3AGE?

[z|gen]

while looking for a decently priced 4age and gbox, iv come across a 3A, its carby but thats not important, and has a C52 gbox?

is it possible to put a 4age head on this? and get it running sweet?
16v head or a 20v head?

any problems? not too worried about power - that can be fixed fairly easily

ideas/thoughts

- David

[Punter]

Yes is possible people use 2a motors with 4age heads to compete the 1300 class.
But the question is why would you want a 3age? it will make lees power and will have a weaker bottom end, and you'll have to go to the trouble of building it up.

[z|gen]

cost of it, i can get a 3a for under $100 in an excellent condition, 4age head, lots on trademe in various condition.
yeah it makes less power, but with cams, and good tuning, it will be able to make some substantial (spelling?) power

building it up is no problem, have all the tools etc

has anyone actually done it? or know of someone who has and has a website up about it?

[Xyrath 86]

Was thinkin bout doing it as an engine I could absolutly cane the nuts off in my 86. But as far as I know, you cant fit a 4AGE clutch onto a 3A so you would have to run a K50 as the splines on the 3A clutch are different (to a t50).... or somthin like that. So having to change the gearbox put me off as I was looking for some cheap fun without much hassle. But yeah, might be different for a FWD or an MR2.

[z|gen]

yeah, running it fwd, in the starlet, people are asking crazy prices for 4ages which in some cases are almost 20 years old

the 3a im looking at had a rebuild a couple years back, so its still fairly fresh.

[crnkin]

hes running fwd, plus you can just put a t50 clutch on and clamp it with a 4a pressure plate, no worries there, but dave, stupid idea, dont bother

[Grrrrrrr!]

Xyrath;

someone like 0800 race brakes or any other decent brake and clutch specialist can make a clutch disc with what ever spline setup you need..

[Drifter4ag]

sooo ...
has anyone done it ..
i think that you will find the power will be very similar .. and will not be much if any weaker than a bluetop which is definitly not weak!!!
Bearings are the same as bluetop for crank & rods
just need to fix the clutch issue and you are away.

[z|gen]

well, according to a couple of people iv spoken to, id be better off saving more money and paying for a 4age,

might have some problems with the 4age ecu?

[Truenotch]

You could run it on carbs That would be quite cool.


Or why not try to get a 4afe bottom end if you're wanting a 4age on the cheap.


I ran in a clubsportday with a guy from Wellington who had an fxgt with a 4afe block & internals. He thrashed the hell out of that motor all day and it was still sweet at the end of it.

He even (accidentally) changed into second instead of 4th while doing 7000+ rpm. This wouldve made it rev to somewhere near 10-12000+ rpm.

So you could try that.


Anyone got any ideas what a 4afe shortblock would go for?

[z|gen]

how would sidedraughts work in a fwd setup..not much room ,would eventually run quads.
can get 4afe cheap..noone wants them lol, weak internals though?

[Truenotch]

Well from the treatment this one got at that trackday they cant be too weak.


I think they could be similar to the bluetop. Same bigend size I think but probably weaker rods, and they are slightly lower comp.

I think it would be fine eh, even if you decided to give it a thrash every now and then.


I'll have a look for some specs for you if you want.



Also what car is it going into again? Because with an 'fe bottom end you can get a cert for a 1600 4age instead of 1500cc... If you wanted to even bother

[z|gen]

is going into a fulltime circuit car, so i dont need to worry about a cert, just how long they last, dont really wanna have to do a rebuild every couple months, but if they are similar to a bluetop, might be able to find internals and just transplant?

[Truenotch]

Yeah and you could use bluetop or redtop pistons to keep the compression up.


Oh and bring it to manfeild

[z|gen]

yeah, planning to bring it to manfield - may have a couple of engines and gbox's lined up, just gotta wait for them to get back, was hoping to have the motor in this weekend, but the guy changed his mind..
should be ready in time for the intermarques and autocrosses next year.

[Truenotch]

That sounds cool, I'll have to come and have a see.


Yeah try the 'fe bottom end, chances are the motor wont have been thrashed and it should be strong. The block is the same as a 'ge one so you could just get some 'ge internals later on to make it stronger.

[z|gen]

i assume the 'fe gbox would be the same as the 'ge? C52?

[Truenotch]

Yeah either a c52 or a c50. Most likely a c50 but it's pretty much all the same.

What box is in the starlet?

[z|gen]

nothing as of yet, was running c52 behind a 16v 4age though.

so will run the same for starters

[Truenotch]

Yeah the c52 should be fine eh. I've done 8 or so trackdays on my c52 and there are no problems with it. Probably drive 150k's each trackday.


I suppose you could upgrade to a AW11 sc gearbox (E51) later on cause that would be really strong. That would also mean you could run the sc clutch which can take crazy punishment.