cairnske70 Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 hey guys new to this website but I have been reading a lot of posts the last few days about engine conversions in ke70s. I am going to look at a ke70 tomorrow to buy. so I am thinking ahead as to which engine to put in it. I want to be able to drive the car legally on the road and at race and drift events. I'm an apprentice panelbeater with next to no experience with engines but I'm not afraid to jump in headfirst as I have a lot of people around for advice. I don't have much money and am looking to do a conversion for cheap. now from everything I have been reading to get change out ok 10k for a 4age conversion is doing well (personally I really don't want to put a 4age engine in as they r old.) have read a few posts on rotary conversions and they seem to be done with not many problems at all. so I'm wondering why not many people do them. the way I see it I could get hold of a wrecked rx8 and just start swapping everything over. custom engine mounts, after market ecu, custom fuel system and not much more. am I right or is there something I'm missing and not understanding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rian Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 (edited) hey guys new to this website but I have been reading a lot of posts the last few days about engine conversions in ke70s. I am going to look at a ke70 tomorrow to buy. so I am thinking ahead as to which engine to put in it. I want to be able to drive the car legally on the road and at race and drift events. I'm an apprentice panelbeater with next to no experience with engines but I'm not afraid to jump in headfirst as I have a lot of people around for advice. I don't have much money and am looking to do a conversion for cheap. now from everything I have been reading to get change out ok 10k for a 4age conversion is doing well (personally I really don't want to put a 4age engine in as they r old.) have read a few posts on rotary conversions and they seem to be done with not many problems at all. so I'm wondering why not many people do them. the way I see it I could get hold of a wrecked rx8 and just start swapping everything over. custom engine mounts, after market ecu, custom fuel system and not much more. am I right or is there something I'm missing and not understanding? - If you want to do a conversion for cheap, I wouldn't attempt a 13B conversion. 4AGE will always be cheaper than 13B - You can do a 4AGE swap for much less than $10 000, if you do all the work yourself you could probably do it for $4000 - You're right, 16 valve 4AGEs are old and nothing special, however 20 valve 4AGEs are a fair bit newer and a lot more powerful in stock form - If you're not worried about costs, and you have the skills or you know people with the skills, then do the 13B swap. I'd say it's not a very common conversion in KE70s because everything will need to be custom/upgraded, whereas a 4age will basically bolt in with the right parts - If you bought a wrecked RX8 there's not really all that much you could use from it in a KE70. There is the engine and gearbox, but everything else would need to be custom: custom engine crossmember/mounts, custom gearbox crossmember, custom tail shaft, upgraded diff/custom diff mounts possibly, upgraded struts with upgrade brakes, custom cooling system, new exhaust system, upgraded fuel system, hopefully you don't have to mod the steering to clear the engine or gearbox. Not trying to put you off it, but there is so much work and money involved, you would basically be modifying or changing every single part of the car other than the shell and interior. Edited February 23, 2013 by rian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cairnske70 Posted February 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 ok cool thanks this is exactly what I want to get from this forum. another question tho. on this forum for 4age conversions everyone uses either a t50 or w55 gearbox now I looked up prices for the t50 gearbox and they were $700+ is there any cheaper boxes or is that what I'm looking at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It's_AUDM_Yo Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 (edited) I was looking at 13b for a little while. Sump is in the way of everything and a custom one is about $400 Gearbox is too big for the tunnel and its a cut out and weld in new job. Which makes rego'd life harder. Also the steering rack is in the way of the exhaust. You really will need a bigger fuel tank also if by any means you want it to be a day to day car. W58 also work. $700+ for a T50 is way too much. Where are you getting these prices from? Edited February 23, 2013 by It's_AUDM_Yo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cairnske70 Posted February 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 ebay :( maybe I should find a better place to look ;P. so I'm now leaning towards the silver top but are they a common engine? I was hoping to be able to buy a whole car with the engine in is to I have everything that the engine needs to run or is it cheaper to buy the engine separately for $500 off ebay then buy only the things I need Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It's_AUDM_Yo Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 20v's (silvertop/blacktop) were FWD only so a whole car is pretty pointless as most of the stuff isn't needed. http://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/29506-20-valve-into-ae71ae86ke70/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altezzaclub Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 The problem is always the lack of RWD motors nowdays, so most motors have to be turned sideways. The only performance 4-cyls would be Mazda MX5, Honda S2000 or Altezza 3SGE, so you can see that the 4AGE is the nearest to a bolt-in. Are you keeping an eye on this? http://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/64392-steerfast-rally-ke30-2-door/ Engine will be a 2.4lt 2rz from a Hiace van with a 3rz hilux head. Are any of the wreckers up in Cairns any good? I hunted through a couple last year but they seemed a bit small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cairnske70 Posted February 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 yeah pretty much just full of falcons and commodores like every wreckers in Australia. I look at a website called manhiem. ill look into a 3sge. I want to go as new as possible while still been realistic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleRedSpirit Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 There are other auto auction mobs, but more obscure to find than manheim. I did manage to get a vgc ke70 through manheim once, in the salvage auctions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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