wokstar Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Hey all, some of you may remember this car from a thing on speed hunters many years back: http://www.speedhunters.com/2010/02/guest_blog_ying_hua_gt_gt_a_starlet_gt_from_down_under/The good news is that I still have it and it's coming back in a fairly unique way.What's the K in KP82 stand for? That would represent the K20 which weren't going to somehow attempt to make fit into my old EP82.For those who weren't around many years ago (DISCLAIMER: I like to write and take photos) so let me give you a quick summary of my motoring journey so far...It began in 2004 when I first picked up the keys to the one that started it all...I loved cars, and I was sick of driving crappy hand me downs but didn't have any money to buy anything decent. In a move which made my parents extremely unhappy, I dropped out of uni to buy myself a car. That car was a little 1990 Starlet GT who came to be known as Tart.Tart was everything I wanted. Small, nimble and a little bit unusual. I liked that it wasn't an obvious car and on the rare occasion that I received a nod of acknowledgement from another driver, it was because they knew what a special guy he was.Then came the track days.I didn't know how to drive properly (some of friends might argue that I still can't ).I knew I wanted to go fast and I practiced a lot. I began to understand his nuances and together we both started to drop seconds off our lap time each time we went out. When he worked, he was great. I knew no joy greater than a PB in Tart, but along with the fantastic highs came the frustrating lows.I blew turbo's, spun bearings, warped heads and generally had difficulty getting proper seat time because he was so temperamental. As he was often off the road, I decided to purchase a daily driver.That was a 1990 Roadster named Cherry. At the time people laughed and said there was no way that car would be my daily driver and they were right. Within a month it was also doing track days.Quite a few of them.It was great to learn a different type of car but something wasn't right. I enjoyed Cherry way more in the mountains then I ever did on track and for some reason, made the decision to buy another daily driver.Many cars made the shortlist but the only car that was ever going to replace my EP82 was... another EP82.Terry was a 1994 Toyota Starlet GT Advance and he was the car that Tart never was. He was a tight , late model, low kilometre Starlet and was well looked after by his previous owner.You're probably noticing a trend now and yes, he went to the track. He was as great as I remembered Tart to be and made me fall in love all over again.Not wanting to ruin a tidy example of what was now a rare car, I retired Terry to daily duties.He was not problem free, but I loved him all the same.Three years after I purchased him, a lady came along and decided to use Terry instead of her brakes and wrote my handsome car off.After being depressed for a few weeks, I picked myself up and flew across the country to buy my next daily. A 2002 Toyota Echo Sportivo named Perry.I wasn't going to pretend I wasn't going to track Perry because by now I had learned that my personal measure of a good daily driver is based entirely on its ability to be a track car.This time I broke my own record and was piloting this little Nugget around Winton within 4 days of ownership as I drove back from Brisbane to Melbourne.Perry was outstandingly mediocre. He is so amazing at being completely average and has been my best investment to date.Despite being a lot of fun to track, he was never going to fill that void.During this time, Tart was also revived for a 2 day track weekend on the first iteration of a little thing we began to call "Project Rattlesnake."This project was about building our ultimate track cars.I'm well aware that there are cars that out of the box would be very capable of doing fast lap times but that wasn't my dream.I wanted to do it in a Starlet. My starlet.Tom being a Honda aficionado, wanted to build a CRX as his.I came up with the idea of calling it Project Rattlesnake. When Tom asked me about the significance behind the name I replied:"Because they are both rattly pieces of crap that are most likely going to kill us."I started a spreadsheet which contained all variations of motor and turbo combinations that I was considering.Most importantly the mission statement on it read:"To make the most nuggety Starlet in all of Australia break into the thirties at Winton"Then the inevitable happened. Tart blew up at Winton and came home on the back of a tow truck... again.While I was sitting in the pits at Winton staring at my dead motor, I was beginning to question my delusions of grandeur. I still wanted that dream so badly but I knew for the last time, that it wasn't going to be with a 4efte.As I sat there numb to it all, Tom walked passed and said to me:"You should K-Swap it."I looked up."Hah! Yeah, yeah maybe I should."I then realised he wasn't joking (actually Tom doesn't really do jokes). He then moved over to Tart and made some vague hand gestures over my engine bay."We could totally do it."And then he walked off.How apt, that the Honda told us all to "Dream the impossible."But this is not a dream anymore. I'm more awake than I've ever been.If after all this you still don't get it or agree with it, it's OK.Personal bests were always meant to be just that - Personal. The "KP82" build begins now.Welcome to Project Rattlesnake!On February the 14th, 2015 I cheekily announced that I had purchased a new car on Facebook.With some strategic bow placement, a very fun guessing game ensued!As one who has never been shy about not particularly enjoying Hondas, it was almost with disbelief that I announced that