1970's Toyota Corolla KE25 (TE27) 4AGE Swap

[samg1988]

I used to own a Datsun B110 1200 which I sold to help buy my first flat. It's down south somewhere now still going strong.
Ever since I've had an itch to work on another 70s J car. A corolla was always on my to-do list, so after a long search looking at importing my own car, I came across this which was already imported from Australia by Heritage Project Cars based in Essex. <-- No hassle dealing with these guys.

It was white, unmolested, no previous welding done and relatively rust free.

When it was in Australia:





When it arrived with me:













First impressions were pretty good. Got it rolled into the garage and started making a list of parts I needed.
There was some damage in shipping from Aus as you can see in the photos - Worst being the front apron and indicator lights needing some attention.
The rear boot lid also wasn't flush on the right hand side. Looked like the car had been rolled into something and the tail light section took a knock. Nothing too bad.

Front wings were gone at the bottom. I was prepared for the sills being gone too, but surprisingly good on first inspection.

Floor pans and under the car look great. Never been welded, meaning any repairs that might need done I can do properly and not spend hours undoing someone else's bodged repairs.


Long term plan:
Engine & Gearbox swap to 4AGE / T50. Also the diff.
AE86 front suspension, and brakes. Rear suspension and hub upgrade to AE86 at the same time. Maybe reset the leafs. 13/14" wheels.
Sort out the body work. Bare metal respray, flared arches, fender mirrors etc. (Probably keep it white, but I'm tempted to go mango).
Restore the interior back to former glory.

I'll update this thread as I go.
Cheers,
Sam

[pneuma]

This is incredible. I agree very much with the plans too!

[sotirisaccord]

That's not a TE,it's a KE!TEs were running 2tg and 2tb engines.…

[samg1988]

Feb 23, 2016 13:22:47 GMT sotirisaccord said:

That's not a TE,it's a KE!TEs were running 2tg and 2tb engines.…

Of course not. I didn't say it was a KE, but it'll be styled on the TE.

[kevstarlet]

Sweet, love ke25s. Gonna look great if you follow your plans

[120y]

Sweet as

[JoshO]

Bookmarked, will be following this with interest.

[samg1988]

Got the rear bumper and lights off to take a look at the boot. Didnt take much to get it straight again.



While I was there I took away the old boot seal. Was pretty worried about where water would sit in case it was really badly rusted. This and the front wings were looking to be the main parts of bodywork that would need redoing.
In the end it wasn't so bad. This will get cut out and new metal welded in. Cleaned up loose rust for now.




Shiny new bits started arriving too. New strut mounts and steering arms for the front suspension conversion.
On the lookout for AE86 struts/coilovers to start trial fitting and seeing what else I'll need.

[samg1988]

Progress from the weekend. Had the car started and driving, so turned it around in the garage.
Driven for the last time on this engine.

Aquired a set of coilovers from an AE86. Started taking these apart to get some new shocks in there and give them a lick of paint.


One shock was good, the other was blown and leaking. TRD Tokico shocks, so quite hard to get hold of. Might end up getting a new pair of KYB shocks depending on funds.



Then I got to work on the front end lower valance. This was dented in shipping, so just needed to pull it back out. Figured I'd start dismantling the front end anyway for removing the engine soon.



With everything removed, the valance pulled out not too bad. Will need some more work but happy for now.



Lots of parts on the way...
KE Conversions in Australia are sorting me out with a mounting kit for the 4AGE I have lined up.
They also have a pedal set to help convert to hydraulic clutch, which will save me a whole lot of hassle.
Waiting to hear back on a set of AE86 calipers, hubs and discs too.

[JoshO]

I do like the look of this a lot, what 4age are you going to be putting in there?

[kevstarlet]

Corolla gti front inserts are the same length as the TRD yellows. I always use them in coilover conversions.

[samg1988]

Apr 11, 2016 12:55:17 GMT JoshO said:

I do like the look of this a lot, what 4age are you going to be putting in there?

16v 4age. Still in negotiations, but should hopefully be coming with a set of dellorto 40s all being well.

[samg1988]

Apr 11, 2016 13:16:05 GMT kevstarlet said:

Corolla gti front inserts are the same length as the TRD yellows. I always use them in coilover conversions.

Thanks thats a great help!
I have a KYB AGX from an MR2 rear on it's way already. If it doesn't match up that's really handy to know.

[munky]

I had an orange auto one of these for my first car back in the 80's. The kickdown from the auto box was amazing.
I've been keeping an eye out for a nice one in the last three or four years.
I'm envious!
Keep up the great work.

[samg1988]

Short update.
Got myself a hammer and dolly set to work on the front end some more. Still needs some work but its getting there:



A set of 14" wheels arrived. These will get a refurb and some sticky tyres one day:



Then my AE86 brake setup started arriving in various pieces too. I considered a willwood setup, but for the money the 86 brakes will do just fine for now.
Calipers I have sourced refurbed. Mounting brackets and hubs I sourced second hand, so I have nearly everything for the front suspension gathered.

Australian based company 'KE Conversions' supplied me with a kit for the 4AGE to make things 10x easier when I do the swap.
This includes engine mounts, gearbox mount and a reinforced pedal box now that I'll be using a hydraulic clutch.



Next up is to start dismantling the old engine, exhaust and front suspension. Everything up front is getting replaced while I have the car apart.

[courseout]

Great little project mate! These are a pretty rare sight over here.

Another Aussie company that is good for RWD 4age bits is SQ Engineering. I've been looking at some of his gear to convert 20v 4age engines to RWD (linkages, cooling system parts, etc.) Might be worth looking at if RWD 16v gear is as hard to find over there as it is here

[liquidpug]

Feb 23, 2016 11:32:11 GMT samg1988 said:

........but I'm tempted to go mango.......

No question, you have to do this - would not change a single thing!
(Book marked obviously!)

[samg1988]

Had some free time yesterday so made a start on getting the engine prepped for removal.

The oil cap on the engine was aftermarket, so once I got the carb off I was amused to find where the old one ended up.
Melted to the exhaust...



After many hours of meticulous labeling and bagging of bolts, the engine is just about ready to come out. I was worried about getting the exhaust separated from the manifold with it being old, but it unbolted like it was new!

[samg1988]

So out came the gearbox and original engine.
In perfect working order, so might try and flog these both.



I had sourced some front wings from Portugal.
Test fitted and they look pretty good so far. I'll be happier cutting these up rather than the originals for fitting fender flares at a later stage.



Panel gaps are looking good so far.





And with the bonnet placed on top to see how square it sits.



The kit from KE conversions had a hydraulic clutch pedal mod I was keen to get fitted up.
It's basically an extension of the pedal over to the other side of the box, then a lever into a master cylinder. Holes drilled in the firewall and everything lined up nicely.






Off comes the rear diff and leaf springs.
I'll be looking into getting these reset to sit lower, flipping one of the springs or just getting a whole new spring set made up. I'm looking for something that I don't have to put lowering blocks on ideally.




And then the subframe from the front came out. Next thing is to get the underside stripped back to metal ready for any repairs / undercoat.





Before getting the place covered in dust, I started on removing the interior carpets to check out the floor.
Some water ingress from an old rubber grommet in the rear that looks to have degraded. Rust doesnt look bad... just the sound deadening starting to come off which I'll be doing eventually anyway.

[MK2VR6]

That looks lovely. I love the idea of visiting Oz and buying a car with the plan of importing it into the UK. I guess it's all about finding the right car, at the right price, and allowing for the cost of shipping fees...