NA is going to be limited and depends on how much money you are willing to throw at it and how much of the original engine you want to retain. You can go as mad as you like...

I got the bone stock engine in my '88 AE92 3-door hatchback up from the factory 90hp to 108hp (at the cranck) with just an exhaust and two twin sidedraft 40mm Solex carbs. And I haven't touched the bottom-end or the cylinderhead so there is certainly a bit more in it. And this setup didn't break the bank so to speak.
Maybe 115-ish hp might be within reach with this setup if I were to spend more time and effort on it. Everything beyond that is going to take more work like higher compression through other pistons, thinner headgasket, shave the head and the block, some porting, maybe a different iginition setup, etc, etc.

But those are expensive pony's at that point.

If you want to take it even further, you could even get a stroker kit and/or a 7A cylinderblock and make it a 7A-F or even a 9A-F engine for more displacement.

 

Alright! If I were to go for 9af, what would I nee? And I'm willing to put 10k down into the emgine to get the most power possible, with that being said is there any other ideas that comes to mind? I just need a fun project and this is what I'm going for, aiming for 200-250 hp, I'm not familiar with toyota but I have built alot of B230fk engines, turboed volvo engines before, and now I'm getting into my toyota, so any ideas on how I would do this would be great, thanks!

 

don't bother,, not worth all the $$$ for little gain

 

Not about the money

 

200-250hp with a naturally aspirated 4a is going to be difficult. There were the Formula Atlantic 4a-ge engines (worth a google session), but they went to pretty extreme measures to get to that power. 10k is not going to cut it for something like that.
Wouldn't be very streetable to drive either. 😏

A 7A-FE cylinderblock (1800cc engine found in Celica's, Carina's, Avensis etc) with a MRP strokerkit to get it to 1900cc might be a good starting point. A 4A-GE cylinderhead would probably be the better choice over your current 4A-F head. Either the 20 valve heads or 16 valve heads would be a good starting point.
Fuel injection will get you further with a broader powerband and is easier to control. You'll need a elektric pump and good sized injectors for that. Your carb engine now only has a mechnical fuelpump.

Then go for high compression, uprated valvetrain, uprated (ARP) hardware, cams, ITB's, a nice exhaust header with freeflowing exhaust front to back and a standalone ECU with high redline. You might be able to get near the 200hp with a decent powerband and decent streetability. Would be a nice project. But no guarantees for any of that to get you to those numbers, as nobody really does this because of the costs.
You might also want to start thinking about dry sumping the engine at this point to ensure oil will get through the system and reducing drag and crank pressure etc.

But by this point, we're talking about pulling your current engine, frankensteining a completely different engine from several engineparts and a shitload of money to get to that 200hp. It's basically going to be a racingengine.

I would be looking into a different gearbox (probably E series instead of your current C series) and axles too while you're at it, if you want it all to stay in one piece for a while...

But this is just thinking out loud with money no object...😂

 

Thank you from the detailed reply, I'll definitely look into it and see what I can do, sounds like I have a project on my hands 😂

 

Hey man, if you're up for it, than go for it. Would love to see how far you could push it with what I suggested here.
So please keep us posted if you do start on this 😁

 

if I remember right, mine had a C50 trans, you want the C52, beefier. pulling the engine is the only way to get into it, if you really are determined. the suspension must be beefed up and brakes are not good enough for more power. IMHO.

 

C50 and C52 are both exactly the same. Only difference is the bellhousing. And some say there is a difference in gear ratio's, by constructionwise they are exactly the same.

If he is going to run 200hp or more and even more important, more than say 160nm of torque than a C series tranny just isn't going to last.

 

Look up the Neverlift channel on YouTube. Matt and Niko have some pretty good content on turbo and n/a 4A-GEs.