Going From FWD 2 AWD with a 92 celica..

[greekbits]

hello im rather a pleb in regards to automotive knowledge , i am seeking information, on what needs to be done to turn my 92 convertible to an AWD vehicle, i have a 5 sp gt4 gearbox, currently the car is a 3sge standard automatic..
i have also st185 gt4 5 sp gearbox,ecu, intake and turbo manifolds,newly rebuilt 3sgte,new ct26 turbo,and a 3 inch dump pipe....( it came with the stuff i dont know if its necessary) .
my questions are : is the floor pan the same in both vehicles? do i need to grab more bits and pieces off a gt4 and how much mucking about will it take to fit these to a standard st183( i suppose it is an st184 , but i think 183 an import code) .
if it can be done without too much fuss ,in the future i will have to eventually source rear axle,diff,and drive shaft..

[Fodder]

The floor plan is completely different between the 2WD and 4WD versions - really you'd be better off looking for info on starting with a GT4 and trying to make it a convertible.

Which, sadly, is a topic I have no idea on - rarely see the convertible versions around here!

[jonathan yee]

the gt4's have a different rear floor plan. the boot floor is higher in the gt4's to allow room for the rear drive axles/diff etc. along with the fact that i'm pretty sure there isnt enough space down the middle for the zuast and rear drive axle (transmission tunnel).

as fodder says if you really want a convertable gt4 it'd prob be easier to chop the roof of a gt4 and add reinforcing to the chassis.

[jonathan yee]

oh and another thing the aus delivered 5sfe powered celica's are st184, the gt4's are st185 the convertibles like yours is st183 and i think the 3sge powered AWS then there's also a 3sfe one. not sure which of them is st182 but either way there arent many if any in aus.

[fixeruperer]

haha please dont cut a roof off a gt4
there is alot of fuss involved and alot of money even if your doing it your self.
we have a customer with a 3sge convertible aws 183, its a POS.

[greekbits]

ouch, i mean thanks for your input and responses( i suppose )

dont worry , i wont chop a gt4 , i might have to make do with just fwd ..... but i wouldnt mind finding out how the price of the re engineering mods to floor plan and boot would go...


cheers for the info

[MWP]

but i wouldnt mind finding out how the price of the re engineering mods to floor plan and boot would go...

Probably more than a GT4 is worth.

[jonathan yee]

Probably more than a GT4 is worth.

more than a gt4's worth or more than what it'll cost you to by a gt4?????

gt4's pop up so often for sub5k only the really good cond ones with recent extensive work done get any decent amount of money for them.

if you find a gt4 that's partially stripped/in disrepair for 1k then i dont think many would wanna kill you for chopping the roof off...as chances are it was heading to the wreckers anyway..........

[greekbits]

i saw a convertible, that i thought, was changed from fwd to awd , on ebay many months ago, fully converted from 3sge to the gt4 power unit and transmission. it went for around 10K from memory...but it had all the poofy skirt and spolier kit on it, and was a tad too much attn seeking in the looks department. .

[Fodder]

Most likely it was a 3S-GTE swap, what's often called a GT2 (GT4 motor but only 2WD). These are relatively common and pop up from time to time.

[wagonist]

At lot of hassle.
Find an MR2 turbo box with the LSD, fit it to your ST185 engine after swapping the shifter linkages from your existing box.

If you're realyl set on an AWD convertible, save up for an Audi