New member from Seattle

[ryojikaji]

I don't own a Celica but I am researching the idea of gutting my 86 and swapping everything into a first gen. I currently own a 1986 Corolla GTS and 1990 Cressida. Pics of my cars:




Thanks for having me.


-Matt-Panic!

[Blaze86Vic]

Welcome to the board! 4AG swap has been done before. Obviously it requires some fabbing, but it's completely do-able.

The rear end is already the same 6.7" that comes in Zenki GTS's. However the axles are shorter in our cars, so you can't just convert to Kouki, if that's what you plan to do. You actually have to swap an entire Kouki rear into the Celica. Which will require some fender flare-age. But I'm not entirely sure you really need to. I've been driving my Celica for 3 years now, with 150rwhp+ 160rwtq+ running full race Hoosiers on the track, taking it to many dift events with welded diffs, TRD 2-Ways, and GTS LSDs, and I have never broken an axle yet. Maybe them being shorter helps them not fail.

[ryojikaji]

Thanks for the info, I have been searching the forum for a few hours and can't find the answers I need. I basically want to swap EVERYTHING over. All the suspension, the entire rear end, crossmember, motor, steering etc. I don't mind welding up some stuff and bolting on some flares or something. From what I was able to find, the ae86 front suspension fits if you drill the strut tower. I get that it will bolt to the Celica lower control arm. What if I want to use the entire front suspension and crossmember from the ae86? How much wider is the front track of the ae86? How far off is the crossmember at the mounts? These are questions I couldn't find by searching. I don't mind the work at all, I just want to know what I'm getting into. Everything on my ae86 is aftermarket and I would prefer to keep as much of it as possible. Thoughts?

Thanks again for the welcome


-Matt

[will]

Hey Matt. It's Will. Welcome to the board.
(we've talk a few times at drift office, at evergreen, and a a meet or two)
I've got the Pluto beige 72 Celi
I do know the ae86 xmem will fit but need to redrill 2 holes and cut 1 or 2 inches out of middle.. Then readjust the length of the motor mounts..
A semi custom trans xmem will need fab'd.
The ae86 rear is to wide unless you want to cut and add big flares..
The other stuff is minor..

[ryojikaji]

Hey Will! Of course I remember you. So how much wider are we talking in the rear? I saw some pics of celicas with 15x8 +0 and they still looked sunk in. If anything, I would want another 2" on each side with some bolt on flares. Do you have any idea about the front stuff?


-Thanks
Matt

[Blaze86Vic]

It's about 3-4" wider. I'm not sure of the exact measurement, but I have compared AE86 axles to mine and they were each about 2" longer.

I would really think that it would be easier to make the Celica engine cross member work with the 4AG and rack, rather than swapping out the hole thing. It's about the same fab work, but with the AE86 crossmember you will be moving the lower control arm mounts, maybe in a way you don't want....maybe in a good way.

[will]

It's about 3-4" wider. I'm not sure of the exact measurement, but I have compared AE86 axles to mine and they were each about 2" longer.

I would really think that it would be easier to make the Celica engine cross member work with the 4AG and rack, rather than swapping out the hole thing. It's about the same fab work, but with the AE86 crossmember you will be moving the lower control arm mounts, maybe in a way you don't want....maybe in a good way.

4age are front sump, he would need a custom xmem or a carina one(rare as hell)
using the ae86 xmem would be easier, then just need to shorten the inner motor mounts, and make new rack
brackets, etc.

i don't have an assembled ae86 rear, but i have one in pieces. i can check in the next few days widths of both.
it is 3-4" if memory serves me right. with some fwd offsets and flares i dont see why it wouldn't work.
might need custom links though. oh and the rear spings are 5.5" on the ae86 rear and 5" on the celica.
get a beehive shaped spring and avoid cutting the spring pockets on the car.
swap over the braking system and your celi with a ae86 chassis

Matt, have you found a donor car yet?(RA21) if not i might know a guy that has a shell.(or a couple been on craigs lately)

[ryojikaji]

Why would I need to make new ps rack brackets? Here is what I'm thinking:

take motor out of 86
unbolt struts and crossmember
roll entire front end (with the tires still on it) under celica
set celica down
use welder and metal to make everything fit

Is there really some advantage to keeping anything from the celica besides the body? If you are thinking "wouldn't that just be an 86 with a different body?" The answer is yes, that is essentially what I want.

Been looking for more info on the rear, any thoughts on this? It says the 86 rear end is 40mm wider in total, does that sound right to you guys?

http://www.jdmlegends.com/blog/?p=824

The wheelbase for the ae86 and ra21 are EXACTLY the same at 2400mm. As long as I have room in the engine bay, I think positioning the crossmember to retain the ae86 lower control arms and steering shouldn't be too hard.

The ae86 is 1" wider and almost 400lbs heavier. The more I research, the more I like these numbers

-Thanks
Matt

[will]

4age xmem is 1-2" wider then the celica one. just cutting the metal out of the middle then welding
it back together is easiest way imho. you can reuse 1 set of holes on the xmem and just redrill 2 others
then both LCA will almost line up, making things easier yet again.

[Blaze86Vic]

The ae86 is 1" wider and almost 400lbs heavier. The more I research, the more I like these numbers

-Thanks
Matt

My buddy has a turbo AE86 hatch back and it weighs 100lbs less than my Celica. And the only weight savings he had that my Celica didn't have at the time was a CF hood. I seriously doubt it's 400lbs lighter in any form. The Celica should be heavier.

[ryojikaji]

I got my info from Wikipedia hahaha

I guess I'll have to wait and just weigh them both.

[ryojikaji]

Ok so I bought a 1973 ST coupe today for $1600. It's actually in really good condition. No rust underneith, in the trunk or engine bay. There are a few spots about the size of a pencil eraser, that's about it. It runs great, everything works, and all the trim and stuff is there. I'll start a build thread as soon as I have pics. I am now officially a member of the family


-Matt

[will]

Nice Matt. was it that one on CL ?
got my number, feel free to call when you got questions.