I had indeed purchased a 2002 Honda Integra Type R.So without further delay, here is Ralph is his entirety.Note: He is named R-alph, as an ode to his "R" heritage and one of my favourite movies. In the next post I'll explain why his name doesn't end in "-erry."A handful of people had diligently noted that the teaser images haven't been of a car that was in very good condition.Also more importantly, some noted that there was actually no way I would drive around in a Honda of this vintage!Note: Just so we are clear, I would happily own an S800 or Scamp.After taking this photo Tom said "You better not be taking photos of my butt. What are you doing anyway? Get back to work!"The reason for the secrecy so far was because none of us actually knew if this idea was going to work. There was only one way to find out if a "KP82" was actually possible and that was to test fit the K20 into a suitable Starlet.If only I had a wrecked Starlet with no motor lying around...Oh wait...I do!With Terry's motor already gifted to Tart, the plan was to strip down Terry's panels and use his engine bay to measure up and test fit the K20 before the real swap goes into Tart.Annoyingly thanks to the body molding on GT's, there are approximately 50324235 bolts that need to be removed all the way up to the rear guards to remove the front guards!During this process, I also decided that I wanted to respray Tart in the same Toyota "Blackish Metallic" as Terry.Naked and sad looking.I previously mentioned that Tom was building a CRX as part of Project Rattlesnake.This isn't it, but it was ravaged of all it's essential parts for his actual project car.The next task was to liberate the k20 from it's Honda shackles.Tom got to work with the ball joint puller.And we found out that someone had previously snapped one of the strut brace bolts and stuck it back on with sikaflex so it looked legit.Hahah, bloody Honda kids. Crane in place.The engine removal job was made much easier by the pre-wrecked front end on this car.The motor was rolled over to the Starlet on the sweet pallet contraption courtesy of DCW.And now the million dollar question.What's it going to take to physically make this fit?Project Rattlesnake: #4 The Starlet of something beautiful?Before we attempted to squeeze the K20 into the Starlet, the rudely protruding battery tray had to be removed first.Fire marshall Dwight on standby.Punching out the spot welds with Tom's nifty spot weld puncher-outerer bit.Before:After:Due to the lack of subframe under the Starlet, the easiest way to put a motor into the car is by lifting the whole car up and putting it back down over the engine.This was an excellent moment.IT ACTUALLY SORT OF FITS!!There are a few clearance issues which we'll need to get around to rectifying.One of which was the brake master and slave preventing us from moving the engine back.The boys convinced me that unless we could finder a shorter replacement, a pedal box was the way to go and it was promptly removed.The next item to address was how far off the Honda engine mounts were compared to the Toyota ones.The drivers side one seems ok-ish.But the passenger side is way off.All Honda nerds on deck to help brain storm. #honedThese guys help form the KP82 brains trust and will be the master minds behind this monstrosity.Some reference wool to level out the engine.Seeing how it fit with headers borrowed from Dan.There isn't much clearance from the steering rack so we won't be going with this design.No luck under the car either, with the headers aimed straight at the front sway bar.While I'm down here, the rear engine mount is going to need some work too.It's going to be a big effort but this is actually a plausible idea now!After we lowered the engine back down, I threw the i-Vtec cover on for prosperity before we called it a day.How exciting! 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morgey Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I've been wondering how long it was going to take for someone to do this! Good luck with it and keep us up to date, he will be a weapon when hes running Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TimD Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Proper! I've pretty much come to the conclusion that when the 4efte goes in mine it will be replaced by something else, K20 is on the list of possibilities. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bluebear Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Good to see you posting on here, I eagerly read every update as they're posted on Noisy Ninja! If anyone can make this work, it's you and your comrades out there.I await with baited breath... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmymac101 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Good work, will be a beast when its finished James Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GlanzaJim Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Love it! Dont give up!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Amjad Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 "I had learned that my personal measure of a good daily driver is based entirely on its ability to be a track car" Brilliant! Excellent write up, really looking forward to seeing this progress! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NewbieLewby Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 This is so cool Good luck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FrozenJakalope Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Awesome, can't wait to see how this goes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikey4410 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 very nice and different !!! best of luck. