ATTN: Dave or John....Ready for an Older Car

[cjhutch]

I'm just trying to get a little info before I decide what I want to build. This will be my first full build and I'm looking forward to it. I want to do a early 70's Corolla or a Starlet. I really wanted a Mazda RX-3, but those are too hard to come by. Can you guys give me some forums to browse for early Toyota info? I found japanese nostalgic car, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of tech info there. I need info on engine combos, suspension setups, and common swaps.

[quickdodge®]

Talk to Garage Zero. Dave and John. I'll edit your title to call attention to them. Later, QD.

[Big_Dave]

WOW dude, i could awnser all of your questions but their are so many, I have no idea where to start, You give me a single car and i wil do a memory dump. I would be here all night trying to tell you on all old school cars. I wil say this, 3tc's are awsome , rotarys in starlets are bad ass but over played, and RX3's are attainable, and any combination of these can be yours, you need to have an idea on what kind of money you want to spend and how fast you wanna go. and then i can give you an idea on which platform is best for you. Patience will be your best and most important attribute with these cars cause parts are a bit*h some times. Good Luck my friend :goodjob:

[F8d2Blk]

rx-2 in douglasville

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1182762243.html

[quickdodge®]

Also, remember that it doesn't always cost a lot of money to get into one of these things. And don't worry about the looks. Keep focused on getting it and keeping it running good. Later, QD.

[Glides]

I would say whatever you get, get a clean one of it. For the right money, a Starlet could be yours...and it is dope clean too. :)

[cjhutch]

Sorry for all the questions, but I was just trying to get everything out there. Like I said this is going to be my first full build, I'm really into suspension so that's all I know. It's going to be a slow one so money is not really factor right now. I really don't want crazy power either. I just want something with good speed that I can toss around and not have to worry about getting smoked by a Prius. 200hp would suit me just fine in one of these light cars. I just shot an email to the owner of the 74 wagon in the craigslist ad below. Those three door wagons are so slick.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1177196312.html

EDIT: To answer the other question above I'm really looking for the 70-74 Corolla right now and if I can't find anything then I would move on to the Starlet as a second choice.

[quickdodge®]

Sorry for all the questions,

To hail with that, man. Don't apologize. Couple of things for you right off the bat. 1) I didn't come into the OS knowing it all. My car has gotten to where it is now as a result of a LOT of questions. This is the fun part of it...learning it; which leads into point number two. 2) You'll be surprised at how much stuff you learn in the little amount of time. It is so easy to learn about the different chassis/codes/engines; just about everything.

Ask away. Don't fret that. Now get a car and join us. Later, QD.

[Big_Dave]

The Earlie TE chassies are great, the only thing that sucks is that headders and other performance parts dont exactly fit on them, The cams and such do and any t series head can be interchanged with the2t that comes in them, You will have to get early t50 tranys to spline into your driveshaft, and you also need to be aware that brake parts are only early TE2x cars dont grab ke2x parts they do not interchange, you can make some stuff work from TE3x and maybe from AE stuff but have not verified that yet. The T series can make the power, we made 115 with a cam and carb swap on a 3t, at the wheels. And that car feels awsome and also they can make bug numbers on boost. They have leaf springs in the rear so it kind of stuck for really fancy rear set up. but i have seen a TE21 win at scca national level a couple of years back,
it was AMAZING.
If you need any help getting any parts check out garage3tc.com and toyota1515 can help you find all the hard to find engine parts, and BRD racing does have a great slection of parts as well. If i can help in any way let me know. :goodjob:

[cjhutch]

I really appreciate all the help guys. I've been doing research for almost a month now just trying to decide what direction I want to go. I'm sitting here right now finding online parts sources. I really hope that guy still has the wagon available and it's not all rusted out. I'll probably be up all night reading as much as possible. Thanks for the links and I will keep you guys updated.

[puregroove]

yeah, garage3tc.com is good stuff. I'm still waiting for them to activate my account, so I just lurk. --good luck, man. --lookin' forward to seein' your new project.

[F8d2Blk]

Go for the wagons man. As long as the rust isn't to bad. Pretty sweet wagons at that!

[Me86Rob]

Sorry for all the questions, but I was just trying to get everything out there. Like I said this is going to be my first full build, I'm really into suspension so that's all I know. It's going to be a slow one so money is not really factor right now. I really don't want crazy power either. I just want something with good speed that I can toss around and not have to worry about getting smoked by a Prius. 200hp would suit me just fine in one of these light cars. I just shot an email to the owner of the 74 wagon in the craigslist ad below. Those three door wagons are so slick.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1177196312.html

EDIT: To answer the other question above I'm really looking for the 70-74 Corolla right now and if I can't find anything then I would move on to the Starlet as a second choice.

i already have dibs on those 2 wagons :ninja:

[cjhutch]

No wonder I haven't received a reply from the owner. Have fun with them. I guess the search continues.

[Big_Dave]

the ra 29 celicas are a good starting point for an old skool ride. The 1975 through 1977 celicas will take all m series supra motors, 1gg's and jz's. Also they don't have leaf springs in the rear, making them alot easier to get the rear suspension to work right. Coronas are similar if you are looking for a sedan. Datsun also made alot of cool cars in the 70's and the early 80's. The early s110 or 200sx has an awesome suspension and rear disc brakes (1979 through1982 or 3) They came with the naps z22 engine and would probably take a ka engine without much modification. they might even take an L28 from a 280z. The naps z engines can take a fair amount of boost also. If you can find these cars they are usually cheap. Datsun also had many different styles of the b210, and some late 1970's HL510's (not the PL510 that everyone knows) Also check outthe late 70's datsun 310 or sunny series. They are the cars that competed against the starlet for many seasons. Opals are isuzus, and Isuzu made some cool rear wheel drive cars called the gemini, or the I-mark(1984 was the last year for rwd I-marks) Also don't forget about other mazdas. The glc is a cool car and so are the early 626's(rwd) esp. the 2 door coupes. Have some patience and look around. There are many cool old skool japanese cars out there.

[puregroove]

^^^I shall rep you everyday and all day, for info like this!!

[Glides]

I find old cars all the time, for cheapy too. Buying a 240Z back that I owned over 10 years ago tomorrow for.....like...nothing. Spoken for though. But if you get an idea what you want, let me know. Odds are I can find it for you.

[cjhutch]

You guys are alright in my book. Seriously this section almost seems like a different forum with people providing helpful answers without a ton of crap to go with it. I've got a few people keeping eyes out for me and I have no problem traveling to get a car. My 67 Firebird I bought 8 years ago came from Canada and I flew all the way there on my 17th birthday to buy it. With this car I would like to buy a southern car just to minimize the chances of getting a rust bucket. Once again I appreciate all the help and looking forward to joining you guys with an OSJC.

[Me86Rob]

I find old cars all the time, for cheapy too. Buying a 240Z back that I owned over 10 years ago tomorrow for.....like...nothing. Spoken for though. But if you get an idea what you want, let me know. Odds are I can find it for you.

that white one with the wide body?!

[Glides]

Nope. My old Orange one. The white one was a 260.