Firehawk's N2 racecar project

[firehawk]

Phew, after about 1200 kilometers of driving and a total of 16 hours on a ferry, I'm finally a happy owner of a 1986 AE86 Levin 3-door. Thanks to Widar for letting me buy one of his hachirokus - I promise to take really, really good care of it!

Here's a few photos I took after we had finished loading the car onto the trailer, and one I took on the ferry's car deck;

http://paranoia.tuug.fi/gallery2/v/jh/ae86/nov19/

Anyway, the plan is to begin by reconditioning the bodywork, which should be started off by stripping all parts off the car, leaving a bare bodyshell. Getting all the soundproofing, underbody sealant and rusty bits off the car should provide me some entertainment for a while, after which it's time to replace the rear arches, patch any rust holes found and generally reinforce the body a bit by spot welding. Finally, I'll try to finish the exterior repairs by lead soldering to minimize the need for polyester body filler. Then - it's time for a few coats of primer and some 040 Super White II.

I haven't yet decided on what to do after the body is finished, but the engine is probably the next in line. I have to decide on whether I should rebuild the current bluetop 4A-GE or go for a low-mileage japanese-import redtop. I'm quite certain that both 20v engines are illegal to swap into an AE86 in Finland so those are unfortunately out of the question as I want the car to stay street-legal.

Yes, and as those sandblasted and powdercoated bits you guys have been flashing off here on the forum looked really impressive, I may have to jump on the bandwagon.