Engine Swaps

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Thu Apr 15, 2004 11:37 am

I am looking into an engine swap when I get a 2nd and 3rd Tercel 4WD. I was thinking that if the second Tercel 4WD that I get has a good 3A-C then I'll leave it alone. But I was thinking hmmm... what if I buy a bad condition Tercel 4WD that needs work? Then I was considering a little less horsepower than a 4A-GE, but more than a 4A-C. What do you guys think? This engine has 90 hp a 28 hp increase from a 3A-C.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Thu Apr 15, 2004 1:23 pm

The 4A-F would be a nice engine but there are problems with putting it in. The distributor sticks way out of the end of the cylinder heads and the intake is very high. You would have to bang in the firewall so the distributor fits or use distributorless ignition. The carbed version may fit easier becuase the intake is less of a problem there unless the whole round air filter ends up being too high for the Tercel hood. I would just go with the fuel injection becuase the parts are so cheap, any junkyard will have enough stuff for 10 4A-FE swaps. It's not like a 4A-GE where you can have trouble finding the right ECU and all that.

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Thu Apr 15, 2004 2:05 pm

Well I was also thinking about a 4A-FE and I remember the posts on the Tercel 4WD Yahoo Group about the 4A-FE and how it would be harder to do the swap because it was in a FWD car. Fuel injection would be nice, no more rebuilding the carburetor and adjusting so many things. Of course you can argue that there aren't that many things that you have to worry about when having a carburetor. The wiring harness would also be shorter wouldn't it? Is there something that you have to do to the fuel system? Overall the 4A-GE seemed like the ideal upgrade, but as you just mentioned there are problems finding an ECU. You also stated that there were a lot of Corollas here in California, and with so many ecology wrecking centers here that it would probably be easy to do such a thing. Anyway I'll think about it. Now that you mentioned about the distributor now I want to forget about the 4A-F idea.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 6:25 am

A bluetop 4A-GE would actually be an easier swap than a 4A-F. It was made for RWD so you have all the stuff in the right place, you just have to deal with the exhaust. American 4A-GE parts are not hard to find, it's the Japanese ones that are, especially the ones that run with MAP sensors instead of air flow meters.

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 8:39 am

Oh, I see. I would like to know just out of curiosity how you would make a distributorless system. For some reason I just like the 4A-F and am determined to modify one to make it fit even if it includes a distributorless system. On what car was the 4A-F originally used on?

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 9:26 pm

tercel4wdrules wrote: On what car was the 4A-F originally used on?

Late 80s FWD Corollas, I think.