86 Wagon engine swap

why not a 4age or 4agze?

The 4A-GZE has caught my attention. Would I be able to use my current transmission, just with a beefier clutch? How much if any fuel system and exhaust modification would be needed? What kind of mileage would I expect?

i think so they are from the same family and i think you'd be better off getting the motor from a rwd gts

I have been warned against jumping from 70hp to... what.. 190 hp would generate serious issues with the drivetrain. I've been told that it would not hurt the tranny much, but that the driveshaft could potentially snap under heavy acceleration, or that the diff's could strip, or the axle's could snap, or the CV joints could die 5 times as fast. Any input on this? Other than spending a lot on a custom heavier duty driveshaft, what could I use? What about the other things? Would I have to increase tire size? Could I find a rear axle that would be fairly easy to retro-fit? Would a transmission from a later generation fit in my old 86 Wagon? I'd like to use my current one but if the power would be too great, I'd like a fairly inexpensive retro-fit.


Is it just me or does this kind of sound like a ricing of a Toy?

That's an interesting project. 4a-g*** are from corrolla so you woud get great full consumption. If you dont want to go all the way with a 4a-gze you could probably go with a red top, it's not as powerfull but still alot better then the 4a-c.

Personnally depending on the budget i would go with a blacktop or i you wanna BOOST!!! silvertop. All depending on how much you wanna put. The reason why i say silver or black is because there are very high tech. and date alot less then a 4a-gze. but they will cost you !

if not you can get a 4a-ge or 4a-gze at a scrap yard and rebuilt it.

Alright. But as per my question, does anyone know what I'll have to beef up or retro-fit for power-handling purposes? Don't want to pull into school and suddenly have a diff bust or a CV die due to the large boost in power. Going from... well at this point probably 55 horses, all the way to about 160 horses, which is OVER twice stock, I really am not sure about how those 200,000 mile-old parts would stand up. Not to mention the jump from, what? 70-80 ft/lb to 140 ft/lb torque? I SERIOUSLY doubt that a 200k mile-fatigued something-or-another is going to take twice the torque and more than twice the stock horses.
Or am I just an ignoramous?

Personnaly, if i would be doing this swap ( and i have spent some time thinking about it ). I would get the hole system rebuilt, alot of shops specialise in drive shalf and differentials.... And they could maybe modify them at the same time to take more "abuse" .

Also i would suggest upgrading brakes, suspension and tires. If your gonna be a hell of a lot more powerfull, it might be a good idea for you to be able to turn or stop your car if need be.

I would look into fitting Corolla or Camry breaks... or atleast get bigger pads...

Is there an axle with discs I could swap out? I'm going to at least put performance brakes on the front, whether I upgrade the engine or not. Where can I find suspension upgrades other than shock/struts? Bigger tires I can easily get but might go with a bigger wheel/tire combo.

Shocks and Struts, i would look at online performance part seller Summit, JPEG...

for brakes, I'm not 100% sure but maybe corolla or celica/camry breaks COULD fit. but again it would be a bit tricky to pull off

Hate to revive a dead topic, but to get the 4age to fit you would need to reroute the exhaust around the steering, since it is on the other side from the 3a. You would either need all the EFI gear (wiring harnesses, computer, etc) or spend the money for a carb and custom manifold. You would want the 4age from the RWD otherwise you would need to pound in the firewall to have room for the distributor. The flywheel is larger than that on the 3a so clearance may be an issue. I have heard both ways on this, you may be able to keep the stock trans, driveline, etc IF you were to take it easy on the acceleration, and I've also heard that certain items need to be beefed up. http://www.tercel4wd.com should have some more info and help for you.