'79 XT130 Corona

[mdking97]

Absolutely fell in love with this car and it was right in my budget,
however it does a few problems. Basically it cost me $750 AUS to get the
car with rust inside the rear doors and a bit inside the boot, but no
structural/floor rust thankfully. The engine runs however a little bit
of white smoke comes out of the exhaust which is definitely not a good
thing and probably isn't helped by the fact it idles quite high.

I figured if I get it to idle at a normal level I may get a bit more life
out of it, but should I work on fixing the old StarFire engine with
300,000+kms on it or do a swap for a holden 202 engine? found a used 202
on gumtree with a trimatic gearbox for $500 - maybe a quite viable
solution.

Will post photos either today or tomorrow

ALSO I have plans to lower the car and widen the wheels for fitment with flares, any help with this would be fantastic. Found a 30mm drop for $250 but is that slammed enough? ;)

[trentmeyer23]

Why would someone put a Starfire in it? That is a terrible engine! I would remove it and burn it! Burn it with fire!

[mdking97]

Pretty sure it came with one stock! That's what I heard anyways, especially since it has so many kms on it!

But yes I will put a video on youtube demolishing the boat anchor don't worry. ;)

[Hiro]

Why would someone put a Starfire in it? That is a terrible engine! I would remove it and burn it! Burn it with fire!

The Toyota 1X is a re-badged Startfire...

[trentmeyer23]

The Toyota 1X is a re-badged Startfire...

This makes me sad.

But yes I will put a video on youtube demolishing the boat anchor don't worry. ;)

This does not.

[mdking97]

Alright I had a look for the more reliable 18R and 18R-G engines but no luck, what other engines could fit the corona? I'm just not keen on a carborated engine because I'm not sure how they work and this is my first engine swap/massive learning curve. Thanks :)

[trentmeyer23]

If you want a reliable more modern engine, you could go for a 5S-FE or a 3S-GE.

[mdking97]

3S-GE looks good and is one of the only engines i could find, seems reliable enough coming from a front end wrecked MR2 because its mid-engined. I don't know if this is against forum rules or anything but I'll link what I found: http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/ipswich/engine-engine-parts-transmission/toyota-mr2-gen2-3sge-engine/1079838484

It needs an inlet manifold, do I need an engine specific one or can i just get one that fits MR2's in general? ANOTHER thing hahaha, gearboxes - what ones can I use that are compatable, what should I look out for?

Sorry if this is alot of questioning but I am also doing a bit of research on it at the same time, this may just be an easier form of information. Really keen on learning how to do this properly hopefully before Christmas. :)

[trentmeyer23]

Would likely need a different manifold, gearboxes can be adapted, have a read around to see what others have done on Toymods, etc. A 4A-GE may also be another option as well.

[mdking97]

Alright I'll take a look tonight and tomorrow and do some research/decide! I'll post back up on here after I have come up with a decision/progress! :)

Thanks for your help.

[mdking97]

I have decided to drop a higher end engine in such 1JZ, 4A-GE or a 3S-GE. That requires me to save up a bit though, mate was selling his car so I scored a free battery (can drive the corona whenever now :D) and I fixed the high idle but it still burns oil :( Awesome car and lots of fun to work on so far though, bought an angle grinder and ready to dig into the rust :) Here are some photos from today showing how it looks.

http://imgur.com/WD9eOGQ,r3rOl8c

[trentmeyer23]

Remember to get the ECU and wiring loom with the engine when you get it. Even better, get a half cut or a wrecked vehicle.

The Facebook buy, swap and sell pages are a good place to start looking.