'78 Corolla Wagon

superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
in Rides & Builds- Everything Else
Well I just picked up a little project and thought I'd share it with you guys.

557.jpg

558.jpg

559.jpg

Needs a battery and the automatic trans is going bad. I'm trying to source a manual to swap in, but it hasn't been easy. I'd like to at some point do a motor swap for something with a little more oomph. 4AGE, 3SGE, SR20... Something like that. It's in pretty decent shape besides some minor hail damage and surface rust. It has 64k original miles on it too.

Comments

  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    Well I think I tracked down a 22r/22re to swap in. Not the best motor for peak HP, but it has a really good torque curve and should be fine for daily driving purposes until my budget allows for a better swap.
  • CharbCharb Administrator
    Nice start... document your swap!
  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    Will do. I'm pretty pumped about it. This is my first RWD car so I'm excited to get it running.
  • dukevonDANKdukevonDANK Wagonist
    The 22re is a great motor in the 4runner and pickup, but goddamn is it heavy.
    What you need here is a supra swap :encouragement:
  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    Lol I don't quite have the funds for something like that. I don't know what I'll eventually swap into it. There's a lot of options.
  • LowFlyin'LowFlyin' Moderator
    LSjuan FTW
  • wagonofhatewagonofhate Wagonist
    Bad ass man hope this goes good for you I'm working on my 75 sr5 corolla with a ae86 gts swap. I've got the motor and trans in now working on costume header and all the fun shit. Don't give up its a hard road.
  • VladiVladi Senior Wagonist
    I love these old toyotas!
  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    wagonofhate wrote: »
    Bad ass man hope this goes good for you I'm working on my 75 sr5 corolla with a ae86 gts swap. I've got the motor and trans in now working on costume header and all the fun shit. Don't give up its a hard road.

    Nice! Luckily I know some people who can help out. They guy I'm gonna get the 22re from has a wagon like mine with a semi-built 3TC. I also know another guy who can weld up custom mounts and stuff for me. I'm looking forward to having a full on project car. I haven't really been able to so far since my cars have been needed for DD duty.
    LowFlyin' wrote: »
    LSjuan FTW

    Yeah that's definitely not in my budget lol
    Vladi wrote: »
    I love these old toyotas!

    They're cool cars for sure
  • NZ-DB8RNZ-DB8R Moderator
    Over here they are a KE36, is the chassis code the same where you are? They are getting pretty rare here due to typical Toyota Rust problems
  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    Overall I think it's KE30, but my specific model is TE28.
  • NZ-DB8RNZ-DB8R Moderator
    Nah KE30 is a Sedan, KE35 a Coupe and KE36 a Wagon. K being the series of engine they came with. So yours will have a T series engine?
  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    Yeah it has a 2tc
  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    Tried to get the Corolla started today. The battery in it was totally shot, so I bought a new one. Also got some carb cleaner. Sprayed down the carb and tried to start it but still no luck. Gonna get some new plugs and stuff and get a carb rebuild kit. Possibly get a manual choke conversion kit as well.
  • rbwdrivenrbwdriven Senior Wagonist
    totally bad ass.

    I saw an old 510 wagon at caffeine and octane this weekend.

    Got me wanting a 510 wagon again.

    I got the serious wants for a 510 but I would have to clear out all my ef's
  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    rbwdriven wrote: »
    totally bad ass.

    I saw an old 510 wagon at caffeine and octane this weekend.

    Got me wanting a 510 wagon again.

    I got the serious wants for a 510 but I would have to clear out all my ef's


    Yeah I love 510s. The guy who I'm buying my replacement motor from has two 510s along with his 3rd gen Corolla wagon he just got. One of his 510s is done up all shakotan style. It looks sweet.

    129.jpg

    Some paint and it will be sweet.
  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    Carb rebuild kit came. Gonna rebuild the carb on the Corolla today and hopefully get her running. Also got a new cap and rotor and spark plugs.
  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    Got the carb rebuilt on the Corolla yesterday. Got it back in but it still isn't running. We were able to get it started and keep it running by keeping the choke open, but the electronic choke isn't working correctly. It could also be because one of my heater hoses has a hole and is leaking coolant. Gonna buy a bunch of hose and just replace most of the hoses and vacuum lines since they're almost all dry-rotted. I'll probably also buy a manual choke conversion and get a universal air filter for the carb so I can get rid of the giant stock one. I think I'm just going to keep the 2t-c and build it. I'll find a manual to fit it eventually or I can get someone to cut and weld a different transmission to fit. The 2t-c is a stout motor and can take a decent amount of power, and mine is still in really good shape, so it makes no sense to get rid of it.
  • superhead91superhead91 New Wagonist
    She's alive! Was finally able to replace the coolant hose and it'll stay running now. The brakes need bleeding before I can drive it, but that shouldn't be too difficult.
Sign In or Register to comment.

© Vanilla Keystone Theme 2025