Caldina

[fastbob72]

I was reading in an earlier post how potentially the bumpers and grille from the Japanese model the Caldina may fit our Avensis. Looking at these pics here it's quite believable to imagine they could. Some of those front bumpers wpuld possibly look pretty smart on an Avensis. and particularly that bonnet though I think the scoop would look better positioned further back than it is. Funnyily though the car reminds me more than anything of my old Legacy estate lol

[FROSTYBALLS]

According to Wikipedia, the first generation Caldina (1992-97) was Japanese estate/van version of the Carina E, and the second generation (1997-2002) was the Japanese version of the Avensis estate.

After 2002, the Caldina took a different direction and ceased to share body panels with the Avensis.

[fastbob72]

1997-2002 fits perfectly with the lifetime of the T21/T22 Avensis..... mind you I've no idea how easy or difficult it would be to get hold of Caldina parts seeing as it appears to be an exclusively Japanese model

[Konrad C]

Yes FastBob, I remember responding to the following post: http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/164892-caldina-body-parts-for-vvti-2002/

Mike is spot on as usual.

The car was more diverse than I thought with different engine setups like the following: http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/73099-toyota-caldina/

Japan had some monsters!

Not jealous as I am happy with my mundane 1.8 leanburn.

Konrad

[fastbob72]

Yes FastBob, I remember responding to the following post: http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/164892-caldina-body-parts-for-vvti-2002/

Mike is spot on as usual.

The car was more diverse than I thought with different engine setups like the following: http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/73099-toyota-caldina/

Japan had some monsters!

Not jealous as I am happy with my mundane 1.8 leanburn.

Konrad

[fastbob72]

What a twat meant to actually right a reply not just quote then post.... been using taptalk too long haha.

Yeah was gonna say it was that post you responded to that caught my interest but for once in my life it wasn't the powerful engine that intrigued me but the similarity in design and the potential that had to be apploed to my t22 more than anything.

Plus for some unknown reason I always vaguelly associated the name Caldina with a big, rear wheel drive 80s Toyota of some kind, I had a picture of something very square, all. straight lines and angles 4 doors booted with big black bumpers though don't ask me where that notion came from.

And Konrad I nevwr imaginedn you were jealous I know how wedded you are to your 7A - as bloodymindedly as I am to my 1ZZ haha. Though I will concede to the day I die I have never come across an engine that would survive the cooking I mine,I hadn't looked at my instruments once driving home, had enough enough fuel,don't need the speedo to tell me what kind of speed i'm doing unless there's a speed camera or trap around plus was on autopilot. I've had cars overheat but was aware it the gauge climbing and pulled over before it got to roasting n still the head but the first i knew was when the GS was so hot the fuel was igniting in the inlet, shook like a car on 2 cylinders. Took 15-20 mins to cool enough to simply run n half a mile from home figured once the needle was 3/4 hot i could get home cos clearly the damage was done, no motor could survive that without a blown head gasket at least. I was just hoping like mad the head hadn't warped. When it cut out first time the needle was as high as it could physically go.

Seen the remains of my coolant venting from the casting where the cooloant hose is fixed at the front of the head number 4 cyl end. No idea if that was what caused it or because of it but had to wait nearly 2 hours before it was even remotely hot enough to touch.

Cut a gasket from the only thing i could find which was a bit of old lino that had been on the floor or yeears, bit of hermitite for luck and fitted it back together. Still had to wait another couple hours before the engine was cold so i could fill it with coolant. By this time it was 11pm only had time to check for obvious leaks and let her idle till she warmed up and sat at normal temperature.

She ran with a lino gasket for the time i had her till i got my peesent one and you would have known she'd been boiled dry...... forgot to say there was no coolant left when i got her back, none at all.

So believe me I have the utmost respect for that engine, I doubt if even an old pinto or A series all cast iron engine would have taken that, i know from experience a cast iron Kent engine i roasted warped the head like a banana and an alloy head would be bent or cracked normally. I don't know to this day how it survived that, it was so hot the it was preigniting in the intake ports or possibly where the manifold meets the head, for the head to be hot enough to ignite petrol at the manifold face on the inlet it needs to be super heated.

