The 48-hour challenge

[86coupe]

The location: an undisclosed hayshed, 1800km southeast of Cairns

The equipment: a socket set, some screwdrivers and a pair of tinsnips

The challenge: to transform this...



Into this...



IAE86 2.0

An impromptu trip to Brisbane for work gave me a 48 hour window to make a start on some of the neat stuff I've been hoarding. So, armed with only the most basic of implements and the most unsanitary of working conditions, I set about turning one very broken white coupe into a slightly less broken black hatch.



I started off by swapping over little bits and pieces, trim, engine bay accessories and the headlights. The drivetrain and suspension will be installed next trip. As I've mentioned in another thread, the radiator support in the new shell is not an ae86 item and has caused great frustration. Nothing lines up, the bonnet catch cannot be fitted, not even the bonnet stand! The headlights will not bolt on without some fabrication and cutting as there's no mounts, and the holes line up so poorly, the wires cannot be connected.

The lights are attached only to the fenders at the moment, and you can see some of the problems its caused below.



Anyway, ignoring that for now, I decided to install the steering column and pedals. I stripped the coupe interior down to nothing to get the firewall matting, then once that was in place in the new shell, started reassembling everything. It was slow going, and was too dark to work by the time the pedals were done. I dummy fitted the front bar and grill (looks terrible) and called it a night.



*****

This morning saw me attacking the wiring. Aftermarket management and several engine changes in its lifetime had left the wiring loom in a rather scary state. Because half the wiring was handmade, there were a lot of wires that had to be labeled and unpicked. Several wires for the adaptronic decided to fall out of the plug, so these will have to be sorted out before it will run again.



While I was doing that, my reluctant assistant set about removing the fuel pump and sender from the destroyed jdm tank and installing them into an undamaged adm tank. Not optimal, but all I have to work with for now. Note the luxurious working conditions!



Once the loom was in place, I could begin reassembling the dash.



So, that's where our story ends for now. Will be back in Cairns for a few weeks, then back down here again to have another crack at it. Stay tuned.

[Eircamae86]

Good on ya, you got there before me with the coin.
There was a guy on here who needed a pair of rear windows. I shall give you his details

[Mr Awsome]

choice couch he's got there haha is he wearing an elmo t-shirt? thats hilarious.

got ya work cut out for ya. i feel your pain on the working conditions.

check ya pms

[86coupe]

I'll be hanging on to whatever is left of the wreck (glass, window trim, couple of interior bits) as spares for my coupe.

I gave the guy a call as soon as I saw the shell advertised. Unfortunately, its not in the same condition as it was when I paid for it. The hatch was only held shut with tie wire and as the car was made rolling for transport without rear shocks, it must have bounced up and down on the truck something shocking. The tie wire ended up cutting through the inner part of the hatch, and with the hatch bumping up and down, it smashed up the ducktail wing, and took quite a bit of paint off the rear pillars. Not amused.

[Nikkojoe]

That radiator support is definately an e7 item. I guess you will remove the rad support and lower panels from the white coupe by drilling out the spotwelds and getting someone to weld it on for you.

[86JAP]

Hey mate good to see the old girl gettin a new lease on life, nearly bought a tear to my eye seeing her all stripped out lol.. Hopefully getting another one soon gonna go a bit silly wit the next one...

[mals86]

So another 48hrs and you will be able to drive it back up to Cairns

[86coupe]

I felt bad ripping that car apart, but seeing it take shape again in the next bay over made me feel a bit better.

Project is on hold now for a couple of weeks, but I hope to drive it out of that shed mid March.

Ambitious?

To complete the job I still need to purchase the following:

Windscreen
Rear suspension bushes
Front and rear bumpers, or full kit
Tail lights - redlines naturally
Hatch struts and latch
Rear muffler
Tyres

Miscellaneous interior parts - all rear trim, gearshift surround
Roof lining - was suprised I managed to shoehorn the coupe lining in there, but the fit is not perfect.

[redsprinter]

good work .. not so good about the radiator thing .. are you going to have it replaced with a ae86 one?

also that was alot of cash for a shell, imo the owner could of done a better job with the transportation of it .. anyways live and learn .

best of luck with it .. and cant wait to see this thing.

did that white shell belong to one of the many original DC members?

[ThatsHowWeRoll]

lol at dog mechanics looking for diff leaks..haha