The A6 Celica/Carina topic

[zenki]

Looks great.

[Esguelha]

Hi people. I'm new to the forum, so I don't really know if I'm posting in the wrong place, but this was the Carina topic that seemed the most appropriate.

So, I'm thinking of buying a Carina (TA60). It would be my first car, as it fits the bill being RWD, reliable, a bit different and cheap. We've had an E10 Corolla in the family for 18 years, so were fans of the brand. I don't want some little econobox, I prefer something older I can take on as project and enjoy.
The car is not gonna be my daily driver, so gas mileage doesn't really matter.

This is the car I'm looking at:





2T:


The wheels aren't included in the sale, as the car is now on steel wheels.
It's a 1982, with a manual and 135.000 quilometers on the clock.
The owners says there's no rust on the body, the car was painted about 3 years ago. It's had a recent service and is MOT'd.

Here's the latest advert. There's some interior shots: http://goo.gl/CPbA99

The guy is asking 1250€ for it. I think that's fair.
If someone could tell me some more stuff about it by looking at the photos, that'd be great.


I do also have a few questions about the TA60 in general, and I was hoping you guys could answer some of them, for if I do decide to buy it:

-Are parts for servicing the car still available? Are they easy to get?

-How can the car be lowered? I hear AE86 coilovers can be adapted into it... is it an easy job?

-Whould a 4AGE swap into this be an easy job? Or is there a way to convert the 2T into a 2T-G?


I have a few more questions, but this post is getting long. I'll ask them after these are answered. Thanks in advance!

[The Doctor]

1250 is a good price, if it looks as good IRL as in the pics and the interior isn't worn!

2T-G engine is a straight swap, if you find one.
Building one from your own engine is possible, but you need a whole 2T-G in parts, so not really worth the effort.

4A-GE will go in, but needs some more work.

[Motax]

1250 is definately a good price. Thats what i paid for mine, which doesnt look as good as this one.

Service parts shouldn't be too hard to find. Ebay has a lot of smaller items for sale, but i'm sure a local partsstore could get you parts aswell (plugs, filters, gaskets, etc.)

AE86 coilovers are quite easy to bolt on, if you have the complete ones, including brakes. Topmounts of the coils i'm not sure of, as i'm using S13 topmounts myself (need to enlargen the holes a little bit). I used a mix of ae86 and ta60 parts, in combination with a few spacers and longer bolts for the brakebrackets of the ta60. It can be done, but it's not ideal.

Rear AE86 springs will also fit, altho the bottom coil on will not sit 100% right on the springseat, as the TA60 bottom coil is smaller, the top is the same.

4AGE shouldn't be too hard to swap in i suppose, altho i do believe custom engine mounts have to be fabricated. Other option would be to source a AA63 celica, and swap the whole driveline over.

[banpei]

The car looks optically sound, so 1250 is definitely a good price!

Standard parts like gaskets, belts and such are easy to find as the 2T engine has survived over 12 years of usage in the Carina/Celica lineup.

For the top mounts: the 108mm KE70/TE71 items will fit, so if you can find coilovers for those cars the job should be a lot easier.

4AGE swap should be finding the right bellhousing for the T50 and modifying the engine mounts. I think Einneb is currently doing so...

[Esguelha]

Thanks for the answers guys.
I've asked the owner for some more interior pics. If those turn out good I'll probably arrange something to go and see it.
The car is 300km away from me, so I can't just drop by and see it in the flesh.

[banpei]

Just received the camberplates and they are a perfect fit:


So KE70/TE71 108mm top mounts are the same.

[roman]

Sooooo I went down to Taupo on Friday, and me and the old man put some beatdowns on the Carina.



It was pretty spectacularly rainy at some point, on the first and second stint 4-5 cars hit the wall! Madness.



My Dad only got in one run, because it was so rainy he didnt really want to take it out again after that.

It was never quite dry on the day, my fastest laptime on this track is a 1:57 which I did in an SW20 MR2 with a beams motor many years ago.

This time around I managed a 2.03 with some pretty sloppy lines, a damp track and old tires.

So a bit more practice and some better tires I reckon I'll be in the high/mid 1:50s no sweat

Here's a link to a video of my fastest lap for the day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBGYkttBwq8

[banpei]

Not bad at all!
What carare you passing halfway the track?

[roman]

A v8 holden commodore of some description.