Corona RT 142 guru's check in

[sunofa]

Aye all

As the topic title and description suggest – I am indeed a newbie, without a clue, who owns a corona…

Firstly, I have become the proud owner of a 1986 corona rt 142, it has the 2.4 efi donk..
It'the SR model with super special factory front and rear spoiler. I originally bought the car as a shi**er that I needed for a few months and intended on selling immediately, however I have fallen in love with its ugliness and 80's style kudos that go with the corona. It does stomping burnouts too. And after being into drift for a few years now, my last car being a drifter Ceffie, I can't resist the temptation of bastardising the corona and creating a drift pig, that's still operational on a daily basis.

Before the flaming begins – I have done a search for the topics im am about to ask questions on, but they returned nothing I could decipher.

The old corona has some issues namely in the handling department, so I need some advice regarding suspension setup and diff choice.

Considering the car cost **** all I don't want to spend much on it, however I don't want to chop the springs. I think the shocks and springs need replacing anyway (or do all coronas handle like boats?).

My question is - Does anyone have a set up that works and has resulted in lowering (front and rear) and stiffening the ride, that hasn't required chopping anything?

Secondly, the original diff is absolutely sh**house, what should I do about it (that doesn't result in welding it up). Are there any Toyota (or other manufactures) diffs that will fit in the corona with relative ease?

Cheers guys/girls – top website btw

[Rakurai]

this could help u..but im not sure...http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/forum/index.php?showtopic=8284

[sunofa]

cheers sr86 - had a read of that earlier this week, however, i like what he has done to the car, he does state that hes chopped and welded, resulting in a ride that 'winds' him over bumps, im trying to avoid this.

[RobertoX]

hi mate the diffs are good!

weld it up 100% weld it all the way (this is a budget project isnt it?)

as for springs, i can get some heavy rate springs wound up, but they you are going to have to buy some decent shocks to match...expect to pay around $1000 to do suspension properly

good cars tho!

[keiichi]

hey dude and welcome... bumpin up the ronahhhhh!!!! are you the dude i met at oran park? if youre not where you from?
oh and im about to update my thread if you wanna have a look.
anyways....
dont think of it handling like a boat cause its a corona.... if you take out all the suspension and engine stuff from a hachi and a corona you have something very similar... th standard stuff is wierd... they set the front up saughta normal but the rear is just REALLY soft, great for understeer... i used to drift mine stock standard "outside yo mommas house" 80kmh hand brake entry open diff understeeries lol i was stupid once... anyway. if you want lsd you can use an r31 import model one that needs shimming and differnt axles or something, theres alot of money involved for one of the worst lsd's ever made... thats assuming you have the live rear end. i would weld mine personally, depends if you want for drift or grip. welding one up is also hard cause the centre is completely closed, there are no openings into the spider gears, i would recommend you take it to someone whos prepared to lock it up properly for you, took me hrs to do it, if you plan on doin it youself or you take to someone who hasnt seen one of these centres before let my know an dill tell you the process. if you have the IRS rear end you can use an ma61 supra lsd or whatever fits the ma61.
suspension... generally whatever applies to an ae71/ae86 will apply to the rona except you want to go a bit heavier. ajps sets his corolla up as 8kg/mm springs front and 6kg/mm rear... if you wanted to go by that balance then go 9kg/mm front and 7kg/mm rear... this will hurt on the street i guarentee... currently i have about 6kg/mm front and 8-10kg/mm in the rear (even though they are cut i figured how to maesure them) and its really f'n low it bottoms out on ripple strips, thats saughta thanx to the softish front springs(though it aint soft). i like that balance cause if you just pump it it starts to slide and makes driften "outside yo mommas house" easier, if you can find a smooth road. for springs just get david (ajps) to hook you up if he can make more then 8kg/mm or send yours away to king springs and get them to custom make some for you. or if you want to go cheaper then cut springs... my fronts are off an ra65 celica (which i think is the same as the IRS model corona anyway, and front is the same as all coronas, i think), they are king lows and have about 1 1/2 coils cut off and i use kyb excel g's from an ae86. for the rear i use ford falcons from a late 80's early 90's ute (i think) and suzuki sierra pedders sports riders... i think these shockies are perfect. for the front if you want to go heavier on the cheap you can use vb - vn model commodore springs and shockies (obviously gas inserts and make sure you get the same brand cap nuts to suit your car for the commy ones). i also recommend gettin urothane caster arm bushes straight up so it turns when you tell it to, $35 from noltec. and get some bolt specers atleast 25mm for the rear cause that narrow track is really ghey... keep the fron and rear track as even as possible. corona comes standard really unbalanced. now you acn also use the lat 70's model xt130 model coronas lower control arms to increase your camber. engine wise i find it responds reallyw ell to basic mods like pod and exhaust, advance your timing... oil catch can does amazing thngs, and though i havnt done it yet a cam and extracters apparently unleash its NA abilities. you can also low boost turbo charge it without internal mods, apparently http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/forums/emoticons/wink.gif . oh and take out every bit of weight you can... youll thank me later http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/forums/emoticons/tongue.gif
any other questions no-worries... i spen alot of time trying to work out what to do with the beast... not much info out there, so i keep trying to sell it every now and again, infact its for sale now LOL...
good luck bro
zac

[keiichi]

i just realised you could use a t18 diff and whack in a 2-way lsd. this is common practice for the hachi boys. jsut be prepared to spend a grand or two. or you will need to do is re-drill the bolt holes on the t18 diff to suit the larger corona bolts and control arms. the rest of getting it to work ask someone who has an ae/ke.

