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1979 TE31


Misael

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What do you guys recommend to start replacing or changing to get some power into this thing? Is it worth it on the 2TC platform or would a swap be more recommend? What engine swap is relatively easy? Appreciate your guys input! Thanks in advance!

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Wow that is a beauty.

don't underestimate the 2TC. I had one in a Celica many years ago and with basic head work plus compression, mid range cam, exhaust, lightened fly wheel and twin Weber side draft carbs it screamed. Plus assuming you are US based, a 3TC upgrade gives you 200 extra cc. This sort of work isn’t hard, and is hella fun.  

The ‘modern’ way is to install a newer EFI engine, but bolting the engine/trans/diff in is the easy bit. The fuel and electrical systems are not. And unless you can do this yourself, will cost quite a bit. 

And then you may also need to look at upgrading brakes etc.  With the T engine, the brakes can probably remain with an overhaul and better pads. 

Do some reading around the forum and go from there. 

Oh, and welcome!  Keep us updated perhaps with a build thread. 

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That looks pretty great. That dashboard looks awesome. 

Plenty of upgrade options from camshafts, to carbies, to 2TG swaps all the way up to SR20 swaps. and 

I personally would look at putting the 2TG efi on the 2tc. if you can find the bits easy enough in your region. But yer all these options rely on a level of DIY to keep the costs below astronimical. 

 

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks for the info guys! I've decided I want to keep the 2T-C in. What do you guys recommend to start replacing or changing to start reenforcing this thing? I have a sligh leak I discovered last weekend from the exhaust manifold. So I plan to change out the gasket this weekend. Going with a FEL-Pro set. Also, is the Weber Side Draft instillation pretty straightforward? 

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Start off by checking the health of your engine with a compression test. That will determine whether everything else is worth doing now. If the compression test isn’t good, you will need to have a look at the bottom end. The motor I described above never had the bottom end touched. 

Then it would be port and polish the head with a shave to raise compression, camshaft of your choice ( err toward the milder range), extractors and a 1 3/4 inch exhaust. If you know a good machinist, get your flywheel lightened. 

Carbs are not hard, the accelerator linkage is the hardest bit.  You don’t need to change to an electric fuel pump.  The standard fuel pump is fine

 

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On 2/7/2020 at 7:20 PM, parrot said:

Start off by checking the health of your engine with a compression test. That will determine whether everything else is worth doing now. If the compression test isn’t good, you will need to have a look at the bottom end. The motor I described above never had the bottom end touched. 

Then it would be port and polish the head with a shave to raise compression, camshaft of your choice ( err toward the milder range), extractors and a 1 3/4 inch exhaust. If you know a good machinist, get your flywheel lightened. 

Carbs are not hard, the accelerator linkage is the hardest bit.  You don’t need to change to an electric fuel pump.  The standard fuel pump is fine

 

Got it! My buddy is coming over next weekend to do the compression test for me. What's the stock compression on this? 8.5:1? What would you recommend to have it shaved to? Sorry I'm new to all this so I have a ton of questions lol! 

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A good compression reading would be over 150psi. 180psi would be excellent, 130psi OK but just so-so.

Have a think about how the cam chain is tensioned-  Their big brothers in the 18RG line suffer timing chain slap readily and replacement slides to hold the chain are hard to find. Skimming the head makes the chain slack worse.

I can't put a figure on it, and 8.5:1 is pretty abysmal I will admit.  There is plenty on the web about how to measure your combustion chamber volume and area and calculate how much to skim off to get a particular compression ratio, I've explained it on here a few times. Do a lot more reading and ask a lot more questions....

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If you have access to decent octane fuel, 10:1 is a good compression ratio to aim for.  Different markets had various compression ratios from standard so realistically you need to measure and work out what you have. Often the pistons will have the ratio cast into the piston crown.  But you can’t assume the head has never been touched previously, although it may only have had a light skin previously.

if you have a good machinist locally, they can probably advise you. 

don't go too far though. It’s no fun trying to drive around a car that pings evrytime you put it under load. 

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On 2/13/2020 at 9:42 PM, parrot said:

If you have access to decent octane fuel, 10:1 is a good compression ratio to aim for.  Different markets had various compression ratios from standard so realistically you need to measure and work out what you have. Often the pistons will have the ratio cast into the piston crown.  But you can’t assume the head has never been touched previously, although it may only have had a light skin previously.

if you have a good machinist locally, they can probably advise you. 

don't go too far though. It’s no fun trying to drive around a car that pings evrytime you put it under load. 

Thanks for the info! We have up to 91 octane here in Phoenix, Arizona. Once I figure out the compression is good in each cylinder I'll update you guys. Currently trying to solve this fuel leak issue I'm having. 😒😒

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On 2/22/2020 at 7:16 AM, altezzaclub said:

" We have up to 91 octane here in Phoenix "

That is abysmal, suitable for low-comp big-block V8s! Cheapest here is 95 with 10% ethanol, although its still US$4.70/gallon, 98 hits about US$5.30!

As Kickn said, don't get carried away unless you want to add octane-booster to every tank.

The US use MON not RON to measure fuel octane, so their 93mon is more inline with 98ron here. So 91 is about 95-96 here. 9.5:1 with a mild cam or 10:1 with a big camshaft should still be close.

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