Race Spec Leone

MUNKEY · Post by **MUNKEY** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 6:49 pm

G'day,

Here is my high performance Racing Leone. Its a result of some high quaility freestyle backyard engineering. I bought it for $250 (about $200 too much) off a bloke i worked with when i was selling motorcycles. Lucky it had a new battery which went srtaight into the the missus liberty so that was a bonus

I planned to use it to work in the paddocks but soon relised it wasnt 4wd as i first thought. so it sat about for a couple of months then we had some new people move in next door and i seen his fj20t powerd datsun race car. i had already done a few track days in my falcon and loved the track and after a bqq with the new nieghbour (gee wogs can put on a feast;)) we just wanted to get out on the track together and have a blast so the old leone became the new budget racer!

First job on the list was to reef out anything in the car that didnt need to be in the car and everything i could possible rip, strip and cut out the rocker went!. eg seats, spare, wiring, door trims, roof lining, half the dash, console, carpet the lot! which all added up to be a fair few kg's

Next was wheels tyres and susspension. I changed the radials for a set of 185/60/13 semi slicks, knocked up a DIY strut brace and chopped the springs with the ryobi in hand leaving my new mate richie shaking his head and muttering that he was supposed to be the leb. haha quit the comedian

.

Then focus went to driver comfort and what do you know richie throws me a brand new bucket seat over the fence that he never ended up using and seems how my welder was on the blink he volenteerd to nock up and new seat mounting bracket in his shed and fit it for me that combined with the new shortend shifter works a treat in the cockpit

I made up a fibreglass intake scoop and done some air box mods and advanced the ignition timming and run it on premium fuel and bolted on a old muffer off my R1 sportsbike for a nice note and it go's really well.

after my first run at wakefild i pulled a 1.22 and after mods between meets my last run on monday i managed to pull a 1.17 which is 1.4 seconds quicker then the daewoo lanos series record with my budget blown out to all of about $650. it is unreal fun and i have an absolute blast in it pushing the big boys around the back section of the track in the bends. it holds on very well! and suprises a few fellas and get a couple of laughs along the way.

I done a concreting job for a fella and he made me a brand new car trailer to tow the weapon to the track in return! so its worked out a real budget racer!

All in Fun!
munk

maxxair · Post by **maxxair** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:01 pm

wicked looking rig that datto. good stuff you now need a cheap wrx transplant, and youll be leaving more than daewoos!!!!

brumbyrunner · Post by **brumbyrunner** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:07 pm

Welcome dude. What a great first post.
So it's FWD and non-turbo?

MUNKEY · Post by **MUNKEY** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 10:29 pm

G'day, Yeah mate its FWD and definatly non turbo, boy i could use one coming down the straight!. I stumbled accross this site while google'n EA82T's.. Id like to up grade to a later model nissan but get a kick out of how this old girl is putting abit of heat on the other cars out there so wouldnt mind trying to get it to move with a possible conversion..

I have the original log books with a full service history and receipts for everything from the 80's all the way up untill about 2007. it was intresting to read thru some of them old dockets and see how the prices of stuff has changed. its been very well maintaind in its life and seems to be holding upto all this stress now ok

This one belongs to 'the hugs n kisses' (mrs) and im forever trying to keep it clean!

spike · Post by **spike** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 7:48 am

ethe p510 looks pretty ugly in my mind ive seen some monsters around but that thing is just urrgg sorry lol.
the leone looks nice though its good to have another racer on here instead of all the 4wdrivers.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:58 pm

Neat mate! Great score on the concrete job, it must've been a big one!

I reckon you should hunt down a 4wd rear end (diff and all) then go for the WRX transplant using the WRX's gearbox too. You'll probabily want to look at upgrading the brakes soon after that! But for a budget racer that equals more dollars than you'd probabily want to spend!

Great stuff, keep us posted!

Cheers

Bennie

MUNKEY · Post by **MUNKEY** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:01 pm

MUNKEY · Post by **MUNKEY** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:48 pm

Gday guys i just got some new pics today. btw how can i adjust the front camber?

wrxer · Post by **wrxer** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:05 am

camber bolts for lower control arms, something like these, if the bolt is the right diameter for the bushing.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Rear-Camber-Toe- ... m3efac9e95
can also use longer brake reaction rods, by pushing front wheels forward you get more straight line caster which when turned gives more neg camber. better like this as it keeps wheels flat on road for better straight line braking, high speed stability, and increased tyre wear.
others on this site suggest xe-xf fowlcan reaction rods redrilled, i have seen that hyundai excel x1 (approx 1988)rods may also be ok and are fully adjustable, but still need redrilling.
perhaps use both solutions so as to maximise bush life

EJ20TLEONE · Post by **EJ20TLEONE** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:13 am

Hahaha... This thing is sweet!!