My 1ZZ would have passed away in a cloud of steam and oil beforw it got that hot, I know that. It can't begin to match your 7A for sheer indestructiblity,for reliability I'd say the word is clearly it's a much less robust motor yet mine has never missed a beat, it's not using oil any quicker than any other carbn well above toyotas minimum rate and it has taken some abuse from me since I've had it.Have been wary,kept a daily oil check and resisted the temptation to cane her but that's over a month now and have had her well up into 5000+ rpm now - only in 4th n 5th though,wouldn't rev any car in the 5s or 6000 in 2nd or 3rd thats just plain stupid. So far she's taken it all with ease 😆😆😆

When it comes to the actual way it makes the car feel to drive the vvti is so much more responsive at all times, has bags of low down and mid range torque and loves to be revved though not to the limiter so far haha.Was driving home wed night, clear and dry, not another car insight along a 3 mile stretch of dual carriage way and she did 115 before i got too paranoid..... not at the speed but at the thought of what it might do to the engine to keep pushing.... that was a one off wouldn't normally drive it at those speeds often n never if the road wasn't completely empty besides of there had been a copper in a bush with a speed camera that's an instant ban in Scotland. lol.

So I know you're not jealous n neither am I n I could never convince you my 1zz-FE is as good as your 7A-FE and i'll concede there are many areas where I'd agree with you but it's such a lively, responsive engine and always sweet n willing that it's won me over. Reminds me of going from a 1.6 CVH XR3i to a 1.8 Astra GTE as regards the responsive character of the engine except unlike the CVH the 7A is worth the metal it's made from.

😊😊😊😊

[Konrad C]

Hi FastBob.

I think the 1ZZ is a good engine. I went for a drive in Waqars car and was impressed with the smoothness and the response. The only other engine which is similar is the Honda R18A which is in the 8th generation Civic. Funnily enough whilst with Waqar a Civic and a Celica with the same rating raced passed us.

I will move on from my old 7A and have a rough idea which car/engine I may go for. It will be petrol and Japan - made in UK.

So you are not called FastBob for nothing!

[fastbob72]

The engine the 1ZZ most reminds me of was the X20XEV ecotec I had in my 2.0 16v Cavalier SRi, it had that same low down responsiveness but also that noticeable step in power at 4000 rpm.It's rated at 136bhp compared to the. 1ZZs 129bhp.

Have never driven a Honda of any kind so am not sure what the R18A is like or how Honda's VTEC engines compare to the vvti but right now I'm happy with my 1ZZ.....I've yet to come across anything without a turbo that compares to XE Redtop Vauxhall engine but that's one special engine, I'm sure there's Toyota, Nissan, Honda and many other enthusiasts that would happily disagree.lol.

So Japanese, made in UK leaves room for several makes though. I hope you're not planning to move on too soon. though and I wouldn't slight the 7A in any way at all, if I still had mine I wouldn't feel the need to keep a constant eye on it's state like I do with mine. So far it's not given me any concerns at all except it had used neadly 3/4s of a litre in the first 500 miles since it's return to the road which made my heart sink, had to add more over the next week or so but since then and noe, just over 3 weeks it's dropped by no more than 1mm or so on the dipstick, just over 1000 miles so I feel a lot better about it.

I changed the filter and oil while it was off the road and used engine flush so it makes me wonder if there was a build up of oil residue around the rings or sealing up a gasket somewhere that the flush removed and it took up to 750 miles to seal back up again. I cleaned up tthe engine bay but around the rocker cover and general upper part of the engine that oiliness to the touch of an engine that has a blown PCV valve or blows it from old leaky gaskets. There's no stains or signs of a leak and the PCV and engine breathers are clear so am putting it down a mild leak now resealed.The oil in the sump still has that nice golden brown colour with no grittiness or debris in it. Have removed the plugs twice now and they are the picture of s healthy engine.

Part of me wouldn't be heartbroken if it did start using a lot of oil not because I need the hassle but I'd have to strip out the pistons and put in new rings, hone the bores, head gasket, oil contol valve, etc etc plus I'd modify the drain holes in each piston along with drilling four new ones. It's a big job but I've done it many times now on other engines.

Sometimes if feels like when it'll develop oil problems not if because of all the web space on the subject.I'm keeping an eye on it waiting for it happen and at least if it needed it I could clear several days to just get into it. Feels like living on borrowed time just now haha