Ke55 Engine Conversion.

[RogerRamJet]

Happy Monday and G’day.

 

From the outset, let me just re-iterate that I truly hate these kind of threads. I feel dirty doing it, and I’m exceedingly sorry for doing so.

 

I have a 1979 Ke55, it has a 4K 3sp and it sucks. I have been racking my godamn brain for the past few months over what I should do. From a bit of research there are a few options that I have in my mind.

 

1. 4A-GZE / T50.

2. Build the 4K up.

3. SR20DET

4. Celica motor ( not sure what it’s called, this is my first ever Toyota. )

5. I read someone saying second hand it was possible to put a VN / VP V6 in it? That would be rad with some sort of information.

 

Also with engine conversions I am aware they have to comply with power / weight ratios, upgraded breaks, engine capacity, engine year, etc. So if anyone has any tips in this regards let me know. I don’t want to rock up to get it plated / regod and them tell me that the engine would make it disqualified from being able to be used on the road.

 

Obviously the best bet would be for the 4A. My first instinct was the 4A. I’ve done a bit of digging around for a decent priced engine package, which more or less would include the T50, loom, ECU, etc. I can’t find anything, and the “cheap” ones I do find, I would have to fork out paying $500+ for shipping (I live in Cairns). I have looked on ebay.co.jp and would be looking at around $2000AUD landed for an engine/box minus electrics.

 

 

Second option, building the 4K. I read in the FAQ about doing up the 4K, but it really doesn’t make any indication if the gains are worth the money. I just can’t see getting anymore that 100KW out of the 4K at best (this is just an estimation, I'm not sure what a worked 4K could produce) , and for the money spent getting it to that stage would seem like overkill. Anyone have experience with this?

 

SR20DET. Not as common an option as the 4AG(Z)E and I would suspect it to be a harder convert than the 4A? Yet again, anyone with experience, would love to hear from you.

 

I have about $4000 saved up, I can do most of the inane stuff myself, but I have NFI when it comes to EFI’s.

 

TL;DR? What is the most viable engine swap for the KE55, both financially and performance wise.

 

Inb4 “How long is a piece of string” , “FGI” or “RTFFAQ”

 

Thanks.

[ke70dave]

well with all those mods you are going to require a fiar bit of fabrication, namely the engine/gearbox mounts. and then with the turbo engines you will probably require a bigger differential which is more custom stuff.

 

there is not alot of difference between the gze and the SR20 in terms of difficulty, both need custom mounts, both need to be wired in, and both require "custom" interocoler piping.

 

best bet before you start anything, go and find the engineer that you will signing it off, like i say everytime in this kind of thread, it doesnt matter one bit what rollaclub members think is legal, it depends what the guy that is signing it off thinks is legal. and unforuntaely even if one guy got something signed off as legal from one engineer, another engineer might not agree etc.

 

theres a few build threads on here from guys doing the engine conversions you suggest (sr20, 4agze). most of it is custom anyway, so just check their threads out and pretty much everything will apply.

 

oh and i woudlnt bother with the K motor, if you have the ability,the funds, and most importantly, the time, i would be getting to an EFI engine asap!

 

like you say you will spend 100's if not 1000's on the K motor, and a stocko 4agze will still kill it. and be sooo muhc more driveable on the road, a 100kw n/a k motor is only good at doing one thing...full throttle!

Edited August 30, 2010 by ke70dave

[Neenie]

Hay Pat and Happy Monday to you.

I suffered the same quandary two years ago with my 81 KE55. My first priority was to keep the K as close as possiable to orrigional look, I bouoght it brand new in 1981. So I opted for the 5K motor, looks great as replacement for 4K, slots straight in, no mods required, loves 5 speed box, loves 32/36 DGV Webber - extractors & big pipes. Picked up shitty 5k for $100. and rebuilt myself for another $500. Total mod was $600 bucks + $50. for engineers Cert.

Good luck and spend as much as your passion allows you to.

 

Ben.

[JDM55]

hi there mate,sounds like your serious about an upgrade,which is good to see for once,can't speak for the other conversions you mentioned but on the sr20 subject, 4000 dollars isnt quite enough for that conversion, try times that by 3 or 4 and you will be closer to the budget,I'm doing the sr20 conversion so know all about it,definatley get in contact with an engineer first before you go ahead chopping your car up to fit,said engine,will save many head aches and re working done the track,id go the 4 age for a closer to your budget range,anything with turbo your talking big dollars ,good luck with it

[Sloth]

I agree with JDM, $4000 might seem like a lot (when you think you can pick up an engine for 1-2k) but when you start to factor in all the little things, the engineer and a dyno tune at the end it starts growing dramatically. Make sure you aren't in a rush and you do your homework before starting (read other peoples build threads etc). I recently had a 4AGE Silvtertop put into my AE86 and there were a couple of little hiccups that I and the mechanic didn't know about at the start.

 

You also need to look at what you want to get out of it, do you just want something that is drivable on the road, do you want a race car etc.

 

I have a 7k in my KE55 and it goes quite alright. I think you will be quite happy with any of those options.

[shaded_shadows_KE55]

JMD 55 hit it on the head ive had a really small budget from day one. SR20DE I'm fairly skilled with the tools and still hit well over 8,000 and havent got a turbo. Still have to convince an engineer to say yes which could cost 1000 anyways. If it dosent work out at least you gave it a go.

Edited September 3, 2010 by shaded_shadows_KE55

[altezzaclub]

The 5K with a cheap turbo might do it for you.. old but effective compared to a 4k!

 

Why does no-one look at MX5 motor/boxes?? They're modern, efficient on fuel and already in RWD configuration... The 1800 with a 6speed sounds good.

 

The motor mount & gearbox fabrication is not hard, you will spend more time and money if you have to make up an inlet system and intercooler piping.

 

Good luck with whatever you pick- take lots of photos and tell us the problems you come across.

 

 

This sort of thing-

NA8 1.8 litre engine and 6 speed gearbox. It has a loom, ECU, pedal box etc. I bought it approx 3 years ago from Adelaide Jap as a half cut which I had them strip to save freight. I intended to use it in a Escort but went a different path. I paid $3800 and would like $1900 ono.

Jay

Gunning NSW 0428633367

Edited September 3, 2010 by altezzaclub

[RodgerRamJet]

The 5K with a cheap turbo might do it for you.. old but effective compared to a 4k!

 

Why does no-one look at MX5 motor/boxes?? They're modern, efficient on fuel and already in RWD configuration... The 1800 with a 6speed sounds good.

 

The motor mount & gearbox fabrication is not hard, you will spend more time and money if you have to make up an inlet system and intercooler piping.

 

Good luck with whatever you pick- take lots of photos and tell us the problems you come across.

 

 

This sort of thing-

 

MX convert been done before? Definitely different.