.5 finger at most. That would definitely not be enough for my dad.. So changed back to stock springs at front. Since front is now higher than back, had to change back to stock springs (with rubber base spring spacer) at rear as well. Upon removing both rear springs, realised that the rear right "sagat" issue was due to the right spring being approximately 1/5 coil shorter than the left at the top.. So found another spring from my mechanic's pile of springs that had the same number of coils, same length and same height. Approximately same stiffness, too, I guess.. (No accurate way of telling)
-Result: Front is back to 4 fingers gap, rear.. Didn't check, but the car looks just the right height now, front and back. Will probably change to larger tires (195/55/15) for more cushion. Planning to give the car chassis some reinforcement bars, too, much like in Mr. Yau's Corona's. Dad will be asking his friend to "un-knock" the fender. Can see how unhappy he is at that..:hmmmm:

I haven't settled the endorsement, will be doing it without a runner. Yup, I need to send it to puspakom, get inspected, then inform insurance agent, and finally get JPJ endorsement.. If I'm not mistaken, for yours, bro Shan, you need to get a "surat kawal setia" first, right? Since you're upgrading from 1.8L to 2.0L?

 

[corona_ice]

wow! that's alot of modding done bringin down and up the car! well what i would have to say is follow the sponsors advise! after all u can still do the lowering time later on also!

what happened was i went to jpj in pj to ask them what i need... apparently all i needed was to send the car to puspakom first to get the letter from them than they will endorse straight away... not believing what they said, i went to puspakom in kg.medan... thay told me the same thing! hantar sini dulu...jangan lowered, pasang bodykit,pakai rim besar dan ekzos bising... pastikan brek 51% keatas... boleh lulus! now i can live with the first 4 but the 5th is crazy! how the hell am i to know if my brakes are 51% above! also less headache for me coz i'm buying a malaysian engine! coz it was in mr.yau's car, so it's easier and faster... no surat surat bizness! i hope it really does go that well!... but when i went to melawati jpj it was a whole different story! so i'll just stick to the pj one...

 

[pcmoddingmy]

Wow... quite some interesting topic going in here. Rage, glad to hear that your dad is now happy with the car being "hired!". Anyways, it very rare to have lowered sports springs that make your ride height that low until there's no finger gap between the fenders. Perhaps the Espelir springs were custom-made to a specific ride height. However, a quick check on Espelir webby shows that they also have Height Up Rubber much like the local spring buffer being sold almost anywhere (http://www.espelir.co.jp/heightup_rubber.html)
Perhaps a 2 finger gap should be ok for your dad and more sensible for daily driven and friendly on the speed bumps & parking lots.

Anyways, since its no longer sagging with the stock springs installed, I guess you should just leave it for the mean time while you prep your car for the necessary endorsement. Regarding the fender knock/rolling, I don't think it would cause rust if done properly as it is quite common in the modding scene and how often you see rust on the fenders?

With regards for the "surat kawal selia", I believe it is required whenever you're upgrading a specific vehicle's displacement (cc) regardless of the engines origin. Because they will send you a guideline to follow when installing bigger cc engines. But since the staff at Puspakom told you to send your car without the JPJ Putrajaya approval beforehand, I guess you can give it a try first. If it worked, then you've just saved yourself a lot of time...provided you don't have issues when submitting your Puspakom results & other documents to JPJ for amendments in your grant & roadtax. Prolly you would have to topup for the roadtax as well (depending on how many months left to expiry).

Once these two monsters have been legalized, I suggest that we all box-shapped-car-owners gather up for a homecoming TT! What say you guys?

 

[ragerunner]

Follow the sponsor's advise eh, bro Shan? Haha, yeah I guess I have no choice.. Or else no sponsor=no money, and no money=no mod! That being said, my exhaust and header set came from my own pocket.. When they found out about the price of the exhaust set, my parents were already :motz: cuz to them, it's just a piece of metal. So imagine how they will react if they find out the price the header!
But truth be told, even I felt that the front was really too low, and it didn't look nice anymore. It was a little too hard also, I guess.. There's a couple of smaller road humps near my house that I have always been able to pass comfortably without slowing down, but using the sport spring in front.. Butt sakit, kereta also sakit woo. Not because the car bottom touched the road hump, but because the whole car sorta flew up a little and landed with a "thud". In time, you wouldn't be surprised if the car started to produce rattling sounds..

