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I just picked up a '83 Starlet for my son who will be 16 next December. In the mean time we're going to do a "father-son" thing on the car. It will be his transportation to school and work so it'll have to be somewhat reliable. Any suggestions for this D/E Mod conversion would be appreciated.

Brian

build the car up for Street Mod...and then you could just have the class killer car...itty bitty toyota vs the big bimmers...

its the car most of the class worry about...but a built one is like a unicorn...make it exist.

that and it would be one hell of a street car

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"If speed kills..then do brakes save lives???"

Originally posted by Cr0usEEE: build the car up for Street Mod...and then you could just have the class killer car...itty bitty toyota vs the big bimmers... its the car most of the class worry about...but a built one is like a unicorn...make it exist. that and it would be one hell of a street car

That's correct. We have Starlets in D mod, but they're heavier than the minium. A Toyota Tundra V8 would make it scoot in SM.
Del Long

here's a DMod Starlet owned by Redstar Racing, CA



the 4AG conversion(corolla GTS) is the most common of engine/drivetrain swaps. but talk to cbramey, I think he's got the perfect formula in paper :rolleyes:

here's my SM daily driver

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Ed
SM2 82

That Red Star Starlet belongs to Tito Solis, a very fast car, but, when I last talked to Tito, he decided not to go to Topeka because he didn't feel the car was really competitive with the top D Mod cars.
--Pat Kelly

That is understandable...I think the best class would be Street Mod since the car will be used as transportation 1st and autoxed 2nd. The car weighs somewhere around 1800 pounds now. minimum weight for SM is 2200. The addition of a roll cage and a larger engine/trans/differential will chew up some of the 400 pounds I need to add. The rest I can use for ballast.

Originally posted by c21brian: That is understandable...I think the best class would be Street Mod since the car will be used as transportation 1st and autoxed 2nd. The car weighs somewhere around 1800 pounds now. minimum weight for SM is 2200. The addition of a roll cage and a larger engine/trans/differential will chew up some of the 400 pounds I need to add. The rest I can use for ballast.

run in SM2 then, minimum is 1900lbs, lose the rollcage. i have a 4AG/tranny/diff swap and its 1900+ lbs with race wheels/tires @ 1/2 tank of gas, no back seat.

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Ed
SM2 82

I'm not that familiar with the SM rules, but Tito's car is not legal for street use. And I'm sure it weighs less than 1800#, probably around 1300#.
--Pat K

Originally posted by Pat Kelly: I'm not that familiar with the SM rules, but Tito's car is not legal for street use. And I'm sure it weighs less than 1800#, probably around 1300#. --Pat K

Just a guess, but it would probably be easier to start over with a stock Starlet than make Tito's car SM/SM2 legal. I see lots of required parts missing - and who knows what he's done to the chassis & suspension.

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Steve Garnjobst
#75 DP
Featuring 100 less horsepower for 2010!
http://www.mnautox.com/

Tito's car will never be SM... Its too built into a DM car.
I think his car is around 1400 lbs.

Scott Fraser

Does the Starlet use a leaf spring rear suspension, or something more modern with coil springs?

I think I need to build one of these with my son too. I'm not sure if I can get my wife to buy in on the idea as my son is only 5 months old. Hmmm.

Could be a great SM car. :coolgleam:

Originally posted by lingo: Does the Starlet use a leaf spring rear suspension, or something more modern with coil springs?

coilsprings & shocks. coilovers are also available

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Ed
SM2 82

I'm assuming the 4AGE engine would be the simplest conversion since so many have done this. Is there a light weight Toyota V6 that would be small enough to fit in the engine bay without cutting? The torque that some 3.0 V6's put out would really move this car out of the corners with the right gearing.

What about a Tacoma I4? Seems like gobs of torque based on driving one.

guys, try toyotastarletracing yahoogroups
i believe the 22R (tacoma?) motor has been done, this is a popular conversion for bigger budget teams. the 3SGE Altezza motor has been done as well

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Ed
SM2 82