7afe build, lets see if its worth it Options

[celica74]

Buddies got a safc hes looks to sell. Ben keeps nagging me about mega squirt. I honestly dont want to spend too much as in 800 for it. Any ideas?

[SwissFerdi]

Im looking for agility. Something i can throw into a corner and come out of it with more speed. I dont see highway pulls as much fun as something that barrels through and out of corners. Everything im doing is for useable power at any speed not just 3rd gear half the time.

That's exactly my mindset, I'd love a 7A-FZE as well. My only gripe with F/I on this engine is like you say, engine management is f*cking expensive and it just seems odd to spend the same on the rest of the parts and then so much for a silly bit of electronics. I know it is vital, but the cost proportion is just odd.

Then again, I see you're going for quality - your flywheel is 760% more expensive than mine was.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 28, 2012 - 10:30 AM

[celica74]

Please tell me your exaggerating haha. Its the only light weight one available. It is silly. But itll make me have some peice of mind and hopefully some more power. So suggestions would be great as to what to use.

[SwissFerdi]

No I am not, heavy-as-piss OEM-grade for $50 shipped.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 28, 2012 - 1:27 PM

[celica74]

Radiator has been ordered, next bit is either valves or innovative wide band. Cant make up my mind where to spend $300 first.
Also got ben to come out to rockingham dragway with me. He did a hell of a job adapting for his first time out. That 3s flys. With the sc i only gained 3 or 4 tenths off my 1/4 mile. I didnt have the best launches so i know i can drop it down into the 15's.

[bsamps4]

Gotta get that thing built QUICK!

[celica74]

Sho nuf. Going to try to get the radiator in and probly the intercooler sunday. Also bottom end would be nice to have together.

[bsamps4]

We could have that bottom end together in 3 hours

[celica74]

Sunday come to the shop and lets get it done!

[celica74]

Wanna thank ben and sam for coming out today to give me a hand, and aj for already doing this so i knew itd work. So glad i have keys to my work and can go in whenever i want. Makes things alot easier. Got the radiator installed. Took a little longer then was expected. Main problem was mounts.

[celica74]

This week i really cracked down on some porting. Got the exhaust touched up and fully completed, and get all but on port left on the intake side.
Heres a good comparison of before and after for the intake side




Heres two pictures of exhaust port, the first one being cyl 3 and the second cyl 4. Anyone who have looked at the exhaust ports on a 7a will note that looking straight into the port of 1 and 4 can see why the 7a never makes any power, same with the 4afe. So to solve this problem, the outside and insides of the ports were ground out to allow a straight line of air(better flow).


I just with i had a before picture to describe this better. Another factor to the 7a not making power in the intake manifold but me and ben are cooking up some ideas to solve this.
Heres a look at the bottom side of the head, on the left upper ports you can see theyve been ported, and the ports to the right of it havent been.

Also, in the combustion chamber on all cylinders there was a small bump, figured it would be a good idea to grind it down to ensure it would be a hot spot, because hot spots can cause per-detination, and pre-detination can ruin a motor, and ruining my motor will turn me into the hulk, no beuno!


I also replaced my starter today. And when i did i noticed that on the front of the trans theres a spot for a starter

Notice the bump with the two bolt holes. Does anyone know what model would have the starter on the front of the c52? None come to mind for me.

[richee3]

Nice work on the porting!

[celica74]

Thanks. Next time in paying someone. Takes FOREVER! And youd be surprised as to how much you can take out on the exhaust side. The intake you have to be careful on the bottom of the ports, as the intake manifold bolt holes and the water jackets are already pretty thin.

[celica74]

Apologize for not posting any progress, honestly there hasnt been any till recently. Ring broke so i procrastinated for the longest time. Finally found some the other week and came in the mail this past saturday. Also, last friday car broke down. Ran compression test cyl read #1- 0 #2- 15 #3- 5 #4- 150 Pretty sure the head lifted. Anyways, got the ring i needed, bottom end is all ready to go. Head got sent off this morning and should be back friday hopefully. Meaning, saturday she'll be going in.

[SwissFerdi]

Good luck, brother in the joys of the 7A.

[celica74]

Motors in and running well. Think I need to back off the ignition timing and pretty sure fuel system is maxed. Got a 255lph about to go in and a regulator. See how that goes. She pulls very strong and is smooth. Pics later on. Getting exhaust taken car of right now and I'll get some videos taken.

[celica74]

Alright got lots of pics.
Finally got the rings i needed and got pistons and conrods in, also got oil pump on

Upper pan, baffle and pickup attached

Pulling the old motor, left all accessory's on except power steering. Just pull axles, disconnect wires and hoses, slave cylinder, fuel lines and some vacuum lines



Got the head resurfaced, i went with oem valves because i was sort on time and money, had them radius cut and a 30 degree back cut. SC mount was cracked so i had to weld that up. And when getting a new water pump on the 7a there are multiple part numbers dealing with the width of the impeller. Had a problem with it hitting the housing, went ahead and bought the pump with the housing. I would advise this even though it costs alittle more its less downtime.


Intake manifold installed and valve cover on.

Good view of how the SC is mounted. Pretty much just steel bar welded to make a frame for the SC to bolt to.


Spec stage 2 clutch and 8lb flywheel installed

Trans installed. Have someone help you, much easier to line up.

Engine bolted in place. What i did was remove front mount completely including bracket, unbolt everything from the rear mount and use the side mounts to line it up when dropping it in. Takes 30 min.

I also did some exhaust work. If you know what the ebay header for the corollas all the 7a guys use then you can see what i have done. After the header flange runners are about 3/4in to 1in diameter(too small to get good flow). So i opted for 1 1/4in pipe and extended them to the subframe to a 2 1/4in collector to a flex pipe, flanged it, then a test pipe for legal reasons. Vibrant resonator to 2 1/2in pipe back to a magnaflow muffler. After driving it it made a big difference mid and upper rpms.




As said before i need to back off the timing and upgrade the fuel system. So far Boost gauge has only read 5psi. Filter might need to be replaced. Have about 250 miles on it. Very fun to drive and very quick. Gotta love ZERO lag.

Build list

7a block bored .040 over and resurfaced
ross racing forged pistons
max speeding forged h beam conrods
toga bearings
toga high volume oil pump
8lb flywheel
spec stage 2 clutch
head fully ported and resurfaced
With the pistons, head and block resurface compression ratio is somewhere between 10.3:1 and 10.5:1
OEM valves radius cut and back cut
Vortec SC running 9psi pulley. Have to get a new intake pipe and filter, might have it set up for ram air and be able to put it back behind crash bar for when it rains
315cc injectors
2 bar map sensor


Once i get it broken in and all the kinks worked out ill hit the dyno to see when she can put down

This post has been edited by celica74: Mar 30, 2013 - 11:30 PM

[Takumi-FujiWaraS...]

Nice, did you ever contact delta about a grind?

[celica74]

Nice, did you ever contact delta about a grind?

No. Id like to get this setup worked out, engine management and get the fuel system upgraded before i go for cams.

[Takumi-FujiWaraS...]

Me either if i do before you i'll let ya know.