The battle wagon

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Tercel__jon
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Posts: 465
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:44 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4wd Wagon

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Tercel__jon »

Thanks! I traded a Turbo and $50 for it. my buddy is putting a 1uz in his gts corolla so he swapped in an S10 rear axle as well to handle the abuse.

I started looking for a corolla alltrac the moment I read about the strut upgrade several years ago. Ive seen one in my entire life and it passed me on the highway loaded with mexicans and more rusty then anything Ive ever seen. They simply dont exist on the east coast. Speaking of struts, I picked up some 2001 corolla struts. They are a few inches longer and since the cars weigh the same it should be almost perfect. We'll see.

Im not sure on the size of the alltrac rear axle, but the gts along with the mkii supra and cressidas was a 6.7" diff. Thankfully theres a pretty large aftermarket for them so I can get any ratio I want.

I thought about drilling the hubs, but I need new wheels anyway. 2 are bent. I looked for some multi lug pattern 14"s but couldnt find anything I liked cheap enough. I dont want to go larger, because I want to run the general grabbers. Their 15" rim sizes are too big for the wheel well.

However, the guy I got the axle from, has a set of supra wheels, Image

They are 4x114.3 but I found some high quality adapters that Ill run up front. I already emailed the company and they said there would be no problem machining them for a perfect fit on the 54.1mm hub bore so they'll be hub centric. Ive already got a set of these on my cressida and they are SWEET.

Im so stoked about this. The longest part will be saving up for the 4.10/1 ring and pinion set. So this swap might not actually get done till spring.
Tercel__jon
Top Notch Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:44 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4wd Wagon

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Tercel__jon »

Wow...I went through and started re-hosting images so that they'd exist again and realized I skipped quite a bit! So I added some in where appropriate.

However, for some reason I completely skipped the tube doors and the 4a/3a accidental hybrid. Doh'!

First the tube doors, they were done at the same time I pulled the 4a to freshen it up and paint it.

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They're the arms from an old hospital bed. Ive got enough to do the rears as well, just havent gotten around to it. They do have latches, just gate latches from Lowes. 99cents of black paint, and some spare door hinges.

Edit: forget something else! Got an actual hurst shifter knob/handle for the shifter. Its really cool, but got annoying after a while. Now I just slide it on if Im parked at a gathering or whatnot. Its a HUGE conversation starter.

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Tercel__jon
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Posts: 465
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:44 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4wd Wagon

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Tercel__jon »

Alright, part two with the 3a/4a hybrid.

I had taken the beast down to the beach for a weekend with the untouched 4a and actually got to ride across a spit of the atlantic on a ferry.

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She did amazingly well and handled all the extra weight without complaint. We even kept the subs in the back with 4 people, our bags, and a bunch of stuff we brought back with us.

Well, a few months later, a friend of mine and I tried to head back down to the beach to hang out with his dad and generally have a good time. I stopped at a bank about 50 miles from home and when I started it back up, it just, wasnt right. The temp quickly shot up so I killed the motor, pulled over, left the key switch on and unplugged the fan sensor. Fan kicked on, and we set about pulling the hood off, In the middle of Durham. When it was cool, I added some water I had brought along just in case. (weird how those things happen huh?)

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We then limped the mile or so to the nearest autoparts store. By limp, I mean, floor it and go as fast as possible, then cut the motor and coast. That actually worked surprisingly well. We got there, ordered a new gasket to be ready at the store near my house and dumped a bottle of "head gasket fix" in the rad. Not the cheap stuff, the $40 a bottle stuff. I let it run a little without the cap on to check for bubbles and circulate the gunk around.

I tell you whut...that dadgone stuff WORKED!

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We ran all the way home at 60mph without a single problem. Gauge stayed in the middle the whole way.

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We still wanted to go to the beach so we shoved it in the garage and started pulling it apart while my aunt went to grab the head gasket.

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We got us a nice flat piece of marble tile? and set to work. Block cleaned up just fine.

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However, the head did not.

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Yup, no idea what happened there, but that killed the ability to go to the beach in the wagon. Got stuck in a PT cruiser that actually wasnt THAT bad. It was actually quite comfortable and was REALLY roomy inside.

On the way back, I made contact with a guy who claimed to have a few heads I could have for cheap. One 4a and 2 3a heads. Or so we all thought.

The supposed 4a head was shaved 10 thousandths and was the freshest, so I decided to use that one. Here it is all prepped and ready to go on the car.

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There it is. However, look at the valve cover surface. Its straight, not cuved like the 4a's. Damn. Oh well, it runs, lets time it and enjoy it, we'll grab another 4a head later. I wrongly assumed the 3as valves were smaller, the ports were smaller, and just general stupid assumptions. (I later measured between my old 3a's head and my justcastaside 4a head and the valves are the same, along with the ports.) But I felt confident in thinking that, because while it ran, It wouldnt run over 4k rpm. It would break up and cause all kinds of hell. It also did not like idling below 10* of timing, and really didnt like 10* either.

Then, I did a ton of math to find out what was up.

