awd conversion, What all do you need? Options

[SlowCelica94]

just get some gerblies and ky jelly

[Consynx]

hmm, celica is more of a sleeper than supra, obviously.
can't decide if i'd want a extremely nice celica(FR or MR), or a extremely nice Supra...that all the kiddies will want, and all the vandals would like a piece of as well.(hell, they'd go for the celi if it looked nice as well)

[pimpstarr690]

all i have to say is good luck...im starting mine by the end of feburary..

___________________
96 Celica Vert

[snadman]

AWD conversion on a vert? Wow, you're going to have to do some heavy bracing and whatnot. I don't know too much about the mechanics of the swap, but do know it would be a definite stress test on your chassis since it's a vert.

[Kwanza26]

All I have to add... if you have to ask about parts regarding a RWD/AWD swap... you're already in over your head...

[pimpstarr690]

Ill make it happen.....just watch

[turboinduction]

All I have to add... if you have to ask about parts regarding a RWD/AWD swap... you're already in over your head...
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Kwanza, I have much experience with AWD conversions. All you need are new rims and some shocks. You make it sound like its so hard.

-Ti

[lagos]

i looked into doing something like this when i did my swap because i had the awd system that i got with my clip. its totally possible but, it would take "monster garage" type of skills to complete. the hardest part would be to custom fabricate a bracket that would hold the rear diff in place. im sure you could find a fabricator that could make it happen, but its definetly not the type of thing that any one of use would have the skills to do. you also have to have 100% faith that the rear diff is on there correctly or it could cost you your life.

having said that, you dont really need awd to begin with. the 3sgte really works well in the fwd celica. traction is only an issue when u want it to be and its a lot of fun to have all hell break loose in a celica.

[pokemeintheeye]

don't think it gonna be cheap ,the guy who did it told me $6000 to get mine done.
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Is that just labor?

[Chrobis]

so guys... its really not as hard as everyone in the past has been talking about, no monster garage fabrication, no welding on the back half of a st205, well sort of.

I was talking to EL prototypes about this. You would need... most of the parts from the rear half of a gt4. You would basicly have to crawl under the car (well have a lift most likely) and drill out all the spot welds of the under body panels, on both the rear of the gt4 and your car. Pop the panels off, weld the gt4 panels in, and start bolting everything in place. That is of course the "correct" way. Is this something you could do in your garage at home, probably not. Will it be cheap for a shop to do, probably not. Is it safely possible, yes.

Some of the parts I can think of are....

Rear underbody panels
Rear differential
st205 gas tank
st205 axcels (did I spell that wrong?)
st205 rear hubs (im guessing)
AWD transmision (st185 or st205, same tranny)
st205 drive shaft
and a bunch of other stuff.

also, worry about your swap first. Its enough of a headache without walking where few have gone before.

Just buy an MR2 Transmision and be happy with it unless you really want to go all out, and spend many times over the price of the car...


Also, the 204 front half of the chasis is pretty similar to the 205, but you have a 200 so im not sure if there is as much "predrilled" holes as in the 204.

This post has been edited by Chrobis: Jan 25, 2005 - 2:40 PM

[Punch]

If I get all the ST205 rear parts I can do it in my Dads body shop
Dad told me he would help if I wanted to do it!
I saw him cut a car in half & put it back together then fixed it , I drove it on the hiway it drives wonderful!!!
so don't think it can't be (because it has) done it's all about who you know & how much you want to spend .;..

[Kwanza26]

so guys... its really not as hard as everyone in the past has been talking about, no monster garage fabrication, no welding on the back half of a st205, well sort of.

I was talking to EL prototypes about this. You would need... most of the parts from the rear half of a gt4. You would basicly have to crawl under the car (well have a lift most likely) and drill out all the spot welds of the under body panels, on both the rear of the gt4 and your car. Pop the panels off, weld the gt4 panels in, and start bolting everything in place. That is of course the "correct" way. Is this something you could do in your garage at home, probably not. Will it be cheap for a shop to do, probably not. Is it safely possible, yes.

Some of the parts I can think of are....

Rear underbody panels
Rear differential
st205 gas tank
st205 axcels (did I spell that wrong?)
st205 rear hubs (im guessing)
AWD transmision (st185 or st205, same tranny)
st205 drive shaft
and a bunch of other stuff.

also, worry about your swap first. Its enough of a headache without walking where few have gone before.
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The thing is... you're talking about having someone else do it for you. There's nothing hard about that. If we're gonna be talking actually doing this conversion yourself... it requires a bit of work and honestly speaking, when combined with the engine swap, it is quite hard. Sh!t... basically if you don't have a car lift... it's about 2 to 3 times harder just like that. Also, shops won't do this for cheap like you say. I work in that business, so I can say for sure, I myself won't do this conversion for cheap. That's saying something cause I'm actually a Celica guy who loves these cars and tunes them. Why would some other shop do a mysterious conversion for cheaper than an enthusiast shop? No logic to that really. Also... you don't "HAVE TO" use the ST205 rear-end, which is far more difficult to find. You can just as easily use the ST185 or even the ST165. The rear-ends are almost identical, and the differences are quite minor. You will be required to WELD. Not just weld... but weld sheet metal. That's a trick itself. It's not as simple as drilling out and re-spot welding the trunk pans. Once it's been disassembled... you cannot re-assemble it and re-spot weld it back to factory strength. Gotta weld it all and reinforce.

Punch: If you dad's in the auto body business, then he can definately be of some help... but this swap isn't so much auto body as it is suspension/drivetrain. It's not a matter of getting things working, it's a matter of simply doing it. As far as I'm concerned, if a person is uninformed enough to ask general questions regarding basic parts and basic suspension/drivetrain set-ups, they are already out of their league. This is an undocumented conversion and there is no information aside from opinion and speculation. You gotta do the measurements, you gotta look at the set-ups, you gotta do everything yourself. I myself have gone over this conversion more than I can count, with ST185s and ST165s side by side with my Celica comparing the differences and examining the possibilities. Again, it's not a matter of can or can't do... it's just you do it, or you don't.

[Chrobis]

I didnt say it would be cheap, and I made a general statement....

I agree completly with you kwanza, that this is not something that can be tackled in your home garage and attempted by someone that dosnt have any idea of what they are getting in to.

[Punch]

I talk to the owner of the GT-4 today,to make the ST-205 rear end fit there was alot of custom work!

This post has been edited by Punch: Feb 3, 2005 - 7:52 PM

[Punch]

the frame thats hold's the diff in place was cut from the stock shape,
& remade to a box frame to fit the ST204 frame...
<-thats it next to my car...

[Galcobar]

BTW, there has been a RWD V8 Celica done -- with twin turbos, yet. Go to Celicatech.com and do the search for the Australian conversion. It's a converted fifth-gen GT4 using a Lexus V8 and a custom floorpan.

To convert the GT/GTS to a GT4, you'd need to replicate the floorpan and bracing of a GT4. It'd be simpler to ship a GT4 from Japan or the UK.

[nik]

BTW, there has been a RWD V8 Celica done -- with twin turbos, yet. Go to Celicatech.com and do the search for the Australian conversion. It's a converted fifth-gen GT4 using a Lexus V8 and a custom floorpan.

To convert the GT/GTS to a GT4, you'd need to replicate the floorpan and bracing of a GT4. It'd be simpler to ship a GT4 from Japan or the UK.
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that car was already AWD not that hard to go to RWD

im not even going to get into this