Ra28 gearbox

[Rusty]

Hi all,

am starting to gather parts before I start the rebuild on the ra28. After much time and thinking I have decided to stay with the 18rc unless a 18rg turns up cheap and put in electronic ignition from a 22re, extractors and a 32/36 webber. Now I am wondering whether a change of gearbox would work in my favor, I have 2x 5 speed alloy gearboxes of out 90-96 model hiluxes one had a 22re and one a 22r. Will I gain anything from fitting the alloy gearbox other than weightloss? Also would anyone be able to tell me what they are I have found some websites saying w55 and others say g5*?

The idea is to make the ra28 as reliable and fun to drive as possible without cutting it up to much/ at all.

Thinking of new bushes and lowered springs and shocks for the ride side of things also a set of 17" rims unless they look crap then will go smaller

Is it worth while going r&p? just I have a ke70 at my disposal on my mrs familys farm

I realize the car won't have mass amounts of power but I would still like it to be as quick as possible and turn like it's on rails just so I can have some fun in it

car will become my daily driver once I rebuild it

Cheers
Rhys

[SilverRA23]

If you are sticking with an 18RC with some basic improvements I don't see any advantage in stuffing about with a gearbox upgrade.

New bushes, springs and shocks will make it handle nice, and I would consider putting new whiteline or similar sway bars on it too.

17" rims will look crap. Classics shouldn't have any bigger than 15's on them... but that is a matter of personal opinion.

The steering on my RA23 is excellent - if your bushes are all good, your steering box is adjusted, I think you will find it steers more than well enough.

R&P upgrade is useful when you are upgrading motors and need to get rid of the steering box for clearance. Also probably an improvement on a serious track car. Other than that you are wasting your time in my opinion.

[river]

Hi,

Agreed.

My rebuild philosophy on Trini was the same... to rebuild a well handling, good performance vehicle without cutting into it.

I got the suspension lowered and tightened up, added a rear sway bar and replaced the stock front sway bar with a thicker unit. The bushes were replaced for the steering and new idler, pitman etc were done. I also agree about the r&p upgrade... it's a waste of time and effort unless you need the space for an engine upgrade or thinking of track work. A rebuilt stock steering is fine for road and everyday use. Trini handles beautifully, like she's on rails. I ipgraded the front discs due to the extra power and she stops on a dime.

You can do some work on the 18R-C but really, you're not going to get much out of it unless you spend big, and when you look at the dollars the 18R-G upgrade is more cost effective. If you go for a carby 18R-G the replacement is bolt in. If you go EFI 18R-G then you need to set up the fuel system and throttle linkages, etc.. and this begins to cost more.

I have a turbo 18R-G, with oil cooler, air-con and FMIC (along with the radiator) and it all fits with a bit of judicous spacing without spoiling the front end or removing the front grill. Also got a W58 gearbox and there was no need to cut into the vehicle for these mods.

17 inch wheels on these cars starts to get into the "gay and overdone" look. I think 13 to 16 inch wheels, when done well, look the best - and none of this shiny Tempe-tyres bling flat-face wheels as they look like arse on these cars.

As far as the gearbox goes, stay with the W55. It'll be more than fine for an 18R-C and also handle an 18R-G upgrade easily. Going "lightwight" isn't going to make that much difference unless you go the whole enchalada and rip out the sound proofing and most of the interior.

Got pics? Love to see a rides thread to check out the progress.

seeyuzz
river

[o_man_ra23]

Gday,

Check the ratios on your hilux boxes. To do this, mark a spline on the input and output shaft, select a gear, and turn the input shaft a heap of times, counting how many turns each one makes. Compare this to your stock W50. 5th will be the main change. If 5th is a heap longer on the hilux box, without the other gears being stupid (1st could be rediculous on a hilux box), then it would be a good upgrade. I don't think you will have luck though, and you will end up redlining first at 10kph...

Like Rivsy, I am also doing a turbo 18R-G RA28, and didn't find R&P to be worth the effort. My RA23 with ballsy 3S-GTE will get the R&P, but it will see heavy track work.

16" rims look the goods on my RA28. I have Speedy Siroccos, rims suited for R31 skyline will fit fine. 225/55/16 rear and 215/45/16 front tyres fit well and look good with that combo.



Just with the tyre upgrade (Kumho KU36 R compound semi-slick) the handling improved out of sight.

[Rusty]

Cheers guys will start a build thread once I clean the shed out

cheers
Rhys

[ra28dreamer]

[QUOTE=SilverRA23;1291668]If you are sticking with an 18RC with some basic improvements I don't see any advantage in stuffing about with a gearbox upgrade.

G'day, noticed your comments re abvove and get the impression u know what your on about, so what i wanna do is pick your brain if ya don't mind. Just got my first RA28 and as always, need plenty doin'. Real good body though, straight with very little rust, but the previous guy got over ambitious and basically just stripped the interior out, and kept nothing. I'm wondering if you know what parts are interchangeale between celicas, compatible with the RA28. Want to keep her looking orignal and not like a tart. Are things like grills, headlight surrounds, dash, all the int trim......... interchangable?
Anyway, thanks in advance for your time, hopefully I'll hear from you. Any advice will help.
Cheers,,..

[SilverRA23]

Hi ra28 dreamer. lots of people know more than me

that said, the interior stuff is specific to the ra23's and ra28's... oh and ta23.

grilles and headlights etc are the same, stick to the same models as above in your parts hunt.

[ra28dreamer]

Thanx for the advice. Finding parts ain't easy, say wot. Cheers.

[egamirrorim]

Rusty, good luck with the beast. Post up some pics!
I have a complete 32/36 weber kit with air filter and 18RC manifold adaptor plate for sale in the classifieds section if you're interested.

[o_man_ra23]

RA28Dreamer - have a look in the general car talk section for the 1970-1977 Classic Celica Dediacted Thread - This is a goldmine of information, and there are people in there that know more about the RA28 than Toyota does...

[ra28dreamer]

Hi O man ra23, thanks man, I'll check it out. Cheers