MUNKEY · Post by **MUNKEY** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 9:47 am

Thanks guys i will try find some bolts that fit..

You can see the front needs it here bad. There might be another second in it for me!

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:08 am

If you lower your engine crossmember, it will give more neg camber. This is what im planning for my 83 leone

Subaman · Post by **Subaman** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:26 am

Because it is a budget race car, a cheap way is where the swing arms bolt to the crossmember, simply drill two new holes further out on the crossmember and move the swing arms out to these, also you may be able to slot the holes at the top of the struts and move them in a little.

MUNKEY · Post by **MUNKEY** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 8:34 pm

Ok ive re-drilled some new holes going by my spirt level two lengths of steel and measuring tape wheel alighnment job ive worked out i have exactly some negitive camber!, the $38.50 saved on a w/a can go straight to petrol money and a trackside hotdog! yippie!

I cant wait to hit the track again and go put some heat on the commondores!:p

Im not sure what tyres you guys run on your street cars but the 185/60/13 yokohamas i find are really good on these std rims.

spike · Post by **spike** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:28 pm

thought id say if your running the ea82 then we can build up a motor for you cheap.
im going to be using mine for supersprints and possible off roading. great motor from standard even better modded

MUNKEY · Post by **MUNKEY** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:16 pm

I could do with abit more grunt. Id like to find a nice cheap EA82T or even just the mainifolds etc would be good.

Heres my cold air induction. I sliced the bonnet with with a grinder then smacked an extension bar thru the hole and hit it with a hammer to get a nice opening.

after chopping the lid i then welded some plates in the airbox to direct the fow to the carby and then made a fibreglass 'thingy' that stops any warm air getting in.

When the bonnet shuts if i put a a piece of paper in front of the scoop and smack the accellerator down i can suck it into the engine bay. maybe i could park it near the letter box and the postie can put the bills in there then ill kick her in the guts and fire em out the exhaust

spike · Post by **spike** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:22 pm

hahahha thats brilliant, nah im playing with the internals noww

wagonist · Post by **wagonist** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:19 pm

Where about's in Sydney are you?

I've got an EJ20T package for sale at the mo (includes ECU, etc), but comes with an auto box.
You'd want an import WRX box with the 4.111 diff anyway for your track work.

For the front suspension, as your's is a race car you don't really care about the handbrake, Liberty or WRX front suspension (that's struts, springs, and front hubs) will fit if you get the lower ball joint hole in the lower control arm machined out slightly to fit (the EJ ball joints are bigger).
This means you can fit any brakes from the Liberty onwards, including the 4 spot versions, and will also change the front wheels to the same 5 stud fitment.
And by using the EJ front struts, you get factory camber adjustment built in.
Only problem is that the lower spring mount is larger and can contact the inside of the strut tower. Coilovers will fix this:)

The conversion to 4wd is really easy (I've done a sedan conversion in the past).
The 4wd rear end will bolt on directly from a 4wd version (all of the captive threads are built into the chassis). An EJ rear diff with fit directly in using the front mounting bracket off the L series rear diff. Some mixing/matching of the rear driveshafts is required & that depends on which rear diff you get.

The only thing missing from the FWD shell is the pair of mounts for the tailshaft centre bearing. you can either cut them out of a 4wd body shell & weld them on (they're only spot welded on front factory), or get a one piece tailshaft made up. If you do the EJ conversion, the box is longer than the L series box, so you'd have to get a tailshaft modded anyway, so I'd just do a one piece.

And seeing as you've changed the rear end, use the drum brakes that came with it, machine them down so they act as a hub for a Liberty/Impreza/Forester rear brake rotor to sit on, and drill a 5 x 100 stud pattern for wheel studs.
You now get the machining backing plates & calipers for the rotor, remove the internal drum handbrake, and redrill the backing plate to suit the L series backing plate pattern.
Now you have a 5 stud rear matching the front end.

I've also got a factory bodykit for one of these. I'm going to use it, but if you want to borrow it to make a fibreglass copy, I'm sure we could arrange something.

MUNKEY · Post by **MUNKEY** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 4:35 pm

G'day, wagonist thanks for all your info!

I got hold of a corolla that im going to play with now so i dont know what im going to do with the subie..

Sorry to dissapoint the subaru guys but if it makes you feel any better i cant yet catch the Leone in my 20v quad throttle body converted corolla..

After all the abuse this has held upto the only thing that went wrong was a leaking radiator hose..

spike · Post by **spike** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 12:03 pm

mmm
id still stay with the subaru.
if your interested i might be interest lol
id like a sedan for track work.
i got worked front suspesnion for one so yeah could be in need of a car to put it in.