by Racer86
3. February 2009 23:52
Here at RSM we love nothing more than the sounds and smells produced when you combine nature’s finest ingredients and apply the Otto Cycle. To celebrate this we will be documenting some really special engines, engines that have been born out of engineering ingenuity and the will to win both on the track and in the show rooms.
The first engine I wanted to showcase can be firmly filed under “motorsport rarity” in terms of its production numbers and intended use.
In 1965 Toyota launched its new K-Series engine; a compact 4-cylinder unit with a cast iron block and aluminium eight valve head. Opening and closing those valves was a single cam nestled firmly in the block and chain driven by the crank. This first instalment of K-Joy, the 1k, was the first of a long line of K Series engines available in capacities of up to 1812cc and was built right up to 1988.
OK, enough history, let’s get to the good stuff and start talking racing! While the K-Series engine is fairly special in its own right (though I am bias!) it’s the Tom’s 3K-R that is the real star of the line-up. Based on the 3K, 1166cc, the Tom’s engine was bored out to 1293cc and featured a unique DOHC 16 valve cylinder head. The engine also featured a Nippon Denso mechanical fuel injection system and dry sump lubrication.
A factory 3K engine was good for 45bhp @ 5600rpm. The 3K-R produced 180bhp at a frenzied 9000rpm. Just think about that for a second...180bhp from less than 1.3 litres! Did somebody say “volumetric efficiency”!?
During the early 1970’s Toyota was heavily involved with touring car racing in Japan, but could not penetrate the strangle hold of Datsun and their Sunnys. With the introduction of the 3K-R in ‘73 the 717kg (around 100kg heavier than the Datsun) Toyota Starlet went on to claim the 2 hottest spots on the podium at the Grand Champion fifth race at Fuji Speedway.
It’s this turning point in Toyota’s racing career that shot the engine to stardom. However, if you’re looking to fill the gap between the strut towers of your own Toyota project I wouldn’t get to excited; only around 20 of the engines were built and while one did turn up on Yahoo auctions a few years back (it was largely incomplete), it changed hands for a considerable amount or money!
Pic courtesy of KP61drift
Still we can dream, and to help with that you should check out this link:
KP30 Hiro – A great Toyota KP30 enthusiast site from Japan with some great pictures (as seen above) of the 3K-R, as well as a great build up section of the owners KP30!
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