Hiro Protagonist

Looks like your everyday run-of-the-mill 5ME to me

5M is a 2.8L motor, it'll be either a 5M-E (single-cam EFI) or 5MGE (DOHC EFI, same engine as the Mark 2 Supra had overseas). They're older than the 6 and 7M, but still fairly reliable and simple.

Unless it has had serious conversion work, it'll have an M-series engine, and the 3.0L could be either a 6MGE or 7MGE. 7MGEs have a reputation for headgaskets going, not sure about the 6M though.

Trouble finding a block? Unless you're out the back of Woop-woop, complete running 4AGEs are quite easy to find, and not exactly expensive either (probably end up costing you less than sourcing all the individual parts you'll need to make the F block work.

Assuming it's a complete engine (and not bits and pieces from several different ones), it's a series 1 bigport (ie bluetop), the air-temp sensor in the intake plenum is the giveaway (red/blacktop bigports have it in the airbox) Oh, and the AE82s were called Twincams, not SXs (the SX was the 4AGE-powered AE92)

No, the Nova has different headlights etc to the Australian-delivered Corolla - fairly sure the JDM FXGT lights fit though, but they're much much rarer. Better off just trying to find Nova ones.

WGMG - even more annoying when they try and express their feelings/problems via song-lyrics.....FFS, you can't tell if they're serious or they just like the song..

1) I have no problems with being different, but there should be some kind of reasoning behind it (not just "different for the sake of being different"). The Alfa engine has a pedigree and a unique flavour to it. The Astron does not. 2) Any engine can be hotted up to a decent degree (look what the Americans/Puerto Ricans do with the humble 3TC), but for time/effort/cost of getting a reliably powerful Astron, there are many other cheaper/easier/more powerful options that are still "different". And in standard form they are a dog of an engine, so you _need_ to do work to them just to get them up to par. 3) I haven't seen a Starfire in one either. Does it mean that it's a good idea too? No. Whilst being open-minded about left-field options can be a good thing (I know of a guy who is putting a 3RZ Hilux motor into a JZA80 Supra, for instance, and it looks to be a real animal), but it can also be a bad thing (you bypass a much better option simply because it isn't "different-enough"). You can understand my opinion if you stay on this site for a while, we get all kinds of n00b dreamers come in (usually around school holidays) saying things like "my 4K shit itself, can a 4.1L crossflow motor fit because my mate has one in his backyard that he's giving me for free" and then can't understand why the more established members laugh at them. And after all that, if you want my positive opinion on an engine to try, why not have a look at a KA24DE Nissan donk? Relatively abundant (find someone with a U13 doing an SR20 conversion), came in RWD format (in the Navara), reliable, decent power/torque and responds well to mild mods, DOHC EFI, pedigree (used in the 240SX in the US), and in my mind it shits all over a crappy asthmatic 8V SOHC Astron. That, and I've never seen one done in a KE/AE before, so there's your uniqueness (I was actually considering it at one stage when I still had the KE55)

Why the hell would you put an Astron in it? Even for free there are a tonne of better options.

You sure that's an intake and not just a resonator? On all the EFI Corollas at least they run a closed-loop resonator in the front guard (except the EFI ones have the intake on the passenger side), it'd deal with pressure waves/pulses but wouldn't do a thing for ram-air.

Isn't that just a warm-air induction? Pre-heating improves cold-starts (not really a problem in Aus but is overseas).

K-motors have timing chains, not timing belts.....

In the AE9x Corolla the 7A only came out in the RV, the Nova had the 7A in the GS hatch (as there wasn't a Seca version of the Nova) from '92 until '94 (basically the same time that the RVs got the 7A as well I believe) They're not, they just have a FWD-style (ie east-west) engine mid-mounted driving the rear wheels. All MR2s are like this.

That's what I thought anyway, '74 was Japan and as usual Australia is several years behind.

But when did they first go on sale? I thought it was quite late into 1974 (like August), which would make a '73 build date a looong way in advance (although you'd expect a big batch to be made for initial stock, with a steady flow afterwards to account for sales)

Where does it say 1973? Could it be a 1978 with the 8 partly worn away?

North America does a lot more with the 3T because they got it in a lot more cars, thus parts are plentiful and cheap (and that's how they get so much power out of the 3Ts over in Puerto Rico, they boost the crap out of it until it breaks then just drop a new engine in for $50)

Unless I'm otherwise mistaken, an ECU from a FWD AE82 Twincam should suffice, as they ran MAP bluetops in the earlier models. If the motor is indeed an orignal RWD one then yes it would be JDM (most likely from an AE86, or possibly an AA60 Celica)

Nah, just sounds like your boss is a prick, most places I've worked at we've at least stopped work to watch/listen to the race, sometimes even crack out some snacks/party-pies and drinks etc, and we have several sweeps running. Sure Melbourne gets a full public holiday, but the race itself is really the only important bit of the day unless you're seriously into horse-racing, so apart from the odd exception the race pretty much does stop the nation, or at least put it on pause for a few minutes.

Because just saying "WARNING" gives you no detail at all about what is actually dangerous, just the fact that _something_ is dangerous.....

Meh, wouldn't be the first time that Top Gear have staged something to make it look like something else - the more people that start thinking of it as an entertainment show instead of a factual car show the better, because that is what it really is, and making it look like a 900kg KE can pull a 1600kg HQ out of a ditch is entertaining.

I agree with the above comments re "any Top Gear is good Top Gear". But I must say, Kenny/Shane is probably the one that needs to relax the least, he's already the most natural out of the bunch, and the most likable. If anything, Ewen is the one that needs to undo the belt a few notches and get comfy in the role, he still seems a bit like the work experience kid who stands there with his hands in his pockets trying to fit in.

No offense, but copy/paste from Wikipedia is hardly "work" Something like this should exist in the FAQ (half of it already does, actually), but it is something that most regular users on here would already know and have no real nead for.

Yep, AL2x Tercels were north-south, even the FWD versions :P And the gearbox in them has a reputation for being as strong as a piece of tissue paper soaked in water and then ripped into shreds.

As opposed to the British version, which treat the cars they buy with the utmost respect and care..... Like that one episode where Jeremy buys a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow and proceeds to drive it into a public swimming pool trying to channel Keith Moon.