Hammer Time

For anyone keeping track, I’ve been in the process of putting the rally FX back together. While I waited for the transmission with LSD installed, I dry fitted the relocation for the starter. In a move that mystifies, Toyota had the starter located on the exhaust side, the exhaust manifold tucking neatly around it, enveloping in it’s loving warm folds. Try killing, baking, oven! Toyota eventually learned and later generations of Corollas located the starter on the opposite side of the engine, so there exists transmissions that have the mountings on both sides. I happen to have one, among the three(!) spare transmissions I have sitting in the garage. The transmission, along with the LSD install, is having that bellhousing swapped on. Next thing needed for the conversion is a correct starter, I ask for the 4AGZE supercharged MR2 starter. You then need to source a correct cover plate that goes between the engine and transmission. I don’t happen to have a spare one, so I took the existing one and cut a hole for the new starter location and welded a plate over the old opening.

This was all good. There is one more problem. Once I got the plate mounted I could dry fit the starter in location. What happens you can see, terminal hits one of the water pipes that runs along the block, and just where there is a mounting bracket. So after grinding away a section of the bracket, it was time for the universal tool. I applied judicious use of a hammer. Looks like that solves the problem, we will see when I actually put everything back together!