just bought a 79 hatch

Alright, $400 for a 79 corolla hatchback, runs great, 144k miles, looks like crap inside and out.

Any aftermarket parts avail. to make these cars fun or not really?

My other car is a 89 camaro and there are tons of things that can be done to them easily and lots of resources to learn how. Anything like that for an old corolla?

Also, is anything compatible from newer ones? seats, rims....anything really

Yes, there are lots of parts available for that engine, you can even swap in some alternate ones.. you can go as fast as you want with the 2tc or 3tc engines, which is what you have under the hood if you are in the us. They make cams, pistons, weber carbs, for this engine. People have even added turbos to this engine. It is a hemi pushrod engine, and is very popular to customize in puerto rico from what I hear.

Wow, thank you very much...I need to find out what engine it is for sure, and then start working on getting it a lil power...just doing a search for 79 corolla doesn't turn up too much, but having some specifics like the engine would. Swapping it might be a good idea too..I'll have to look into it.

Any specific part names or numbers, like that 2tc 3tc would be very helpfull in finding things. Thanks a ton- Chris

Wow, thank you very much...I need to find out what engine it is for sure, and then start working on getting it a lil power...just doing a search for 79 corolla doesn't turn up too much, but having some specifics like the engine would. Swapping it might be a good idea too..I'll have to look into it.

Any specific part names or numbers, like that 2tc 3tc would be very helpfull in finding things. Thanks a ton- Chris


Your engine is a 2TC.

A 3TC from a 80-82 will drop right in.

You can also pick from the following:

2TG - Twin Cam version of the 2T engine.
3T-GTE - Twin Cam turbocharged version of 3T engine.
4AGE - 16valve or 20valve versions.
4AGZE - Supercharged version of the 4AGE engine.

If your car is automatic, you can swap the tranny for a T50 manual tranny. T50 trannies came in 2 flavors:

Earlier version - Pre '84 RWD Corollas
Later version - 84-86 AE86 RWD

4AGE Powah :thumbsup:

I have a 78, will the 4age drop in or how difficult is the swap? what advantages do the 3tc offer over the 2tc? Are there any websites you would recommend that i can go to so i don't have to ask a million ?s?

I have a 78, will the 4age drop in or how difficult is the swap? what advantages do the 3tc offer over the 2tc? Are there any websites you would recommend that i can go to so i don't have to ask a million ?s?

2TC is 1.6L, 3TC is 1.8L.

A 4AGE will fit. It's just a matter of working out the ECU and wiring harness, which you will need to order with the engine.

Most of what you're looking for can be found all over the net. The fun part is searching. :biggrin:


A couple of sites to consider:

Club4AG: www.club4ag.com
ToyGarage: www.toygarage.com

Good luck,

Lost where this thread was for a lil bit, just found again.

I have the 2tc with a manual 5-speed tranny...forget the number on the tranny.

=) I'm gonna spend tonight looking up those engines and seeing how much they range from....don't wanna dump too much into this car, but could be fun to get it runnin faster.

Thanks a ton once again for all the info on engines that can switch in..I really don't no too much about cars, but I am learning...the net is a great place for it.

wow, those engines look cheap from what im seeing so far....just replaced a 5.7liter 350....and we'll just say it costed a lil bit more......a little bit more than 3 times most of the 4AGE's I'm seeing on ebay


what exactly is AE86? and TE37?

and how can i tell if im front or rear wheel drive...car doesnt have much power..hard to tell really.

FWD VS RWD? Do a burnout :screwy:

heh ok, wasnt sure if this car would...it will..just wasnt thinkin about it...have only had a manual for like a week now....and it is lucky if it can get up to 60mph =/ ...oh well..ill check that tomorrow.....

so after reading a lot, theres some sort of law about no engines over 30-40k miles in japan? anyone know of cheapest way to get ahold of one of these....ebay, 750+2-300 s&h seems to be the norm for 16 or 20 valve 4age engines.....also tryin to figure out the diff between silv top, black top, pro's and cons for 16-20 valve and if its worth it to go with the supercharged one for an extra 2-300...still lookin for more good info, tons of crap...few good sites ive found.

rear wheel drive....glad too....so far ive been happy with everything ive found in this car....was suprised it was a 5-speed, runs great, passed emissions, rear-wheel drive....tons of guages which is cool.....pretty standard soundin engine swap....

i might try and clean the car up a bit...maybe get a cheap cdplayer and hide it in the glove compartment or some crap and replace the stock speakers...add 2 other small ones somewhere hidden away too

anyone know how the seats on these cars work with other seats? Ill check myself, but itd b nice to hear if anyone else has swapped newer seats from diff or same vehicle...maybe even power seats of some kind

Don't bother. Drive it till it dies.

=) well i actually get decent deals on audio crap....so I can get the car to sound decent for under $100..just got it a pioneer cd player for 30....lil worse than my camaro's deh-6600...but who needs pretty dolphins and crap

..or if you meant dont bother replacing the engine, I think it could be worth it, I actually like the look of the car a lot. It looks much better than the other year corolla hatch's and honda's like it....it has curves..I like this car a lot, and not everyone in the world has one. When I fixed up my camaro, no one notices, there are tons of late 80's camaros and firebirds, and tons with the same exact 5.7 liter tpi 350...I don't see many nice lookin old corolla hatchbacks =)

The seats I just want to know for if I stop by a junk yard...couldn't hurt to look while I'm there, but it'd help to look for something that won't be too hard to fit in there...just bolt right in would be nice.