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlegreenmonster Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Looks sweet so far keep us updated !! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jiggaman_16 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 all the best of luck. u guys broke the mold by finally doin it (heard there's one in the Caribbean tho). Lovin it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wokstar Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the support and kinds words everyone! Will be posting here, when there are more updates.Good to see you posting on here, I eagerly read every update as they're posted on Noisy Ninja! If anyone can make this work, it's you and your comrades out there.I await with baited breath... Aww thanks for reading the blog! That's awesome to know "I had learned that my personal measure of a good daily driver is based entirely on its ability to be a track car" Brilliant! Excellent write up, really looking forward to seeing this progress! Haha I'm glad that reasonates with others too. Also I just realised you're the one I follow on instagram! all the best of luck. u guys broke the mold by finally doin it (heard there's one in the Caribbean tho). Lovin it Ohh do you know if there's any details on that? Would love to see how others have tackled this! Edited February 27, 2015 by wokstar Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TimD Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Is this up and running yet? When can I buy the mount kit for it?! ;) Chop, chop.Oh, serious questions, how does this compare to the 4efte weight wise? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RichWillmore Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Different but definatley cool. Be good to see the fabrication and design thats going to go into making that work. Keep us updated. P.S I love the fact you name your cars.I've decided i now need a name for my Project and Car. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TimD Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 P.S I love the fact you name your cars. I've decided i now need a name for my Project and Car. Only acceptable if you're a female, bro. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RichWillmore Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Only acceptable if you're a female, bro. Nah thats not true. I just need a real girly name for the V. Like Vagasil ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Amjad Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Haha I'm glad that reasonates with others too. Also I just realised you're the one I follow on instagram! Indeed, couldn't recall whether you used this forum or not Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Browner Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Love this! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dan106 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Good to see you on here, hope you'd read my tag and put a thread up! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mark1991 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Good effort Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GlanzaJim Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Any updates? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wokstar Posted August 23, 2015 Author Share Posted August 23, 2015 (edited) Hey guys, Remember that time I said I was going to K Swap a Starlet and then you heard nothing about it? Well, that's actually still happening and during a momentary pause to the project (while Tom builds his far more important World Time Attack car) something shiny arrived. The K-Tuned Ram Header features full 304 stainless steel construction with equal length tubing and a proven stepped design. It starts with 44mm primaries to 47mm to 50mm and finishes with a 65mm or 2.5” exit. It also uses three true merge collectors at all transitions to maximize the exhaust flow. This header has been specifically designed for both high end and midrange horsepower gains. Now for the best part, not only does this header offer excellent ground clearance and shifter box clearance it also fits both K20 and K24 engines in the DA, EG, EK and DC2 chassis. Sorry guys it does not fit the EF chassis Well to be fair, it doesn't say it won't fit an EP82... As I usually trawl the second hand market, I've never actually owned a new set of headers on any of my cars before. It's kinda really pretty to look at. Who knows if this will even fit? But I have a feeling we're going to make it fit haha. There's nothing else to update, just wanted to let people know that this is still happening and will resume some time towards the end of the year. For those who are interested, I've haven't been sitting ideal, I've spent a bit of time tracking and driving my other cars instead which you can read about here! https://noisyninja.wordpress.com/ Edited August 23, 2015 by wokstar Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Japscrapno1 Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Was thinking of doing this to the Glanza, but the height of the k20 sort of out me off as it's quite a tall engine, can't wait to see it all fitted up!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Calum122 Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 I still think a B16 Turbo would be the way forward on these motors. K20 is a fantastic engine...boosted. But you get a scream 1.6 in there a lot easier and still have yourself well over 300bhp which is more than enough for these cars.I read on the internet people making well over 500 bhp on these motors. So really the sky is the limit. a Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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