AE82 4AC...what to do??

[Criard]

Ok, I got this car from my grandparents two years ago. my grandmother bought it new in 1986 and was really the only person that drove it. for the most part she only drove it to work, hardly ten minutes down the road.

so it hasn't been abused at all. I don't remember the mileage when I got it, but as of now it's just a tad shy of 100k miles.

I think I might be in love with this little sedan. It may have a little less than its original 90hp, but it hardly weighs 1 ton! just like the lotus elise! lol lol. but joking aside, it is pretty nimble and can turn on a dime (almost :P) I've used a few fuel system and carburetor cleaner fuel additives over the past year and I can really feel a difference in the engine response and performance, it also sounds like the engine is 'speaking' more fully.

I really like this car alot and feel that I'd rather invest money into it than eventually buy some other used car for a few thousand. it's an auto trans, no a/c, manual locks (which as some sort of bizarre safety feature will unlock when the door shuts unless you're pulling up the handle on the outside as you shut it for the front two doors) and windows. I can live without the luxury.
Aside from normal maintenance, I have replaced the front right control arm after whacking it on the curb playing with my handbrake in a snowy parking lot, replaced the brake line after blowing that out, and had the engine flushed out last summer when I got an oil change and the dipstick was black (maybe sludgey? I don't remember).

To get to the point moreso, I'm wondering how much potential the 4AC has. what options are there to do with it? I'm aware I also need to take care of the wheels and springs/struts, and I know that there's other engines I could swap in. I'm just wondering about what can be done to what's there now. just looking for a little extra oomph, not monstrous gains.

thanks for any help!

[AVANT]

I think it's great that you're enthused about the car Congrats on the ride. Just keep the car the way it is. The 4AC isn't so mod friendly, so your money is best saved for a better ride down the road. Invest in some good all season tires and call it a day.

Hop in a corolla GTS when you can, you'll realize the big difference between better motor and suspension. It'll probably make you want one

[Flashmn]

I dont see how its any un mod-friendlier than any other toyota engine, except the dime and dozen, buy parts at walmart GE

[Bitter]

run a topend cleaner through it, and if you really want some fun then pull the fuel line into the carb and spray a can of cleaner through the carb while moving all the linkages around. relplace the plug wires if theyre old and original, cap and rotor as well and new plugs at the same time, you might feel a little difference with all those things.

make sure the cars suspension is aligned, the tires are properly inflated, and none of the brakes are dragging, and you should be able to get some decent fuel mileage out of the car for this summer.

[EverAE]

wooo another ae82 owner! for suspension check out whiteline australia if you want an upgrade. they make a buncha suspension products and kits for the ae82 (and they have there struts custom made by kyb). ground control makes a coil over setup for the fx16 ae82 but im not sure how thatd fit on singlecams? you could always look at paradise racing for engine upgrades for your 4ac. they make a kit with a weber 32/36, schnieder cam, and springs that they promise +40 hp out of. got any pics of the car btw?

[Criard]

it's a little full right now. I unbolted all of the passenger seating so I could move stuff out of my apartment up at school. there's a coffee table, office chair, bed frame, mattress, and a few other odds and ends jammed in there right now (notice the badass skull wheel cover ). I'll pull it out of the garage tomorrow during the day so I can get some body shots for yas.
and now that I look at it...damn my engine bay looks dusty

[Bitter]

get a long bristled dish brush and some engine degreaser and wash it 2 or 3 times, it'll look alot better!

[Flashmn]

fuck brushes, that needs a pressure washer.

[EverAE]

and i thought my 4ac was dirty when i got it...+1 for power washer lol

[freakinbox]

errr power washers can sometimes damage hoses or wiring causing BIG problems in the long run. I would go for the manual labour... if you detail it by hand you can make it look WAY better

[Criard]

I imagine taking it to one of those self car wash places with the 'engine cleaner' option would be good idea?
are there any places I should avoid spraying though???







a bit of cancer forming near the wheel wells and the side skirts/lower door frame. is there anything that can be done about that? file off the rusting spots and cover with bondo? buy a body kit to put over it and pretend it's not there? :P

edit: any other shots you want?

[Flashmn]

power washers can sometimes damage hoses or wiring causing BIG problems in the long run

no they dont, unless you go full blast on the distributor or fuse box.

Only way to fix that is cut that out and have new metal welded in, thats a structural part and you dont want to just file that off and cover with bondo.

[Dra6on45]

nice, I just got an AE82 also, less then 128,xxx, still doing maintenance on it. your interior is in great condition. Mine only has one side view mirror though, was that an option?

[Bitter]

grab some 93-97 steel wheels from the junkyard when you get new tires, that way you can mount 185x14 tires instead of those tiny 155x13 tires! a wider tire will give you more braking traction and more cornering ability, make it more stable at highway speeds, and overall make it a little safer, especially in the rain! the wheels should be pretty cheap from the junkyard and i think are the same bolt pattern, someone here can confirm tho.

[Criard]

thanks for all the compliments and helpful suggestions all of you!!!!

I've been wondering about wheels a little bit lately and what size range I could actually fit on there. the re-welding the frame sounds like a bit of work but I am definitely interested in keeping this car for a while so I might look into that.

the odometer is about 98.5k right now.
the interior is pretty much perfect except for two minor things. the stock radio console was taken out when i got a cd player, but it ended up not working right. so the old radio is just kind of sitting in the bay (and tape deck does not work). the glue holding the ceiling lining on wore off and began to just fall off in the back, covering my rear window view, so I just ripped that out and now I have a slightly sticky white foam ceiling.

I'll get the engine bay cleaned up a bit and post new pics of that, and I'll take an interior shot or two.