As far as engines go, the jdm stuff seems more than reasonable, I am talking to a few ebay sellers (I'm eDirectElectronics on ebay) and it looks like I could get a 30k 4age silvertop with 5 speed rwd tranny, wiring harness and ecu for around $900 after shipping...not bad in my opinion...shipping is quite a bit.


I need to know more about the differences between the silver and black top ones, and 16 and 20 valve. I have heard the 16 is much more practical, cheaper and parts more available, but if I'm gonna upgrade the engine why not get a decent one for a lil more and get the 20.

Anything in specific to look for in these engines? I know they can varry quite a bit.


I have been focusing a lot on the 4age so far though..I'll have to look into what could be done to the 2tc also, which would be better? Replacing with a 30-40k 4age or fixing up an old 2tc?

Thanks-Chris

Ok, another quick q..would I need to replace the stock 5-speed rwd tranny I have now if I went with the 4age, or is it alright to just keep mine as is?

A silver top 4age won't fit in your car.

They are FWD only, as the dizzy sits on the end of one of the cams.

You need an early black top from with the dizzy on the side of the head.
You will also need a bell housing to make it fit your 5sp, or just get a new T50.


But, if your going to goto the trouble of fitting a 4age, then jump straight to a 3sge. Similar physical size to the 4age, but its a 2l. N/A they start with about 140hp, and are good for about 180hp with cams head work etc. But! They also come turbo'd, and start at 240hp and are good for well over 400.
There is also a version in the Jap spec Altezza (RS200) which makes just over 200hp stock and comes with a 6sp (but they are EXPENSIVE!).

The N/A and turbo versions are avliable in the Celica and MK II MR2, as well as a variety of other japanese Toyotas. You will need a RWD bell housing to match it to a T50 g/box from a corrola, or a Supra box if your using a turbo engine.

With the right suspenion and brake work it would easily out run your Camaro. :D


Of course any 4age or 3sge swap will need more than just engine work. You will need to rebuild the suspension and find a stronger rear diff. The brakes will need a serious upgrade as well, and of course you'll need wider wheels and tyres.
(diff can come from a Hilux, or custom ford 9 inch, brakes from what ever fits at the scrap yard etc etc).
It would be a major project, and only worth doing if you really love the car and are prepared to sink a lot of money into it doing an almost complete rebuild.


If you just want a bit more power for a trash wagon, then a wild cam, set of headers and some twin carbs will turn the stock engine into a little monster quite capable of over comeing the stock tyres and brakes, but is cheap to build and run.

Another engine to look at...ok, I'm still really new to how all of this works. With the camaro I had a shop do everything, they ordered and installed the engine. This one, I plan on doing with a friend who did his S-10's 4.3 liter just a little while ago.

I don't get exactly how the compadability works, will almost any engine work as long as its for a rwd 5speed, and some are just easier to get in than others?

What does it take to switch a 5spd tranny with a 6spd? easy or pretty hard?

Rebuilding the suspension and rear end does sound like it might be a bit much for me...but also does sound like a fun project. I doubt that it is something that is easily done outside a shop, so I might avoid that.

I might just give the car untill the 2tc dies, then have it rebuilt and work with it a little then. Right now I think it has low compression, so there isn't too much to do other than a rebuild is there?

If so, when rebuilding, what are some things to do to the engine, how far can it be bore out, and what parts need to be replaced for this. Any info you can give on how to fix up an engine would be nice.

Cam headers and twin carbs will help an old 2tc? Anything else? Hood has 2 vents that go through, was curious if I could do some sort of air flow with those.

I might start upgrading things on this car, especially if they start dying on me. Right now it has new tires and fuel pump...everything else looks as if its from 79...my first step is going to be getting it to look nice for cheap. Wax is helping paint a ton, any suggestions for rebuilding crumbling plastic pannels?

holy crap, went to dump and found my EXACT car, 79 corolla lift back in much better shape than mine, 64k miles. It's not on wheels or I'd buy the whole damn thing, instead I'll just buy alot of it in pieces....even though I don't know what they charge. I want the seats, most of the plastic trim interior, lots of the metal trim outside, the horn and some junk under the hood...and a few lil misc things. Also curious how hard it would be to add an actuator to the doors and get them to open by button...I'll have to take off the door panels and take a look.

Right now I'm trying to remake the 8 guages white instead of black. shouldn't be too hard I dont think.

Ok, another quick q..would I need to replace the stock 5-speed rwd tranny I have now if I went with the 4age, or is it alright to just keep mine as is?


You can use the same tranny..

woohoo....im slowly startin to work on this car now...its in pieces now..and i found same exact car with less miles (79 liftback) at junkyard, grabbed some non crumbling panneling off it...once i start gettin it pretty ill post pics

Good to hear your getting into it, having a parts car is a real bonus!


any chance of getting some pics of it?