Hiro Protagonist

It appeared in Australia in the Grandis and Outlander in something like 2003 (which I class as "early 2000s"), and then the Lancer in 2005. Most people don't go looking to people-movers and SUVs for engine conversions :lolcry: And i was using VVT/VVTi (valve timing as a concept for Toyota, even though they are technically different) as an example because it started out on performance engines (JZ series, 20Vs etc), but then spread to bread-and-butter models over the years. Just about every Toyota engine sold in a car these days has variable valve timing, but it's only something that has occured over the last 5-10 years, despite the technology being around for twice that. There are big differences between "in existance", "available" and "readily available", differences which can be significant when you're looking for an unusual engine conversion to carry out.

Yes, I know that. The first one was the 4G92, in the Cyborg Mirage. So have most variable valve timing technologies, but like most of them in the early days it was restricted to performance models, and Australia got next to none of those gun performance Mitsubishi models (FTO, Cyborg Mirage, Evo, Legnum VR4 etc) apart from imports and the odd Evo and GTO. It was only introduced on mass-produced local models here in the early 2000s.

Only newer ones, like from about 2005-2006 onwards, which got the 2.4 from the Grandis/Outlander, and they're hardly fireballs (unlike the ones the imports got). It's like saying that most of your everyday standard Corollas have VVTi (only ZZE-onwards do)

Generally MIVEC engines aren't exactly common in Australia, most likely to find one in an FTO, late-model EVOs, some new Lancers, and Galant/Legnums, and just about all of them will be imports. Not every model will have MIVEC, so do your research somewhere more knowledgable (like a Bitsamissing forum).

I was implying that people put the V6 in for the torque, which is heaps more than you'll get out of a 20v, SR20 or just about anything else N/A for the price. As far as I am aware, NSW has not adopted the NCOP.

One word - torque. That, and 20v RWD conversions are fairly annoying.

Sprinters are, the Vitos aren't (Mehico and Espaniola)

I do agree that the Nuovo 500 is the best of the modern retro cars (Mini, 500, PT Cruiser, New Beetle etc), sure like most it's changed the philosophy significantly (original 500 was rear-engined, for instance), but it seems to have kept a lot of the character and cheekiness, something that the Mini and especially the Beetle lack in spades.

Bzzzzt - wrong. It's a Fiat Punto (the 500 is based on the Panda, the model below the Punto, and looks significantly different) Fiat Grande Punto (just called the Punto here) Fiat Nuovo 500 (just called the 500 here)

Would have to be an aftermarket conversion then, since the JZZ30 (1JZGTE) was the ONLY one to receive manual from the factory. The non-turbo models (JZZ31 - 2JZGE, UZZ30, 31, 32 - 1UZFE) all had auto.

Me on the left, Cara (MS53CA/MI55KE) on the right, in Noumea last December.

Home-school? Or maybe just during computer-science periods....

Let me guess, you posted a For Sale thread and got no responses? Hmm, why yes you did. Yesterday. And today. FFS mate, wait more than 24 hours before complaining that it's quiet in here. The For Sale rules state that you're not supposed to bump within 5 days of the initial thread creation, and then only twice per week after that, did you even read the rules? Tonnes of cars have been bought and sold on this website, all by people who have PATIENCE. You'd be wise to follow their example.

Nope.

That's not a Chinese car though, it's a VW Transporter (T3). It just happened to have a 2-tonne load in the back and was travelling at 120km/h (despite what the video claims), and was being used to test the facility not the vehicle.

The company has been around for a few years as a hire/maintenance company for Eimco, Wagner and PJB/SMV, as well as mine personnel. Last couple of years has seen our side of the company (we're a group owned by 3 brothers) concentrate on the LHDs, which aren't technically a new vehicle (since they're an existing Atlas Copco product), but the re-design for coal and powertrain improvements will give us an extremely competitive vehicle that is substantially newer, better and more efficient than just about any other on the market. Shorter (height and length) and narrower for the same tonnage, adaptability and attachment variety, the list goes on. We've got mines lining up to buy them at the expense of the other local manufacturers (some who haven't sold a vehicle in the last year), but we're getting very close to the end of the tether, and further delays of more than a few months will result in us losing customers and possibly having to can the whole project

