253 into RA65 Celica.

[LT2K]

Hi, I'm looking for a project car and ever since buying my RA40 Celica one and a half years ago, I've been wanting to collect one of the 1st and 3rd generation also. Since RA65's are generally a lot easier to get a hold of in my area, i've chosen this as a basis of my project car. My dad has a lot of Holden V8 blocks sitting around his shed that with work could be up and running. My main question is what your opinion is on a 253ci powered RA65 (liftback) and what kind of running gear I should have and diff ratios etc. I plan on running a W5x or something similar for the gearbox as I already have one in my current celica and absolutely love the gearbox.
This would be quite a long term project, I'll have plenty of money over the next few months/year or so to begin the project.

tl;dr- Opinions on 253 powered RA65 Liftback.

Cheers.

[litldv8]

253 the power of a 4 banger with the fuel consumption of a 8!
why not put a 2j or a 1uz in it
even a 4agze would make it go good
just because you have a motor does not make it the best choice
neil

[tomvale13]

From what I've experienced of the 253, sure, it sounds like an 8, but that's about it.

[wa5]

253s can be made to go pretty well, as I understand it 300hp is achievable, but why would you bother when they make a bigger motor... 308 or 355 and they can be built to make a lot of HP...

[river]

Hi,

I think it'd sound great. However, she will be pretty nose heavy with all that old school iron up front, and handling will suffer. A W55/57/58 would go well behind it. The current diff may hold up for a short while, but will definately die if you drop the clutch and/or do burnouts. So, F or G series diff is the better and more reliable solution.

If you want that wonderful old V8 sound then the 253 is fine, assuming you accept the poor handling as a side-effect.

If you want the car to go like stink and handle well, then 18R-G turbo (not cheap) or 1G-GTE (best bang for your dollar).

If you want to car to go faster than stink, and handling to be ok, then 1JZ or 2JZ turbo.

Oh, and you can even try the 1UZ V-8 engine!

In the end, it's your car and your wallet, so the result is entirely up to you.

Whatever it gets, I want to see pics of the car and work in progress in a members ride thread.

seeyuzz
river

[frostyadonis]

might pay to check ADR requirements regarding swapping an engine older than what chassis it's being installed in.
toyota ra65 oct 1984 - oct 1985
holden 253-308 engine (red 1969-1977)ht,hg,hq,hj,hx,hz,lh,lx.
(blue 1978-1984) vc,vh,wb.
253 was dropped for the 308 in 1983 (vk) then 4.9

[litldv8]

river has hit the nail squarley on the head
neil

[jabbatron]

..........

[thechuckster]

Being Qld, the max size engine you can put into an RA65 (based on it's listed gross weight) is I think a 4litre NA engine. It'll also have to be younger than the car.

Stay with the W55/7/8 gearbox but a newer motor would be the goods. You'll already have an F-series diff but I'd consider swapping the rear swing-arms of an MA61 in as you'll then get rear disks (I just swapped the whole subframe over).

If you are dead keen on a V8, find an alloy job that has EFI. The car will be EFI anyway so it's just wiring and engine bay where the hard work will be.

I vaguely recall some up here stuffing a Rover 3.5 V8 into an RA40.

[wa5]

253 should be OK in anything up to 12 /85 (1/86 being introduction of Unleaded).. I would be trying for an engine out of a VC/H Commodore.. as it will comply pollution wise...

as has been said, a later EFI engine (like a 1UZ V8) will be a better option in the long run.. it will be easier to get decent HP out of whilst still looking legal.. to try and get big numbers out of the Plastic, it will be a cranky pig...

[Shifty]

just because you have a motor does not make it the best choice
neil

Never a more true thing posted on this forum. Go with a modern Toyota engine, you'll make triple the power and more reliably.

[Shifty]

Ps an ra65 should already be f series?

[thechuckster]

yes, but open centre.

[Shifty]

Yeah was referring to this:

The current diff may hold up for a short while, but will definately die if you drop the clutch and/or do burnouts. So, F or G series diff is the better and more reliable solution.