I've been through a whole heck of a lot with Todd, our family (multi-generational) owned, 1981 Toyota Corona Luxury Edition. Among one of the few final US offered Corona's, this one has made it through my grandfather, my dad, my sister, and still working for me. Not to say it hasn't had its problems. It's been through several 22R motors, probably due to poor build quality or maybe I just beat it too much, not sure. The car just recently passed the 300,000 mile mark and now is around 302k.
Over the years, the top end has seen different configurations including an electric supercharger (that did nothing except maybe hinder performance) and a modified Weber 38/38 coupled to a 22R intake and an overdrilled cast aluminum adapter/riser plate that leaked air substantially (never ran right). More recently its had a new 22R long block installed by me and the automatic transmission was rebuilt a couple years ago. This car really would benefit from a manual transmission (w58 swap) though, which may come in the future if the unibody doesnt rust apart too much more...
AS FOR THE 20/22R HYBRID title...
After much mental debate over what to do for some actual power in my Corona, I decided to try the hybrid 20/22R route and see where it landed me. Prior to this I had considered a 2jzgte, a 7mge, a Nissan SR20DET, and a 22RTE. Since its a rare classic toyota automobile and technically still owned by my father, maintaining the stock engine and drivetrain is of importance.
So far, I have been acquiring parts bit by bit and still have a few important things to buy before I'm ready to take the car down for a couple days.
FIRST, I purchased a used intake manifold meant for a 1976 1977 TOYOTA CELICA with a 20R. Picked it up with a winning bid of $10.50 and shipped to Central Pennsylvania from CANADA for $25.00. It looked like the following on ebay:
As you can see in the pictures above and below, these older 20R intake manifolds have no provision for the EGR tube that is found on the 22R intakes next to the carburetor surface. This 'should' help improve velocity/flow because there will be less tendency for the intake mixture to flow in a direction other than towards the intake runners and should cause less turbulence directly below the carb. It should also allow for a cleaner install on the intake side of the motor.
When I got it home I took some pictures just to document it.
Some other things to note about this manifold that I don't remember from the 22R manifold include the coolant channels that flow up to the base of the carb and, with an intermediate plate, allow coolant to surround the base of the carburetor. These two channels will be plugged on the bottom side of the manifold in an attempt to stop the coolant flow to the base of the carb and possibly keep the mixture cooler and denser - also avoid a possible coolant leak in the future. I am worried, however, that the channels actually helped keep the carb cooler as the manifold soaks up heat while the engine is running. Honestly, I dont think that what I do either way will make much of a difference, but I am going to plug them anyway. Also, the fitting that was located at the bottom of the manifold on the 22R intake that allowed coolant to bypass the thermostat is located at the top of the 20R manifold.
I then proceeded to clean it up a little bit as I looked for a good deal on a Weber carb and 20R head as well as some other miscellaneous things and performance parts. The manifold was terribly corroded and dirty, many of the plugs and sensors were really seized in their threads. I finally got them out and took the manifold over to the parts cleaner at work. It helped a little but didnt do too much, could've done the same with some engine degreaser or brake cleaner. What really helps in these situations are steel wire brush wheels for DREMELs or rotary tools. They work great and can get into small spaces for the most part.
This is where I made my next mistake. I have a problem with polishing aluminum, an obsession perhaps. I decided I would sand down a section on the bottom of the manifold and see how it looked so I could decide if I wanted to do the whole manifold. Normally after cleaning the manifold, I would just paint it with some silver Dupli-Color wheel paint (it adheres better than the high temp stuff that I've tried in the past). Anyway, I liked the section I did so I made it bigger and polished it up. Before I knew it, I was sanding the entire manifold with sanding bits in my dremel. Two days later and my weekend is over and I'm at a break point, I've lost interest in polishing. I will finish though, no worries.
So I still have alot of sanding and polishing to do, not to mention some aluminum removal from the base of the carburetor mount and I might blend the aluminum into a more rounded opening towards the intake runners rather than the sharp cutoff that it is now. Unfortunately, the downdraft Weber 32/36 sitting on top of the two Redline adapter plates will cause the intake mixture to slam into the bottom of the manifold and lose a fair amount of velocity that it will try to regain as it makes the 90 degree turn. I just recently started thinking about implementing some aluminum plates at the bottom of the intake that kind of curve the mixture to the front and rear runners... more on that later.
In case I didn't mention, I bought one of the Weber 32/36 to 20/22R manifold kits from ebay for $249.99. Came very complete, or so it looks so far. Won't know what I'm missing until the final install of course. I wasn't satisfied with the hardware supplied or the rusted bolts that came with my manifold, so I went on a Stainless Steel fastener spree at the local hardware store and picked up some more visually appealing stuff. I like it shiny...
I'll probably edit this post at some point when I realize what I forgot to write. Let me know if you have any questions about what I'm doing. Hope this is interesting to someone other than just me....
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