Engine modification

[StretcherBlue]

Hello there Tercelnation. I was coming to ask probably an over asked question. I'm new here and just wanted to see what people did to make more power and reliability out of their tercels. I have an 1985 sr5 wagon. What is there that could be done to make the engine better on the cheaper side. I really don't want to swap a 4age in it. I heard of putting a 4age head on the 3c. I'd like to do what ever I can to keep the original motor in. I definitely want to keep stock transmission and transfercase. I'm fine with opening it up. I've heard the stock heads are a problem and I want to nip in the bun. I am ok with having the car not running for a couple months to get it running 100%. Has 235,000 miles on it. Needs a clutch so I'll have the engine pulled. Thank you for everything in advanced. Hoping to get it on the road for atleast once a week and then be the camping rig. I have 3 other cars. So I'd be switching between the cars everyday.

[MrWrench]

If it were me, I would have a .020 overbore done and have the head machined down .010.
A Weber carb is a nice upgrade due to the simplicity. Make sure your cat converter is not clogged.

Change the transmission fluid, refresh the cooling and fuel system (the parts are cheap on rockauto) set timing to 10 degrees
Then just drive it! They're plenty reliable! But it never hurts to keep a tub of spare parts and tools in the back. Makes for easy repairs to keep the car on the road, especially since most parts stores don't have anything besides wiper blades and oil for these cars.

[dlb]

The best bang for your buck mods, IMO, are advancing the timing to 10* BTDC and installing a Weber carb.

[Petros]

the 4age head or whole engine swap are costly conversions, EFI, custom exhaust, etc.

best bang for the buck is an easy 4ac swap with a Delta cam regrid, header and if you want, a Weber carb. but there is not much power to be gained with the Weber, and it is costly unless you find a used one ( you will have to rejet the Weber too). if the stock carb and all the vac operated gear is running well it will serve you well. find a 4ac in a wrecking yard or Craig's list and rebuild it with oversized pistons clean up the ports and do the head mods I reccomend over in the head gasket replacement guide I made up on the repare guide part of this forum. should be a good boost in power without breaking the bank.

good luck.

[dlb]

I didn't find Weber carbs to be too expensive, and I had to get it imported here to Canada. I think it was ~$350 CAN including duty and taxes. It's obviously a lot less if you're in the US. It doesn't increase power but it is much more responsive than the stock carb. Also, I didn't have to change the jets on my Weber, and can only recall one person on this forum (out of dozens) who had issues with the stock weber jets.

That said, I agree with Petros that if the stock carb runs well, I would stick with it. A problem I found with the Weber was that in very cold, high humidity winters, it was prone to icing in the first 10 minutes of driving. Not a huge deal but it was annoying to deal with on my short drive to work on winter mornings. The stock carb has features that deal with this kind of thing.

I put a 4ac in my first t4 and didn't notice any difference so while I think a cam regrind is a good idea, I would do that for the 3ac and not bother swapping engines.

[saraki78]

motor bozuldu. Tamir yerine değişim yapılabilir mi? 1974 model tercel 4wd. 1.5 cc 3a motor vardı. . Başka bir toyota arabanın motoru takılabilir mi? Daha yeni versiyon bir motor. Şanzıman ile uyumlu hangi motorları önerirsiniz?

[dlb]

motor bozuldu. Tamir yerine değişim yapılabilir mi? 1974 model tercel 4wd. 1.5 cc 3a motor vardı. . Başka bir toyota arabanın motoru takılabilir mi? Daha yeni versiyon bir motor. Şanzıman ile uyumlu hangi motorları önerirsiniz?

translation: the engine broke down. Is it possible to change instead of repair? 1974 model tercel 4wd. It had a 1.5 cc 3a engine. . Can another Toyota car engine be installed? A newer version engine. Which engines would you recommend compatible with the transmission?

Saraki78, I deleted your other post since it was asking the same thing but on a different thread.

Also, if you read through the forums you will find plenty of information on various engine swaps. The short answer is that only the 3ac and 4ac engines are direct swaps, everything else takes a lot of work.

Please find a thread related to your question next time, or start a new thread. Thanks mate.

[StretcherBlue]

I definitely want to keep the stock motor for a while because I have a problem finishing projects. Would like to rebuild it like Mr.Wrench said. I have a Subaru WRX to tet my speeding tickets so I don't really need my tercel to blow the doors of people. I got it to Daily Drive among my other 4 cars and enjoy it. Primarily gonna be my camping rig. Have a rooftop tent for it. Just have to build a roof rack unless there is one that's highly recommended for our cars. Even better if I can use it on my other two vehicles I'd put a roof rack on. Thank you guys for all the insight. I'll be getting it up and running this winter for sure.