When you have the engine out, I'm interested in rough measurements. For, reasons.
When you have the engine out, I'm interested in rough measurements. For, reasons.
I'd say use as much sheet metal from the echo as you can. I bet you could make most of the repairs with what you have from the echo. Might even have a easy seat swap after with the floorboards used from the echo.
Nothing like having free sheet metal around! I bet you were wondering why you kept that Echo around. :0)
From a quick search there is no RWD gearbox that bolts to the NZ engine. Custom adapter?
In reply to brad131a4 (Forum Supporter) :
That's good thinking. Now to see if there is any good metal to be saved from that rusty little red turd :P
I have a feeling that making some custom adaptors will be the simplest part of trying to make this little engine work.
@Robbie: measurements of the engine from the Echo? Anything in specific?
In reply to BlueInGreen - Jon :
Mostly the total length (width) of everything from pulley to end of trans. Weight of both would be cool too, but not as important.
I don't have any real knowledge, but....
I believe this engine will bolt to the same bellhousing as a 2ZZGE,and the other Corolla engines of similar architecture. The Aussies make an adaptor to fit the 2ZZGE to a RWD transmission. Might work.
Well, I'd like to get the Corona in and situated so I can start pulling it apart and cutting things, but the garage is currently full of someone else's Miata and a play structure that I need to put together.
I've been doing some measuring. The sills on the Echo are close but also rotted so that's not helpful.
That's the place I'm most worried about. Not 100% sure if and how I'll be able to properly fix that. I need to find some videos to watch so I can get some ideas.
I promise I'll start working on it eventually!
Earlier this afternoon we loaded up and headed out to (finally) move an old Toyota. Now she knows how to hook up a trailer and winch a car onto a trailer. Apparently this was more fun than shopping for clothes with mom. Aww yeah
Its nice having in-laws who don't care how long I keep my crapcan cars in their yard :P
There are quite a few metal shaping videos floating around. Ones I like the most are the guy's who use regular hand tools you or I can get easily. A nice MIG welder has been the one tool I'm glad I got when I started fixing up cars. Got tired of having to pay others to weld stuff up. Learned the hard way to just fix one thing at a time as it's nice to see progress. Did a full on teardown and it seemed like forever to get things done. It gets to be the while I'm here syndrome overload. Good luck with that.
Very cool! It's a life goal of mine to share the same kind of memories with my children.
I'll be following along for sure
brad131a4 (Forum Supporter) said:...It gets to be the while I'm here syndrome overload. Good luck with that.
Heh... yeah.
With the car up on the trailer and out of the weeds we got a closer look at the rust situation. And... it's not good.
I knew the floors and inner sills are gone. Oddly the outer layers of the rocker panels on both sides are solid. That was all theoretically fixable. The center section of the unibody and front end structure is all solid, so far that's workable.
But while loading up I realized, the broken leaf spring mount wasn't a broken mount.
Oof 
\
I feel your pain! I had to fix this on TCST
My twin brother and I had a 4 door '69 Corona Deluxe in high school in Hawaii...it didn't even have a heater since it was an option!
Obviously, strapping the car down on the trailer ripped and buckled the metal, further revealing the bad spot.
It's a bummer, in about 10 seconds my head went from excited, "well it's a bunch of work but I can do this, this, this, and it's not actually that bad," to "oh E36M3 I'm not sure if that's fixable."
Looks like it could be fixable with enough rectangular structural tubing.
Deadskunk’s Corolla says enough tubing fixes everything :P
Hmm...
Well anything can be fixed.... Looks like you might have to cut away a lot of rusted metal. You might run a length of square or rectangular stock across the width of the car and attach those suspension mounts to that. That would provide some needed structure, then you could cut away as much sheet metal as needed. Also the new sheet metal doesn't have to be just like the original. Easier if you have some sort of plan before cutting away what is there. You do want to limit the welding, no need to do full length welds, it was originally put together with tiny spot welds.
Looks like a good project for learning how to do stuff, no need to keep it original or perfect, just need to make it work.
Together at last, two of the saddest looking Toyotas in the world.
TED_fiestaHP said:...no need to keep it original or perfect, just need to make it work.
Solid advice right there!
Here you go.. came across this if you want to take a vacation
https://rt66auctions.hibid.com/lot/136599168/toyota-corona-1900---automatic/?q=&ref=catalog
In reply to MyMiatas :
Hmm...might be a good source for non-rusty floorpans, fender wells, and bottoms of doors and fenders as it's a NM car...
2 door and 4 door are probably pretty similar underneath, I'd think?
Not that I have time to go to the other end of the country right now 
I know that advice is just someone else's enthusiasm, but you could fix that up with some time and materials, just need to do it in stages. I had a 914 with much worse rot and it finally came around after just a Winter's work.
An alternative might be a chassis swap. you would be a GOD to the VW community if you were to swap an air cooled Beetle pan underneath. I did this same thing with my Fiat 600. Made some very good and successful progress until a tree fell on it ! !
Just a thought . . .
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