Stef's 7A-FE Rebuild, up and running since 12/16/07 Options

[hurley97]

So obviously my oil problem is only getting worse, I decided it's finally time to do something about it.

so I went and picked up Defgeph's old 7A...
177,000 miles and was begining to use some oil before he swapped and it sat in the garage for 2 years.
but since I was getting it for free from a friend I decided to pick it up and hope for the best...



so I picked it up Fri (8/24) and the next day it came with me to work (I work at a Toyota dealer) where they unloaded it into the brake lathe room and it stayed hidden for a while. this past Saturday (9/8) me and one of the techs began tearing it apart. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is actually in incredibly good condition for its age...

I will be spending close to $500 in parts replacing every bearing, seal, gasket, etc that we can think of. What I need from you guys are your suggestions as to what I can do to make this motor a little stronger and better flowing. I'm keeping the stock pistons and considering bigger cams and having the head machined.

We work for about an hour each morning before customers start coming in. Between Sat, Mon, and Tues (today) we have everything pretty much apart (except for the valves since I haven't decided to send them to the machinist with the head or not yet). This is a huge learning process for me and happy to have the oppotunity to do it. I'll add more pics and info so maybe some of you can learn some things too.

This post has been edited by hurley97: Mar 6, 2008 - 9:09 PM

[jason]

since your prolly gonna have this car as a DD i wouldn't recommend going wild with cams as it lessens the drive ability of the car, open up the head some, if you have access to or know someone who builds engines you could have them freshen up the lower end to whatever degree your looking to spend on it. if i were you, id also clean the HECK outta the engine and paint it up, maybe a flat black block and head then a dark green valve cover to match the body of the car, also do the im along with them heat shield in black too.

performance, as i stated before this company called alabama heads does some good work, you could send the one you have to them and have them do whatever work you'd like to whatever spec, and also they can put some new parts in too for longer life. get some high comp pistons, but not too crazy.

also get a stronger clutch for more fun shifting. and possibly a lighter flywheel, but again for drive ability, not too light with too strong of a clutch