[trucke]

Here is an FX16 I picked up for parts a couple of weeks ago. It will be used to get an FX16 GT-S back together for street use. The interior will be used for another FX16 GT-S that is used for autocross. This one was purchased without the interior. Needed carpets and back seats to get back into D Street Prepared. The PAX factor is better than E prepared, especially for a car with a stock engine. Of course, all those bolts on the parts car will be highly prized when they are needed. The parts car had 250,000 miles on it and was said to have lost compression in #4. I put a battery in it to start it, but the starter seems to be shot too. Wasn't worth more effort, so I just started the disassembly.

Here are the carpets getting the scrub, pressure wash, blow dry treatment prior to install. These are going into the white autocrosser.

Here is the current stable. The white GT-S is the autocross and street machine. Later to be used on track for lapping days. The silver GT-S behind it is not running. It dropped compression at 290,000 miles. I bought that one new in '87. The parts car will help get that one going. I have a low miles red top ('88) for it. The silver one with the black bumper is the FX16 for parts.

 

[Donald]

Nice! The body looks very good, I don't see any obvious signs of rust, although I know there probably is some, it doesn't show. Good find.
Where did you find it, and how much?


I sat in mine for the first time a couple of days ago, and just felt it out..........you know what I mean? Just feel the steering, look at the dash, look out the windows, shuffle my butt around in the seat. I am starting to worry that when I start driving the dam little red car, I wont want to drive my '89 GT-S any more.
The seats feel firmer and more comfortable than the ones in my GT-S, and don't have the kind of wear the GT-S seats show.

 

[trucke]

I sat in mine for the first time a couple of days ago, and just felt it out..........you know what I mean? Just feel the steering, look at the dash, look out the windows, shuffle my butt around in the seat. I am starting to worry that when I start driving the dam little red car, I wont want to drive my '89 GT-S any more.
The seats feel firmer and more comfortable than the ones in my GT-S, and don't have the kind of wear the GT-S seats show.

With a 4agze in it you won't want to drive anything else! I'm really enjoying mine, it's just .... slow. The seats are very comfortable, even on long trips.:thumbsup:

The parts car was a Craigslist find. It was in Rock Hill, SC. We agreed on $300 for it. It is unmolested. It still has the original struts with 250,000 miles. My kids love to sit in it while i push the suspension down .. 'do it again Daddy' they say. I just goes and goes and never dampens. I can use the rear strut shells for the Koni cut-a-strut while the fronts are replaceable. I had to pull the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) off the Silver GT-S for the white car. The dealer wants $240 for the TPS so I'm already getting my moneys worth.

 

[trucke]

Autocrossing the FX16

Finally got some pictures of the FX16 at an autocross. Ran an event at the BMW plant in South Carolina on 10/17/2010. You can see the car on the bump stops under cornering. That will be corrected with a coilover kit for next season. Will also move the interior from the parts car into it so I can run a street tire class - STX due to having a limited slip. You can see the 4º negative camber under braking in the last photo.

 

[Mendonka]

Any chance you might be willing to sell the drivers side marker light from your parts fx? I've been looking for one for about a month now with no luck.

 

[trucke]

Any chance you might be willing to sell the drivers side marker light from your parts fx? I've been looking for one for about a month now with no luck.

Are you needing the front or rear? The front is a maybe. I'll need to inspect my other cars to see if I need it.

If you are looking for the rear, I can part with that. The drivers side and passenger side are the same. The '88-'91 coupes use the same part too.

Let me know what you need. Also post up some pics of your ride.

 

[Mendonka]

I need the front indicator/marker light assembly. The car had previously been in an accident before I bought it. Runs great, I'm in the process of doing the body work. So far I've sourced front fenders and a drivers side headlight assembly, but that corner light has been the bain of my existence. Are there any good web sources for fx parts, finding 1988 corolla parts is fairly easy but fx parts have been a little tougher.
It's an fx, not an fx16. I'm going for economy, rebuilding the carb, tune up, body work and a paint job maybe some suspension work and it should be a pretty good looking econo box that's fun on back roads. I'll get some progress pics up soon. Maybe in the future when I'm not house poor I'll do an engine swap and go for full out fun, instead of economy fun.

 

[trucke]

FX Side Marker

Private Message sent with pictures.

Welcome to Toyotanation. The FX will make a great commuter car. You should see 35 to 40 mpg. The FX16's are only good for 25 city/29 hwy and that is what I usually get. It is awesome that you are rebuilding it. Looking forward to a build thread.

The parts are not readily available. I have found some but if you need several things, the cost adds up quickly. The hardware has been whats killed me, so I made the decision to find a parts car.