WGMG - A certain south Queensland company that shall rename nameless that has still not completed something we intially expected 2 years ago....and is effectively costing the company untold millions in vehicle sales. Plus it is stopping me from going full-time (there's a freeze on new employment and status changes until the vehicles go on sale, due to the economic climate)

LHDs primarily, although we'll be looking at personnel carriers once we get back in the black. We're modifying Atlas Copco hard-rock vehicles for coal use, plus upping the powerplants to improve tonnage capacity (turning 7 and 10 tonne AC machines into 10 and 13 tonne machines) CAT C7 engines, but with a custom engine management system, underground coal vehicles are extremely sensitive when it comes to emissions and flameproofing.

85kw. Bigport 4AGEs in Aus had 86kw. And never trust the factory power figures for the 20-valve engines, they appear to be inflated - most 20vs dyno only slightly better than 100kw smallports.

Chinese car companies need to stay in China until they can produce a car which is applicable and acceptable for the rest of the world. I know they can do it, look at the success of the Korean car industry on a world scale now (especially Hyundai), but at the moment their cars are SHOCKING. Had a ride in a Geely taxi in Vanuatu, and it felt like the entire car was falling apart around me. And after seeing some crash videos, they'd be putting the car crushers out of business because it automatically folds itself into a neat 1x1x1m cube upon impact with anything more substantial than a rose bush.

Is do-able, but not really recommendable. The 18RG is a big, heavy motor for the power it puts out, plus since the R-series never came out in Corollas (came out in Celicas, Coronas and commercials) so things like engine mounts will probably have to be fabricated. If you want to keep it period a 3TGTE would be more appropriate, or if you don't then a 4AGE or SR20 is very common (and the 4AGE much easier than just about any other conversion). As gets said many a time on this forum, just because you have an engine lying around, doesn't mean you should put it in your car.

Holden is fairly strong on it's own, I'd reckon it'd be able to survive. Fortunately we've managed to keep ourselves isolated from the boat-anchors that are GM cars, last one was the Suburban and we all know what a raging success that was.... Big question would be what would happen to Vauxhall and Opel? Holden sources more from Europe than it does from America these days (although a big chunk of it's new cars are Korean via Daewoo, ie Barina, Viva, Epica and Captiva)

VZ was the first of the Alloytec engines (GM High Feature engine, all alloy), the old nail cast-iron pushrod 3800 came in three different guises before then too, LN3 (VN series 1), L27 (VNII-VR) and then the vastly different Ecotec L36 (VS-VY).

We've got a freeze on new employment here, which isn't good because we're looking at shifting into production mode (still in development now) in a couple of months time, and we need to get new people in here as soon as possible to get them trained and up to speed on the vehicles. But until the first vehicle rolls out the door, we won't be making money. And the freaking engine management system that we were supposed to have completed for us by a not-to-be-named Queensland company 2 years ago is still not 100% complete (in dyno-testing phase at the moment)

RVs are basically top-of-the-line models (along with the Ultima), however they are more like a specced-up CSX than an SX, in that they don't get the 4AGE, they have the non-SX dash, but they _may_ have rear disc brakes (AE92s aren't my speciality). If you're after an SX, then my best advise would be to get an SX, however if you just want a daily that is fairly solid, well-optioned but still relatively cheap then an RV is a decent choice. The 7AFE isn't a bad engine, a lot of people give it a bad rap because it doesn't rev as well as a 4AGE (well duh), but the torque is very handy and they pull just as hard if not harder than a bigport 4AGE. Correct You sure it's a 1994? That would make it either an AE96 RV (late model AE92) or early-model AE102, either way both are 7AFE-exclusive. Or, you're getting confused with an AE94, which did have the 4AFE, but they were never RV-spec (were Ultima though). Wouldn't surprise me if your friend's RV was really another model but had RV badges/stickers on it for some reason, either because of choice or because of replacement panels (or you've confused a 7AFE for a 4AFE, the late-model 4AFE looks basically identical to a 7AFE) EDIT: All this information was checked against Redbook, and my AE101/102 sales brochure