Bro PcMod, I tried to find out the spring rates for the AE1X1 Espelir springs, the result is rear:3kg/mm; front: 2.8kg/mm for Corolla sedan and 3.8kg/mm for Sprinter/Levin (http://www.nengun.com/espelir/active-super-low-down-springs). I would assume that mine is the 3.8kg/mm spring set since it came with my Levin BZ-R halfcut. That would also explain why I find it rather hard. I never expected the front to be so much lower because it had a 4 finger gap when using stock springs. Now, looking at the product description for the Espelir ASD (blue) springs, I really feel like because it says "30mm to 70mm drop".. My 4 fingers = 70mm!
Those height up rubbers, I guess it's similar to the spring buffers that are, like you said, sold almost everywhere. But I wonder what is the gulf in quality? I am also quite sure the Espelir spring buffers will not be found here.. But thanks for the suggestion anyway, bro. I might consider getting them buffers for the rear, since the Espelir rear springs are progressive springs, so I can insert the buffers at the bottom. IIRC, the front springs are not progressive springs, though, so I don't know whether these buffers will make enough difference at the front.
Regarding the knocking of the fender, my dad says it will now be difficult to clean any mud trapped between the fender metal pieces, thus inducing rust.. I guess, I'll just listen to him on that part. Tell you what, he was so unhappy about the mod on the fender that he even said he would consider selling the car if that was not rectified.. Like bro Shan said, just listen to the sponsor lo..

I'm on for a homecoming TT! Although I must say, my Corona may be a box-shaped-car, but it's no monster.. Bro Shan's 3S-GE is the monster!

 

[corona_ice]

hi pcmod: well that's what i was told... i'll try the way they told me, otherwise i still have all the documents needed for the surat kawal setia... sumtimes u wonder what the centralized system is all about when nothing is...

rr: if u think mine is a monster what about the car with a 3sge beams,enkei 17", brembo 4pots brakes,vr4 front and sm4 back bumpers, skyline spoiler, and side skirts honda backseats, rx7 limited suede frontseats an airplane looking cockpit and many other things done to a corona???

om the tt part, i don't need only my corona, now also can with my brothers satria!

 

[ragerunner]

That car.. That's not only a monster. That's a fire breathing dragon that even the Godzilla's are intimidated by..

 

[pcmoddingmy]

Rage... from your description, I don't think your Espelir are rated at 3kg-ish... more like 6kg to me based on your description... hehe
Coz if its 3kg-ish... it should only be slightly stiffer than stock suspension. IIRC, stock spring rate should be around 2kg-ish...Anyways, i shall let you guys work out on the tt...hehehe

Bro corona_ice...I used to ride along with sifu Yau while the 3SGE was still on his monster. Still remembered how crisp the engine sounded while he floored it....things got even wilder when BEAMS was introduced into his monster. Pure mental just to sit inside and floor it all the way to redline... hehe... i guess you should be lucky to continue his 3SGE legacy.

 

[ragerunner]

Hi guys.. Where's everyone been? It's been pretty quiet in here..:hmmmm:

Anyways, I sat 4 people behind in my car today. Damn, the stock springs are really really soft.. Immediately the car went down so low, it looked as though the tires would definitely have touched the fender if the fender wasn't knocked in! The weird thing is, when the fenders weren't knocked in yet, and when I had not changed the spring on the right side, I had no issues with the left side at all; only the right side kept fouling the fender. I don't know whether it's just me, but can it really be that my right tire is slightly more outward, and the left is slightly more inward? Now I might really have to go for 185 series tires if the fender is to be pulled back out (unfolded) like original!

Bro Pcmod, you mentioned that the fender knocking shouldn't cause rusting if done properly.. Mind sharing what constitutes "done properly"?

Bro Shan.. Have you gotten your 3S-GE back yet?