4a. 1587 cc

Bore 81mm

stroke 77mm

ccs per cylinder 377.19

ccs per cylinder + combustion chamber 396.78????


1508 without heads. (accounts for dished pistons)

-4.93 cc piston dish.




3a 1452 cc

bore 77.5mm

stroke 77mm

ccs per cylinder 363.23


3a head on 4a block is 10.1:1 compression.

I ran it through some calculator I found online, did even more math that I cant remember right now (the above it copied straight from my notes), and It all checked out. With the shaved 3a had, I was running 10.1:1 compression. That explained why It didnt want to idle without a ton of timing and broke up in the higher rpms!

So I ran the tank down as low as possible, filled up with mid grade and then tuned the timing by ear. to where it ran the best. However, that involved pulling the distributor out and advancing that a tooth, then retarding the distributor as far back as it would go on the slide. It ran GREAT! Power throughout the entire rev range! Pulled to 6k without a hiccup! I put my timing light on it to see where it was, and it was OFF THE SCALE. So, I have no idea what my timing is, but the motor is running GREAT, never fails to start, and has amazing power.

When I say amazing, I truly mean it. you can FEEL where the power band is. If I let the clutch out at Idle to get rolling, and then STOMP it, it just goes. No bogging, no hesitation, it GOES. When the RPMs hit 3500 the front wheels SPIN for a second.

To this date, the car is still immensely fun and quite quick. But Im constantly looking for ways to upgrade it. After the GTS axle is re-geared, and the new tires and wheels go one, Ill be looking to make something most epic happen.

Here's a picture, and the only words you need to know are "TRD JAPAN"

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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: The battle wagon

Post by dlb »

forum member mark had (/has?) a similar timing issue. IIRC, his car ran great but he happened to check the timing one day and found it was waaayyy off so he set it to stock and it would barely run, if at all. after much messing around he just set it back to waayyyyy off and it has run well since. i'm really curious what's going on but think that in mark's case where he checked and verified everything else is correct, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" might apply.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Petros »

there are several versions of the 4ac head,one has the "wavy" valve cover, the other does not. The one with the wavy valve cover even has these large solid bosses over the intake ports as if there was an intention to put fuel injectors there or something. I have never heard of a fuel injected 4ac, and it would take a completely different valve cover, but I can not think of why else these large solid bosses are over each of the intake ports under the valve cover. These bosses are the reason the valve cover design was changed, so it could accommodate the bosses.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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Mark
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Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 9:49 pm
My tercel:: 1984 Automatic, 1981 sedan
Location: Victoria, B.C.

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Mark »

dlb wrote:forum member mark had (/has?) a similar timing issue. IIRC, his car ran great but he happened to check the timing one day and found it was waaayyy off so he set it to stock and it would barely run, if at all. after much messing around he just set it back to waayyyyy off and it has run well since. i'm really curious what's going on but think that in mark's case where he checked and verified everything else is correct, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" might apply.
I ended up setting it manually by putting the engine to 8 degrees BTDC on the pulley and then moving the distributor with the cover off until the point on the distributor rotor for #1 cylinder was pointing at the middle of the igniter. On a timing light, with the hoses disconnected and plugged I think it was still showing over 20 degrees BTDC (if I remember right), but it ran great so that wasn't the actual timing. It's strange, but I noticed my battery terminals were corroded so I cleaned them and the timing light showed a much lower number (again I can't remember exactly what).
Tercel__jon
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Posts: 465
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:44 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4wd Wagon

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Tercel__jon »

Glad to know Im not the only one with the interesting timing. Ive replaced my battery cables since then and I havent noticed a change. Its still way up there somewhere. But its happy with no pinging so its staying there.

Thats interesting about the 4a head with the bosses. I actually traded my busted one to a friend for his 4a head. His was a coffee table cause he threw a rod. Ill have to look and see if its a wavy one or not.
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Petros
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Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Petros »

be aware that even the head on an engine that threw a rod could be damaged. the piston is free to slam up against the head once it is not connected to the crank, it can smack an open valve and do a lot of damage to the valve train, and the cast aluminum, water jacket, etc. If you are using the head, just check it over very carefully before you use it, even have it checked for cracks.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
Tercel__jon
Top Notch Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:44 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4wd Wagon

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Tercel__jon »

Oh dont worry petros, I like the 3a head, I dont forsee the 4a head going on unless I do something stupid like acquiring an Eaton m90 or Toyota SC12 or 14.
terceldude
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Location: Wellesley, MA 02481 USA

Re: The battle wagon

Post by terceldude »

Tercel__jon wrote: Here's a picture, and the only words you need to know are "TRD JAPAN"

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Man, I've always wanted to go dual sidedraft carbies! Are you planning to clean them well and rebuild them before you potentially install them?
Last edited by irowiki on Tue Apr 04, 2017 10:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: don't need to quote the entire post
K-Business
Tercel__jon
Top Notch Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:44 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4wd Wagon

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Tercel__jon »

They are sitting on the shelf. I have an intake I bought from a fella in puerto rico. Hung em off a parts engine, They sure looked cool.

Eventually I want to build a 7ac for something, these would definitely be on there.
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