[RobertoX]

22r powahs will prolly break the t series loL!

i can make springs in any rate

have fun!

[keiichi]

22r powahs will prolly break the t series loL!

i can make springs in any rate

have fun![/b]

you reackon? t18 shit is that weak is it? i havnt broken my corona diff yet except for a bearing. i had a corolla diff in there for awhile once... god that thing had an unhappy life.

[sunofa]

cheers guys

it looks like a welded diff may be the best option when considered in a cost/benefit scenario, so ill have to give it some further consideration.

i think ill go for some king springs (or similar) and stiff shocks (of some description), i like the idea of xt130 castor rods for camber... ill have to lookn into that.

turenosedan - how much can you do springs for, front and rear?

keiichi - does your corona have 4-2-1 extractors?

im in adelaide btw.

cheers again

[keiichi]

nah my corona dont have extractors but i wanty bad.... although, it is a 4-2-1 manifold. and its not xt130 castor rods its lower control arms. are you able to do the work yourself?

[mattysshop]

the 2.4i upper class model eg the Avante, most of them (all that i've seen) have IRS F series rear ends in them! so an LSD shouldn't be too hard, nor too expensive to find..

[mattysshop]

and yes.. T series aren't the strongest of all diffs.. but it depends on the user/punisher..

[keiichi]

most the upper model avante models ive seen have a carberated version of the 2.4... can you confirm that?

[sunofa]

lads

keiichi - sorry my bad re extractors/castor , I should be right to do the work myself, used to have a Datsun 1600 which i pulled apart and put back together a few times (well some of it) and between my housemate and I we have done a fair bit of work on cars over the years.

Finding the parts is another issue as time is a scarce resource for me, but this is an ongoing evolution and doesn't have to be completed immediately.

I'll get the springs and shocks in some time over Christmas or early in the new yr (im off to s.e asia for a feb) thought I would start researching and gathering parts early. I know from personal experience that I take a while to do things like this…..

Mattysshop – whats this ‘F series' rear end you speak of? I have an 1986 rt142 SR (superdooper responsive) corona, are there any similarities between this and the Avanti rear end?

If I have one of these rear ends (how do I check) where can I source a lsd for cheap from ie donor car?

Cheers

keiichi - sorry mate i have no idea if the avanti models have carbies, the only avanti have seen was efi.

[keiichi]

look under the rear end... if its IRS you have an f series diff... otherwise if its a live rear end then you have whatever that is... on the boot of your car does its say "avante" or does its say "2.4i super responsive" ? my guess is the latter... should take some pics of it including interiour, under car - namely diff, the car itself and the engine http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/forums/emoticons/smile.gif fasho fasho do it nooow

[sunofa]

keiichi - cheers

has the SR on the side, car itself is in really good condition, really clean and straight (cant wait to violate it), very very nice interior, has some surface rust tho thats staining the paint (white) will cut and polish to see what i can remove, before attacking her armed with a spray can...

Will try and get some pics up over the weekend.

[keiichi]

just use some "rust converter" not cutting compound to save you time

[keiichi]

man you better have this thing ready for next year... threres a guy wholives in melbourne or adalaide who has a drift corona, and im moving to melbourne next year.... i might start up my own "rt142drivingclub.com.au" http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/forums/emoticons/tongue.gif

[RobertoX]

depending on the springs $300 - $400 set

pm me with what you need

cheers

[mattysshop]

2.4 carb is a 22R, and not common in the rona's more common in the hilux's as they can't run the efi cos of the manifold..

F series diff is nearly as big as the G (hilux diff) and they are independant, with disks on the rear,

the avante is the top model we got here in australia..

[mattysshop]

the rest came with borg warner type diffs similar in size to T series.. i have seen a few with actuall T series diffs..

[keiichi]

exept the avante is crap cause it only comes out with automatic

[mattysshop]

thats not true, my first car was going to be an Avante, 2.4i, IRS, 4 wheel discs, 5spd... went really really well... but i stuck with my mustang celice..

[keiichi]

you sure it wasnt converted? look up carsales research your car section i think youll find that it only lists the avante as an automatic

[keiichi]

sorry my bad youre right... does come as manual.... they look pretty good for a standard corona too.