 

[muzhaffar]

this video i found on youtube about how to knock the fender..
YouTube - Mighty Car Mods - How To Roll Your Guards DIY (SE01 EP03)

 

[corona_ice]

hey rage, sorry man, but i haven't been feelin to well this week... Came down with sum fever... Well bout the ride height part, mostly it comes down to the total weight of ur load man... U put four skinny girls in, ur spring should be good... But u put 4 fat guys in, for sure ur car will bottom out... For that u will need to put stiffer springs in... My car still no news yet... But i got the best man to check for me! Mr.yau! So i got no worries yet...
Pcmod: well for me it was just pure luck that mr.yau decide to sell his engine to me! I think he knows how fussy i am and by the time i buy an engine from the chop shop, they will ban all toyota halfcuts coz i'll be fightin with them till i get what price and the engine condition i want... Well bout the tt anytime after rage has done his car up... Coz if not, he will say paiseh and won't come!

 

[ragerunner]

Thanks bro Muzhaffar! Sigh, this vid came a little late though. I really wish I had watched this before allowing my foreman to knock my fender! My foreman
1. Didn't use a heat gun
2. Didn't use a rubber mallet; used a normal hammer instead
3. Didn't knock it 45 degrees; he knocked it all the way in!
4. Sawed off small segments between the fender so that it will fold completely!
Anyway of repairing that now?

Bro Shan: Get well soon bro.. Maybe it's the weather, many people (including myself) have not been feeling well lately. Bout the ride height, I sat 2 average sized guys and 2 average sized girls in at the back. I guess the stock springs are really, really soft. I'm seriously contemplating putting back the Espelir springs back in and adding some spring cushion/buffer, the ones in between the spring coil, as the Espelir springs should be stiffer. But I've heard stories of those buffers not staying/popping out when the car is on full load, and I'm also worried the spring cushions will not solve the ride height issue, ie the car will still be too low at the back. Really really tired and exhausted of changing springs, over and over again..:vollkommenauf:

 

[muzhaffar]

what your pomen did will throw away the protective layer of antirust..
to reduce the risk of rusting, you may use anti rust spray. sand any exposed metal with sandpaper first and spray.
mine also knocked the same way as you described

 

[pcmoddingmy]

Rage, if the fenders were properly rolled/knocked in, there wouldn't be any space for mud or anything to get in between the fender. Also, after rolling the fender, you can also apply some chassis glue and seal up any spots that could promote rust. As for 4 people at the back seat, i think you overloaded your stock suspension over there... hehehe
Also, have you checked your rear chamber setting? Maybe the alignment out already...

corona_ice... sure thing... well most of us are quite fussy coz we want the perfect thing for our ride. Yeah... rage must come for the TT for sure!

 

[ragerunner]

Thanks bro Muzhaffar and bro PCMod.. I just had a talk with my dad. I proposed that since the fender is already knocked, no point going backwards; just fold it properly, spray it and seal it so that it won't rust. My dad says that the inside of the fender is not painted, so there might be a tendency for it to rust between the 2 pieces of fender metal where it is folded. He still seems inclined to pull it back out, and use 185 series tires.. to him, we should select the correct tires that suit the car; not mod the car to suit the tires. I guess he's pretty sensitive to these body works because he's thinking long term; he's done a good job keeping the car free of rust all these years (25 years since it was bought new), so of course he's sore that I allowed the foreman to do something that might cause rusting. That's also why I'm so desperately pleading for help here..

And to bro Corona_ice and pro PCMod.. Of course, I'd be there for the homecoming TT! Definitely, I'd prefer to be able to bring a car that I can be proud of, not one that is sluggish, but more importantly, can't even handle properly, moves/steers itself to directions you don't steer it to, and which steering rattles at slightly higher speeds.. =( all that said, even if my car is not done by the date you guys set for the TT, I'll still be there.. But please don't set it this weekend or next, though, I've got my trials coming up next week.. =(

Sorry, and thank you, bros

 

[corona_ice]

hey no problem buddies! just to make sure more attendees, the merrier!