1992 Corolla

[Car_Youngin]

Hey guys, I need some more adivce.

Recently I have brought up the fact of making my car better to my parents (I have to do everything through them, im only 16 ) and they now seem to be against me and wont let me do anything to my car because they say "it isn't worth it."

I was thinking of dropping in an 89 MR2 4AGZE Supercharged engine and put a turbo on it with new headers, exaust, etc. Or leaving on the 4AFE and puttin on a turbo, exaust, etc.

What I want to know is weather or not its worth it to make my 92 Corolla better or jus buy a different toyota and dump some money into that. Whats a better toyota if thats the way to go? But if it is worth it, how the :censor: do i convince them?

Thanks.

--Scott--

[james_corolla_cuthbertson]

Hi Scott,

A big part in deciding whether or not the conversion is worth it is the cost - the purchase of the front clip or turbo kit (whichever you choose) is the tip of the iceberg. There's labour costs (unless you can carry out the work yourself) plus tuning costs, particularly with the bolt-on turbo option which will be best set up on a rolling road to get the best out of it. I don't know how insurance works in America, but in England it would be very difficult to get a policy for such a young driver at all, let alone a cheap one. A good idea is better brakes and suspension, to handle the extra power unless you are extremely brave! A decent front clip will hopefully include the hubs and front brake assembly, but don't forget the backs! They're probably still drums on yours! Go and rob the rear brakes off a contemporary gti. You'll also need a new fuel tank (I think your current engine is carb fed) with a high pressure in-tank fuel pump for the EFI. The cooling system will need upgrading, as you will be running a more powerful engine and the radiator will rarely be intact on a front clip. Then there's all the associated running costs, but to be fair you won't care when you have such a rapid car!

I don't have personal experience of A series swaps, but I'd hope that all transverse A-series engines have the same mounting points, which would certainly reduce labour costs. From what I've read, the ZE is great motor with bags of low down torque, which is why a lot of people fit the C52(?) box which has a LSD (early 90's fwd levins had these, AE101, AE111), to help get a bit more of that power down to the road, so try and find a clip with that box. If it was me, i'd keep the supercharger if the car was mainly street-driven, just because it would leave most fwd turbo cars standing in a short sprint - no lag - great for drag racing I imagine! Plus it'd be a lot easier to drive. Could even twin-charge it! HKS used to do a kit but I think that's out of production now, but there's nothing to stop you putting the bits together yourself, but it would involve a lot of work.

Don't forget the other A series motors like the high-reving 20v, which has about 170bhp in the latest jap trim, which is about 25hp more than the early mr2 supercharger motors from standard. Though the later version (levin) of the ZE is around the same power. It's top-end power vs bottom-end grunt - but this depends on your preference and driving style.

Also of note, the 4E-FTE starlet turbo motor could be a more wacky option if you want something different - 1.3 and ~135bhp from stock, but people run cruel amounts of boost on stock internals and get a lot of power (for how long?) but I have read posts from people on this forum with built 4E motors who claim the best part of 300bhp at the flywheel.

You could even get yourself another car to satisfy your performance desires, which would let you keep your corolla as a nice and versatile daily-driver - I did just that and went out and got a ST165 Celica All-Trac! But then that takes up space, time and lots extra money.

Anyway, hope this has been some help, best of luck convincing your folks!

Take it easy!

James

[TOYMOTA]

You may want to contemplate the 3S-GTE engine out of the MR2 Turbo imports. I think they were in the Celica GT4 as well. This engine was built with a turbo addition in mind, whereas the 4A-GE's and weren't. The 3S-GTE wil give you between 180 bhp for a very early one to roughly 250bhp for a later one. Try http://www.jbmotorsport.co.uk/ for the engines. He imports from Japan and then exports to Europe and the US. He should be able to give you prices etc.

[Car_Youngin]

Thanks for the great info. I think i would wanna go with swaping the 4AGZE becuase its different and unique plus it has a supercharger, and i would like to twin charge it with a turbo. I will have enough money and time and will be doing it all myself, with the help of a friend. I think it would be a pretty quick car, atleast for a 16-year-old. Plus it would be kinda interesting to take it to the highway and pull up next to a camero or eclipse and have a little 92 corolla beat the :censor: out outta it, ya kno?

Yea, and about gettin a second car, i cant. I tried that angle once, but they dont want me to have two cars. Some of my friends think its because they dont want me to have a better car than them , and i kinda agree. lol.

Thanks again, and if you have any other suggestions, its all useful.

Scott