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.