New member, few questions about KE30

[crdiscoverer]

Hi, first of all I'm new here; I own a '78 KE30 Corolla and a BMW E39 (talk about different rides ). I'm from Costa Rica and I believe I must be the only *real* enthusiast here when it comes to my KE30. I usually lurk around Bimmerforums.com since the E39 tends to be less healthy than my Corolla.

Anyway, the car only knows one owner since day 1, it's mostly stock, and it has been well cared the it's whole life. Now, it was far from well optioned when bought, and there are not many places around here to look for parts. I know there is more of a cult around them in Australia so I hope you can help me: I'm looking for the center console and a heater/ventilation retrofit. I'm not so interested in the whole A/C deal since I know the engine may not be capable to move both the compressor and the car

The second question is regarding a 4A-GE swap. I'm not looking for a lot of power, probably around 120hp will do just fine, at least that's more than the 3K's stock output. I know it has been done a thousand times before, and probably there is a guide somewhere. If somebody could just point me in the right direction I'd really appreciate it. That's more of a long-term plan (1 year maybe), because I know the little 3K will not last long.

Newest pic I have (1 week ago):


Older:

[ian]

it looks avery tidy unit
the guys on this forum are great
you will get a wealth of information here
and welcome
ian

[SilverRA23]

Welcome to the forums!

Username Cuzzo had a very cool little Corolla with a 4AGTE in it. The turbo stuff will change things a little, but I think overall there would be enough information in there to help with a 4AGE conversion.

Also try www.rollaclub.com - quite a few guys there have done the same 4AGE conversion.

Centre console and heater unit should be easy enough to find. Corolla parts don't come up on here so often, but should be easy to find on rollaclub.

[crdiscoverer]

it looks avery tidy unit
the guys on this forum are great
you will get a wealth of information here
and welcome
ian

Thanks! That's what I hope. I'm pretty lonely around here when it comes to modding my ride.

Welcome to the forums!

Username Cuzzo had a very cool little Corolla with a 4AGTE in it. The turbo stuff will change things a little, but I think overall there would be enough information in there to help with a 4AGE conversion.

Also try www.rollaclub.com - quite a few guys there have done the same 4AGE conversion.

Centre console and heater unit should be easy enough to find. Corolla parts don't come up on here so often, but should be easy to find on rollaclub.

I will check that site. I have seen pictures of where and how to make new engine mounts for a 4A-GE, however that's only the tip of the iceberg since replacing the transmission, and ECU is not an easy job. Also, the 4 drum brakes will have to go or else that would be a suicidal swap .

[river]

Hi,

Welcome to the forums.

Nice car you have there. Also, don't forget you'll need to put in an EFI fuel system for the the 4AGE. Put up a thread in the members ride section so we can check out your car in more detail, plus progress of the work you're doing on it.

seeyuzz
river

[rob]

try this site for the rear venetian, its in the autoshades section

hopefully he'll post to costa rica http://www.autocables.com.au/

[frostyadonis]

bienvenido y hola
welcome and hello

sweet corolla

what other model old skool toyotas are there in costa rica?

you never notice them before you've acually owned one

[Z2TT]

That is a clean Corolla.

[crdiscoverer]

Hi,

Welcome to the forums.

Nice car you have there. Also, don't forget you'll need to put in an EFI fuel system for the the 4AGE. Put up a thread in the members ride section so we can check out your car in more detail, plus progress of the work you're doing on it.

seeyuzz
river

Yup, I know the whole ordeal must come in: engine, ECU and transmission is the plan. I've seen nice 4A-GEs for around 900-1500 US dollars including the manual 6-speed and ECU. I will surely let you know of the progress as soon as I take care of a few things before.

try this site for the rear venetian, its in the autoshades section

hopefully he'll post to costa rica http://www.autocables.com.au/

I've bought things from a lot of places. Those turn signal/parking lights on the front bumper came from Thailand or Singapore, the seller is on Ebay. Quality seems to be top-notch. I will give that link a shot.

bienvenido y hola
welcome and hello

sweet corolla

what other model old skool toyotas are there in costa rica?

you never notice them before you've acually owned one

I've seen pretty well cared first-gen Celicas. There are some nice Corollas, but mainly KE20's and they are rarely driven since parts are nonexistent. If you crash there is no way to rebuild them. That's why I don't have the chromed bumpers anymore. I can't find replacements That said, we're not many, and mine is probably the cleanest example left in the country.

That is a clean Corolla.

Thanks!

[Sam_Q]

the only 6 speed ecu is the FWD version which cant be adapted. ALthough they are quite sellable.

Have you had a look on rollaclub?

[senn]

Funny that your BMW is less reliable than an almost 40 year old toyota
nice ride, hope you get the info you need

[78Rolla]

Thats a tidy looking rolla! welcome to the forum - there's heaps of stuff to read in regards to the 4age swap, and if you visit the KE corolla dedicated thread, heaps of people (including myself) have done the conversion at some stage!

[crdiscoverer]

the only 6 speed ecu is the FWD version which cant be adapted. ALthough they are quite sellable.

Have you had a look on rollaclub?

You see? That's the kind of stuff I didn't know about. So I'm basically limited to 5 speed transmissions coming from RWD cars for the ECU to work?

Funny that your BMW is less reliable than an almost 40 year old toyota
nice ride, hope you get the info you need

What's funny is that plastics have endured better the heat and age in the Corolla. Those BMW engineers used the brittlest plastic ever, everything plastic disintegrates like chalk.

Thats a tidy looking rolla! welcome to the forum - there's heaps of stuff to read in regards to the 4age swap, and if you visit the KE corolla dedicated thread, heaps of people (including myself) have done the conversion at some stage!

Where is the KE dedicated thread? linky? I'm new and I'm still kinda lost

It's refreshing to read helpful and mature comments. BMW forums are inundated with immature kids and stupid replies.

[SilverRA23]

In the General Car talk section

http://www.toymods.net/forums/showthread.php?t=767

[Sam_Q]

You see? That's the kind of stuff I didn't know about. So I'm basically limited to 5 speed transmissions coming from RWD cars for the ECU to work?

its a steep learning curve isn't it? you can only use one gearbox unless you have a custom bellhousing. That gearbox is the T50 or T40 out of a ae71 or ae86. The ignition system is also an issue with what your trying to do. Hey you might find the articles on my ebsite helpfull:

s-86.com