New member. first AE-86, engine advice please.

[Skylar]

I thought that too and checked on toyodiy. The bumpers do not have dampers, but they may be on the body(doubt it). The bumper resembles an S13 piece with a foam impact absorber/cushion between the bumper skin and the reinforcement.

[Rice86]

any of the main conversions are fine
16v 4age
20v 4age
Beams
CA18det
Sr20det
Formula Atlantic 4age <--do it!!!!

being USD, quad setup have no clearance issues as brake booster is on the other side, so i would lean towards a more NA quad setup taking advantages of that + it keeps it really original with the 4age motors
16v or 20v, or something with more power the beams with quads
beams and ca18det/sr20det all will cost roughly the same, as whole transmission needs to be upgraded/changed, unless you got the hook ups for cheaper parts

Formula Atlantic 4age cost more then most working JDM AE86, but do it cause its the shit! =D

[Wataru]

BEAMS Redtop is FWD. BEAMS blacktop that came from an Altezza (roughly the same shape as a Lexus IS300 in the USA) are RWD but cost a fair bit. However a fair bit of horsepower from factory(210 for the manual version and 200 for the auto version) and the sky is the limit after that. You can get a 5SFE bottom end with a BEAMS head to make a 2.2L 4cylinder. Use Eagle rods and 3SGTE piston or modify 2JZ pistons and then turbo it too. I saw a RWD BEAMS in an Altezza put out 430rwkw!!!

Transmission, you can bash your tunnel to fit the 6 - speed or if you are chasing big power get a W box. Or step it up to a R154 I heard they are a dime in a dozen in the states because toyota put them in some Tacomas??? Is that right?

But I have also heard that the exhaust is a problem because of LHD. That is probably why someone suggest using a Honda S200 motor because the exhaust will come out on your passenger side. There are a few companies making a kit to make this conversion fairly simple.

I am a yankee living in Australia I ask my sister and parents to find some stuff for me in the states from time to time

[Skylar]

R154 only came behind 1JZ. Tacoma and hilux here got R150 or other R trans but never R154. They have shorter ratios. no idea about strength compared to R154.

[Wataru]

Skylar,

Uhm ever heard of a 7MGTE???

[Skylar]

Hah, totally forgot to mention that part. There's a few places in America that you can buy JZ bell housing alone to convert 7M R154 to suit their $1200 1jz motorsets. I even know the cheapest place sells that them are in Texas. Others dealers can get them but most don't wanna hear anything to do with imports.

[joeschmo_57]

cut your teeth on a 4AG before diving in on something substantial. Plsu it will give you time to get to know the car and focus on other key components.

then you can build a formula atlantic

[randomskate]

20b



'nuff said.

[marvis]

Beams for sure.

Welcome!