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2ZZ-GE into Starlet conversion at Woodsport


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i thought i replied here already, not to worry

Paul thanx for registering on here and documenting this conversion,

its been done once before in to an el/ep chassis(south america) but no where near as neet as what your doing.

i registered onto your site this time last year(glanza v6)

sorry to side track here but im interested in a few engine conversions for the starlet but mostly

the 2gr engine is what im after i only got as far as seing if it would fit width wise,

but as you have this engine and an ep82 in your workshop,

do you think this engine would physicaly fit in the bay?

to anyone reading this

2GR-FE engine is the same 3.5 used in the lotus evora and makes 286bhp standard 300 after a y-pipe and remap - its an aluminium block and not that much heavier than the 2zz (service weight 163kgs)

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Oof! The big dog 2gr... now that's an engine! It near pulls our arms off when we put those into Mr2's, one of those in a Starlet would just be insane!

Presuming i could get one to fit (never say never) , by far the biggest concern would be torque steer, i cannot begin to imagine a 2gr hooked up to front wheels only, let's just say that would be a mental ride, but i would worry about it spoiling the driveability knowing first hand what a 2gr is like, 200lbs.ft of torque just above idle and 285lbs.ft by 2500rpm, then all the way to the redline, just crazy!

Anyway back to your question.... it is quite a tall engine, and a deep one too (front to back). Width wise it will need the chassis legs moving or rethinking completely to get the extra width, i've seen a 3sgte (same width as 2gr) butchered into a Starlet bay and it fouled the gearbox on full lock, pulleys digging into the chassis and all manner of ill fitting problems.... i'm digressing again.... hmm, short answer is yes it will fit, but when i say yes i mean only with serious modification and strengthening work. That engine will try and rip the front end off, that's no exaggeration.

It will not fit height wise, so be prepared to mount some of it ABOVE the bonnet line, so it'd need a Metro 6R4'esque bonnet of sorts, it would also need the brake servo relocating to the passenger side i think...

The more i think about it the more problems i can think of, but nothing that couldn't be solved i guess.

Ah! just had a brainwave... chop the back end out and hang the bugger in the rear, RWD 2gr-fe Starlet, now that's the answer! That would just be a suicidal car.

One word of caution though, to build a 2gr Starlet in front wheel or rear wheel drive will be a very deep pocket excercise, doable yes, but very expensive unless you DIY, hope that helps.

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soundo i spent hours lurking on your forum last year,( an addictive place that )aswell as researching a few of the other mr2 forums with 2gr info - aye it would be an unstressed torque monster in an EP.

one last question,

would it be possible to use the rav4's(2gr version) gearbox/transfer case or is it too wide compared to the E152 to fit?

if it was possible,

how feasable would it be to use an ep95 4x4 and its rear diff setup mated to the rav4 box box? . . .

Or could it not work like that,

sorry for the all the questions but this has puzzled me and a mate for a while due to limited knowledge on the subjects of diffs and transfer boxes.

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I can see you have been putting a lot of thought into this! Ok presuming we can get the 2gr fitted upfront, and the 2gr's Rav4 box was used, you would also need to use EP95 4x4 rear hubs/struts/suspension BUT it would definately need the Rav4 rear diff too, the EP95 one would not be ratio'd correctly to the front diff (i've no data on that but i'd be amazed if they shared the same ratios).

If you didn't get the ratios the same then obviously the rear wheels are going to try and turn at a different speed to the fronts, which is a big no no.

So yes that would be feasible (although again a massive project) , and presuming we could get the Rav4 rear diff to work in the EP chassis.

Hope that helps.

EDIT: Rav4 box is same width as the Mr2 E153.

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loving the colour, i knew they would work even if you did laugh at me paul!

the progress is sublime too, im gonna get some part sent to you work shop of friday paul for you to fit and ill get the bumper too you before i go away to work again. did you manage to spray the strut brace green too?

chris

by the way, can anyone help with this, bc racing or meister r coilovers. what goes lower and what would you recommend and where id the best place to buy from?

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Hi Chris, i'll get the brace done green during final assembly, do you mind if i add a few other green bits like fusebox cover and maybe purple on the induction pipe i have made that sweeps down in front of the gearbox? (yes i did manage to do it! ,total ballache but the customer gets what he wants :) ) I think it needs a touch more of the green to balance it out.

Update...

Gearbox now fitted and the engine harness refitted. I made a new copper clutch slave pipe that routes a custom bracket on top of the gearbox and also used the Celica flexi line which is a little longer than the Starlet one. Apart from cleaning the rubber hoses up this is the engine pretty much ready to hang for the final time...

starletenginerebuilt005.jpg

starletenginerebuilt004.jpg

starletenginerebuilt002.jpg

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i agree and i would not mind at all paul, bit more green on the fuse box and maybe the header tank? then purple on the induction pipe would just finish it off :)

when do you think you will be finished, rough gesstimate?

you have made me a very happy man lol

anyone with the coilover question?

chris.

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yeah sounds good, well i will try and get them to you early next week.

im not going to go mad maybe just a decent set of coilovers, front anti roll bar not sure if im going to get 22 or 24mm and drop links and anti lift/castor kit. that should tighten up the front end.

rear anti roll bar not to sure on getting the rear beam bushes as you said they are a pain to remove that should be fine for the rear.

also im going to get some new brakes sent to you. still deciding on pads and disc's or a 4 pot conversion. ill decided this week and let you know what your getting.

if you know anyone who would like the old ecu let me know thanks :)

chris.

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Today the engine bay got painted satin black, this is so Chris can paint the exterior of his car any colour he wants and it will go with the engine bay. Then the engine was refitted with the freshly painted mounts.... you can also see the Camry throttle cable that is the perfect length.

starletenginein006.jpg

Plenty of clearance on the Mk3 Mr2 brake master cylinder, this was fouling the old engine.

starletenginein004.jpg

Fuel pressure regulator installed, i might repaint this purple so it stands out better, it looks a bit lost....

starletenginein002.jpg

Have to say even though this is our very first Starlet engine conversion i am really enjoying this build and that engine just looks perfect in the Starlet bay.

starletenginein003.jpg

There's a lot more colour coding to do and things to connect, i've also got an idea for a custom header tank with perspex level window. The customer tends to give me a basic brief on how they want it to look and then i can't help running away with extra ideas!

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im totally over the moon with the results paul! i love it, way better than i could have ever imagined from anyone else :D

yeah i agree, spray the fpr purple, have you sprayed the coolant t piece you made too? would be nice green i think. with the induction pipe purple too.

its all coming together...

was gonna pop round today because ive got my civic back on the road, to drop off the rest of the new wheels and the bumper but one of the split rims need resealing, when they were powered coated they cant of been put back together correctly. would you be able to fix this for me?

the plans for the out side are a fresh re spray and drop it on the new rims. but yous will see it next month when the project is finished.

thanks for the update paul, this made my night!

chris, pic of the car for anyone who wants to know.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c103/ando69me/ben6.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c103/ando69me/ben3.jpg

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the plans for the out side are a fresh re spray and drop it on the new rims. but yous will see it next month when the project is finished.

thanks for the update paul, this made my night!

chris, pic of the car for anyone who wants to know.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c103/ando69me/ben6.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c103/ando69me/ben3.jpg

What size are the rims? :D

Here are your photos plus some [ I M G ] tags:

ben6.jpg

ben3.jpg

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