TA/RA possibilites

[suss_slide]

hey folks, im playing with the idea of gettin an oldskool celica either RA or TA series, just thinkin about what can be done to them, my main idea would be to get a 18rg into it, will this be an easy conversion? how good is the 18RG engine i always hear people braggin about it, can anyone find me some info bout it, i know the basic stuff- i.e. 2 litre, twin cam blah blah, but thats bout it, can parts be sourcesd easily?, can you do break upgrades easily?, ive also thought about the 2tg is this a good engine? im not too familiar with it? would it be worth puttin that in instead?

And last of all what are common problems to look out for in these cars, particualry in the rust department, as i might be lookin at gettin a TA22 for 500 with a blown engine, is this a good price?

Thanks in advance / End rant

[sam-131]

dude google is your firend also try the old forums there a gold mine of 18rg info on there and here

http://www.toysport.com/Technical%20...tech_notes.htm

http://www.obrasmechanicos.com/18rg.html

http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/lane/1231/18rg2.html

http://forums.toymods.org.au/index.php?th=17737&t=msg

if it had an 18rc then 18ge will near or very close to bolt in affer

[ace]

First of all, great choice on a car.....
The RA series ie RA23 and RA28 will be easier to fit the 18RG and are overall easier for engine conversions due to the longer engine bay.
They are also easier for brake upgrades, search for the info.
TA23's are kinda the worst of both worlds, uglier front and the smaller engine (all in my opinion)
TA22s will be easier to find as they were made for much longer. If you can find a 2TG that'll be much better than the stock piece-of-crap 2T.
I'm not too sure on parts for the engines but they're all around 25-30 years old....
Parts for the actual celicas can be found on forums and wreckers etc...but they're still rare.
Ask away if you need more info but its basically all on the net...
Ace

[suss_slide]

thanks for those two pages sam, i agree ace, oldskool celicas are teh win! im lookin at the ta's cos there more abundant, i would love a RA 28 but are too hard to find, ive only seen a few in SA, theres a TA22 im gonna be lookin at on the weekend hopefully, its automatic and has a blown engine, this isnt really a problem cos ill be takin it out and puttin either an 18rg in or 2tgue, infact theres a 2tgue at jsut jap for sale for 1300 i think,is that a good price? it would be easier to put this engine in too wouldnt it? i've got one more question, what would i need to do to these engines to give comonwhores a run for there money?

[Trent-KE30]

1300 is incrediably overpriced for 2TG

[sam-131]

second that ^^^ you could get two 1g's for that kinda money

[Turdinator]

Hi guys
suss_slide I don't know that much about the 18RG but the 2tg is a good little engine. My 2tg is fairly moddified. 3t block, webbers, cams, extractors and 2-1/4 exhaust. So i'm not sure how quick a stocker would be but my TA22 is quicker any atmo six i've come across so far. Including BA and VZ falcodores.

I recently swapped this engine between my TA22s. Its an easy enough job. I did it over 2 weekends without any major hassles. But they were both manuals. I'm not sure how much harder a auto to manual conversion will be.

Did you see this thread?

[suss_slide]

hmmm..... might be better to go 3t/2tg then?

p.s. that was great help cheers

[RA23]

TA23's are kinda the worst of both worlds, uglier front and the smaller engine (all in my opinion)

Fronts are the same between TA/RA23.

TA23 is identical to RA23 visually, but if you want to stick an 18R(G) in a TA, you need to swap gearbox and cross member too (and maybe drive shaft/diff?), but there are so many RA23/28's around that these parts should be very easy to find.

Common areas for rust (like in most old cars):
-bottom corners of front and rear windows
-sil and just behind rear wheel
-bottom 5cm of doors
-around battery

Generally you'll find 23's in better condition than 22's, simply because they are more recent, unless someone has restored it of course.

Stock RA23 in fair condition should be 1-2K, stock 18RG in fair condition about 500-1K (incl carbies).
In case you get a 22, you should be able to find a W50 gearbox (from a RA23/28) for $50-100.

18RGs are good and reliable engines. Some parts may be hard to find, but that is a matter of hoarding.... (this is where wife smacks me in the head)

Hope this helps

[Silly Rabbit]

...get yourself a solid TA22 and then pick yourself up a 2TG..(there was one on ebay last week for $400)......put both of them together and hey presto you have a good looking car with a bit of go to it.........it's all fairly straight forward and there are more than enough resources on here or the internet as a whole to give you the answer to anything if you get stuck...that said an RA23 could be a goer with an 18RG....an RA28 is probably gonna cost you a bit more cos they seem to attract a premium these days and a fairly rabid following ..........a TA22 with a 2TG is your best bet and if you can't get yourself something presentable and solid for between $2000-$3000 then you aren't looking hard enough.......best of luck with it and hope you can find something worthwhile

[suss_slide]

well this TA22 im lookin at apperently is fairly straight hes askin $500, but thast blown motor and auto, i recon ill go the 2t option, is it hard to convert it to manual, i might go hybrid 2t/3t motor, but i still gotta check out the car on the weekend and we'll see how it goes, in the end i want something that will run qtr mile of atleast 15 seconds, and be as reliable as a quick car can be.

[myne]

I'd be looking into a 3sge if you want 2L
I believe the last of the corona's had an S engine in it. Crossmember might fit.

If you're wanting 1.6L, dont bother spending money on the 2T. There's a good reason they were superceeded. The 4A has much more potential.

[suss_slide]

yeah but this would be a straight swap practically, maybe i might look into it more down the track.

[sam-131]

I'd be looking into a 3sge if you want 2L
I believe the last of the corona's had an S engine in it. Crossmember might fit.

If you're wanting 1.6L, dont bother spending money on the 2T. There's a good reason they were superceeded. The 4A has much more potential.

the last of the aussie coronas had 2.4lts in them rt142 22r the other then that the st141's had 2sc's which would'nt be worth the bother to transplant in to the old skool celica when you could pick up a gen2 3s for near nuffining these days

edit the sa63 celica also had the 2s but other then that the newer model fwd celicas had the 3sfe's (useless) or the 3sge/gte gen 2 or higher would be the pick of the punch

i say just get 3tgte buy a bleed valve and a intercooler and boost away

[suss_slide]

i cant go turbo, inusrance will be too expensive, plus im not ready for the hassle yet. In other words im a bit of a pussy