just bought a 79 hatch

[Moppie]

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.


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.

[Cynical3liss]

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?

[Cynical3liss]

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.

[Toyrolla]

Originally Posted by Cynical3liss

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..

[Cynical3liss]

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

[Moppie]

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


any chance of getting some pics of it?