From: muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au (Murray Chapman)
Newsgroups: aus.wanted
Subject: Re: Toyota Engine
Date: 7 Sep 92 06:30:42 GMT
Reply-To: muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au

In <1992Sep7.045129.21085@griffin.itc.gu.edu.au> phillip@kraken.itc.gu.edu.au (Phillip Jones) writes:

>I am writing to you requesting some information that is extreemly difficult
>to get here in AUSTRALIA! I am tring to get some information on an old
>TOYOTA engine model 18R-GEU.

>By old I mean 1977 - 1986 (or somewhere around there).

>This engine was in some japanese cars about 4-8 years ago. It has efi and I
>am interested in obtaining the EFI unit for this engine. TOYOTA AUSTRALIA
>DO NOT want to have anything to do with the engine as they NEVER imported a
>car with this engine. 

I'll give you the benefit of my experience:

A friend of mine is a Celica guru (he's designed and built his own turbo
system, but that's another story), and cautioned me against trying to fit
the Toyota EFI system onto an 18R motor.  He said that since Toyota never
imported them into Australia, Toyota Australia won't have ANYTHING to do with
them: ie they will not talk to you about them, they will not point you in the
direction of someone who will talk to you about them, etc.  If you need parts,
you gotta send overseas.

My friend also says that he knew someone who decided to ignore this advice, and
mount a Toyota EFI system on his 18R.  18 months and $2000 later, the thing
still doesn't work.  Remember that if you have EFI, you also must have all
the environmental protection stuff, such as a catalytic converter.  Also:
call up an engine importer and ask for a Toyota EFI system.  They will quote
you a price.  Ask them if that includes the computer system.  It won't.  When
the engine is removed in Japan, they just snip all the wires attached to it.
You will need two computers to run the Toyota EFI system, and each of those
will cost you $500 and a week or so at an auto electrician.

Why not buy yourself a reconditioned twin-cam (18R-G)?  You can have them
fitted from about $800, and they are an excellent engine.  The difference in
performance that you would get from EFI is NOT worth the trouble.

If you still want better performance from your engine: have the head ported and
shaved, and fit a set of decent-sized extractors.  Find a really wicked
camshaft, or fiddle with the valve timings.  Install a heavy-duty clutch and
an oil cooler.

Turbocharging is not worth the trouble in Queensland.  The law states that
you can only turbocharge 4X4 vehicles, although they will allow you to install
an engine that had a factory turbo on it.  The 18Rs never had factory turbos,
so the only option left to you would be a 2T-GEU or a 3T-GEU.  You can get them
for about $575, but you still have to fork out for the computers.  And for what?
the 2Ts and 3Ts are only 1600cc, and even turbocharged, they will will only do
the quarter mile in about 12secs.  With a little bit of work, you can get a
13 sec quarter mile out of an 18R-G.  (Reference: V8 Kingswood: 17 secs).

(Then again, you could just whack a Garrett turbo on an 18R-G, and hope you
don't get caught.)

Besides that, Garrett turbos cost about $4000 fitted, plus you gotta look after
them really well: warm-up/cool-down period, oil seals, regular inspections,
etc....  (You can pick up an '86 Turbo Pulsar for $6000).

Anyway... hope this helps.  Until they change the law here in Queensland, I'm
gonna stick with a twin-cam!

>Phillip Jones   	       	       	| Ours is not to wonder why.....

Cheers,

Murray
--
  Murray Chapman                           muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au
  Department of Computer Science,
  University of Queensland,                How many lightbulb jokes does it
  St Lucia, AUSTRALIA                      take to change the subject?

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