83 Corolla wagon pre-build thread

Well, it's time I built one.

The car is a relatively solid 83 Corolla Wagon with 183k.  "ran when parked."  He parked it because the oil pump was dying and only making 15 psi.  Grabbing it for $200 from a buddy.  The 75 or 90 hp and slushbox that is in it will likely come in dead last in the drags, and probably not be great at accelerating out of the slalom either.

Option 1:  K-swap it with ebay turbo.  How does one find a RWD transmisison to bolt to it?   I've seen adapter kits that more or less cost more than challenge budget.  Toyota stopped doing RWD a while ago and I'm told that the S2000 trans doesn't do well with torque.

Option 2:  K-swap/turbo mounted mid-ship.  That would solve the transmission issue since I could use a FWD honda box.

Option 3:  Do some major surgery and drop in the free Caddy 500 I'm getting on Sunday.  Initial measurements tell me that might not be possible, and aside from being free, it's not a great choice for an autocross.

Option 4:  Do some major surgery and do the Caddy and a TH425 midship.  Also possibly not possible and still allow the front seats to slide all the way back.  It's also just a lunatic idea.  The only real benefit is that the engine/trans is free.

Also... question on trades/budget (I'm going to have a lot of these).  If I were to trade the Caddy for a K24, it's still free and can be listed in the budget as $0, yes?  But if I were to sell the Caddy and buy a K24 with that money, it's counted toward the budget since the Caddy wasn't an asset that came with the 'Rolla?

where are you located? I have a K24 and brand new Fabbot GM adapter kit I was going to use for a project (79 Corona) that I would sell for a Challenge-feasible price. I also started building a super low profile T4 turbo manifold for it that I would throw in.  

Harrisburg PA.

I actually have a T56 that I can (maybe) prove that I have $125 in it.  I had an S10 that some kid swapped an LS/T56 that I bought for $2000.  I drove it for a while and parted it out but kept the trans and made $1875 on the parts.

But that was in 2010, old email, different state, etc.  Hard to prove.

seems reasonable enough to me. 

Commercial freight rates are not nearly what they were in 2020-2022... happy to get you a estimate if you'd like. I will also be in North Carolina next weekend and could potentially bring it along

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said: Option 1:  K-swap it with ebay turbo.  How does one find a RWD transmisison to bolt to it?   I've seen adapter kits that more or less cost more than challenge budget.  Toyota stopped doing RWD a while ago and I'm told that the S2000 trans doesn't do well with torque.

Toyota still does RWD. The Frisbee twins are popular for K swaps, and have an Aisin (Toyota) transmission, but might stretch the budget a bit. Splash out for an adapter plate, break out the measuring tools and get creative with mix n' match clutch/flywheel parts?

https://privatelabelmfg.com/products/precision-works-k-series-transmission-adapter-plate-k-swap-to-brz-86-fr-s

cruisermatt said:

seems reasonable enough to me. 

Commercial freight rates are not nearly what they were in 2020-2022... happy to get you a estimate if you'd like. I will also be in North Carolina next weekend and could potentially bring it along

Curtis is coming to the Challenge this year. 

I can't imagine he is gonna start this late in the season for a build for this year, though.  Seen crazier things, I guess.

One of my favorite cars was an 81 Corolla Wagon. 1.8 and a 5 speed. I still regret selling it. 

I'll be watching this with interest. It should be fun. 

I think the s2000 trans will last long enough. Depends on how much power you're putting through it. If its a direct bolt on any k series then I'd go that way first. 

Seems like you could score two Toyota engines and have a fun AWD car there. 

Couple answers:

1. If you trade a documented free engine for another engine, that other engine is free. If you get an engine for free and then sell it for money, that isn't part of the challenge build anymore. Buying another engine with that money is. 

2. Your t56 is cheap to you, but not as cheap in a challenge budget sense. You'd have to document what was paid for the truck (parts lot), and then recoup as much as possible. This would get you to $1k for the t56 because recoup is limited. It would also use up all your available recoup, meaning you can't recoup any more from future parts lots.

3. Auto transmissions are really hard to argue with for challenge builds. They're cheaper, come attached to cheap and powerful engines stock, and good for drag racing while being only a very minor penalty in autox. MT is a noble goal but is very limiting in a challenge build. 

I say get a big Lexus V8 or I6, use the auto trans that comes with it, and strap your ebay turbo to that.

