corolla auto transmission and parts compatibility for 1983 4ac & 1981 3tc motors

[doley]

I recently picked up a 1983 AE72 corolla wagon with 4AC motor and 3 speed auto trans. Runs pretty good, needs a some TLC.

I found a 1981 TE72 4dr corolla sedan with 3TC motor and auto trans on craigslist that's in immaculate condition, they dont have a title so I wanna pick it up for parts.

Anyway, i have a few questions that i hope some of you can help me verify.

First, are the auto transmissions the same from the 1981 3tc & the 1983 4ac motors? I did some research and if i'm correct they both should have the A40 auto 3spd trans.

Also, what body parts are compatible? i'm hoping to salvage as much body parts that i can. I figure the front end parts, like the hood fenders should be the same. Does anyone know if the doors & bumpers are the same on the wagons and the 4 dr. sedans?

Lastly, can i use the front struts & the brake booster from the 1981 sedan on my 1983 wagon?

I really appreciate any help and advice that any of you can give me. Thanks.

[hardtopte72]

Nice I love wagons although I am partial to Hardtops and Sport Coupes.

Yes the A40 in both the 81 and 83 are the same with the exception of the different bell housing between 3TC and 4AC. However the A40 being as old as it is, is a ticking time bomb. It can fail at any time for no reason simply from being 30 yrs old now. And there are not too many XE7X Corollas in the junkyards any more especially with a good condition auto trans. I recommend converting to a 5 speed. It isnt that hard once you source the parts. All you need is the clutch and brake pedals from an 83 Corolla(80-82 has a different bolt pattern for the master cylinder), the T50 or T40 transmission from any 82-87(82 only if you have a 4A bellhousing separate) RWD corolla, the front section of the driveshaft, clutch master and slave cylinders, a hardline, and flexible line.

As for the rest of your questions. 80-83 Corollas fall into 6 distinct categories as they were facelifted in 1981.5

Prefacelift 80-81 Sedan and Wagon
Pre Facelift Sports 80-81.5 Coupe, Liftback, Hardtop
Post Facelift 82 Sedan and Wagon
Post Facelift 82 Sports Coupe, Liftback, Hardtop
83 Sedan and Wagon
83 Sports Coupe, Liftback, Hardtop

The front ends are slightly different between facelift and prefacelift. If you take the front end you have to take the complete front end. Also the tailights are different as well as nearly the entire wiring harness. If you do strip the 81 I recommend you strip it completely.

The only difference between the 82 and 83 Corollas are the Engine and steering. If it has a 3TC it has a steering box if its a 4AC it has a steering rack.

As for suspension ALL 80-87 RWD Corolla suspension and brakes are interchangeable. AE86 Suspension is the common swap onto older Corollas as it has better brakes on it standard. The only caveat to this is that the strut mounts on prefacelift 80-81.5 Corollas are in an equal length 3 bolt triangle shape. While the 82-87 are in an unequal length 3 bolt oval shape. Changing suspension on prefacelift to post facelift only requires you swap over the top mount from your respective car.

As for the brake booster they are interchangeable a well. However if you want a better upgrade for around 20 bucks you can go down to your local junkyard and pickup a 96 Tercel non ABS brake booster and master cylinder assembly. It bolts right into a Corolla with the exception of you having to swap over the clevis on the pushrod. The brake lines go right on it with some slight massaging and it not only takes up less space, but it is also easily 13 years newer technology.

And as you probably already know the AE86 is a wealth of parts for TE72 and AE71 Corollas. Struts, rear end(GTS), sway bars(GTS), brakes, engine, transmission are all nearly straight bolt on. The wagon will give you an issue with the rear end as it has leaf springs vs. the 5 link rear.

All in all I love these Corollas and currently have a 1JZ 82 Hardtop.

Hope this helps.

[doley]

Thanks for the info, this helps a lot. I wanna make sure picking up the 81 is worth my while. They are asking $600 and claim its immaculate and only has 65k miles on it. It a bummer that they don't have a title.

Yea i've always love the wagons, i think mainly because they are different and being that i'm gonna build this to be more of a daily driver so its a little more practical. Plus my first car was 72 two-door wagon.

Thought about doing a manual swap, but im getting older and lazy and kinda wanna keep the auto trans. Right now my trans is ok, but i figure if i can keep the trans from the 81 for a spare or even jus swap it out when i have time to.

I havent seen the car yet, but being an 81 I'm guessing its a prefacelift, is that the front end with the quad round lights. I might swap the fronts if that's the case, i like the round lights better.

As for the front suspension, so if the struts are good on the 81, i jus need to swap the top mount? That would be cool, im wanna try salvage as much parts that i can from the 81.

Good to know the brake booster will fit too, but thanks for the info on the 96 tercel booster. Im gonna look into those as well. When i bought my 83 wagon, you really have to get on the brakes to stop the car. The guy i bought it from, said he changed the master, but there was all kind fluid in the booster when he worked on it. So the assumption is the the booster has failed, so i hope that is all i will need to fix.

Would you happen to know if the doors will fit? Looking at pics, the rears doors from the sedan look different than the wagon. Hoping at least the fronts are the same. Main thing i need is the exterior door handle and window regulator from the driver front door. Plus my doors have the typical rot on the bottoms, i figure worse case i can use the sheet metal form the 81 doors to fix mine.

One more thing, what about the radiator? If they are the same i probably keep it in case.

All in all, Im probably gonna strip it as much as i can, scrap the rest and sell off all the parts i dont need. Or i will take what i need and sell the car as is. The main parts i wanna get are the Trans, Struts, Brake booster, Doors, some interior stuff. I might consider the swap to the prefacelift. Im jus waiting for them to let me know when i can check it out.

Thanks again for all your help, my main thing is i wanna get in good running condition to daily drive.

[hardtopte72]

Yes the doors should fit right on (but there is a tiny chance I am wrong) from any 80-83 Sedan/Wagon but the body lines are slightly different from pre to post facelift. As for pre facelift I forgot to add for the Sedans and wagons there were two facelifts. The 1980 Sedan and Wagon has quad headlights and everything else is identical to the 1981. In 1981 they changed to two rectangle headlights, but everything else (wiring, engine, suspension) is identical. Another kicker is if you want to swap just the quad headlight setup down the road you would need prefacelift fenders on your wagon. But if you have the 81 front you just need the grille and headlight brackets.

As for the radiator they are different since the 3TC has one outlet on the pass side bottom and one on drivers top. The 4AC has both on the pass side.

Also def sounds like the booster is bad. If you need anymore info join 3tcgarage.com the site has the absolute most old school Corolla knowledge on the net.