LocostUSA.com

OK gang, the deals have been struck and the kit is being crated. I traded several e-mails with Lance Crain at Pirate 7 and bought his roller kit.
Here it is waiting to be crated at his place.




He's going to pack up the roller, clam shell fenders, hood/ nose cone, scuttle, and wind screen and load it into a Con Way truck for me.

I've been searching for "THE PERFECT" donor for weeks. I missed out on a couple of pretty good deals like a $600 Miata and a $900 Ranger pickup. I was searching the Craigslist ads today and came across this little gem
78 Toyota Liftback 1.6 liter 2TC with a 5 speed.


Time to start dis-assembly.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

That's perfect!

_________________
"There are times when a broken tool is better than a sound one, or a twisted personality more useful than a whole one.
For instance, a whole beer bottle isn't half the weapon that half a beer bottle is ..." Randall Garrett

Now I just need to clear out some garage space. Cars take up so much more room when you take them apart.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

...Wow... Congrats... great, strong start....

First and foremost.... sit in it and extend the footwell on the driver's side....believe me...(unless your 5' 5"....)

Can you take photos of all angles and post them when you get it....will add it to the Centaur 7 website...


http://gblandco.com/gb/cent/cent.html

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gblawson (Gordon)
......................................................
http://gblandco.com/gb/cent/cent.html

Thanks for the advice. First step will definitely be a trial fit because I'm 6'1" with long legs. Of course I used to drive a Sprite, so I'm used to tight spaces.

I've got a few more pics from Lance that I'll put up on my photobucket. Then I'll take a lot of pics once it gets here.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

...I had a Bugeye as well (6'4") ... and an MGA and MGTD.... all had/have lots of leg room (may be a bit tough getting in and out)... but the Centaur really does have a tight distance to the firewall....
I extended the bottom of the footwell (the angled piece) about two inches and re bent the pedals...its ok, but could still use about 4 more inches.... With the Rotary engine, the oil filter prevents going too much further forward (am looking into remote filters)....but it is still pretty tight....

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gblawson (Gordon)
......................................................
http://gblandco.com/gb/cent/cent.html

Thanks for the pics Gordon. It's nice to have input from one of the few Centaur owners that shares details about their car.

Would you shoot some pics of your steering column and how it connects to the rack or steering box please? The ones I've seen so far had some funky flexi connector... Not something I'd trust my life to.

It sounds like my roller will ship on Thursday of this week, so it should deliver on Monday or Tuesday. That means I'll be sitting in the tub making vrooom vrooom noises sometime next week

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

...it seems to have a stock Pinto rack and pinion (although I haven't figured out all the parts yet...an ongoing task).... the steering shaft connects with a ujoint and has a small screwbolt holding it on....appears to be a stock set up...
I'm thinking about adding a 1.5 doubler to quicken the steering a tad...

Will try and get a good photo of the connection on the weekend.... will include this from my website but don't think it shows how it connects....just a close up of the steering I took to try and figure out what it was.....
The actual connection is just out of the photo....(i will see if that has been cropped....will take me a bit to sort through all the photos i've taken).... If you need any other photos let me know ...

_________________
gblawson (Gordon)
......................................................
http://gblandco.com/gb/cent/cent.html

Didn't take as long as i thought.... I assume this is pretty stock....

_________________
gblawson (Gordon)
......................................................
http://gblandco.com/gb/cent/cent.html

I like that. Hopefully I'll be able to do the same with the Toyota column. I'm just chomping at the bit waiting for my stuff to get here.

I spent some time reading about Weber side draft carbs, motorcycle carbs, and throttle body injection using both Holley and Megasquirt controllers. A fuel system upgrade will be somewhere on my to do list after it's running and debugged.

Then I went looking at tires and wheels, coilover shocks, steering wheels, roll bars and 4 point harnesses....

Lunch hour went quickly and if I'm not careful my budget will go out the window even faster.

Tight Lines.
Tommy

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

Mine had the whole pinto steering column right to the wheel hub.... I tore it all out and just ended up with a 3/4" shaft.... added a quick release and changed the wiring to everything dash mounted....(cheap wiring harness from Speedway).... kept it all so much simpler.....

_________________
gblawson (Gordon)
......................................................
http://gblandco.com/gb/cent/cent.html

ebay got the best of me

Just bought the first item for a future fuel injection upgrade.






Dual Mikuni TBI for an Arctic Cat snowmobile.
Couldn't resist for $5 plus $11 shipping.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

I have a car hauler reserved for tomorrow morning, so I'll be doing a 3 hour each way turn around trip to pick up the donor.

Less PITA to rent a hauler than to drive up with wife or son and drive the donor home. Let the fun begin

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

Completed an un-eventful turn around trip to Rock Hill, Sc yesterday. 7 hours in the car for the round trip.
Now I have a 78 Corolla SR-5 sitting in the Mommy space of the garage

I had to promise the wife I'd be diligent on the teardown and get the rusty hull off to the scrapyard before he family shows up for Christmas. It's going to be a busy 2 weeks

Off to Church this morning, then dropping off one of my kayaks that I sold, then back home to do some dis-assembly.

Got an e-mail from Lance that the Centaur is crated, and should be ready to ship on Monday.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

I guess tonight marks the official start of THE TETANUS PROJECT
Every good project needs a name and considering the condition of the donor, this is appropriate.

I wanted to make pulling the engine easy this weekend, so I started removing everything that would come away easily.
First step yank the hood off. I sorta dig teh hood vents on the 'yota, so those may find a home in the final design.
Battery out- no point frying myself or any reusable components.
The strip off front sheet metal and get the radiator out and safely tucked away until I find out if it fits in the Centaur nose.




Tomorrow night is a run night, so I'll put in my mileage before spending any time in the garage. The plan is remove belts fan alternator unbolt the motor mounts and trans cross member.

I want the engine out before lunch on Saturday so I can spend some afternoon time cleaning / degreasing.

Tight lines.
Tommy

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216