 

[buffalohunter7321]

Hi trucky, buffalohunter7321 here.
Would you be up to selling the rear wipper/washer switch from your parts car? I have been trying to replace mine for quite awhile now with no resalts. Also if you have a stock radio laying around I'ed be interested in it to. My email is [email protected] and I have a pay pal account. Thanks Jack

 

[generalyen]

would you be willing to sell the belt moldings?

 

[Skidracer66]

Trucke you wouldnt know if any body makes a body kit or aftermarket head and tail lights for the fx would you? I have an 87 fx-16 gts. thanks

 

[Donald]

Trucke you wouldnt know if any body makes a body kit or aftermarket head and tail lights for the fx would you? I have an 87 fx-16 gts. thanks

If you just want a different look, I believe the 86-87 Chevy Nova headlights (4) should work, but you will need to swap the hood and grill too.

 

[trucke]

Nite Series Video

I haven't posted to this in months.

First response is that I do not have parts for sale currently. My parts car will be needed to restore my Silver GT-S.

There has been a lot of work done to this car over the winter. I'll detail it later. Still working on sorting out the suspension.

This past Wednesday night our local club held #2 in their Nite Series. We run on Wednesday nights using the same course for the season. We run from 7:00pm to about 11:00pm so we do not have time to set-up and learn a new course each event. Below is my attempt at making a video and posting it. This was my quickest run of the night. The car is classed in STX. I ended up 12th overall of 98 drivers, 6th on the PAX and 3rd in Pro class. You can see the tach through the steering wheel.

 

[Donald]

Nice run bud! :thumbsup:

 

[trucke]

Here is an external view from the start through the second turn. Someone just forwarded the link to me.

 

[trucke]

Suspension

Still working on developing the suspension. The front springs are 440# and seem to work well. Now I'm focusing on getting the right spring for the rear. I had ordered 300# springs for the rear from Ground Control. The car pushed terribly. Stiffened the rear Koni's - still pushed, removed the front sway bar - still pushed. The rear uses 7" tall springs.

A friend of mine offered to lend me springs for development. Unfortunately, the loaners are all 8" tall. Had to lower the perches to the bottom, but the ride height still went up some. It's just for development so I can live with it. Once I determine the correct spring rate, I'll order them in the 7" size.

Here is a picturte of the springs. From left to right 1) Hypercoil 8" 950#; 2) Hypercoil 8" 750#; 3) Eibach 8" 700#; 4) Eibach 7" 300#. The car handled much better with the 700# Eibach's. I've tried the 300# and the 700#.

Today the 950# Hypercoil's were installed. I have an autocross Wednesday (7/6/11) and Sunday (7/10/11) this week to try them out. A short test ride indicates better turn it. I'm just concerned that at some point I'll might see snap oversteer. Definitely do not want that to happen on the street.

Here is a picture of the 950# springs installed in the strut assembly. You will notice these are not Koni Cut-A-Strut units. These are TRD shells sourced from TRD back in '89. The Koni's are 8641-1085 from the front of a VW Golf II. You can see where the 205's rubbed off the paint. This is with 35 mm offset wheels.

 

[trucke]

Grassroots Camera Mount

Here is my camera mount used for autocross. A 1" tube with two 'U' bolts and a camera support mount. I can easily turn the camera on and off from the driver's seat. No camera s shown - needed it to take the picture.

 

[trucke]

Rear Sway Bar

I had a request for some pictures of the rear sway bar and mounting points. This is a ¾" diameter bar. There are no markings on it, but I believe it is an Addco unit. These are available from Summit Racing through special order. You can see it is not mounted to the factory tab on the lower control arm, but is attached to the control arm itself. Everything is clear and there is no clunking under load.

 

[Donald]

Here is my camera mount used for autocross. A 1" tube with two 'U' bolts and a camera support mount. I can easily turn the camera it on and off from the driver's seat. No camera s shown - needed it to take the picture.

I had a set-up like that, but I always had a lot of vibration. I tried tying a motorcycle tiedown strap to the headrest and anchoring it to the rear seat up-lock "U". That helped but didn't cure the problem. I had no idea that the empty passenger seat moved around so much.

I ended up buying a windshield mount, but it turned out to be for a close circuit camera. Those have the screw hole for mounting on top. I tried every which way to mount my camera (screw hole on the bottom), and finally added an extension arm to the mount with a piece of aluminum angle. Works great now with no vibration.

 

[eage8]

I have the same mount

I got mine on amazon for like $10-15 or something crazy. I just mount my camera upside-down and flip the video afterwards in editing. it works great.