That brings us to the AE86 you see here. Navin purchased the car in 2008 plans to take this old and tired hot hatch, and have it ready for an event within the same year. A tall order by any means for a restoration buildup. He wasted no time and tore down the ‘86 to its shell and sent it off to get acid dipped. After the chassis received its acid peel to shave weight, Navin and his brother went to work stitch welding the chassis. Stitch welding substantially increases chassis rigidity by bonding every piece of sheet metal. By using “stitches”, the chassis will have zero deflection at extreme lateral forces that would be common with the glue compounds OE chassis’ roll off the factory floor with. With the chassis complete, Navin ordered up some extremely rare aero pieces, mixing and matching parts from companies such as JBlood and Vertex to get the desired look. It is very rare to see JBlood massaged fiberglass anywhere outside of Japan. Navin sprayed the car in a Sikkens Aqua-green and even went the extra mile to spray the undercarriage.
With the exterior looking proper, attention went into the engine bay. S2K swaps have become popular within the 510 and AE86 communities offering modern technology in compact and light dimensions. It offers a very high output motor that can stay very close to stock and offer just the right amount of power. The final product is an AE86 so well balanced that its capable on taking on cars way out of its tax bracket. A nice touch to the Aqua 86 was the integration of the S2K gauge cluster in the interior.
Quite a bit of footwork was needed to make the most of the F20 powerplant and stitched body. Megan Racing dampers and Techno Toy Tuning links were used. If you’re not familiar with Techno Toy Tuning, they have been around for the better part of a decade offering Hatchi links such as the 4-link and arms Navin’s 86 is using. The result is a suspension that has zero deflection and can maintain alignment settings under the most severe corning conditions. With the 15″ RS Wantanabe wheels and T1R Toyo’s rounding out the footwork, Navin’s AE86 will be one quick car on a tight mountain road or road course.
Navin’s next goal with the car is to convert it to a completely legal Time Attack race car. With the attention to detail that he and his brother gave to the build thus far, we’re sure to see this car in a winner circle soon. We’ll stay in touch with Navin and keep you updated as to the progress of the Time Attack Build.
This SimpleViewer gallery requires Macromedia Flash. Please open this post in your browser or get Macromedia Flash here.
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
Acid dipped and stitch welded chassis | Painted undercarriage and interior | JBlood Widebody (front 20mm, Rear 40mm) | Jblood Sideskirts | Jblood Rear wing | Vertex Front Bumper | Vertex Rear bumper | CBY CF Mirrors | Aerocatch hood pins | Redline JDM taillights | Custom Aqua/green paint (Sikkens) | Grapchics By Shinzo media | H4 headlight conversion w/ Nextmod HIDS
Bride Zeta IIs (driver & Pass) | Simpson 6 point Race harness | Black Suede w/ red stitch Dash | Black Suede w/ red stitch Door Panels | S2000 gauge cluster | S2000 engine start button w/ carbon fibre trim panel | Autometer Gauges with carbon fibre trim panel | Tilton Floor mounted pedals w/ master cylinders | Custom CNC machined steering extension | Custom CNC machined shifter extension | OMP Suede Steering wheel | Mugen shift knob | Summit racing fuel cell | Summit racing battery box | Optima Redtop battery
Honda S2000 AP1 motor & transmission w/ full wire tuck | JSP engine conversion kit | TRD engine mounts | Full SS fuel lines | Custom one piece driveshaft | Fluidyne Radiator (custom piping) | Custom intake (heat rapped) | Custom header | Custom 2.5 exhaust with Agency Power Ti Canister | AP2 spark plug cover
Watanabe Type RS wheels (15×9 -13 all the way around) | Toyo T1R (205/50/15) | Project kics lug nuts | Project kics rear spacers (30mm) | Willwood BBK with Hawk HP+ pads | SS brake lines | Megan racing coilovers w/ camber plates | Whiteline race sway bars (front and rear) | Techno toy tuning NRCAs | Techno toy tuning tension control arms (chromed) | Techno toy tuning 4 link (chromed) | Techno toy tuning Lower control arms | Techno toy tuning Lateral bar (chromed) | TRD 2way LSD | Acid dipped and powder coated rear axle | Polyurethane bushings | SS Replacement bolts
1 2
A few months ago, we decided to hold a contest on our Facebook page to see what our readers were driving. Sometimes when you’re busy building and maintaining websites and businesses, it’s very easy to lose site of who your readers are and what they are into. So we ran a simple contest: post a pic of your car, and we’ll choose a car to use as our default avatar. Well, after a couple dozen submissions in just a few days, we stumbled on Navin’s Hatchi.
April 10th, 2010 marked the return of the Formula DRIFT Series to the Streets of Long Beach. What is normally a bustling epicenter of business and nightlife, downtown Long Beach, is tuned into a motorsport haven for the senses every year. The debut of the FD season in Long Beach has shown once again, that the competition for drifting’s top title has done nothing but intensify, bad economy or not. Our video highlight coverage is nothing short of a major street fight between some of the top names in the new 2010 Formula DRIFT Series. Enjoy.
iUNITE Media Group
Subscribe to entries
Subscribe to comments
All content © 2012 by JTuned™ Automotive Form | Function Magazine