In reply to cruisermatt :

PM sent

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

Thanks for the clarifications.  I'm sifting through the rules as I get time.

My advice regarding budget is just keep it simple and try to avoid all FMV/self-trades/other shenanigans. I am really not a fan of those rules nor using "stash parts". People have a hard enough time believing the $2000 budget, and those exceptions just set off the BS detector. I won in 2019 with all of my recoup from actual transactions, either in person or shipped on eBay, so it can be done.

I love those wagons so much. The build direction depends entirely on you. Are you just looking to add a bit power and tune the stock suspension? Or are you wanting to go full custom fabrication to build something radical? 

You know I'm voting for Cadillac right?

^ sage advice from a prior champ there

If you follow the advice, it is also much easier to do your budget sheet which invariably gets left to the end and you're struggling to do it while a few beers deep after midnight in the hotel business center. Which will also not have ink in the printer as you are about to find out.

If I ever participate in the challenge, not likely lol, I'd just run what I brought. The rules are confusing and it never felt like a true $2000 budget with different ways to count $. Also, $2000 isnt E36 M3 in 2023 ha

maschinenbau said:

My advice regarding budget is just keep it simple and try to avoid all FMV/self-trades/other shenanigans. I am really not a fan of those rules nor using "stash parts". People have a hard enough time believing the $2000 budget, and those exceptions just set off the BS detector. I won in 2019 with all of my recoup from actual transactions, either in person or shipped on eBay, so it can be done.

I love those wagons so much. The build direction depends entirely on you. Are you just looking to add a bit power and tune the stock suspension? Or are you wanting to go full custom fabrication to build something radical? 

I'm not entirely sure.  I just bought the car and I'm researching a cost effective way of getting a transmission bolted to it.  Knowing me, I'll spend hundreds of hours researching because I always have to know every possible product, which one is best, and which one is the best bang for the buck.

I'll sit down with a spreadsheet and see what fits in the budget.  At this point, I don't see the need for a whopper car because I'm not a whopper driver.  My driving experience is two Challenge participations with about 15-20 runs at the cones.

The ultimate goal is to build a car that is moderately better than I am so I can get better.  The first time I give it to a pro and they can't go any faster than I can, then I know I'm ready for more of something to continue getting better.  An example:  When I drove the Impala SS in 2020, I had 150k miles of seat time and knowing what the car could do, so it was no surprise that the pros weren't much better in that car than I was.  In that case, the car was partly the limiting factor in my personal times.  2021 I had Captdownshift's Escort with 2 miles of seat time and it was very nicely prepped for more than I was able to give it, so it was no surprise that the pros did significantly better behind the wheel than I did.  Also in 2021, I drove the zoomboni, and only clocked a slightly better time than I did in the Escort... showing me that at this point in my blossoming race career, it's not usually the car holding me back.

As far as suspension, I'll have to get the car in my hands and look at the factory engineering.  If it's struts, I can probably get away with some plates and cheap coilovers to set the height where it makes a good camber curve.  I don't see the need for anything crazy on a car that only weighs about 2000 lbs.

The K-swap should do a pretty easy 250-300 NA, I'd like to see 400 with a turbo to make some kind of statement in the drags.  Knowing my driving, I'll likely end up mid-pack in the autocross.

So, the short answer is.... I want the car to be capable of being in the top third, even though my times will be right in the middle.

Also, for reasons of more go-fast goodies in the future, I'd like to (hopefully) stay below budget as much as possible so I can do things like more suspension and still fit in at the Challenge.

A 400hp k series in that thing is going to rip!

yupididit said:

A 400hp k series in that thing is going to rip out the factory rear

FTFY  :)

While 400hp is certainly possible with enough boost, you should maybe temper your expectations of NA power, especially under budget. The right engine from the right donor may get you almost to 200whp, but after that it's cams, ECU, and other high $$ stuff to make big NA power. But remember a ND Miata only makes 180ish crank hp and probably weighs a bit more, and those are plenty fast compared to average Challenge cars. I think it's a great direction to go if you can find the right deals on swap parts.

Just for reference, my supercharged Miata (180 HP ??) had the 4th fastest combined autocross and drag time at the 2017 Challenge. It doesn't take big power numbers to do well overall if you make the car handle. That little wagon would be a hoot with 200 HP and a properly set up suspension.

It followed me home today.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

It is concours perfect as-is