i need a block

[chris in greenbrier]

i am looking for a block to an 83. my brother found this really nice 83 4wd and we are rebuilding it for my dad. tonight we pulled the head to have reworked and noticed a piston broke in two and deep scaring to the wall. we both believe the scaring is too deep to bore so we are in need of a block. i think anything from 83-88 1.5 will work. anyone have a lead?
im located in greenbrier arkansas united states. thanks

[ARCHINSTL]

Welcome to the Club!
There was a parts car located in Smyrna, TN, recently. A thread was in this forum, too.
You might send a PM to member clbolt. He's in Arkadelphia (love that name!), but has been inactive for a few years - dunno why. He may have some AR sourcing info. I think there are at least two other AR members, but do not recall them. Do a Search using "AR" and "Arkansas."
Tom M.

[xirdneh]

i have three or four of them but i'm sure shipping costs from Washington would not be worth it.

[danzo]

Welcome! Since you are in the (Deep) South, finding a cheap 3a in your local j-yard should not be a problem. Better yet use a 4a with the larger bore pistons; I believe the 3a head readily bolts onto it. Depending on how deep the scratches are, another option is to simply bore the cylinders out to ~82mm and purchase new 4a pistons, they go for about $80/set.

Your piston broke in half?? Pics please!

[chris in greenbrier]

thanks for the quick and very helpful replies. im brand new to this car but this engine seems very workable. mabye ill post some pics of this project for you guys.

[Petros]

Welcom to the list.

I have an extra block as well, but best find one local, shipping would be a rip-off. Most JY will only want about $100 for a whole short block assembly. Check local yards and Craig's list. You will find one, they were common in several modles, you can also use the larger 4a engine as well.

I would not overbore a 3a block that far unless you are prepared to sleeve it. One of the only technical service bulletins ever issued for this engine was a warning about over boring at all, they occasionally will hit a thin section and leak water into the bore. If you go over enough to get 4a pistons in it, it seems to me it would be luck if it does not leak.

[chris in greenbrier]

thanks i waw wondering about that. the walls seem a little thin

[toughtercel]

I believe that 3A motor first came out way back from 1980 or 81 Tercel .

[danzo]

I would not overbore a 3a block that far unless you are prepared to sleeve it.

I thought the 3a and 4a shared the same block? They use the same head and 77 mm stroke crank, right?

[SynthDesign]

Welcom to the list.

I have an extra block as well, but best find one local, shipping would be a rip-off. Most JY will only want about $100 for a whole short block assembly. Check local yards and Craig's list. You will find one, they were common in several modles, you can also use the larger 4a engine as well.

I would not overbore a 3a block that far unless you are prepared to sleeve it. One of the only technical service bulletins ever issued for this engine was a warning about over boring at all, they occasionally will hit a thin section and leak water into the bore. If you go over enough to get 4a pistons in it, it seems to me it would be luck if it does not leak.

I had no problem with the machine shop heavily overboring my block. I'm basically running the largest size 4ac pistons in a 3ac block. .5" or 13mm oversized from stock. So far no problems but the engine ended up being a huge money pit in the build alone. Just my 2 cents.

I take everything Petros says to heart because he knows his stuff, again best to look locally and for a block with minimal scoring. A 4AC is a big upgrade and I'd be shotting for that. 81 to 86 corollas are your best bet for finding one.

[Petros]

I thought the 3a and 4a shared the same block? They use the same head and 77 mm stroke crank, right?

Yes and no, likely they made internal core changes to the 4a block, which is indeed the same in all other respects. And I would guess the majority of 3a blocks can handle the overbore, I bored mine max .040" over, and have no issues. But apparently some of the dealers have reported water leaking into the cyl after going to over sized pistons on the 3a block. None ever reported that for the 4a.

I do not know how common it is, I was just surfing through the ToyotaUSA web site or perhaps it was the AutoZone website and saw a link to all Service Bulletins, so I punched in the Tercel4wd and the only one listed was this issue. So I passed it on everyone here.

So you can take your chances, or just get a 4a block. Even if the risk is small, it seems to me a pretty costly fix if you should get one of the bad 3a blocks.

[animeracing]

Boring out a 3A-C block to 4A-C specs and beyond is fine, but as mentioned, it can cause problems, and there's (so far) no exact science as to which blocks will handle it and which blocks won't. My personal guess is that it's the later 3A blocks with the problems, but then again it could be the other way around.

Best bet is as previously suggested, get a 4A-C engine and save yourself a lot of hassle and use the opportunity for an upgrade. Rebuilding a 3A-C can be a lot of fun and give you a real dependable engine, but it's not nearly as economical as throwing in a running one, unless you get some sweet discount on parts and have everything to do it yourself.

[SynthDesign]

Boring out a 3A-C block to 4A-C specs and beyond is fine, but as mentioned, it can cause problems, and there's (so far) no exact science as to which blocks will handle it and which blocks won't. My personal guess is that it's the later 3A blocks with the problems, but then again it could be the other way around.

Best bet is as previously suggested, get a 4A-C engine and save yourself a lot of hassle and use the opportunity for an upgrade. Rebuilding a 3A-C can be a lot of fun and give you a real dependable engine, but it's not nearly as economical as throwing in a running one, unless you get some sweet discount on parts and have everything to do it yourself.

Building an over-bored 3AC is honestly just a money pit. Seriously... if you're gonna play with a block, make it a 4AC to start.

@animeracing, Your right, the earlier 3A blocks (pre 85 I think) are much more stout. Guessing molds wore, were replaced or repaired for the cast Iron blocks as time went, causing the thickness of the sidewalls to decrease and likely why Toyota posted the Bulletin Petros mentioned in October of 86 regarding over-boring.