Started FWD Now We're Here

[Zoomin]

This build makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, but why do I find myself so intrigued? I must stay tuned in to see what the heck happens!

[CliffsBlueCamaro]

Whoa...SERIOUS props on your fabrication skills. I can't wait to see how this turns out!

[CadillacMazerolle]

HAHAHA Thanks guys. I am continuously laughing at this build, myself. Why the HELL would someone do this? ESPECIALLY with this car? A lot of this build doesn't make sense because it started as a joke and the further i got into it the more i realized "Oh that won't work, i MIGHT as well do this too while I'm at it....". The plan has changed 14 times from the start till now.

[CadillacMazerolle]

So I torched the crap off the frame and installed my new control arms. You can see my original shock mounts were cool looking but they had to go, in favor of some round tube. I had minor clearance issues with the steering linkage that could have been alleviated but I also had a brand new power steering rack in my storage box.







Big Moment!!!! Finally rolled outside on all new suspension. The front currently has no shocks installed but MAN does it look GREAT!!!!

[CadillacMazerolle]

I am now realizing this car is not really a joke anymore and the only major, ugly part of the build is the headlight panel that has been completely mangled. It was clearly in an accident at some point and when it was repaired they updated the front end to the newer headlights. This of course meant torching new bolt holes in the sheet metal. I couldn't stand looking at them any longer so i chopped them right off to make my own.

[cbpldc]

I love the stance, and forgive my ignorance, but doesn't ideal suspension geometry require that the front LCA's be parallel or above for proper handling?

Still, mad props and much love for this build. Its so obscure, and for some reason, I've always loved the 1st gen Camry. I had a chance to own a 4 door hatchback Camry a couple years ago, and I kick myself every day for not picking it up.

Will you be going back to the stock headlights or something....different?

Chris

[CadillacMazerolle]

I love the stance, and forgive my ignorance, but doesn't ideal suspension geometry require that the front LCA's be parallel or above for proper handling?

Still, mad props and much love for this build. Its so obscure, and for some reason, I've always loved the 1st gen Camry. I had a chance to own a 4 door hatchback Camry a couple years ago, and I kick myself every day for not picking it up.

Will you be going back to the stock headlights or something....different?

Chris

Thanks! There is a LOT involved when it comes to proper suspension geometry. The picture you see is the suspension fully compressed. Even if that were at ride height, it would essentially just drop my roll center height. This would make the car have more body roll but the control arms would influence the chassis less over irregular surfaces. If the Roll Center Height is too low, you can add and tune a swaybar to combat roll stiffness but if the Roll Center Height is too high, there is nothing that can be done. I am essentially leaving myself room to tune later down the road instead of doing a bunch of theoretical figuring on a suspension calculator and hoping it works in real life.

I really only wanted this Camry because it was unique being a turbo diesel. I am keeping the headlights that were on it when i purchased the car.

[cbpldc]

Awesome! Thanks for addressing my question. I learned something today.

Chris

[CadillacMazerolle]

Awesome! Thanks for addressing my question. I learned something today.

Chris

You got it!

Even though there is no anti-roll bar in the rear, the rear control arms act as a anti-roll bar. I intentionally raised my roll center height in the rear and kept the front low to make the car loose. I imagine i will likely need a soft bar up front to help keep it from 3 wheeling but we'll see once i start hammering on it.

[CadillacMazerolle]

So, I finally decided on a power plant for this cute little bugger. I always have a handful of LSx engines kicking around and for no REAL good reason i had been trying not to stuff one in this car but... here we are! A low mile 4.8L truck motor.



I can't give away ALL my secrets but I am currently in the process of casting my own bellhousing adapter to use an MA-5/AR-5 AISIN WARNER Transmission. It is sized specifically to use a factory Chevy Colorado or Camaro hydraulic slave cylinder with an LS1 clutch on a truck flywheel. This will let anyone put a fairly robust transmission behind their LS1/LSx engine for less than half the cost it would to use a T56. The supra guys put 1,000hp through them but a 2JZGTE doesn't pack that low end punch an LSx does so I expect this transmission to hold up to a stock-mild LSX. We'll find out pretty soon.





Almost looks like it was made for this car... Almost

[Centerforce]

This escalated quickly. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

[cbpldc]

Ooh! Nice. I just finished reading where HotRod magazine pulled a junkyard 4.8 (they thought it was a 5.3) and with upgraded fueling and a good head porting they made over 60+ dyno pulls in excess of 1000 HP with a turbo kit.

Just planting a seed....

[CadillacMazerolle]

This escalated quickly. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

NO KIDDING! on the escalating quickly part!!!

Ooh! Nice. I just finished reading where HotRod magazine pulled a junkyard 4.8 (they thought it was a 5.3) and with upgraded fueling and a good head porting they made over 60+ dyno pulls in excess of 1000 HP with a turbo kit.

Just planting a seed....

hahahahah I am very familiar with that article and turboing the LSx engines but your internet voodoo is not going to work on me! This car isn't even supposed to be as nice as it is! I am supposed to just slap it together, weld it where it touches, fill gaps and ship it out the door. I have no desire to turbocharge a Toyota Camry.

[CadillacMazerolle]

I got out the grinder and a hand file to whip up this transmission mount.







FINALLY starting to feel like a real car again! There is an optical illusion. The car actually sits level but the front wheel well is far larger than the rear. I was pretty close guessing my spring rates but i have my fingers crossed that these things sag out or the rest of the car weighs enough to drop the nose and kill that wheel well gap.



An old Jeep Cherokee radiator that was kicking around, almost looks as at home as the engine!

[cbpldc]

Look at all that room on passenger side for a big single 76mm.

[CadillacMazerolle]

Look at all that room on passenger side for a big single 76mm.

.........I hate you for this.



I have been trying to think of every way possible to rout the exhaust but there just isn't any room on the driver's side. I had even been thinking about going out the side of the fender and down to side pipes. This would have certainly reminded me that this build is supposed to be a joke. Aside from blasting the exhaust out the side of the car, there was clearly only one option....

Modified factory truck manifolds to breath through a tiny diesel whirly muffler.




Able to keep it under the hood


Now that I have found a solution to keep the exhaust entirely hidden I think it only makes sense to do something with the intake manifold. I guess it is going to be a full blown sleeper.

[LERM]

...seriously!?

Watching your builds is like watching a far more talented version of myself that does not have to answer to a wife...

I love this.

[Supra510]

Nice work

[cbpldc]

.........I hate you for this.

Ahahaha!!!

This is fantastic!

Chris

[CadillacMazerolle]

...seriously!?



Watching your builds is like watching a far more talented version of myself that does not have to answer to a wife...

I love this.

Nice work

LOL. Thanks fellas. good to know someone out there appreciates my junk.

Ahahaha!!!

This is fantastic!

Chris

You and I are going to go round for round if you keep it up with your manipulative posts.


If you neglect the cost of the Camry it's self because i paid WAY TOO much for it, being a rare turbo diesel.... I have about $2,500 into this build so far. That includes the cost of the axle, new tires, coil overs, engine, trans, clutch, turbo, metal, hardware, and paint. Hoping to be under $3,500 invested by the time it is Dyno tuned and shredding tire!